English (EN)

English (EN)

Course usage information

EN-ESS   English Master's EssayCredits: None   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): None

A revision and development of a graduate paper researched and written in a previous semester. Typical length 20-25 pages. Only for students in the Literature or Rhetoric and Writing Concentrations who are not writing a thesis. This is a pass/fail course.

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EN-500   Critical TheoryCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.4

Introduction to a variety of critical approaches to literature. Theories will be applied to texts: poetry, fiction, and drama, and the interpretation developed from these theories will be considered.

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EN-502   Seminar in Literary ResearchCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): None

Methods and materials for composing and presenting graduate research centered upon selected texts chosen by the instructor; bibliography, reference resources, critical analysis, and evaluation of sources; techniques, forms and formats for research projects and papers.

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EN-509   Middle English LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Fall Term

Course Type(s): EN.1, EN.LT

Study of selected works from the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries in the context of contemporary cultural and literary developments.

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EN-511   The English RenaissanceCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.1, EN.LT

Intensive study of the major genres and authors of English literature from 1550-1660, the age of Spenser, Johnson and Milton. Lyric and epic poetry, drama, prose fiction, and the essay are represented.

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EN-513   Shakespeare, His Contemporaries and Renaissance SocietyCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.1, EN.LT

Study of selected Shakespeare plays along with works by Marlowe, Webster and others in order to place Shakespeare's achievement within aesthetic, critical and historical contexts.

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EN-525   Eighteenth Century British LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.1, EN.LT

Intensive study of selected works of prose, poetry, and drama, which represent the Ages of Dryden, Pope, Johnson, and Hume.

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EN-528   Foundations of World LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.3, EN.LT

The oral and written traditions of the foundation of the non-Western world: Africa, the African Diaspora, Asia and the Middle East.

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EN-530   Topics in Contemporary World LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.3, EN.LT

Examines contemporary literary texts from one or more areas of the world outside the U.S. and Britain, along with relevant theories and criticism. Topics and areas of focus vary by semester.

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EN-533   Topics in (Im)migration LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.3, EN.LT

Examines literature written by first- or second- generation immigrants about the experiences of forced or voluntary emigration and immigration. Close readings will be placed in historical context and supplemented with discussion of relevant critical and theoretical scholarship. Topics and areas of focus vary by semester.

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EN-535   The Novel in EnglishCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Fall Term

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

The development of long prose fiction from the eighteenth century to the present with consideration of criticism that defines the novel as a genre.

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EN-537   British RomanticismCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

Investigation of British Romanticism as a self-consciously defined movement in literature. Will also consider how "Romanticisms" have been read and defined historically.

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EN-538   Victorian NovelCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

Through a close thematic and formal analysis, this course will study how British Victorian novels responded to the momentous social, political and intellectual changes of their time.

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EN-540   Topics in Modern British and Irish LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

Examines literary texts from twentieth-century Britain and Ireland, with attention to criticism and theory that have made diverse writers central to the modernist field. Topics and areas of focus vary by semester.

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EN-541   UtopiasCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.LT

The significance of utopian proposals and attempts to create utopian communities in the history of ideas. From the utopias of Plato and More to dystopian visions of the Brave New World to 1984 and science fiction as a utopian genre.

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EN-542   Contemporary American/British LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

This course will explore American and/or British literature written in English from the "contemporary" period. These works will be critically examined via close readings and discussions within a literary, historical, cultural, and/or theoretical framework.

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EN-544   Irish Literary StudiesCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

Ireland's literary tradition in English from the eighteenth-century to today. Different semesters may focus on a particular period, genre or theme within Irish literature, such as Irish drama, the eighteenth century tradition, W.B. Yeats and his circle or James Joyce and Irish Modernism.

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EN-546   History and Theory of Rhetoric ICredits: 3   

Course Type(s): EN.4, EN.RW

Examines important primary texts contributing to the formation of the rhetorical tradition. Covers from the Classical Era (c. the 5th century B.C.E.) through the end of the Renaissance (c. 1700 C.E.) and includes attention to historiographical issues, women's and cultural rhetorics, and implications for rhetorical theory and the teaching of composition.

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EN-547   History and Theory of Rhetoric IICredits: 3   

Course Type(s): EN.4, EN.RW

Examines important primary texts contributing to the formation of the rhetorical tradition. Covers from the beginning of the Enlightenment Era (c. 1800 C.E.) through the present and includes attention to historiographical issues, women's and cultural rhetorics, and implications for rhetorical theory and the teaching of composition.

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EN-548   Rhetoric of Science and SocietyCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.4, EN.RW

Examination of how language-using agents (corporate, governmental, educational, journalistic, and scientific) outside the activities of a professional scientific community (and sometimes within it) rely on the dominance and force of scientific language and its symbol systems to influence the society we live in.

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EN-550   Feminist Theory and CriticismCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Fall Term

Course Type(s): EN.4

Examines the theories and strategies developed and used by feminist theorists and literary critics to explore a range of visual and written texts. Includes focus on gender-related experiences in literature and culture.

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EN-556   Writing Program and Writing Center AdministrationCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.4, EN.RW

This course examines the theories and strategies developed and used in the field of writing program administration. Writing programs include any campus program that seeks to enhance writing abilities amongst students, including first-year writing and writing centers, among others. This course particularly benefits students who seek entry into higher education teaching and administration. This course builds on theories presented in EN 558 (Teaching Composition) to effectively manage various types of writing programs in higher education settings, from first-year writing classes to writing in the disciplines to writing and multiliteracy centers.

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EN-557   Professional and Technical Writing PedagogyCredits: 3   

Course Type(s): EN.RW

An advanced practicum introducing the rhetorical principles and pedagogical practices necessary for teaching workplace professional and technical writing; emphasis on professional and technical writing as humanities disciplines emphasizing genres, ethical issues and contexts that professional writers commonly encounter.

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EN-558   Teaching CompositionCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.RW, EN.4

The scholarship and methods of teaching composition with a focus on the collaboration experience of the writing process, one-on-one conferencing, and integration of language skills.

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EN-560   Early American LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.1, EN.LT

The development of American literature in various genres through the Colonial, Revolutionary War, and Early Republic periods.

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EN-561   Nineteenth Century American LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

Major works of American literature from 1830 to World War I will be critically examined to place them in their literary context and discover the techniques used by their authors.

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EN-563   Linguistics and the English LanguageCredits: 3   

Course Type(s): EN.4

Includes grounding in the structural aspects of general linguistics: morphology, syntax, semantics, phonology, and pragmatics. Examines the structure of the English language, including nouns and noun classes, ways of talking about actions and states, how ideas are combined into complex sentences, and how context and purpose affect how we use language. Also considers differences between learning a first and second language.

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EN-565   New Jersey's Literary HeritageCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

The development of New Jersey's literary heritage in various genres from the Colonial period to the present, through analyses of representative works from different regions of the state, with emphasis on their local significance and their relationship to national literary trends.

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EN-567   Topics in Literature and Film AdaptationCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.LT, EN.2

This course investigates the relationship between literature and adaptation by focusing on filmed adaptations of literary texts from various time periods and cultures. Topics and area of focus will vary by semester.

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EN-571   Modern American LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.2, EN.LT

Major works of American literature written between 1910 and 1945 will be critically examined and placed within a literary context in order to discuss techniques used by their authors.

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EN-581   Women in LiteratureCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.LT

Investigates the role of women in literature as writers, readers and subjects. Includes theoretical consideration of gender. Topics vary by semester.

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EN-598   Special Topics in EnglishCredits: 3   

Course Type(s): None

The subject matter varies with the interest of the students and of the professor teaching the course. The exact nature of the topic covered in any given semester is indicated in the student's transcript. If a prerequisite is required it will be announced in the course schedule.

Course usage information

EN-599   Independent Study in EnglishCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): None

Reading and research under the direction of a member of the English faculty. A minimum of six, face-to-face meetings are required; bi-weekly meetings are the norm. Prior permission of the directing professor and department chair is required to take this course.

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EN-607   Creative Non-Fiction WorkshopCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.CW

In a workshop setting, students will present their own creative non-fiction pieces for intensive examination by workshop participants. They will also analyze readings in creative non-fiction to understand and become aware of the variant forms, techniques, and approaches used. This course may be retaken for credit.

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EN-609   Poetry WorkshopCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): EN.CW

In a workshop setting, students will present their own poetry for intensive examination by workshop participants. They will also analyze readings in contemporary poetry to understand the employed forms, techniques, and approaches. This course may be retaken for credit.

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EN-610   Poetry Workshop: FormsCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.CW

Students will examine and experiment with both traditional and contemporary forms of poetry. Areas of focus vary by semester.

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EN-611   Fiction WorkshopCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.CW

In a workshop setting, students will present their own short stories and novel chapters for intensive examination by workshop participants. They will also analyze readings to understand and become aware of the variant forms, techniques, and approaches used. This course may be retaken for credit.

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EN-613   Seminar in Creative Writing: PlaywritingCredits: 3   

Course Type(s): EN.CW

In a workshop format, students will write, critique and perform stage readings of their classmates' plays. This course may be retaken for credit.

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EN-615   Craft SeminarCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): EN.CW

Students will study creative writing craft techniques through close readings, lectures, discussion, written analysis, and the rigorous application of said techniques through weekly writing exercises and short workshops. Genre and seminar topics vary by professor (See MFA coursebook for details.) This course may be retaken for credit.

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EN-617   Rhetoric and Writing Research and PublishingCredits: 3   

Course Type(s): EN.RW

Examines how rhetoric and writing scholars conceptualize, construct, and compose empirical and textual research projects and provides students with an opportunity to sharpen their research and writing skills for the purpose of developing publication-quality presentations and articles for reputable conferences and journals in the field.

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EN-618   Professional and Technical Writing Theory and PracticeCredits: 3   

Course Type(s): EN.RW

An advanced seminar and workshop in the rhetorical and writing principles necessary for producing appropriate professional writing; emphasis on audience, genres, ethical issues and contexts that professional writers commonly encounter while working in the field.

Course usage information

EN-619   Writing for Digital AudiencesCredits: 3   

Course Type(s): EN.RW, EN.4

A study of theories and concepts of writing and rhetoric in digital media with emphasis on the uses of written, aural, and visual media in digital spaces, such as websites, social media, infographics, digital video, apps, advertisements, and other digital technologies. Topics examined include new literacy and multiliteracy studies, visual literacy and rhetoric, technorhetorics, and multimedia participation, design, and creation. Students further examine digital infrastructure, from hardware to socioeconomic factors of authorship/audience, including racial disparity.

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EN-644   Manuscript SeminarCredits: 3-6   

Prerequisite(s): Completion of 21 credits with a minimum G.P.A. of 3.00 and a minimum of 6 credits of courses with a course type of ENCW

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): None

Completion of a single-genre manuscript under the direction of a first reader who is a member of the English graduate faculty, in consultation with a qualified second reader. Six face-to-face meetings with the first reader are required, and at least one meeting with the second reader. The manuscript will consist of at least forty to fifty pages of poetry or prose half of which may be work begun in previous graduate creative writing courses and substantially revised for this course. The manuscript will include a five-page Introduction. Once the manuscript has been judged as satisfactory by both readers, the graduate program will schedule an oral defense to be attended by both readers as well as the graduate program director. This is a pass/fail course.

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EN-650   Publishing SeminarCredits: 3   

Prerequisite(s): 12 credits from English MA or MFA, consent of the graduate advisor, and internship placement.

Course Type(s): None

A seminar designed for students who are interested in pursuing professional experience in publishing, media, the teaching of creative writing, and related fields. Guest speakers will include authors, editors, agents, and scholars. Professional participation exercises may include curriculum vitae workshops, preparing publication submissions, drafting grant applications, project proposals, query letters, interview techniques, and research into potential professional fields.

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EN-652   Craft Intensive SeminarCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Fall Term

Course Type(s): EN.CW

Students will conduct intensive study in advanced creative writing craft techniques through close readings, lectures, discussion, written analysis, and the rigorous application of said techniques through writing exercises and short workshops. Genre and seminar topics vary by professor. (See MFA coursebook for details.) This course may be retaken for credit.

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EN-655A   MFA Creative Thesis SeminarCredits: 3   

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): None

Students will complete 80-200 pages of prose, or 40-80 pages of poetry, consisting of previously written work that has been revised substantially along with new work, under the direction of a first reader who is a member of the English graduate faculty and in consultation with a qualified second reader. Six face-to-face meetings with the first reader are required, and at least one meeting with the second reader. In addition, the student will craft a critical paper (7-10 pages) analyzing comparable texts that exemplify the literary tradition from which the thesis springs. The paper may discuss the influence of analyzed works on the thesis, but will focus on a discussion of the craft evident in the creative works discussed. Please contact the department for additional information.

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EN-655B   MFA Creative Thesis Seminar IICredits: 3   

Prerequisite(s): EN-655A and 39 credits in English

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): None

Students will complete 80-200 pages of prose, or 40-80 pages of poetry, consisting of previously written work that has been revised substantially along with new work, under the direction of a first reader who is a member of the English graduate faculty and in consultation with a qualified second reader. Six face-to-face meetings with the first reader are required, and at least one meeting with the second reader. In addition, the student will craft a critical paper (7-10 pages) analyzing comparable texts that exemplify the literary tradition from which the thesis springs. The paper may discuss the influence of analyzed works on the thesis, but will focus on a discussion of the craft evident in the creative works discussed. Please contact the department for additional information.

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EN-674   Professional Research with Service LearningCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Fall Term

Course Type(s): EN.CW, EN.LT, EN.RW

An independent study designed for students who want to explore and prepare for careers that are appropriate for holders of advanced degrees in English. It can fulfill a literature, rhetoric, or creative writing elective. Students will produce an annotated bibliography and researched writing totaling at least 25 pages, a service learning component that offers practice experience, and a curriculum vitae or resume, cover letter, and Linked In profile.

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EN-691   English Thesis DevelopmentCredits: 3   

Prerequisite(s): 12 credits and a minimum G.P.A. of 3.00.

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): None

An intensive and rigorous study of an author, topic, or theme developed under the direction of and evaluated by a first reader who is a member of the English graduate faculty, in consultation with a second reader, who is a full-time faculty member. Six face-to-face meetings with the first reader are required, and at least one meeting with the second reader. The thesis may be based upon a paper completed in a course taken in a previous semester and further developed under the direction of the professor in that course. By the end of the semester, students will submit a twenty-five item annotated bibliography and a ten-page critical essay.

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EN-692   English Thesis WritingCredits: 3   

Prerequisite(s): EN-691, completion of twenty-one credits, and a minimum GPA of 3.00.

Term Offered: All Terms

Course Type(s): None

Completion of the writing of the thesis under the continuing direction of a first reader who is a member of the English graduate faculty, in consultation with a second reader, who is a full-time faculty member. Six face-to-face meetings with the first reader are required, and at least one meeting with the second reader. The thesis must comprise of between thirty-five and fifty pages (not including the works cited) and will be evaluated by the first and second readers. Once the thesis has been judged as satisfactory by both readers, the graduate program will schedule an oral defense to be attended by both readers as well as the graduate program director. Students may not register for Thesis Writing EN-692 in a summer session.

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EN-698   Special Topics in EnglishCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Spring Term

Course Type(s): None

The subject matter varies with the interest of the candidates and the professor teaching the course. The exact nature of the topic covered in any given semester is indicated on the candidate's transcript. Permission of the program director is required to take this course. This course is repeatable twice for credit.

Course usage information

EN-699   Independent Study in EnglishCredits: 3   

Term Offered: Summer Term

Course Type(s): None

Reading and research under the direction of a member of the English faculty. A minimum of six, face-to-face meetings are required; bi-weekly meetings are the norm. Prior permission of the directing professor and department chair is required to take this course.