Chair: John P Hanly, Department of English
Undergraduate Program Coordinator: Jeffrey Jackson
Graduate Program Director: Mihaela Moscaliuc
The Master of Arts in English is a flexible program that allows various types of students to pursue a course of study meeting their own interests and goals. For those interested in the challenge of graduate study and considering going on to an MFA or PhD program at another institution, the courses at Monmouth provide a broad education in English literature, creative writing, and rhetoric, and a sound foundation for further graduate study. Secondary school teachers can fulfill their continuing education requirement and accrue credits toward salary increases by taking courses in the program. Those interested in personal enrichment or career advancement will find that the program requirements improve creative and critical thinking abilities along with reading, speaking, and writing skills. The curriculum, appropriate for recent college graduates as well as returning students, is designed to allow students to finish the degree in two to two-and-a-half years by taking two to three courses per semester, with the additional option of summer study. Part-time students are also welcome to attend. Course offerings allow students to take courses in a variety of fields to obtain a broad knowledge of literature in English or to focus on areas of specific interest.
Every writer has a story to tell—at Monmouth, we give you the tools to bring it to life. With our full-residency 48-credit M.A./M.F.A. dual degree program in Creative Writing, you will prepare for your dream career in the literary world by training directly with published, award-winning faculty. Through flexible course offerings, you can choose to study fiction, nonfiction, and poetry as desired, and may also pursue interests in crime novels, thrillers, romance, fantasy, and more.
Our intensive and pragmatic program gives you an advantage over your peers by focusing on developing your craft, your network, and your resume. After completing their M.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration, Monmouth’s M.F.A. students will immerse themselves in an additional 18 credits of intensive creative writing study that includes the completion of a book-length Creative Thesis. Students will also benefit from personalized learning, advanced craft seminars, networking opportunities, and rigorous career preparation, including an internship program and the opportunity to gain teaching experience by working as an adjunct professor during the program.
You are eligible to participate in the M.F.A. program if you have obtained a Master of Arts (M.A.) in English from Monmouth University and demonstrate a proficiency for creative writing through a thesis or equivalent work.
This is an 18-credit graduate certificate is designed to provide alumni and other English, non-creative writing students with a way to transition to the M.F.A. in Creating Writing program.
Kristin Bluemel, Professor and Wayne D. McMurray-Helen Bennett Endowed Chair in the Humanities (Graduate Faculty).
Interim Associate Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences. B.A., Wesleyan University; M.A., Ph.D., Rutgers University. Specialty is twentieth-century British literature. Additional interests include literary criticism and theory, the novel, children’s literature, World War II and the end of empire, and book history.
kbluemel@monmouth.edu
Susan M. Goulding, Associate Professor (Graduate Faculty). B.A., M.A., Adelphi University; Ph.D., New York University. Specialties are eighteenth-century British literature, women’s studies, British history, and reception history.
goulding@monmouth.edu
Alena Graedon, Associate Professor (Graduate Faculty). M.F.A., Columbia School of the Arts. Specialty is creative writing, fiction, with an emphasis on speculative fiction.
agraedon@monmouth.edu
John P. Hanly, Associate Professor and Chair (Graduate Faculty). B.A., Georgetown College; M.A., University of Chicago; Ph.D., University of Louisville. Areas of specialty include composition theory and ethics.
jphanly@monmouth.edu
Jeffrey Jackson, Associate Professor (Graduate Faculty). B.A., Linfield College; M.A., Portland State University.Ph.D., Rice University. Areas of specialty include nineteenth-century British Romantic and Victorian literature.
jejackso@monmouth.edu
Patrick Love, Associate Professor and Associate Director First Year Composition (Graduate Faculty). B.A., Western Michigan University; M.A., Ph.D., Purdue University. Research interests include Rhetoric and Composition, Professional and Technical Writing, Digital Rhetoric and Game Studies, Writing Program Administration and Writing Across the Curriculum.
plove@monmouth.edu
Mihaela Moscaliuc, Professor and Graduate Program Director (Graduate Faculty). B.A., M.A., Al.l. Cuza University; M.A., Salisbury University; M.F.A., New England College; Ph.D., University of Maryland. Areas of specialty include immigrant literature, postcolonial studies, translational studies, and poetry writing.
mmoscali@monmouth.edu
Sue Starke, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Coordinator (Graduate Faculty). B.A., Wellesley College; Ph.D., Rutgers University. Specialties are Renaissance literature and cullture, medieval literature, and genre theory.
sstarke@monmouth.edu
Kenneth Womack, (Graduate Faculty). B.A., Texas AM University; M.A., Texas AM University/Moscow Institute of Communication, U.S.S.R.; Ph.D., Northern Illinois University.
kwomack@monmouth.edu
Courtney Wright-Werner, Associate Professor and Associate Director of First Year Composition (Graduate Faculty). B.A., Moravian College and Theological Seminary; M.A., Texas State University; Ph.D., Kent State University. Specialities are composition and rhetoric, new media, and multi-modal learning.
cwerner@monmouth.edu
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
EN-644 Manuscript SeminarCredits: 3
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.
EN-650 Publishing SeminarCredits: 3
Prerequisite(s): 12 graduate credits (English MA or MFA) or consent of the graduate advisor.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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