Spring 2026
FYEN 102: Facing It: Confronting American History Through Song And Story
This First-Year Seminar proposes that we are most empowered to live authentically
and to realize our values when we first face the truth of our personal, cultural,
and national stories. This course invites students to become fully present in their
lives, while studying the underbelly of American history through poetry, story, music,
and film. As Americans, we frequently grow up with a myth of exceptionalism that says
that the United States is the greatest nation on earth. While the US certainly boasts
extraordinarily rich cultural and political traditions, it also carries a history
of injustice and even genocide that is often denied or whitewashed. In this course,
we will insist on “facing” this difficult history, with particular focus on the experience
of Black and Indigenous peoples, while we also apply the idea of “facing it” to our
individual lives and contemporary challenges. Key questions include: How do we realize
the ideals of America in an authentic way that acknowledges and repairs its history?
How do we realize our own values in our own lives?
.
ENGL 198: English Careers Seminar (8-Week, first Session Course)
TR 11:00-11:50 [CRN 22877]
Instructor: Dr Francis X Connor
This one-credit seminar is designed to help students at the start of their English, Creative Writing, or Applied Linguistics major. The course will introduce students to all of the possibilities that these degrees have to offer. We’ll work closely with the Shocker Career Accelerator to understand the skillset that these degree instill in their majors and how to find meaningful experiences – from campus involvement to future job prospects – that best align with those skills. We’ll practice building a portfolio of professional materials that can grow with you through the major, and learn ways to find applied-learning and internship opportunities during your time at WSU. The goal of this seminar is to equip English, Creative Writing, and Applied Linguistics majors with a clear and productive pathway through the degree that best aligns with each student’s interests and aspirations.
ENGL 210: Composition: Business, Professional, and Technical Writing
Multiple sections and instructors
This course provides instruction and practice in writing the kinds of letters, memos,
emails, proposals,
and reports required in the professional world of business and industry. It emphasizes
both formats and
techniques necessary for effective and persuasive professional communication. We will
also discuss job
application materials such as resumes and cover letters. Prerequisite(s): ENGL 101,
102 or instructor's
consent. May be taken as part of the Professional Writing and Editing Minor. [WC]
ENGL 230: Exploring Literature
Online [CRN 22983]
Instructor: TBD
General education humanities course. This course is a general education class meant to guide students in critical reading of period- and genre-specific literature, including and specifically drama, fiction, and poetry. The class will focus in part on your reception and engagement of literature using critical reading strategies and discussions with classmates. Reading stories lets the audience step out into a different environment without responsibilities or anything on the line. You become a 3rd party entity that gains insight into a world and situations that aren’t your own. Hopefully, after reading and engaging with a piece, the audience walks away with new perspective that can transfer to life outside of the pages. [TA, CL]
ENGL 232D: Literature In the Jazz Age
Online [CRN 22984]
Instructor: Kerry Jones
ENGL 273: Science Fiction
Online [CRN 22985]
Instructor: John Jones
General education humanities introductory course. Survey of key classic and contemporary works of science fiction and speculative literature, emphasizing themes and ideas common in the genre and its subgenres. Prerequisites: ENGL 101, 102. [TA]
Upper-Level Courses
ENGL 285: Introduction to Creative Writing
MW 11:00-12:15 [CRN 22880]
Instructor: Dr Adam Scheffler
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on." This famous quote, attributed to novelist and short story writer Louis L’Amour, suggests that rather than waiting for inspiration, or worrying if our creative writing is any good or not, we should simply put pen to paper and begin—and that’s probably pretty good advice. But it’s also incomplete advice: what should we write about, we might wonder, and in what genre and style? What techniques or craft elements might help us hone our writing and make it as effective as possible? And how can we develop our own voice, or revise our work to build on our best and smartest impulses?
English 285 aims to help you begin to answer these questions by offering an introduction to creative writing in two genres: poetry and short fiction. In this class, you’ll read compelling poems and stories by a variety of professional authors to help inspire you, and you’ll be given prompts to help push your writing in new directions. You’ll also learn about key craft elements in each genre—such as images, lines, and stanzas as well as structure, characters, and dialogue. And you’ll read and provide feedback on your peers’ poems and stories, which will help you to become a better editor of your own work.
By the end of the term, you’ll be asked to produce drafts and revisions of three poems and one short story. This class will provide you with lots of feedback to help you improve your writing and ensure that you feel proud of the work that you produce. With any luck, you’ll leave this class feeling more confident about how to approach your writing, excited to keep that faucet turned on and to see what you’ll write next. [WC, TA]
TR 2:00-3:15 [CRN 22881]
Instructor: Kerry Jones
ENGL 285 introduces the practice and techniques of imaginative writing in its varied forms – primarily literary fiction and poetry. Within your own fiction you will explore and develop skills concerning key craft elements, including: setting, description, characterization, dialogue, voice, and point of view; and in your poetry you will develop an array of skills as you work within a variety of forms. We will also read published works and discuss them through the lens of a writer. Some of these works may serve as examples of techniques to explore or styles to emulate. A large portion of the semester will be devoted to workshopping your creative writing and providing feedback to your peers, and then delving into revision of your work. [WC, TA]
ENGL 301: Fiction Writing
MW 2:00-3:15 [CRN 22822]
Instructor: Margaret Dawe
Prerequisite: English 285 with a grade of B- or better [WC, TA]
TR 9:30-10:45 [CRN 22822]
Instructor: Jason Allen
This workshop-based course emphasizes storytelling through well-crafted scenes. We will focus on all of the key elements and techniques employed by published fiction writers, and students will write numerous short pieces, some which are spawned from in-class writing prompts. During in-class workshop sessions, students offer constructive criticism in order for the author to substantially improve their work. Close reading and discussions of selected published works further enable students to improve their own creative writing craft skills. We’ll use Orange World by Karen Russell, Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, and Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction by Benjamin Percy.
ENGL 303: Poetry Writing
MW 3:30-4:45 [CRN 14175]
Instructor: Sam Taylor [WC, TA]
ENGL 310: The Nature of Poetry
TR 2:00-3:15 [CRN 14181]
Instructor: Dr TJ Boynton
[TA, CL]
ENGL 315: Introduction to English Linguistics
Online [CRN 24082] [Cross-listed as LING 315]
Instructor: Dr Mythili Menon
The main goal of this course is to introduce students to the basic methodology, linguistic
principles, including phonological and grammatical concepts used in modern linguistics.
A secondary goal of this course is to teach analytic reasoning through the examination
of linguistic phenomenon and data from
English.
ENGL 323: World Literature
TR 11:00-12:15 [CRN 24076]
Instructor: Dr TJ Boynton
[TA, CL]
ENGL 325: Introduction to English Studies
MW 9:30-10:45 [CRN 22886]
Instructor: Dr Vanessa Aguilar
In this course, we will examine the fundamental elements of English Studies, including research practices, writing, reading, and presentation skills. As a class, we will explore various genres such as poetry, essays, short stories, drama, fiction, and graphic novels. Students will learn how to identify each genre along with the conventions that define them. Additionally, ENGL 325 links literary theory to the histories, cultures, and analytical practices that shape literary interpretation. Texts for this course may include Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic (2020) and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (1959). The coursework may include conducting a close reading analysis, a research paper, and a zine presentation. [TA, CL]
ENGL 330: The Nature of Fiction
TR 12:30-1:45 [CRN 22887]
Instructor: Dr Jean Griffith
The writer Jessamyn West once wrote that “fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” This class will focus on the truths that are revealed to us by American writers from the late nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. The course will also introduce students to the major elements of fiction (plot, character, narration, formal devices, setting, theme) and help you develop the critical reading skills needed to analyze these elements and how they work together. We will read a diverse array of texts, from short stories and novels to short story cycles, graphic novels, and beyond. We will also consider a few films based on works of fiction. Writers might include Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, Grace Paley, Tim O’Brien, Toni Morrison, and Colsen Whitehead. [TA]
Online [CRN 14313]
Instructor: Kerry Jones
What makes “a story”? What are the important elements of a story, and why? This course is designed to acquaint students with fiction in a variety of forms, from the short story to the novella and novel. We will cover stories from a variety of cultures (although Western literature will be the primary focus) and historical periods, giving some attention to the historical development and theories of fiction, and we will examine various techniques used by different authors. In addition to our anthology, our novels may include A Prayer for the Dying, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Color Purple, and Nickel Boys. [TA]
ENGL 332: Young Adult Fiction [New Course, New-ish FACULTY!!!]
MW 2:00-3:15 [CRN 22888]
Instructor: Dr Vanessa Aguilar
Outsiders, geeks, jocks, heroes, and the rendered invisible ones are all archetypes in young adult literature. Yet, they all share similar anxieties about growing up and identity formation. In this course, we will examine the phenomena of 20th and 21st century YA literature. Throughout the course, students will critically analyze the discourses surrounding YA fiction and recent trends in the field. Students will explore a variety of genres, including fantasy, dystopia, and graphic novels. Readings for this course include Tracy Deonn’s Legend Born (2020) and Crystal Maldonado’s Fat Chance, Charlie Vega (2021). Assignments for this course may include a graphic journal, reflection papers, and a research paper. [TA, CL]
ENGL 333: Literature and Law
TR 12:30-1:45 [CRN 22889]
Instructor: Clinton Jones, JD
ENGL 360: Major British Writers I: The Battle of the Books!
MW 11:00-12:15 [CRN 22890]
Instructors: Dr Francis X Connor and Dr Katie Lanning
Around 500 C.E., England was something of a cultural backwater, a former Roman outpost recently conquered by Germanic invaders; by 1800, it had established itself as a major literary, cultural, and military power. The story of English Literature in this epoch can be seen as a Battle of the Books, as English poetry, prose, and drama gradually liberated itself from rigid classical and European strictures and blossomed into its own style, along the way debating the political, social, and aesthetic controversies of their times.
This course will introduce you two the literary cultures of this period, guided by two professors who approach it from different perspectives: Dr Connor, a specialist in Medieval and Renaissance Literature interested in the development of the Great Literary Canon, and Dr Lanning, a Restoration and 18th-Century specialist interested in a democratic, ground-up narrative of English writing. We’ll start with Caedmon and end with Dr. Johnson; in between we’ll read the era’s superstars—Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Swift—and a few important writers who should be superstars—Langland, Cavendish, & Behn among them.
Despite their different viewpoints, both professors are interested in histories of text technologies, and so the course will emphasize how innovations in writing and publishing technologies—from medieval scriptoria to 18th century congers—served as the engine for English literary culture.
ENGL 362: Major American Writers I
TR 9:30-10:45 [CRN 22891]
Instructor: Dr Rebeccah Bechtold
"Major American Writers I" emphasizes the various social, political, and economic upheavals that mark early American lives. A survey of American literature and culture from exploration to the mid-nineteenth century, the course will introduce you to representative works that frame our understanding of early American culture. We therefore will be examining a wide range of texts from the early conquest and colonization period through the American Renaissance and Civil War, all the while attempting to understand how and why we define American literature as we do. In addition to more conventional genres of literature (namely poetry and fiction), we will be reading and discussing a variety of textual forms, from sermons and scientific texts to personal narratives, essays, and pamphlets; lecture material, as well as secondary sources, further help historicize our readings. “Major American Writers I” thus challenges the traditional sense of narrative—what literature is and does—in order to seek a broader understanding of the place of literature and writing within the period we explore and within the field of American Studies as well. [TA]
ENGL 365: African-American Literature
TR 11:00-12:15 [CRN 22892]
Instructor: Dr Jean Griffith
This course will survey African American literature and culture from the colonial period to the present, from slavery through Emancipation, segregation, the civil rights movement, and Black Lives Matter. We will read multiple genres—poetry, fiction, nonfiction—and examine the cultural forces and historical events that helped to shape and were shaped by African American literature. We’ll cover works by Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass, Charles Chesnutt, Nella Larsen, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Amanda Gorman, Colsen Whitehead, and others. We will also explore the tremendous influence African American literature and culture have had on American culture more generally. Along the way, this class will also hone your critical reading, research, and writing skills.
ENGL 378: Technologies Of The Book
MW 12:30-1:45 [CRN 22893]
Instructors: Dr Katie Lanning and Dr Francis X. Connor
May be taken as part of the Text Technologies Minor.
ENGL 401: Fiction Workshop
TR 3:30-4:45 [CRN 22894]
Instructor: Jason Allen
Repeatable for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 301. [WC, TA]
ENGL 403: Poetry Workshop
MW 3:30-4:45 [CRN 22895]
Instructor: Sam Taylor
This Poetry Workshop for intermediate and advanced students will guide you as you continue your artistic quest and refine your poetry beyond the skills you learned in ENGL 303. In the company of serious peers and an experienced poet-mentor, we will discuss your work, the work of your classmates, and poems by diverse, established poets that can serve as models and inspiration for your own work. The poem will be presented as a field in which a vision of the world is enacted and a space in which anything can happen. Over the course of the semester, you will work toward developing and assembling a chapbook of your work, a short booklet that features your strongest work in an aesthetic presentation that you can share with friends or family. [TA]
ENGL 503: American Literature I
In Beneath the American Renaissance: The Subversive Imagination in the Age of Emerson and Melville, David S. Reynolds unsettles the traditional belief that our canonized early fiction writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville were “isolated subversives” producing “act[s] of rebellion…against a dominant culture.” Such a reading, Reynold argues, tends to ignore the impact of sensational and other popular literary forms on the productions of these so-called “great” authors. As Walt Whitman wrote in 1845, “all kinds of light reading, novels, newspapers, gossip etc., serve as manure for the few great productions and are indispensable or perhaps are premises to something better.”
This English 503 course thus takes as its primary study the “manure” and “great productions” of the antebellum period, focusing exclusively on the American fiction writings of the 1800s-1860s. We will be using as our primary touchstones three representative novels: Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838), Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance (1851) and E.D.E.N. Southworth’s rather lengthy The Hidden Hand; or Capitola the Madcap (1859). We will be pairing these longer works with the periodical literary culture of this period, from the sensational to the staidly sentimental, to better understand the “bizarre, nightmarish, and often politically radical” narratives associated with the formation of early American literature. [TA]
ENGL 504: American Literature II: Migration and Immigration in American Literature
TBD [CRN 22896]
Instructor: Dr Jean Griffith
This course will focus on the preoccupation in American literature with movement—with population shifts, immigration, displacement, and with making new homes in new places. What, if anything, does “home” mean in such a context? Where, if anywhere, can Americans locate their “roots?” We will explore how mobility, stemming from advances in technology as well as shifting social, economic, and political conditions, has shaped the way Americans define themselves and each other and, in turn, has altered both the form and the content of twentieth- and twenty-first century literary expression. Writers can include Willa Cather, Steven Crane, James Baldwin, Perceval Everette, etc.
ENGL 505: Creative Non-Fiction
TR 12:30-1:45 [CRN 22896]
Instructor: Dr Jason Allen
Prerequisite: ENGL 285
ENGL 516A: Jane Austen
T 4:30-6:45 [CRN 22897]
Instructor: Dr Mary Waters
ENGL 524: Restoration and 18th Century Lit
M 4:30-6:45 [CRN 22989]
Instructor: Dr Katie Lanning
Mass media. Information overload. Going viral. You’ve likely heard these phrases describe our current moment, and the variety of new media that seems to have overwhelmed us with ways to communicate. But how might these phrases also work to describe media cultures long before the invention of the Internet? Our course takes this question as its driving theme, studying the surprisingly vast array of texts and media forms that populated – or, indeed, crowded – the long eighteenth century. How did such audiences grapple with an overwhelming amount of reading material? How did different print forms clash or harmonize as they developed across the century? To best understand how eighteenth-century readers encountered what we now consider canonical texts within a busy and complex print culture, we will be working with a range of diverse media each week rather than focusing on one text at a time. We'll especially focus on texts that directly address their status as media, from a poem in praise of a bookworm to a novel about the dangers of reading fiction. Join us as we attempt to replicate the reading habits of eighteenth-century Britons and discover how those habits still inform our own relationship with media today.
ENGL 536A: British Women Writers
Online [CRN 22988]
Instructor: Dr Chineyre Okafor
ENGL 540: Intro To Critical Theory: Decolonial Theory
Online [CRN 22989]
Instructor: Dr Vanessa Aguilar
This course focuses on decolonial theory across a set of literary, cultural, and transdisciplinary texts. Throughout the course, students will pay special attention to liberatory praxes of identity formation, love, and solidarity. Students will explore an array of scholarship written by Kristie Dotson, Xhercis Méndez, María Lugones, Walter D. Mignolo, Nelson Maldonado-Torres, etc., as a meditation for challenging coloniality and decolonial approaches. Additionally, the course will include multi-ethnic literary essays, novels, speeches, and memoirs (i.e., Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman” and Llanos-Figueroa’s Daughters of the Stone) to help students reflect on how decolonial frameworks in literature promote philosophical transformation.
ENGL 565: Multimodal Compositon
Online [CRN 22990]
Instructor: Dr Carrie Dickison
This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of multimodal composition, which is usually defined as the incorporation of different communicative modes (linguistic, visual, aural, spatial, and gestural) into the traditional skill of writing (static text on a page). Students will consider foundational theories of multimodality and visual rhetoric, analyze real-world examples of multimodal texts, and practice composing in multimodal genres such as infographics, websites, podcasts, and videos. Prospective and future educators will also have the opportunity to consider how these concepts can be integrated with writing instruction. May be taken as part of the Professional Writing and Editing Minor.
ENGL 590: Senior Seminar
Instructor: Dr TJ Boynton
Senior Seminar will provide a space for each student to craft an individualized culmination to their work at WSU. Instead of a traditional course with assigned texts/readings, students will forge their own path throughout the semester, and in so doing will demonstrate their readiness for the world after graduation. Among the tasks students will be asked to design and execute along this path are: the “bucket list book” challenge, in which each student will read a book they have always wanted to read and perform a series of small response assignments documenting that experience; a “peer revision workshop,” in which each student will select a major piece of writing from their previous coursework to share with their peers and refine/improve (potentially with an eye toward submission for departmental awards or conference proposals); and the final project itself, which can take several different forms/genres based upon the student’s interests and post-graduation plans, but which will concretize and put on display their particular passions and attainments in the discipline of English. [OC]
ENGL 665: History of the English Language
Online [CRN 22091]
Instructor: Dr Mythili Menon
ENGL 680: Theory and Practice in Composition
Online [CRN 22992]
Instructor: Melinda DeFrain
This course is designed especially for prospective and practicing teachers. It will introduce you to theories of rhetoric and writing, major research questions in the field of composition studies, and best practices for teaching writing in schools and colleges. We will investigate writing processes, analyze varieties and examples of student writing, and hone our own writing skills by drafting, revising, and evaluating our own and others’ work. As we read significant publications in the field, we will continually consider the relationship between theory and classroom practice. Assignments will give you experience reading challenging pedagogical and theoretical texts; posing complex and worthwhile questions about the teaching of writing; performing research and synthesizing your findings; drafting course materials for current or future writing classes; and responding effectively to student writing. Topics of discussion will include teaching the writing process; developing writing assignments; teaching sentence structure and grammar; and responding to and assessing student writing. [WC]