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Member of the Division of Humanities
Erik Simpson, Chair, David Ainsworth, Stephen Andrews, George Barlow, Michael Cavanagh,
Elizabeth Dobbs, Khanh Ho, Shuchi Kapila, Heather Lobban-Viravong, Amy Nestor, M. Teresa Prendergast, Ralph Savarese, Saadi Simawe, Paula Smith
The study of English has diverse parts, including linguistics, creative writing, and rhetorical theory, and is itself part of European cultural history, general literary studies, and American studies. The study of the literary resources of the language cannot be isolated from the rest of the liberal arts. Students of English need to know how English can be used in other disciplines, and students in other disciplines can profit from study in the Department of English.
At Grinnell, the study of English is founded on critical reading and argumentative writing. To establish this foundation, the department offers several courses without prerequisite to accommodate a variety of needs and interests. Advanced courses reveal the department’s particular emphasis on the imaginative literature of England, the United States, and other countries with traditions of literature in English, an emphasis that necessarily invites students to develop a critical understanding of the contexts of those literatures.
Advanced courses are categorized by type of literature (short story, novel, poem), by authors (Milton, Shakespeare, Chaucer), or by periods of literary history (medieval literature, Renaissance literature, modern literature). But the underlying purpose remains the same: to enhance the enjoyment of literature by developing ways of imaginatively understanding it.
The program for majors provides a general acquaintance with the traditions of English and American literature and encourages special interests in the various fields of English. Majors are required to study one foreign language and are advised to study the materials and methods of history, philosophy, and the arts. Nor should they neglect the physical and social sciences, whose methods provide valuable perspectives on literary study.
The Major
A minimum of 32 credits in English, including at least 20 credits in the Department of English at Grinnell. Required are:
- Three 200-level literature courses, including: one course in early literature
(223 or 227);
and, in addition to the course used to satisfy the early literature requirement,
- One course in British or Postcolonial literature (223, 224, 225, or 226);
- One course in American literature (227, 228, 229, 231, or 232);
- Three four-credit 300-level courses, excluding individual study, in the English department at Grinnell. At least two must be literature courses.
Also required:
- One four-credit Humanities (HUM) course and
- Knowledge of a nonnative language at a level demonstrated by
1) completion of fourth-semester college coursework in a modern language, or
2) completion of third-semester college coursework in a modern language and Linguistics 114 or English 230, or
3) completion of second-semester college coursework in Latin or Greek or
4) examination showing equivalent competence.
To be considered for honors in English, graduating seniors, in addition to meeting the College’s general requirements for honors, must have breadth in 200- and 300-level coursework in the English department, and make an outstanding contribution at the 300-level in English as certified by two members of the English faculty.
120 Literary Analysis (Fall and Spring) 4 credits
An introduction to the methods and pleasures of literary analysis focusing on skills needed to practice close reading and explication of texts and emphasizing the rich complexities of literary language. Although individual sections vary in genres considered, all prepare students for further work in poetry and prose. Prerequisite: none. STAFF.
121 Introduction to Shakespeare (Fall or Spring) 4 credits
A close study of representative plays from each period of Shakespeare’s career, including comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances. Prerequisite: none. PRENDERGAST, SIMPSON.
204 The Craft of Argument* (Spring) 4 credits
Advanced course in argumentative or analytical writing with particular attention to style. Prerequisite: second-year standing and permission of instructor. DOBBS.
205 The Craft of Fiction (Fall and Spring) 4 credits
Instruction in the techniques and process of fiction writing, with emphasis on the short story. Readings may include published short stories and essays on the art of fiction. Students may also be asked to write in forms related to fiction (journal, autobiography, prose poem). Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. HO, SMITH
206 The Craft of Poetry (Fall and Spring) 4 credits
Instruction in the techniques and process of verse writing. Readings may include published poems and essays on the art of poetry. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. BARLOW, SAVARESE.
223 The Tradition of English Literature I (Fall or Spring) 4 credits+
Study of English literature from Old English to the early 17th century; may include such works as Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Faerie Queene, and Paradise Lost. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. Humanities 101 strongly recommended. DOBBS, PRENDERGAST.
224 The Tradition of English Literature II (Fall or Spring) 4 credits+
Study of English literature from the Restoration through the Victorians; may include such authors as Behn, Defoe, Swift, Wordsworth, Shelley, Austen, George Eliot, and Dickens. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. LOBBAN-VIRAVONG, SIMPSON.
225 Introduction to Postcolonial Literatures (Fall) 4 credits+
An introduction to postcolonial literatures and theory from the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. KAPILA.
226 The Tradition of English Literature III (Fall or Spring) 4 credits
Study of English literature of the 20th century; may include such authors as Joyce, Woolf, Beckett, Orwell, Eliot, Winterson, Kureishi, and Walcott. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. KAPILA, SIMPSON.
227 American Literary Traditions I (Fall or Spring) 4 credits+
Study of American literature from Columbus to 1830; may include such authors as Columbus, Ralegh, Bradstreet, Rowlandson, Franklin, Rowson, Irving, Bryant, and Cooper. Features works from a variety of genres, including Native American myths, travel and promotional narratives, journals, poetry, fiction, nonfiction prose, and maps. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. ANDREWS.
228 American Literary Traditions II (Fall or Spring) 4 credits+
Study of American literature from 1830 to 1893; may include such authors as Emerson, Melville, Whitman, Dickinson, Twain, James, Chopin, Chesnutt, and Zitkala-Ša. Features works from a variety of genres including fiction, poetry, nonfiction prose, and drama. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. ANDREWS, SAVARESE.
229 The Tradition of African American Literature (Fall) 4 credits+
The emergence and growth of African American literature from slavery to the present. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. SIMAWE.
230 English Historical Linguistics* (Spring) 4 credits+
Study of the history of the English language through examination of phonological, grammatical, and semantic changes in the language from Old English to Middle English to Modern English with attention to “external” history. Prerequisite: second-year standing or permission of instructor. DOBBS.
231 American Literary Traditions III (Fall or Spring) 4 credits+
Study of American literature from 1893 to today; may include such authors as Crane, Eliot, Faulkner, Hurston, Plath, DeLillo, and Morrison. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. SAVARESE.
232 Ethnic American Literatures (Fall) 4 credits
Study of the major traditions of American ethnic literatures. Features works from a variety of genres including fiction, poetry, nonfiction prose, and drama. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. HO.
250 Literature in Place (Fall) 4 credits
Study of British literature, as part of the Grinnell-in-London program, onsite in London and elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. VINTER.
273 Feminisms, Gender, and Literary Theory* (Fall or Spring) 4 credits+
Study of transnational critics and debates in the construction of gender and feminist theory; includes analysis of varying literary texts. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 120, or English 121, or permission of instructor. KAPILA.
303 Chaucer* (Spring) 4 credits+
Study of Chaucer’s poetry, in Middle English. Option of doing some reading in Latin, Italian, or French. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 223 or permission of instructor. DOBBS.
310 Studies in Shakespeare* (Fall) 4 credits+
An intensive study of three or four plays from various approaches, such as sources, imagery, critical and theatrical traditions. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 121 or permission of instructor. English 223 and 224 strongly recommended. PRENDERGAST.
314 Milton* (Fall) 4 credits+
Intensive study of Milton’s poetry and selected prose with emphasis on Paradise Lost, on Milton’s place in the epic tradition, and on Milton’s reputation in English poetry. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 223 or permission of instructor. PRENDERGAST.
316 Studies in English Renaissance Literature* (Spring) 4 credits+
An intensive study of a group of related authors, a mode, or a genre from the period 1500-1600. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 223 or permission of instructor. PRENDERGAST.
323 Studies in English Literature: 1660–1798 (Spring) 4 credits
Intensive study of Restoration and 18th-century literature with a focus on specific themes and genres. Prerequisite: English 223, or English 224, or permission of instructor. LOBBAN-VIRAVONG.
325 Studies in Ethnic American Literatures (Spring) 4 credits+
Intensive study of important authors, movements, or trends in American ethnic literatures. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 227, or 228, or 229, or 232, or permission of instructor. HO.
326 Studies in American Poetry I* (Fall) 4 credits
Intensive study of important poets, movements, or trends in 19th-century American poetry. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 227, or 228, or 231, or permission of instructor. ANDREWS, SAVARESE.
327 The Romantics* (Fall) 4 credits+
Study of major figures in English literature from 1798 to 1830 with attention to Romantic theories of poetry. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 224 or permission of instructor. SIMPSON.
328 Studies in American Poetry II* (Fall) 4 credits
Intensive study of important poets, movements, or trends in 20th-century American poetry. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 227, or 228, or 231, or permission of instructor. ANDREWS, SAVARESE.
329 Studies in African American Literature (Spring) 4 credits+
Intensive study of an African American literary genre, movement, author, or a group of related authors. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 225, or 227, or 228, or 229, or 231, or permission of instructor. SIMAWE.
330 Studies in American Prose I* (Fall) 4 credits
Intensive study of important writers, movements, or trends in 19th-century American prose. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 227, or 228, or 231, or permission of instructor. ANDREWS, SAVARESE.
331 Studies in American Prose II* (Spring) 4 credits
Intensive study of important writers, movements, or trends in 20th-century American prose. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 227, or 228, or 231, or permission of instructor. ANDREWS, SAVARESE.
332 The Victorians* (Fall) 4 credits+
Study of major British writers from 1830 to 1900, with emphasis on distinctive approaches to common artistic, intellectual, and social problems. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 224, or 225, or permission of instructor. SIMPSON.
337–338 The British Novel I and II* (Spring) 4 credits+
Historical development of the British novel, formal evolution, methods of publication, and the relation of novels to their cultures. First semester: through the early Dickens (e.g., Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Jane Austen, Thackeray). Second semester: from Dickens to the present (e.g., George Eliot, Hardy, Conrad, Lawrence, Forster, Virginia Woolf). For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 223, or 224, or 225, or 226, or permission of instructor. May be taken separately. LOBBAN-VIRAVONG.
345 Studies in Modern Poetry* (Fall) 4 credits+
Intensive study of important modern poets. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 224, or 225, or 226, or 227, or 228, or permission of instructor. SAVARESE.
346 Studies in Modern Prose* (Fall) 4 credits+
Also listed as General Literary Studies 346. Intensive study of important modern fiction. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 224, or 225, or 226, or permission of instructor. SIMPSON, SMITH.
349 Medieval Literature* (Fall) 4 credits+
Also listed as General Literary Studies 349. Study of medieval European literary forms (lyric, epic, romance, allegory, and dream vision) through analysis of major works such as Beowulf, Chretien de Troyes’ poems, Marie de France’s lais, The Romance of the Rose, The Divine Comedy, The Decameron, Piers Plowman, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, The Book of the City of Ladies, and Malory’s prose. Option of doing some reading in Latin, Italian, or French. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 223 or permission of instructor. DOBBS.
360 Seminar in Postcolonial Literature (Spring) 4 credits+
An intensive study of important writers, movements, or theoretical concepts in postcolonial literature written in English. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: English 224, or 225, or 226, or 229, or permission of instructor. KAPILA.
385 Writing Seminar: Fiction (Fall or Spring) 4 credits
Advanced workshop for students with a strong background in fiction writing. Prerequisite: English 205 and permission of instructor. SMITH.
386 Writing Seminar: Poetry (Fall or Spring) 4 credits
Advanced workshop for students with a strong background in verse writing. Prerequisite: English 206 and permission of instructor. BARLOW, SAVARESE.
390 Literary Theory (Spring) 4 credits
An intensive introduction to the major schools of critical and literary theory. Readings likely to include foundational texts in formalism, Marxism, feminism, psychoanalysis, historicism, poststructuralism, and postcolonialism. For specific content, see Schedule of Courses. Prerequisite: Third-year or senior standing and at least one 300-level literature seminar in the English department, or permission of instructor. KAPILA.
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