English and Writing Professions

ENGL 011. English Cohort Seminar. 1 Unit.

The cohort experience is designed to introduce you to college life as an English major. You’ll meet the faculty, explore departmental course offerings, learn about our extracurricular activities, and discover the range of careers an English degree makes possible.

ENGL 025. English 25. 4 Units.

This course provides an introduction to the discipline of English studies. While topics of individual sections vary, all ENGL 025 sections are writing-intensive and share learning outcomes for enhanced critical thinking and analysis, written and oral expression, and understanding of the functions of genre. Multiple and varied sections are listed by thematic focus title each semester. Prerequisite: a passing score on the General Education writing skills examination or WRIT 021. (GE2A, GELN, PLAW)

ENGL 031. Aesthetics of Film. 4 Units.

This course introduces the principles of artistic expressiveness of films; lighting, color, camera, composition, space, movement, image, setting and sound. Attention is also given to narrative techniques and editing styles. This course explores such theories as realism, formalism, surrealism, Marxism, psychoanalysis and gender theory. Both American and foreign films are viewed and discussed. (FILM, GE2C, GEAP)

ENGL 039. Introduction to Digital Humanities. 4 Units.

We humans often turn to literature and the arts as we seek meaning, beauty and connection in our lives. Poetry, art, religion, philosophy, literature, theatre, and film all speak to this human yearning. Have you ever felt like a song was “your” song? Have you ever wondered why people of a different religion believe or do something differently than you? Did you ever debate with a friend about an ethical question? Now how many of these moments occurred online or were inspired by an event online - music video, a Facebook conversation, a blog. Increasingly, we have turned to technology to create and to discuss the arts and the humanities (poetry, art, religion, philosophy, literature, theatre, film, etc.). How might we use computers and digital media to make new discoveries in the arts and humanities? How might we use digital methods to communicate or share our explorations of what it means to be human? This collaborative, project-based course will introduce students to various methodologies in digital humanities, to the use of technology to publish research and creative work digitally, and to critical questions about digital technology and society. (GE3C, GELN)

ENGL 041. British Literature before 1800. 4 Units.

Spanning the 8th through the 18th centuries, this course takes us on a tour of “England” and the British Isles that makes stops in Pagan heaven, Christian Hell, earthly paradise, and the lascivious limbo of the Libertine. Along the way, we’ll read, among many other texts, Beowulf, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” Astrophil and Stella, Dr. Faustus, The Ducess of Malfi, Paradise Lost, and A Modest Proposal, all of which epitomize the tensions between nation and narration, gender and genre, religious piety and raucous debauchery that invigorate the literature of this extraordinary period. In particular, we will be focusing on “outliers” – those who exist outside the perceptual schemes of the culture they inhabit – specifically, the Irish, Scots, Welsh and, above all, women. In addition to challenging you not only to interpret but enjoy a variety of literary modes, including epic and lyric poetry, chivalric romance, prose satire, revenge tragedy, allegory and much more, this course will encourage you to explore these texts as historical – and ongoing – bids for authority in a culture disposed to validate the Literature of the “center” over the “literature” of the margins. (DVSY, GE2A, GEDI, GELN, GEND)

ENGL 043. British Literature after 1800. 4 Units.

This is a survey class of British literature from 1800 to the present day, a span of time that challenged what both “British” and “literature” fundamentally mean. This period saw the continued rise and the dramatic fall of Britain as an imperial power. It saw Napoleonic revolution and two world wars. Britain got smaller as its imperial boundaries eroded, but also larger as it accepted the postcolonial influx of a global population in England. This forced a continual reevaluation of not only national identity, but personal identity, identity of the family, and gender identity as well. We will be studying great and representative works of British literature against this historical backdrop of radical change. (GE2A, GELN, GEND)

ENGL 047. Broad Historical Narratives & Counternarratives. 4 Units.

This course surveys a broad and changing historical range of literary works covering multiple authors and genres across the globe. Focusing on how history and culture are embedded in literature, this course explores the value and relevance of literature as a way we make sense of the world. (GELN)

ENGL 053. American Literature after 1865. 4 Units.

This study of U.S. American literature, society, and culture(s) begins in the waning days of the Civil War and closes with literature from our contemporary moment. Literary movements covered are realism, regionalism, modernism, and post-modernism, with particular attention to how these aesthetic modes relate to their historical contexts. (GE1B, GELN, GEND)

ENGL 063. Masterpieces of World Literature. 4 Units.

This course explains selections from the western canon as well as other world cultures, with emphasis on the linkages of the great literary traditions; geographic, national, mythic/archetypal, generic, and thematic. The literary texts are read through various critical prisms, exploring philosophical, political, psychological, and ethnic contexts. The sweep of the course moves across time and place. Some examples include the study of classics with the Medieval and Early Modern. Readings in modern and contemporary writing show how these texts have been influenced by the long heritage of world literature, significant for understanding current globalization, and both the unity and diversity of the human community. (GEWE)

ENGL 082. How English Works. 4 Units.

This course studies the nature, use, and workings of English as a modern language. This course considers word-formation (morphology), and phrase an clause structure (syntax) in relation to meaning (semantics), and it uses (pragmatics), stylistics, and communication (discourse theory). The course also addresses significant issues such as standardization, dialects, language acquisitions, etc. and is intended for prospective teachers, writers, lawyers, and other professionals who work with language. (GE2A, GELN)

ENGL 087. Internship. 2-4 Units.

This internship consists of a supervised experience in an off-campus work setting drawing on skills particular to English studies, such as writing, editing, analyzing of texts, etc. Internships are limited to the number of placements available. ENGL 187 represents advanced internship work involving increased independence and responsibility.

ENGL 089. English Practicum. 2-4 Units.

This course is non-classroom experience in activities related to the curriculum under conditions that the appropriate faculty member determines. Courses numbered 189 are similar contexts with a more advanced level of performance and learning expectations compared to courses numbered 089. Note: A student may not accumulate for credit more than eight units in any specific practicum.

ENGL 093. Special Topics. 2-4 Units.

Additional courses not covered by regular offerings.

ENGL 106. Content Engineering. 4 Units.

Content Engineering is a professional writing class this is designed from the ground up with awareness that electronic content is dynamic, searchable, measurable, researched, optimized, published, marketed, and monetized in ways that are radically different from static "writing." Students create websites on a topic of professional interest that they've researched for market viability. Students create content for their sites, place ads on the sites, and use the sites as Content Engineering laboratories. We experiment with different techniques to drive live traffic to the sites, and we learn tools of web analytics and search engine optimization. Students will also learn the underlying fundamentals of goal-oriented user-centric writing. Prerequisite: Junior Standing.

ENGL 107. Creative Writing: Nonfiction. 4 Units.

This upper-division seminar is a course in the writing of non-fiction prose, that emphasizes such familiar forms as the essay, biography, autobiography, and free-lance writing. These and other subgenres of nonfiction are the focus for this collaborative, seminar-style course intended for apprentice writers interested in polishing and publishing their work. (GEAP)

ENGL 109. Professional Communications. 4 Units.

This advanced practical writing course focuses on how to produce clear, concise, and persuasive documents for a variety of readers and in a variety of contexts. the emphasis is on proofreading and revision skills, and assignments cover the most commonly used forms in professional writing, such as letters, memos, and proposals. The course includes one service learning project, which gives students the opportunity to apply their skills outside of the classroom.

ENGL 111. Creative Writing: Fiction. 4 Units.

ENGL 111 emphasizes steady, productive writing of stories. Practical advice is offered in fictional techniques and in ways to improve writing, especially through revision. Student manuscripts are submitted regularly for response and verbal-written criticism by peers and by instructor in a workshop setting.

ENGL 112. Playwriting. 3 Units.

This course is designed to introduce students to the craft of playwriting. Student read and analyze a diversity of contemporary plays in order to discover the structural techniques, dynamic language, and theatrically inherent to the discipline of playwriting. Students then complete writing assignments designed to explore and develop a unique creative voice. Classroom activities include analysis of master texts, the creation and sharing of short writing exercises, and the writing, staging, and presentation of one ten-minute play or segment from a larger work. (GE2C, GEAP)

ENGL 113. Creative Writing: Poetry. 4 Units.

Students who want to write poetry and need the discipline and guidance of a class take this course which focuses on careful analyses of poems submitted by students, interspersed with poems written by published poets. The goals is to find one's unique voice, to enlarge one's skills and visions, to encourage discipline and editing.

ENGL 115. Screenwriting. 4 Units.

In this comprehensive course, students study the art and craft of short subject and feature film screenwriting, including, but not limited to: theme, plot, story, structure, characterization, format, and dialogue via writing, lecture, discussion, close analysis, and instructor-peer critique. Time is spent not only on idea generation and visual storytelling, but on how to meaningfully connect with the audience. Students are required to write: two short film treatments (one original and one adaption), a short film script, a detailed film treatment, and the first 10+ pages of a feature film screenplay. (DVSY, FILM, GEAP, GEDI)

ENGL 119. Editing and Publishing. 4 Units.

You’ll learn about the publishing world, in print and online – and what role you could have within it, either as a writer or in one of many engaging support roles. We’ll cover fiction and nonfiction creative writing, as well as journalism, marketing, literary magazines, free-lancing, self-publishing, traditional book publication, and more. Guest speakers from these fields will join us throughout the semester. You’ll fine-tune your skills with copy editing – plus big-picture editing known as content/process editing. You’ll produce a semester-long publishing project of your choice. It could be writing for The Pacifican, producing Calliope, editing your own fiction or memoir, supporting a published author with editing/ marketing, or working for a local press or on-line publication . Options are open.

ENGL 121. Major Filmmakers. 4 Units.

The focus of this course is on the work of such major directors as Coppola, Fassbinder, Scorsese, Fellini, Kubrick, Bergman, Hitchcock, Antonioni, Losey, Bertolucci and Truffaut. The course also considers major schools of cinema: French New Wave, Italian Neo-Realism, New German Cinema and narrative genres such as the psychological thriller, chamber film and epic. Emphasis is placed on critical analysis and interpretation of the individual director's styles and themes. This course may be taken twice if it is taught with a different theme in each instance. (FILM, GE2C, GEAP)

ENGL 123. Film, Literature, and the Arts. 4 Units.

This course investigates the theory, practice and critical methods underlying aesthetic form in the arts, including film, literature, painting and sculpture. Corollary illustrations are drawn from music and architecture. This comparative course attempts to examine the underlying styles and structures among the arts. (FILM, GE2C, GEAP, GEND)

ENGL 124. Film History. 4 Units.

This course is a comprehensive look at the history of cinema, from its beginnings in Europe and America, through the emergence of national cinematic traditions and the classical period tied to the Hollywood studio system, and concluding with current transnational developments. This course includes screening and analysis of significant American and international films. (FILM)

ENGL 126. Environmental Health and Literature. 4 Units.

This course introduces students to a wide range of perspectives on the intimate connections between the environment and human health. As the COVID-19 pandemic indicates, the beliefs, values, political systems, and cultural practices can transform the living environment, alter how we relate to other species, and affect our health and our risk for infections. Given the global scale of climate change and its root causes of ecological degradation, the scope of our study will be both local and global; the readings are from natural, social sciences, and the humanities; and the approaches are interdisciplinary. (DVSY, ENST, ETHC, GEGR, GEND)

ENGL 127. Critical Theories. 4 Units.

Students examine major examples of critical theory, including Black feminist thought, feminist theories, and ecocritical theories and theory’s impact on literature and culture. This course also discusses how contemporary critical theories engage with such topics as gender, race, the environment, settler colonialism, the literary canon, and post-modernism. (DVSY, GEND) Note: English 127 is taught alternately with different subtitles such as Black Feminist Thought, Feminist Theories, and Ecocriticism. It may be taken more than once if it is taught under a different subtitle. (DVSY, GEDI, GEND)

ENGL 128. Science and Literature. 4 Units.

This class bridges the gap between the study of literature and the study of science as students explore the intersections between these two within the realm of human culture that we both share. The students explore how the practice of science is represented (or misrepresented) in literature and culture. The class studies the effects that culture and literature have on science, on scientific revolutions and the acceptance of new theories and it also examines how the practice of science can be understood as "literary". The readings come from scientists like Newton and Darwin, from literary artists like Jonathan Swift and Connie Willis, and from the theorists that study the practice of science. (GESO)

ENGL 130. Digital Chaucer. 4 Units.

This course combines medieval literacy with digital literacy and the latest trends in digital humanities to examine issues of diversity (under every aspect) in Chaucer’s work. It investigates how Chaucer’s major works, The Canterbury Tales, The House of Fame, The Parliament of Fowls and Troilus and Criseyde, can benefit from being reconfigured in a digital environment for greater comprehension of their historical and cultural frameworks, paying particular attention to power relations, class, gender and ethnicity. Students will conduct research on Chaucer using digital conceptualization, that is, the ability to see how the elements of an abstract whole fit together in a digital environment and to identify research problems that need to be addressed before others do. (DVSY, GE2A, GEDI, GELN)

ENGL 131. Shakespeare. 4 Units.

Throughout his extraordinary dramatic career, Shakespeare wore many masks: lover, misogynist, royalist, traitor, poetic genius, racist and, most emphatically, double-agent. Nothing could be more evocative of the many faces of William Shakespeare than his unrelenting afterlives on screen. In this course, we will focus on the ways in which Shakespeare’s characters – specifically, bastards, moors, and whores – instantiate and disturb categories of “difference” that otherwise exist to shore up the boundaries of the “normal”. These profoundly non-normative characters, often deemed secondary or minor, are in many cases the unacknowledged engines of the plot, as well as envoys of the message (particularly in their contemporary cinematic incarnations) that the lechery and treachery afoot in Renaissance England is alive and well in the tribalism of our own times. (DVSY, FILM, GE2A, GEDI, GELN, GEND)

ENGL 141. Topics in British Literature Pre-1800. 4 Units.

This course studies a single literary period designed to strengthen students' critical reading and writing skills as well as examine questions of literary themes, cultural and intellectual context, national identity, ethnicity, class, and/or gender. Student conduct directed research. Topics vary with titles such as The Age of Beowulf, The Medieval Mind, English Renaissance, Women Writers before Austen, and The Age of Unreason: 18th Century Literature. This course may be repeated once for credit with a different focus. (DVSY, GE2B, GEDI, GEND, GEWE)

ENGL 143. Topics in British Literature after 1800. 4 Units.

This course studies key literary movements, genre and aesthetic developments, historical and social contexts, and thematic concentrations from Romanticism to the Victorian Age to Modernism and the Post World War II era. Students conduct directed research. Topics change. Representative titles include the Victorian Novel, British Lyric poetry, and Modern and Contemporary British Literature. This course may be repeated once for credit with a different focus.

ENGL 144. Medival Women Readers and Writers. 4 Units.

What did women write before 16th century? Who was the readership of their texts? How did male authors represent women in medieval literature? What did their books look like before the advent of print? This course explores the intellectual life of medieval women in relationship to their socio-cultural and historical contexts. We will look at women as readers and producers of literature and try to understand how these roles were reconcilable to women’s many other roles, such as mother, wife, businesswoman, etc. In addition, we will examine how women are represented in manuscript illuminations, and how images shape early readers’ interpretations and contribute to the process of making meaning. Readings are grouped according to the sociocultural context in which works about (and by) women were produced, though we will see that some texts resist such simplistic classifications. (DVSY, GE2B, GEDI, GEND, GEWE)

ENGL 145. Diagnosis. 4 Units.

Each of the readings for this course explores experiences and meanings of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery/understanding of illness. Genres include a novel, poetry, a play, and literary nonfiction. Questions considered include: a) What roles do narrative and empathy play in effective diagnosis? b) How does culture frame an understanding of illness? c) Why is pain so difficult to capture in language? and d) How do different sorts of language (jargon, dialect, professional) enable and/or undermine understanding? Students will write analytical essays, conduct an interview, and create a creative interpretation of an assigned text. Prerequisites: WRIT 21 (fundamental skills in writing) and CORE 002 as a Corequisite or Prerequisite. (DVSY, GE2B, GELN, GEND)

ENGL 147. Deep Historical Narratives & Counternarratives. 4 Units.

This course offers students an immersive reading experience, focused primarily on one or a select number of authors, moments in history, or literary movements. Focusing on how history and culture are embedded in literature, this course explores the value and relevance of literature as a way we make sense of the world. (GELN)

ENGL 153. Topics in American Literature after 1865. 4 Units.

This course is an in-depth analysis of significant literary periods or movements in America after 1865. Topics change while the course examines the signature features of a specific period or movement: its aesthetic and thematic concerns, as well as the political, economic, intellectual, and cultural contexts shaping and shaped by the literature in question. Possible titles include American Realism, American Modernism, Modern American Novel, American Nature Writing, Literature of the American South, Literature of California, Contemporary American Fiction, and Contemporary American poetry. This course may be repeated once for credit with a different focus. (GEND)

ENGL 160. Blues, Jazz, and Literature. 4 Units.

Students in this interdisciplinary seminar explore how thematic and formal aspects of work songs, spirituals, blues, and jazz have shaped and been shaped by 19th and 20th century (African) American literature and culture. Students will examine the assigned blues, jazz, fiction, novels, and poetry as explorations of the history of racial and class conflict in America; as mediations on individual and collective loss and longing; and as means of aesthetic transcendence. Students will conduct independent research. (ETHC, GE1B, GEAP, GEDI)

ENGL 161. Topics in American Ethnic Literature. 4 Units.

Studies of contributors to American Literature within the context of their shared ethnicity are the focus of this course. Topics change and possible offerings include American Immigrant Literature, African-American Poetry, Black Women Writers, Blues, Jazz and Literature, and Chicano/a Literature. This course may be repeated once for credit with a different focus. (DVSY, ETHC, GEND)

ENGL 162. Asian American Literature. 4 Units.

This course introduces students to the representative works of major contemporary Asian American writers. We will examine the thematic concerns, innovative use of language and narrative strategies, and aesthetic styles of a diverse group of authors with various ethnic backgrounds. Our inquiry includes the ways in which Asian American writers intervene in the master narrative of history as a mode of identity construction and knowledge production, through counter-memory, which re-represents, re-imagines the past from transnational perspectives for better understanding of the world we live in. Our analyses of the texts will draw from relevant critical theories and secondary sources. (DVSY, ETHC, GE1C, GEDI, GELN, GEND)

ENGL 163. Topics in Transnational Literatures. 4 Units.

This course offers a comparative analysis of literature from two or more national traditions, including works from several historical periods or a single period, with an emphasis on genre, style, cultural milieus, and critical affinities between texts. Topics change, and possible offerings include Masterpieces of World Literature, Romanticisms, International Modernism, Postcolonial Literature, Literature and Film of the Pacific Rim, and Modernist Poetry. This course may be repeated once for credit with a different focus.

ENGL 166. Literature and the Law. 4 Units.

Fictional texts are read against legal texts in hope that they are mutually illuminating and that they enhance one's understanding of law and justice. The course provides students with everything they need to know as a lay person about the American legal system and contributes to their civic education. Justice is analyzed with respect to evidence, criminal intent, mitigating circumstances, punishment, oral performance of the lawyers, witnesses, prosecutors, etc. The course encourages students to identify and construct logical and strong arguments, an asset no matter what profession they choose.

ENGL 187. Internship. 2-4 Units.

This internship consists of a supervised experience in an off-campus work setting drawing on skills particular to English studies, such as writing, editing, analyzing of texts, etc. Internships are limited to the number of placements available. ENGL 187 represents advanced internship work involving increased independence and responsibility.

ENGL 189. Practicum. 1-4 Units.

This course is non-classroom experience in activities related to the curriculum under conditions that the appropriate faculty member determines. Courses numbered 189 are similar contexts with a more advanced level of performance and learning expectations compared to courses numbered 089. Note: A student may not accumulate for credit more than eight units in any specific practicum.

ENGL 190. Writing Capstone. 4 Units.

The Writing Capstone allows students to develop a semester-long writing project that builds on interests and skills cultivated in previous writing courses. Projects can be either creative or professional (business/technical) writing. Genre options include novels, grant writing, travel narratives, memoirs, professional websites, poetry collections, or another related project. Prerequisites: ENGL 025 or ENGL 081; COMM 132 or COMM 140 or ENGL 106 or ENGL 107 or ENGL 109 or ENGL 111 or ENGL 113 or ENGL 115 or SPAN 101 or THEA 112.

ENGL 191. Independent Study. 2-4 Units.

This course is composed of student-initiated projects involving subjects not addressed by current course offerings. In consultation with a faculty director, the student submits in writing a proposal which defines the specific subject matter, the goals, the means of accomplishing the goals and the grounds for evaluating the student's work. The proposal must receive the approval of the director of the project prior to registration, and responsibility for fulfilling the terms of the proposal lies with the student.

ENGL 197. Undergraduate Research. 2-4 Units.

This course provides opportunity for qualified students to complete a supervised original research project. Students are encouraged to travel to collections and use unique materials and resources in developing an original paper or other public presentation of their findings.

ENGL 197E. Undergraduate Research. 1-4 Units.

ENGL 197F. Undergraduate Research. 1-4 Units.

ENGL 197G. Undergraduate Research. 1-4 Units.

ENGL 197H. Undergraduate Research. 1-4 Units.