This course introduces students to a range of theoretical issues, interpretive strategies, and ttransdiciplinary interchanges that have transformed the study of English. Permission of instructor.

Eng 585 Special Topics (4)

Topics may include, but are not limited to, content offered in courses cross-listed with 500-level courses in the interdisciplinary master’s programs in which several English department faculty have joint appointments (Africana Studies; Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies; and Women’s Studies).  Course may be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 698 Master's Research Tutorial (4)

Independent study in a topic developed by the student in conjunction with a faculty committee consisting of a minimum of two members. The tutorial culminates in an examination based upon a reading list approved by the committee.

Eng 699 Master's Thesis (4)

Research and writing the Master's thesis in conjunction with a faculty committee consisting of a minimum of two members.

Courses in Writing in History

Eng 600 Theories and Practice of Creativity (4)

What theories of creativity, exceptional or ordinary, have been held in the past? How do they inform or contrast with modern educational theories and theories of poetry, music, and the like? Are these discussions simply ideologically and historically significant, rather than teaching us truths? While focusing on theories of creativity, this course additionally interrogates theory in light of the experience and practice of course participants.

Eng 601 Writing and Revision: Theory and Practice (4)

Examination of examples of revision in recognized authors (for instance, Wordsworth, Whitman, Dickinson, Wharton) and critics, as well as the revisions that children, undergraduate students, and class participants perform on their own writings, in an attempt to understand what motivates the revisionary process and what we can learn as writers from an examination of it.

Eng 700 The History of English Studies, 1880 to the Present (4)

History of English as a subject of study in universities and colleges, its relation to other disciplines, its evolution in the 20th century, and its place in the current relationship between humanities and sciences. Particular attention given to the connections between graduate school education and public school policies and practices, to the history of writing instruction within the discipline, and to the role played by social and political issues in the evolution of the discipline.

Eng 701 Gender, Race, and Class in English Studies (4)

Examination of how issues of gender, race, and class affect the current study of English in its various manifestations: pedagogy, creative writing, critical theory, composition theory--and how they affect the relation of English departments to debates in the public sphere. Particular attention given to the representation of these issues in the University at Albany program and to their relation to the concerns students have as writers, critics, and teachers.

Eng 705 Special Topics (4)

Topics include but are not limited to courses in "Literary Allusion," "The Sociology of Genres," and "The Technology of Information."

Courses in Writing Theory and Practice

Eng 515 Workshop in Poetry (4)

Intensive practice in writing poetry. Emphasis on development of poetic technique and individual styles. Students' work is discussed and criticized by all participants in the workshop. Instructors may bring to bear on the criticism of students' work a discussion of writings by pertinent authors. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Eng 516 Workshop in Fiction (4)

Intensive practice in writing fiction. Emphasis on development of fictional technique and individual styles. Students' work is discussed and criticized by all participants in the workshop. Instructors may bring to bear on the criticism of students' work a discussion of writings by pertinent authors. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Eng 517 Workshop in Non-Fiction Prose (4)

Intensive practice in writing non-fiction prose. The course accommodates a variety of genres, and emphasizes development of individual styles in accordance with students' needs. Students' writing is discussed and criticized by all participants in the workshop. Instructors may bring to bear on the criticism of students' work a discussion of writings by pertinent authors. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Eng 615 Poetics and Literary Practice (4)

Introduction to the forms, genres, and conventions of poetry and prose, intended to develop an awareness among practicing writers and critics of the traditions of their craft. Extensive reading in appropriate literary texts.

Eng 616 Revisionary Poetics and Literary Practice (4)

Study of the ways in which our notions of textuality, both within and beyond Western cultures, have been challenged and refigured by, for instance, aleatory and performative practices, post-narrative conventions, and the ethnographic study of oral traditions. Extensive reading in appropriate literary texts.

Eng 715 Special Topics (4)

Topics include but are not limited to courses in "Writing for the Magazines/Advanced Article Writing," "Writing the Scholarly Essay," and "Language and Translation."

Courses in Rhetoric and Composition

Eng 521 Composition Theory (4)

Introduction to composition theory, the field whose primary concern is writing: what it is, how it is taught and learned, and how it has come to be an object of study.

Eng 522 The History of Rhetoric (4)

Discussion of central figures and lines of thought within the Western rhetorical tradition from the GrecoRoman to the modern era. Emphasis on relations between rhetorical theory and the teaching of reading and writing.

Eng 611 Advanced Workshop in Composition: Summer Institute (5)

Conducted as a summer institute for area teachers of writing, elementary through college. Offered under the auspices of the Capital District Writing Project, a member organization of the National Writing Project. The theory, research, and pedagogy of composition. Small group critiques of the writing of teacher/participants. Prerequisites: Baccalaureate degree and permission of the instructor.

Eng 612 Advanced Workshop in Composition (2)

A short version of English 611. Offered in cooperation with district offices or college administrations at designated school sites in the Capital District. Not open for credit to students who have completed 611. Prerequisites: Baccalaureate degree and permission of the instructor.

Eng 613 Advanced Workshop in Composition: Special Topics (1-5)

An umbrella course designed to cover special events or series of sessions during which instruction in composition takes place: extended workshops, symposia, colloquia, research consortia, etc. Prerequisites: Baccalaureate degree and permission of the instructor.

No more than a total of 4 credits from Eng 611, 612, and 613 may be applied toward doctoral requirements.

Eng 721 Research in Composition (4)

Advanced exploration of the theories in writing and current research and research methodology, including teacher inquiry and scholarly and empirical research.

Eng 725 Special Topics (4)

Topics include but are not limited to courses in "Contemporary Rhetoric" and "Teaching Alternative Grammars."

Courses in Critical Theory and Practice

Eng 541 History of Literary Theory (4)

Study of theories about the nature and function of literature, with some attention to the social-historical framework, from classical culture to the end of the nineteenth century.

Eng 542 (Fre 614) Literary Theory Since 1950 (4)

This course explores in depth the debates and issues that have shaped the context for contemporary literary study, focusing in particular on the challenges to reading practices posed by poststructuralism and current concerns over culture and history.

Eng 641 Critical Methods: Testing the Limits (4)

Testing of potential and limits of various critical methods (for instance, historical, formal, feminist) in the context of texts from different periods and genres, focusing on the issue of the kind of evidence required to apply a particular critical methodology. How, for example, do we do feminist readings of medieval literature, historical readings of modern writers, formal analysis of popular ballads? Extensive reading in appropriate literary texts.

Eng 642 Current Trends in Critical Theory (4)

Investigation of a particular contemporary initiative in literary theory, attempting both to understand it in its own terms and to contextualize it.

Eng 710 Textual Studies I: Survey (4)
This course provides a broad survey of the critical, theoretical, and rhetorical perspectives that can be used in the study of literature and culture. It includes a representative historical overview of critical methodologies that have emerged in the past several decades of the profession, as well as the study of current modes of critical discourse and interpretation.

Eng 720 Textual Studies II (4)
This course provides an advanced, intensive study of a set of theoretical or critical issues related to the study of literature and culture, narrowing the broader, introductory focus provided in Eng 710. Course topics may be particular subjects addressed by a range of various critical perspectives; or they can be a set of related issues contained within a particular tradition of critical theory or poetics. Particular attention will be paid to putting concepts or methodologies to work in considering specific literary or cultural examples.

Eng 745 Special Topics (4)

Topics include but are not limited to "Theory and Practice of Textual Editing" and "Studies in Critical Schools."

Courses in Language and Language Theory

Eng 551 History and Structure of the English Language (4)

The origin, development, and structure of the English language, with detailed consideration of selected aspects of English philology.

Eng 552 (Lin 552, Tap 550) Approaches to English Grammar (4)

Traditional and modern methods of syntactic analysis developed and compared. Philosophical, linguistic, and practical problems associated with linguistic description. Texts will normally include a high school grammar and a current (e.g., transformational) treatment of English syntax.

Eng 555 Old English (4)

Studies in the language of England before 1066 A.D. Students will learn to pronounce and translate prose and verse selections that illustrate the origins of English language, literature, and society.

Eng 651 Theories of Language (4)

Theories of language addressed within an historical context or with a close focus on the 20th century traditions that inform current debates in linguistics, philosophy, and literary theory. What has language been thought to be? What relations have obtained between language theory, metaphysics, and social-historical conditions? Extensive reading in appropriate literary texts.

Eng 652 The Evolution of Literary English, c. 1000-1600 (4)

Examines the various elements that went into the evolution of early modern English (Anglo-Saxon, Norman French, early middle English) as evidenced in literature, and interrogates this evolution in light of questions such as, who, at any given historical moment, could read or write, and how "works" were composed, performed, or distributed.

Eng 755 Special Topics (4)

Topics include but are not limited to courses that encourage the study of the "politics" of language.

Courses in Teaching Theory and Practice

Eng 770 Teaching Writing and Literature (4)

Required of all doctoral students in their first year of study. This course examines current issues in the teaching of writing and literature, with attention to how teachers think students learn, and the institutional context within which teaching and learning occur. Particular attention will be given to how issues of gender, race and class affect teaching theory and practice.

Eng 771 Practicum in Teaching Writing and Literature (4)

This course serves as a pedagogical venue for learning about the practical dynamics of teaching, in which students work as a group and one-on-one with a faculty member in planning and administering a particular undergraduate course. Prerequisite: English 770.

Eng 772 Pedagogy and Alternative Pedagogy in English Studies (4)

Examines past models of teaching theory and practice, explores which models are currently in use in a given institutional context, and considers alternatives to these models in a pedagogically experimental context. Particular attention given to the social and political frameworks informing various teaching models.

Eng 775 Special Topics (4)

Topics include but are not limited to "Literary Studies in the Contemporary Educational System" and "The Alternative Educational Media."

Courses in Literary History

Eng 580 Models of History in Literary Criticism (4)

Exploration of connections between the literary text and the social and political contexts within which the text is imagined and produced, with particular attention to the assumptions that govern the definition of both text and context. What challenges have contemporary critical theories (for instance Marxist, feminist, poststructuralist) posed to our understanding of history? What does it means to propose that a literary text has an historical effect?

Eng 581 Studies in a Literary Period (4)

Study of a given period in terms of the texts which comprise it and the contexts within which they have been traditionally understood. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 582 Studies in an Author (4)

Focus on a given author and his/her canon. Approach may shift between conventional ways of understanding authorship and a critique of these conventions. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 680 Seminar: Problems of Periodization and Canonicity (4)

Questioning of concepts of literary periods and canons, and investigation of the assumptions governing the identification of literary periods and the selection of texts to represent periods and constitute canons. Why, for example, is 1789-1820 more familiar as a period than 1810-1840? What assumptions produce the distinction between major and minor authors? Particular attention given to questions arising from the study of women and minority writers.

Eng 681 Seminar: Texts/Authors and Their Critics (4)

Study of texts, authors, or groups of authors in their historical contexts, and in relation to the critical traditions that have been built around, upon, or in ignorance of them. Why have certain writings, or aspects of writings, been regarded as more important than others (for instance, Shakespeare in general, Hamlet in particular, certain readings of the play over others)? Taught in a variety of ways, with, for example, reference to "neglected" writers (Clare, Burns, Smedley, Lourde) or to groupings of writers by race, gender, class, ethnicity.

Eng 685 Special Topics (4)

Topics, which may be treated in seminars, include but are not limited to the study of genre, movement, region, and specific intersections between the "literary" and the "historical."

Reading Courses

Eng 693 General Reading in English (1-12 L.E.U.)

Individual work in preparation for the qualifying examination for the M.A. in English. Students registering for Eng 693 indicate the portion of their total semester load devoted to it by listing an appropriate number of 'load equivalent units' instead of credit. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of the director of graduate studies in English.

Eng 694 Direct Readings in English (1-4)

A course of reading designed primarily by the student under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty to explore a significant problem of interest. Prerequisite: Open only to students in the M.A. program with the consent of the director of graduate studies in English. No more than a total of 4 credits of directed reading may be applied toward M.A. requirements. S/U grading.

Eng 810 English Internship (0-4)

Designed for projects in appropriate professional contexts, including team-teaching with faculty, teaching English in nontraditional settings, serving in administrative capacities, or working with publications housed in the department.  No more than a total of 4 credits of Internship credit may be applied toward doctoral requirements.

Eng 815 English Workshop (0-2)

Variable credit workshop course, designed to accommodate partial-semester writing, editing, or pedagogical workshop courses.  Examples include poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction Master Classes with Writer’s Institute Fellows.  No more than a total of 4 credits of Workshop at the 800-level may be applied toward doctoral requirements. 

Eng 893 General Readings in English (1-12 L.E.U.)

Individual work in preparation for the qualifying examinations for the doctorate in English. Students registering for Eng 893 indicate the portion of their total semester load devoted to it by listing an appropriate number of 'load equivalent units' instead of credits. Prerequisite: Consent of the director of graduate studies in English.

Eng 894 Directed Readings in English (1-4)

A course of reading designed primarily by the student under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty to explore a significant problem of interest. Prerequisite: Open only to students in English. No more than a total of 4 credits of Directed Readings at the 800-level may be applied toward D.A. or Ph.D. requirements. S/U grading.

Eng 899 Doctoral Dissertation (1)

Load graded.  Appropriate for doctoral students engaged in research and writing of the dissertation.  Prerequisite: Admission to doctoral candidacy.