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Saint Xavier University Chicago Campus Residence Halls

English Courses


Prerequisite/Corequisite Key

P = Course must be taken previously C = Course must be taken concurrently E = Course can be taken previously or concurrently
(RQ) = Required (RM) = Recommended  

ENGL 101

Critical Thinking & Writing

3 credit hours

Application of the principles of clear thinking and effective writing to expository and argumentative essays. Must be passed with a grade of C or better. Offered each semester.

ENGL 120

Rhetoric and Writing

3 credit hours

This course introduces students to the theories and practices of academic writing. Students will demonstrate rhetorical sensitivity in reading and writing, compose inquiry-based arguments and perform writing as a process. Must be passed with a grade of C or better.

ENGL 154

Introduction to Literature

3 credit hours

This course focuses on close reading and analysis of poetry, fiction and/or drama selections leading to a better understanding of how literature works and what it can do. Open to all students and designed for students who are NOT English majors.

ENGL 155

Introduction to Literature: Global

3 credit hours

This course focuses on close reading and analysis of poetry, fiction and/or drama selections chosen from the literatures of the world, excluding American, leading to a better understanding of how different cultures think of the ways literature works and what it can do. Designed to satisfy the General Education Level II Literature and Global Studies requirements. Open to all students and designed for students who are NOT English majors.

ENGL 157

Introduction to Shakespeare

3 credit hours

This course is an introduction to Shakespeare through the reading of several major plays. Open to all students and designed for students who are NOT English majors.

ENGL 201

English Literature to 1700

3 credit hours

This course is a survey of English literature from the Old English period to the end of the 17th century.

ENGL 202

English Literature Since 1700

3 credit hours

This course is a survey of English literature from the 18th century to the present.

ENGL 203

American Literature to 1865

3 credit hours

This course is a survey of American literature from the explorers' narratives to the Civil War.

ENGL 204

American Literature Since 1865

3 credit hours

This course is a survey of American literature from the post-Civil War era to the present.

ENGL 205

World Literature to 1500

3 credit hours

This course focuses on selected works from a wide range of world literatures from the earliest written texts through about 1500: Ancient Middle Eastern, classical Greek and Roman, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Islamic (Arabic, Persian and Indian), African and European (except the Anglo-American tradition).

ENGL 206

World Literature Since 1500

3 credit hours

This course focuses on selected works from a wide range of world literatures from about 1500 to the present: Chinese, Japanese, South Asian, Middle Eastern, African, Latin American and European (except the Anglo-American tradition).

ENGL 207

The Study of Literature

3 credit hours

This course is an introduction to the study of literature through a range of contemporary (1965-present) theoretical perspectives. Required of English majors and minors but also open to other interested students with strong backgrounds in the study of literature. Should be taken as soon as possible by English majors and minors.

ENGL 208

Study of Rhetoric

3 credit hours

This course is an introduction to the discipline of rhetoric through a range of historical and contemporary rhetorical theories. Emphasizes close reading, academic writing and disciplinary inquiry. Required of all English and English Secondary Education majors.

ENGL 210

Introduction to Creative Writing

3 credit hours

This course is an introduction to writing poetry and short fiction. Students will compose several poems and at least one short story in the context of reading classic and contemporary literature.

ENGL 220

Advanced Writing

3 credit hours

P: ENGL-120 HONOR 150

This course is an intensive writing course focused on advanced argumentation in the academic context. Students will study the power of language to influence thought and behavior, advanced sentence grammar and effective style by writing and reading non-fiction texts. Required of all English and English Secondary Education majors.

ENGL 222

Greek Drama

3 credit hours

This course is an introduction to classical Greek drama through the reading of several plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes within their literary, historical and social contexts.

ENGL 224

Professional Writing and Communication

3 credit hours

P: Sophomore standing and ENGL-120, or consent of the instructor

Principles of effective argument and exposition applied to writing about business and professional topics. Emphasis on the purpose, audience, and design of letters, resumes, reports and other business and professional documents.

ENGL 230

Multiethnic Literature in the United States

3 credit hours

This course is an introduction to major works and issues of contemporary multiethnic literature in the United States, featuring works by African-American, Asian-American, Latinx and Native American writers.

ENGL 232

Introduction to Women's Studies

3 credit hours

This course examines the connections between biological sex and the construction of gendered identities, as well as the historical conditions that give rise to conception of identity, as inflected by gender, race, class, sexuality and other categories of difference.

ENGL 233

Middle Eastern Literature

3 credit hours

This course focuses on selected poems, short stories, sacred texts and novels written by authors from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds from different regions of the Middle East.

ENGL 235

Literature and Sports

3 credit hours

This course requires reading and analysis of sports classics in poetry, fiction, drama and personal-experience writing. Focus on the sporting experience as a metaphor for life and on the various ways that sports events are transformed into literature.

ENGL 236

Chinese Literature

3 credit hours

This course includes reading and discussion of selected works of Chinese literature from the beginning to the present within their literary, historical and cultural contexts.

ENGL 239

Japanese Literature

3 credit hours

This course includes reading and discussion of selected works of Japanese literature from the beginning to the present within their literary, historical and cultural contexts.

ENGL 240

Women and Literature

3 credit hours

This course is a study of women's writing in all genres and from a wide range of historical contexts and ethnic groups.

ENGL 241

Introduction to Language and Linguistics

3 credit hours

This course is an introduction to the study of language and modern linguistics, including coverage of the nature of oral and written language; grammars; semantics, syntax, morphology and phonology; the evolution of the English language; language diversity; and the impacts of cultural, economic, political and social environments on language. Designed as an introductory course both for future teachers of English language arts and for students seeking an introduction to language and how it works.

ENGL 260

Special Topics in Literature

3 credit hours

This course focuses on the study of various literary topics designed as electives for majors and for students who are not majors.

ENGL 301

Chaucer

3 credit hours

This course is a study of Chaucer's poetry, primarily The Canterbury Tales, in the context of late-medieval culture and language.

ENGL 304

Shakespeare

3 credit hours

This course examines selected major comedies, histories and tragedies, including the development of Shakespeare's career in relation to his theater and society.

ENGL 311

English Literature of Romantic Period

3 credit hours

This course explores the different genres of English romanticism as a literary movement in its cultural and social context.

ENGL 313

20th Century British Literature

3 credit hours

This course is a study of the different literary movements and genres in relation to 20th-century British culture and society.

ENGL 315

The English Novel

3 credit hours

This course examines the historical development of the English novel as an art form, from its inception to the present.

ENGL 317

English Literature of the Victorian Period

3 credit hours

This course explores the literature of the Victorian age in its cultural and social context.

ENGL 321

Literature of the American Romantic Period

3 credit hours

This course is a study of antebellum American literature that examines the cultural, intellectual and literary engagements with Romanticism and Transcendentalism.

ENGL 322

American Regionalism and Realism

3 credit hours

This course is a study of post-bellum American literature that examines Realism and Naturalism in the context of Social Darwinism, populism and progressivism.

ENGL 323

American Modernism

3 credit hours

This course is a study of American modernism that examines the movement's literary experimentation and engagements with American culture.

ENGL 325

American Fiction

3 credit hours

This course is a study of the rise of the American novel and/or short fiction.

ENGL 330

Folklore

3 credit hours

P: ENGL-120 or HONOR-150

Introduction to the study of the folklore of the major areas of the world. Emphasis on form, function, creation, performance, transmission, meaning and application of metaphoric speech, proverb, riddle, myth, legend, folktale, anecdote, joke, folksong, ballad, folk belief, custom, ritual, festival and folk drama.

ENGL 331

Issues in African-American Literature

3 credit hours

A study of African-American literature and its related issues of authority, self and canon.

ENGL 332

Introduction to Women and Gender Studies

3 credit hours

This course addresses the relationship between biological sex and the construction of gendered identities. As a result, this course deals directly with this relationship, as well as the historical conditions that give rise to this relationship, by examining writings about women and men and femininity and masculinity from a range of disciplines that include the cultural, the sociological and the anthropological.

ENGL 333

Modern African Literature

1 to 6 credit hours

This course focuses on selected works by modern African writers within their historical and cultural contexts.

ENGL 334

Film as Text

3 credit hours

This course is a study of the vocabulary and concepts of cinematic form and of the fundamentals of critical writing about film.

ENGL 340

Critical Theory

3 credit hours

This course focuses on selected texts in literary, rhetorical and cultural theory, with a strong emphasis on contemporary theories. Required for all English (Global Literature and Writing/Rhetoric) and English Secondary Education majors.

ENGL 344

Young Adult Literature

3 credit hours

A study of literature written for young adults at the high school level, designed primarily for English Education majors but open to others. The literature is studied within the context of secondary studies of theories and practices of teaching young adult literature, including the question of how adolescents read.

ENGL 345

Modern Drama

3 credit hours

This course is a study of drama from the late 19th-century to the present.

ENGL 349

Studies in World Literature

3 credit hours

P: ENGL-120

This course explores a study of representative texts, major themes or literary movements in world literature.

ENGL 352

Writing in Digital Environment

3 credit hours

P: ENGL-120

This is a project-based course emphasizing digital and information literacy, online identity, and the analysis and production of digital texts. Students will gain the rhetorical and design skills necessary for becoming successful, engaging online writers who can respond effectively to the unique opportunities offered within digital environments.

ENGL 353

The Writing and Editing Process

3 credit hours

P: ENGL-120

This course is an introductory proofreading/copyediting course that presents an overview of the editorial process and instruction on the basic tools and tasks of proofreaders and copyeditors. Students will use style manuals and reference books, create style sheets, and learn methods of querying authors and project editors.

ENGL 356

Teaching Writing and Language in Middle and Secondary Schools

3 credit hours

This course focuses on theories and practices of teaching writing in middle and secondary English language arts classrooms. Emphasis on integrating a wide range of writing activities into the classroom and on improving students' abilities as writers. Approaches to, and practice in, integrating reading, writing, speaking, listening and technology skills into classroom units of instruction. Must be taken before ENGL/EDU 373 Methods of Teaching English. 10 clinical hours. Fall semester only (every other year).

ENGL 357

Topics in Writing

3 credit hours

This course focuses on writing topics of a specialized nature.

ENGL 358

Advanced Creative Writing

3 credit hours

P: ENGL-210 or permission of the instructor

An advanced course on writing poetry, short fiction and drama. In addition to writing their own poetry, fiction and drama, students will read examples of classic and contemporary literature, as well as published authors on the art of writing creatively. Students will also study the process of submitting work for publication.

ENGL 359

Rhetoric, Writing, and Society

3 credit hours

This course asks students to read theoretical and primary texts to examine the role that rhetoric plays in contemporary social movements, debates and controversies.

ENGL 360

Special Topics: Topics in Literature

3 credit hours

This course focuses on the studies of literary or rhetorical topics designed for English majors and other interested students with a background in literature or rhetoric.

ENGL 365

Internship

1 to 9 credit hours

For students who perform internships and/or present an off-campus experience judged by the faculty advisor and division director to be of significant value in English studies. Note: Junior/senior standing; consent of instructor.

ENGL 371

Teaching Reading and Literature in Middle and Secondary Schools

3 credit hours

This course focuses on theories and practices of teaching reading in middle and secondary English language arts classrooms. Emphasis on teaching a wide variety of texts commonly taught in middle and secondary schools (literary and non-literary, print and non-print) and on improving students' abilities as readers of those texts. Approaches to, and practice in, integrating reading, writing, speaking, listening and technology skills into classroom units of instruction. Must be taken before ENGL/EDU 373: Methods of Teaching English. 10 clinical hours. Spring semester only (every other year).

ENGL 373

Methods of Teaching English in Middle and Secondary Schools

3 credit hours

P: ENGL-356, ENGL-371

This course builds on and expands on material covered in ENGL 356 and ENGL 371. Theories and practices of teaching in middle and secondary English language arts classrooms, with an emphasis on integrating reading, writing, speaking, listening and technology skills into effective lessons and units. 30 clinical hours. Offered fall.

ENGL 395

Senior Seminar

3 credit hours

This course is a study of literature, rhetoric, or English education requiring student to employ current methodologies, critical approaches, and research techniques appropriate to their projects. Students write and present a senior paper under the supervision of a faculty member. NOTE: Senior standing as an English major and program approval. Offered fall.