Course Descriptions

EDUC 451E - Directed Teaching Seminar: Elementary

EDUC 451S - Directed Teaching Seminar: Middle and Secondary

EDUC 464A - Directed Teaching: Pre-K to 12

EDUC 464E - Directed Teaching: Elementary

EDUC 464S - Directed Teaching: Middle and Secondary

ENGN 125 - Engineering Marvels

ENGN 160 - CADD: Computer-Aided Drafting & Design

ENGN 178 - Introduction to Engineering

ENGN 203 - Mechanics I: Statics

ENGN 204 - Mechanics II: Dynamics

ENGN 207 - Electrical Circuits

ENGN 208 - Electronics

ENGN 225 - Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering

ENGN 240 - Thermodynamics

ENGN 250 - Introduction to Engineering Design

ENGN 255 - Numerical Methods for Engineering and Physics

ENGN 260 - Materials Science and Engineering

ENGN 267 - Bioengineering and Bioinspired Design

ENGN 295 - Intermediate Special Topics in Engineering

ENGN 301 - Solid Mechanics

ENGN 311 - Fluid Mechanics

ENGN 312 - Heat Transfer

ENGN 330 - Mechanical Vibrations

ENGN 351 - Solid Mechanics Laboratory

ENGN 361 - Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

ENGN 378 - Capstone Design

ENGN 379 - Capstone Design

ENGN 395 - Special Topics in Engineering

Credits: 3

Spring 2020, ENGN 395-01: Special Topics In Engineering: Applied Signal Processing (3). Prerequisite: ENGN/PHYS 225 or MATH 222. Integrates theory and practice of digital signal processing techniques emphasizing time-frequency analysis, digital filtering, and source separation. Applications include biomedical problems (e.g., heartbeat detection); civil/structural health monitoring (seismic damage detection); music (digital sound synthesis); and data compression (e.g., jpeg and mp3 audio and video). In the final week, students propose signal processing solutions to open-ended research problems. Erickson.

ENGN 401 - Engineering Problems

ENGN 402 - Engineering Problems

ENGN 403 - Engineering Problems

ENGN 421 - Directed Individual Research

ENGN 422 - Directed Individual Research

ENGN 423 - Directed Individual Research

ENGN 473 - Senior Thesis

ENGN 493 - Honors Thesis

ENGL 201 - Introduction to Creative Writing

ENGL 202 - Topics in Creative Writing: Playwriting

ENGL 203 - Topics in Creative Writing: Fiction

FDR: HA
Credits: 3 credits in Fall or Winter; 4 credits in Spring

ENGL 204 - Topics in Creative Writing: Poetry

ENGL 206 - Topics in Creative Writing: Nonfiction

ENGL 207 - Eco-Writing

FDR: HA
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 4 (3 for Spring 2020)

  Green.

ENGL 210 - Topics in Creative Writing

FDR: HA
Credits: 3-4

Spring 2020, ENGL 210-01: Topic in Creative Writing: Writing for Children (3). Prerequisite: Completion of FDR FW requirement. Limited enrollment. Students identify and analyze juvenile literature that has endured over time; read and discuss academic essays about children’s literature; become familiar with issues and trends in children’s publishing via blogs, social media, and articles written by industry professionals; work from prompts to hone skills at writing for children; engage in a dialogue and writing workshop with a current children’s author; and create a work of length for children through a recursive process that involves peer workshopping, instructor feedback, revisions, and analysis. (HA) Harrington.

ENGL 215 - Creating Comics

ENGL 222 - Introductory Topics in British Literature

ENGL 223 - Introductory Topics in American Literature

ENGL 224 - Introductory Topics in World Literature

ENGL 229 - Protest Poetry

ENGL 230 - Poetry and Music

ENGL 231 - Drama

ENGL 232 - The Novel

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

ENGL 233 - Introduction to Film

ENGL 234 - Children’s Literature

ENGL 235 - Fantasy

ENGL 236 - The Bible as English Literature

ENGL 237 - The Bible as Literature: Exile and Return

ENGL 238 - The Music, Folklore, and Literature of Ireland

(MUS 238) FDR: HA (changed to HL for Spring 2020 only)
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 4

Spring 2020, ENGL 238-01: The Music, Folklore, and Literature of Ireland (4). (Adapted for virtual instruction due to COVID-19 global health pandemic.) An intensive engagement with the culture of Ireland, focusing particularly on music, folklore, and literature and the ways these artistic efforts interact with place and history. The main focus is on 20th-century and contemporary Ireland, particularly the rich period of the Celtic Revival, the Irish Renaissance, and the Irish War of Independence. We will also range over the periods of ancient Ireland, the Celtic period, early Christianity, the Vikings, and the development of Ireland from the Norman invasion through the Great Famine. Readings will include classics of Irish literature, such as the poetry of W.B. Yeats, the fiction of James Joyce, the travel writings of J.M. Synge, and the folklore of Lady Gregory, as well as other works of poetry and fiction. Musical elements will include the histories and modes of Irish music (traditional, classical, folk, modern, and more) as well as actual engagement with the music through tin whistle practice and playing. Instruction will take place via digital lectures, Zoom virtual classrooms, online discussion forums, short interpretive papers, musical listening forums, and video instruction and performance. Includes guest lectures by Alex Brown on Irish religion (focusing on St. Patrick and St. Brendan), and by musicians and folklorists from Co. Kerry, Ireland. (HL - approved for Spring 2020 only) Conner and Dobbins.

ENGL 240 - Arthurian Legend

ENGL 242 - Individual Shakespeare Play: Othello

FDR: HL
Credits: 4

  Pickett.

ENGL 250 - Medieval and Early Modern British Literature

ENGL 252 - Shakespeare

ENGL 253 - Literature of the American South

ENGL 254 - I Heart Jane: Austen’s Fan Cultures and Afterlives

ENGL 260 - Literary Approaches to Poverty

ENGL 261 - Reading Gender

ENGL 262 - Literature, Race, and Ethnicity

ENGL 285 - Reading Lolita in Lexington

ENGL 286 - Black Writers and the Allure of Paris

ENGL 290 - English Works: Careers for English Majors

ENGL 291 - Seminar

ENGL 292 - Topics in British Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Spring 2020, ENGL 292-01: Topic in British Literature: Celluloid Shakespeare (4). Prerequisite: Completion of the FDR FW writing requirement. The films adapted from or inspired by William Shakespeare’s plays are a genre unto themselves. We study a selection of films, not focused on their faithfulness to the original playscript but on the creative choices and meanings of the distinct medium of film. We see how the modern era has transmuted the plays through the lens of contemporary sensibility, politics, and culture—and through the new visual mode of film storytelling. We hear reports from students about additional films to expand the repertoire of films we study and enjoy. (HL) Dobin. [counts toward MRST requirements and FILM minor as a film course, when appropriate]

ENGL 293 - Topics in American Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 3-4

Winter 2020, ENGL 293A-01: Topics in American Literature: The American West (3). The American West is a land of striking landscapes, beautiful places to visit, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, and stories that have had a huge impact on the USA and the world, such as Lewis and Clark, the Oregon Trail, Custer’s Last Stand, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, and Cowboy and Indian adventures galore. This course studies some of these Western places, stories, art works, and movies. What has made them so appealing? How have they been used? We study works by authors such as John Steinbeck, Frederic Remington, Willa Cather, Wallace Stegner, and Cormac McCarthy, plus movies with actors like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Brad Pitt to see how Western stories have played out and what is happening now in these contested spaces. (HL) Smout.

Winter 2020, ENGL 293B-01: Topics in American Literature: Literature of the Beat Generation (3). A study of a revolutionary literary movement, focusing on the ways in which cultural and historical context have influenced the composition of and response to literature in the United States. This course examines the writings of several American authors (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Anne Waldman, Amiri Baraka, Bob Dylan, Gregory Corso, Gary Snyder) active from the mid-1940s through recent decades, loosely grouped together as the Beat Generation. What cultural, literary, historical, and religious influences from the U.S. and other parts of the world have shaped their work? What challenges did their boldly different writings face, and how did their reception change over time? What are their themes? Their notions of style? What have they contributed to American (and world) life and letters? The goal of this course is to lay a strong foundation from which such questions can be richly addressed and answered. (HL) Ball.

Winter 2020, ENGL 293C-01: Topics in American Literature: How We Read (3). What’s the difference between reading for class and reading for fun? How does an English professor read a novel? How does Oprah read a novel? Why do we even read novels, anyway? For that matter, why do we join book clubs, post reviews on Goodreads, and add our photos to #bookstagram? What do all those different ways of reading look like, and how do they work? This class examines, analyzes, and practices different ways of reading, from academic study to pleasure reading to book clubs. Over the course of the term, we hone the skills necessary to literary analysis, focusing on close reading, strong arguments, and precise claims and evidence. In addition, we practice writing about what we read for non-academic audiences like Goodreads, Instagram, and friends and family. Because revision is an essential part of the writing process, you have several opportunities to revise your writing. (HL) Bufkin.

Winter 2020, ENGL 293D-01: Topics in American Literature: Toni Morrison (3). This course takes into account the literary, professional, and scholarly career of Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison. As a class, we read several of Morrison’s works as well as her non-fiction scholarship to better understand the worlds she created in her fiction and the ideas she developed across her career, asking questions about history, representation, style, and identity. Potential works include: The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, Home, Playing in the Dark, and The Origin of Others. Particular attention is paid to Morrison’s writing in relation to the changing literary landscape into which she both wrote and left her indelible mark. (HL) Millan.

Winter 2020, ENGL 293E-01: Topics in American Literature: Asian-American Literature (3). A study of literatures by Asian American authors, with a focus on how Asian Americans—broadly and inclusively defined—have transformed the social, political, and cultural landscapes of the United States. With such topics as immigration and refugee politics, racism and xenophobia, exclusion and internment, civil rights activism, the post-9/11 period, and model minority myth, our selected texts (novels, poetry, short stories) present both a historical and an intimate look into the lives of individuals who articulate what it means to identify as Asian American in the modern and contemporary United States. Potential texts include Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, John Okada’s No-No Boy, Nam Le’s The Boat, Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and R. O. Kwon’s The Incendiaries. (HL) Kharputly.

Spring 2020, ENGL 293-01: Topics in American Literature: Business in American Literature and Film (4). In his 1776 book The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith tells a powerful story of the free market as a way to organize our political and economic lives, a story that has governed much of the world ever since. This course studies that story (also called capitalism), considers alternate stories of human economic organization, such as those of American Indian tribes, and sees how these stories have been acted out in American business and society. We study novels, films, short stories, non-fiction essays, autobiographies, advertisements, websites, some big corporations, and some businesses in the Lexington area. Our goal is not to attack American business but to understand its characteristic strengths and weaknesses so we can make the best choices about how to live and work happily in a free-market society. (HL) Smout.

Fall 2019, ENGL 293A-01: Topics in American Literature: Literature of the Beat Generation (3). A study of a particular movement, focusing on the ways in which cultural and historical context have influenced the composition of and response to literature in the United States. This course examines the writings of such authors as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Anne Waldman, Bob Dylan, Gregory Corso, and Gary Snyder, who wrote starting in the mid-1940s, continued through later decades, and became loosely known as the Beat Generation. What cultural, literary, historical, and religious influences from the U.S. and other parts of the world have shaped their work? What challenges did their boldly different writings face, and how did their reception change over time? What are their themes? Their notions of style? What have they contributed to American (and world) life and letters? The goal of this course is to lay a strong foundation from which such questions can be richly addressed and answered. (HL) Ball.

Fall 2019, ENGL 293B-01: Topics in American Literature: African-American Literature and Visual Culture (3). This course examines African-American literature ranging from 18th-century poetry to mid-20th-century novels. As we read texts published across this 200-year period, we study the ways writers engage visual art to portray black identity. By examining literature by Wheatley, Douglass, Jacobs, Washington, DuBois, Grimké, Larsen, Hurston, and Ellison alongside the high art and popular visual forms of their respective historical periods, we also assess how visual culture impacted the formation of the African-American literary tradition. (HL) L. Hill.

Fall 2019, ENGL 293C-01: Topics in American Literature: The American Short Story (3). A study of the evolution of the short story in America from its roots, both domestic (Poe, Irving, Hawthorne, Melville) and international (Chekhov and Maupassant), tracing the main branches of its development in the 20th and 21st centuries. Among the writers we read: Flannery O’Connor, Joyce Carol Oates, John Cheever, John Updike, Philip Roth, Tobias Woolf, T.C. Boyle, Amy Hempel, Elizabeth Strout, Junot Diaz, Edwidge Danticat, and others. Additionally, we explore more recent permutations of the genre, such as magical realism, new realism, and minimalism. Having gained an appreciation for the history and variety of this distinctly modern genre, we focus our attention on the work of two American masters of the form, contemporaries and erstwhile friends who frequently read and commented on each other’s work—Hemingway and Fitzgerald. We see how they were influenced by their predecessors and by each other and how each helped to shape the genre. (HL) Oliver.

ENGL 294 - Topics in World Literature in English

FDR: HL
Credits: (3 credits in fall and winter, 3-4 credits in spring)

Winter 2020, ENGL 294A-01: Topics in World Literature in English: Visual Art and Poetry in World Literature (3). For centuries, visual art has inspired poets, and poetry has inspired artists. How would some artworks sound if they were poems? What would some poems look like if they were art works? Moving through different historical periods and cultural contexts, this course explores the interrelation of both forms of expression to discover the aesthetic norms and values that inform and connect them. How do writers and visual artists use and portray rhythm, emotion, pattern, contrast, balance? Moving between the disciplines of semiotics, visual studies, history, rhetoric, and literary criticism, we analyze the creative powers that meet at the crossroads of poetry and visual art. (HL) Ruiz.

Fall 2019, ENGL 294A-01:Topics in World Literature in English: The Confluence of Visual Art and Poetry in World Literature (3). Prerequisite: Completion of FW requirement. For centuries, visual art has inspired poets and poetry has inspired artists. How would some artworks sound if they were poems? What would some poems look like if they were art works? Taught in English and moving through different historical periods and cultural traditions, this course explores both forms of expression to discover the complexity of aesthetic norms and values that inform and connect them. How do writers and visual artists use and portray rhythm, emotion, pattern, contrast, balance? Moving between the disciplines of semiotics, visual studies, psychology, rhetoric, and literary criticism, we analyze the creative powers that meet at the crossroads of poetry and visual art. (HL) Ruiz.

ENGL 295 - Spring-Term Seminar in Literary Studies

FDR: HL
Credits: 3-4

Spring 2020, ENGL 295-01: Spring Term Seminar in Literary Studies: Transforming Literature: Fan Fiction, Literary Mashups and Other Canon Fodder (3). This course considers ways that people take works of literature, classic or otherwise, and transform them into something new. We read literary works ranging from “The Yellow Wallpaper” to “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to Sherlock Holmes stories, as well as cartoons, poems, videos and text conversations that remake, remix and transform those literary works. We think about what makes something literature, what makes something fan fiction, and what fan fiction can show us about classic works of literature. We also create our own literary transformations, analyze the role of the internet in fan culture, and experiment with transformative technologies. (HL) Bufkin.

Spring 2020, ENGL 295-02: Spring Term Seminar in Literary Studies: Postcolonial and Decolonial Poetry (3). A study of postcolonial and decolonial themes and concerns, including decolonization, indigeneity, protest and resistance, identity and migration, through poetic form. Students develop an understanding of how postcolonial poets have adapted existing poetic forms or created new ones to reflect the struggle for land, nationhood, individual human rights, and independence in the latter half of the 20th century to the present day. (HL) Kharputly.

Spring 2020, ENGL 295-03: Spring Term Seminar in Literary Studies: Funny Women (3). Is comedy gendered? How does what makes us laugh, and how we make others laugh, position us in the world? What does the intersection of comedy and performance have to show us about identity formation in relation to race, class, and gender? How have women, in particular, mobilized comedy to disrupt, to refuse, or to otherwise affect structures of power? In seeking answers to these questions and more, this seminar examines a history of funny women and the many cultural expectations that surround them. For instance, we consider other meanings of “funny”—as oddity or curiosity—to explore the many cultural associations that both police women’s behavior and provide foundations for imagining resistance. Possible authors/genres include Fran Ross, Alison Bechdel, Tina Fey, Toni Cade Bambara, stand-up comedy, drama, memoir, graphic novel/comic strips. In addition to more traditional styles of writing (formal analysis, argument-driven essays), students have an opportunity to generate their own comedic/creative projects. (HL) Millan.

Spring 2020, ENGL 295-04: Adolescence in the African-American Novel (3). Adolescence names a complicated moment in human development. Considering this complexity, it is not surprising that writers use this theme to convey the knotty realities that attend black self-definition. Focusing on the post-Harlem Renaissance era, we examine novels about adolescence. We identify sexuality as a key theme in these works. By term’s end, students should emerge with a mature understanding of how adolescent sexuality symbolizes black participation in American democracy. (HL) Hill.

ENGL 299 - Seminar for Prospective Majors

ENGL 304 - Literary Book Publishing

ENGL 305 - Writing Outside the Lines

ENGL 306 - Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry

ENGL 307 - Fresh/Local/Wild: The Poetics of Food

ENGL 308 - Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction

FDR: HA
Credits: 3 in fall and winter, 4 in spring

  Gavaler.

ENGL 309 - Advanced Creative Writing: Memoir

ENGL 311 - History of the English Language

ENGL 312 - Gender, Love, and Marriage in the Middle Ages

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

  Kao.

ENGL 313 - Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales

ENGL 316 - The Tudors

ENGL 319 - Shakespeare and Company

ENGL 320 - Shakespearean Genres

ENGL 326 - 17th-Century Poetry

ENGL 330 - Milton

ENGL 334 - The Age of Unreason: Studies in 18th-Century Literature

ENGL 335 - 18th-Century Novels

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

ENGL 336 - Ghost in the Machine

ENGL 341 - The Romantic Imagination

ENGL 345 - Studies in the 19th-Century British Novel

ENGL 348 - Victorian Poetry: Victorian Pairs

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

  Adams.

ENGL 349 - Middlemarch and Devoted Readers

ENGL 350 - Postcolonial Literature

ENGL 351 - World Fiction in English

ENGL 353 - 20th-Century British and Irish Poetry

ENGL 354 - Contemporary British and American Drama