English Undergraduate Courses

Fall 2025 courses, listed in numerical order.

English 115    American Experience 

(ALDU)

Lecture 1    MWF 9:05-9:55    Instructor: Timothy Ong
Introduction to literature, history, and images from and about diverse American cultures across historical eras. Readings include fiction, prose, and poetry, often supplemented by painting, photography, film, and material culture.  (Gen.Ed. AL, DU)

English 115    American Experience 

(ALDU)

Lecture 2    MWF 10:10-11:00    Instructor: Jon Hoel
This course will explore the cultural landscape of the American experience through the lens of work and labor as a narrative focus. Our readings will vary widely and include novels, short stories, poetry, film, and theory. We will read both famous labor works (Upton Sinclair, John Steinbeck) and lesser known, but important works (Muriel Rukeyser, Emily Hall)  (Gen.Ed. AL, DU)

English 115H  American Experience Honors

(ALDU)

Lecture 1    TuTh 8:30-9:45    Instructor: Hoang Phan
This course explores how American literature has contributed to broader social conceptions of American identity and collective imaginings of the “American Experience.” Focusing on the role of literature in modern historical understanding, we will study diverse and historically shifting definitions of American identity and the American Experience, as they were transformed by debates over nationhood and nationalism, slavery and freedom, immigration and citizenship, and by forms of social identification such as class, race, gender and sexuality. This course is open to first year Commonwealth College students. (Gen. Ed. AL, DU)

English 116 Native American Literature 

(ALDU)(Social Justice)

Lecture 1    TuTh 10:00-11:15    Instructor: Laura Furlan
This introductory course in Native American literature asks students to read and study a variety of work by American Indian and First Nations authors. We will discuss what makes a text "Indian," how and why a major boom in American Indian writing occurred in the late 1960s, how oral tradition is incorporated into contemporary writing, and how geographic place and tribal affiliation influence this work.

English 131 Society and Literature 

(ALDG)

Lecture 1    TuTh 10:00-11:15    Instructor: Alejandro Beas Murillo
Lo vamos a tirar: Contemporary Caribbean and Latin American Feminist Literature. This course examines literary responses to and representations of the contemporary feminist movements across the Caribbean and Latin America, whose cry for freedom and justice is best captured in the chant “Al patriarcado lo vamos a tirar” (“We are going to overthrow the patriarchy”). We will take the 1990s as our starting point and end by speculating what the future of the Latin American and Caribbean feminist movements might offer in the face of ever-rising fascism, US and European interventionism, and the increased policing and violence against women and queer people these entail.

Reading fiction, memoirs, poetry, and scholarly work across different genres, we will explore the struggle for abortion rights, the contributions of women writers and activists in the fight against colonial governments and dictatorships, the demands for social and state recognition, reparations, and protection against all forms of violence against women, and the disruption of race, gender, sexual, and familial roles. However, these authors will also demand that we interrogate the white supremacist and trans-exclusionary rhetorics of the Western feminist movement and find alternative models of feminism that can satisfy the needs and experiences of Black, Indigenous, and trans women. Together, we will think through the following questions: Why do Caribbean and Latin American authors turn to magical realism, the gothic genre, the family saga, and the memoir to talk about violence against women and state dispossession? How do contemporary Caribbean and Latin American women writers portray and influence emancipatory movements throughout the region? What are the possibilities and alternative worlds that these texts envision and how can they be fulfilled? In a Caribbean and Latin American literary canon that has been historically dominated by men, how are these authors disordering and reinventing the literature of their regions?  (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 131 Society and Literature

(ALDG)

Lecture 2    MWF 11:15-12:05    Instructor: Nana Prempeh
The Social Life of Toni Morrison’s Literature.  From the distinct lyricism of her writing style and the colorfulness of her characters to the unapologetic address of unsettling themes, the literature of Toni Morrison has long been and remains a keen and reliable distillery of the makings and unmakings of society as we know it. Working through selected works this class undertakes a study of Morrison’s craft as an example of how literature and society inform and reflect each other in ways that promise to sharpen our understanding of tensions at the center of social relationships. The tensions in question vary in scope and implications but remain significant to the framing of society, whether they relate to racism, paternalism, motherhood or masculinity. The goal is not to imitate Morrison but to explore the possibilities and limitations of literature as a filter of social relationships through her particular literary choices. To allow for the depth and intentionality that such an undertaking requires amid the specific constraints of a compressed schedule, only three of Morrison’s books will be used: Beloved, Jazz, and Sula. Along with these, selected speeches as well as her only published short story, Recitatif, will be considered. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 131 Society and Literature 

(ALDG)

Lecture 3    MWF 1:25-2:15    Instructor: Rowshan Chowdhury
Where did the master narratives, the standard stories we tell ourselves or our culture tells us, come from and how do they operate in erasing our history? How does literature mediate our relationship to other cultures and histories? How have the ideals of liberty, equality, and human rights taken multiple and contradictory shapes within the social, political, cultural, and economic contexts of various eras?

The course ENG 131: Society and Literature is designed to explore these questions, looking specifically at the transnational co-formations that shape American society. Through readings of novels, short stories, political speeches, essays, poems, and films based on the entanglements of histories of the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia, we will address literature’s capacity to endorse, naturalize, dramatize, critique, subvert, or reimagine our relationship to the material world. In our reading and writing assignments, we will study the ways writers from various origins engaged with societal issues including but not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender, slavery, displacement, assimilation, capitalism, imperialism, colonization, genocide, and anti-colonial and anti-slavery rebellions.   (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 131 Society and Literature

(ALDG)

Lecture 4    MWF 10:10-11:00    Instructor: Mitia Nath
Introduction to the multifaceted ways literature both shapes and is shaped by its social and historical contexts. Analyses of plays, poems, and fictional and non-fictional narratives drawn from around the globe and in different eras.  (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 131 Society and Literature 

(ALDG)

Lecture 5    MWF 10:10-11:00    Instructor: S A M Raihanur Rahman
This course will explore the multilayered relations between society and literature from the critical perspectives of environmental humanities (EH). Anthropogenic climate change has emerged as one of the most severe and pressing crises in human history. The concerns regarding climate change and environmental degradation are not merely scientific but deeply embedded in human cultures and histories. In this context, it is crucial to explore the multifaceted implications of the climate crisis, what they mean for society, and how literature can help us to make sense of them. We will thus use the keyword ‘climate change’ for our study of society and look into a wide historical scope and diverse literary archives and cultural experiences to contextualize our investigation. We will draw on environmental perspectives and literary methods to analyze varied literary and cultural productions to examine how the field of humanities is crucial to understanding climate change and its impacts on society. Through close readings, reflections, and discussions, we will investigate the significance of literary and cultural engagements with environmental concerns. In parallel, we will explore the key concepts of EH such as ‘nature’ and ‘environment’, and examine how these concepts function in different ways in different contexts and how the multiplicities of their meaning complicate our understanding of society. We will also examine how categories of race, gender, class, and ethnicity and structures of domination like capitalism and imperialism often determine our understanding of those concepts discursively and materially. An undertone of the course will be to critically evaluate the role of literature in communicating crises, learn about their societal impacts, and imagine possibilities for building resilience, and emancipatory and sustainable futures.  (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 132 Gender, Sexuality, Literature and Culture 

(ALDG)

Lecture 1    MWF 11:15-12:05    Instructor: Tyler Clark
If I were to ask you to think of all the classics you’ve read throughout your schooling, from any place in the world, how many would you be able to list any as having homosexual or otherwise “queer” characters? Or written by queer authors? Most of us would be able to name very few, if any! The goal of this course is to unearth the “Gay Canon” of literature from around the world, and to investigate where, why, and how homosexuality and gender deviance emerges in cultures from especially the past two centuries. We will be analyzing texts throughout history that explicitly concern themselves with homosexuality, the construction of gender and sexual identity, as well as the cultural and political definitions of queerness across the world. We will highlight various global perspectives on the diversity of gender presentation, what it means to be a “man” or “woman” or neither, and construct what we might refer to as a “Gay Canon” of literature, so that we might better understand our current social understandings of these nebulous terms.  (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 132 Gender, Sexuality, Literature and Culture

(ALDG)

Lecture 2    MWF 12:20-1:10    Instructor: Sarah Ahmad
Introduction to literature through a lens of gender identity and sexuality.  Texts include fiction, plays, poems that deal with and inspire conversations about the public politics and personal experience of gender and sexuality, both in the past and present. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 132 Gender, Sexuality, Literature and Culture 

(ALDG)

Lecture 3    MWF 10:10-11:00    Instructor: Janell Tryon
Welcome to Inside Out: Queering the Home in Contemporary American Literature. English 132 is a general education course taught within the English Department. Together we will investigate the historical relationship between housing and gender/sexuality norms within the United States. In order to protect pathways to consumerism, capitalism has long perpetuated the insular single-family household as the ideal form of shelter. The notion of private property-as-private sphere insists upon the preservation of the nuclear family through the surveillance of gender, sexuality, and race. In this course, we will read fiction and theory, as well as engage other modes of media. Through these critical and literary texts, we will engage the histories of American imperialism, institutions, and homes, while paying equal attention to historical and fictive characters that invert and subvert American norms. By studying alternative modes of living and dwelling, this course will allow us to queer the public-private binary, challenge housing normativity, and imagine new ways of inhabiting shared space. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 141 Reading Poetry 

(AL)

Lecture 1    MWF 1:25-2:15    Instructor: Joanie Cappetta
The Poetry of Loving Anyone.  Love is the poet’s most famous engine. This introductory course will use love to focus our path through the loose and expansive history of poetry, taking an interest in poems that see love as a window into the psyche. We’ll focus, in particular, on poets for whom love and devotion is something outside of the bounds of what is easy straightforward, and normal—making ancient words and feelings urgent and contemporary. 

In this course we’ll consider poems in terms of their form, syntax, line, and sound as well as how these components work on the poem’s meaning. Consideration will occur through in-class discussions as well as written responses to readings, the semester culminates in a final essay which will go through multiple drafts and peer revision. We’ll also look at the poetry review as a mode of public discourse written for diverse, non-academic audiences.

You’ll leave this course with a feeling for the development of American poetry across the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, though we’ll be drawing from other traditions as well. Some of the poets we’ll read include Sappho, Emily Dickinson, Frank O’Hara, Simone White, Mei Mei Berssenbreugge, and Ariana Reines. (Gen Ed: AL)

English 144 World Literature in English 

(ALDG)

Lecture 1    TuTh 10:00-11:15    Instructor: Jade Yeen Onn

Modern LiteraSEAs: Anglophone Southeast Asia and Beyond This class begins with the central understanding that the “world” or “global” were never universal ideas but a continuously evolving network of diverse experiences and perspectives, each with their own histories, politics, and—yes—cultures. To engage with the global therefore requires us to not only study what the world is or has been, but critically speculate what it could become. 

By looking to the literatures that emerge from Southeast Asia as “a region of speculation” (Gui) and reading them against the projects of representation that are firmly rooted in Euro-America, we will study the ways in which various authors, writing to and from varying positionalities, use a shared language to articulate vastly different visions of the world. In doing this, we will start by asking: What role has/does the English language play in the making of our present world and its hierarchies? How do writers engage and/or negotiate with this power of English through the narratives of their texts? Engaging closely with the world-making languages, forms and imaginaries of these literatures, we will then work together to cultivate our own critical orientations to the world and the question of what it means to live with/in it. (Gen.Ed. AL, DG)

English 146 Living Writers 

(Creative Writing elective) (ALDU)

Lecture 1    TuTh 4:00-5:15    Instructor: Noah Hale
This is an introductory course in the work of acclaimed contemporary writers who visit the class to interact with students. (Gen. Ed. AL, DU)

English 146 Living Writers

(Creative Writing elective) (ALDU)

Lecture 2    TuTh 4:00-5:15    Instructor: Maya Kuchiyak
This is an introductory course in the work of acclaimed contemporary writers who visit the class to interact with students. (Gen. Ed. AL, DU)

English 150 Writing and Society

(SB, DU)

Lecture 1    MWF 11:15-12:05    Instructor: Rachel Smith Olson
This course aims to heighten your awareness of writing as both practice and concept. "Writing Studies" is an interdisciplinary area of study at the intersection of literacy studies, communication, digital studies, education, and linguistics that is interested in how written texts - public documents, technical and professional communication, social media, etc. - reflect and impact social organization and change. The course invites students to explore writing in society through a problem-posing approach, focusing attention on how writing is understood, used, and learned. (Gen. Ed. SB, DU)

English 200 Intro to Literary Studies 

(Introduction to the major)

Lecture 1    MWF 1:25-2:15    Instructor: Rachel Mordecai
Our focus in this course will be on developing the critical thinking, speaking and writing skills that are needed for success in the English major. Students will become familiar with key literary conventions, literary terms, and critical approaches as we read selections of fiction, poetry and drama from a variety of literary traditions. Students will write a lot in class and out of it, producing informal in-class writing and three major papers that will go through a formal draft-and-revision process.   English majors only.  Prerequisite: Gen. Ed. College Writing.

English 200 Intro to Literary Studies 

(Introduction to the major)

Lecture 2    MWF 10:10-11:00    Instructor: TBA
Introduction to literary study, concentrating on close reading and analysis of texts, writing and revising critical essays, and discussion of the issues that underlie the study of literature. Prerequisite: ENGLWRIT 112 or equivalent.  This course is open to English majors and minors only.

English 200 Intro to Literary Studies 

(Introduction to the major)

Lecture 3    TuTh 11:30-12:45    Instructor: Jimmy Worthy
Lecture 4    TuTh 2:30-3:45    Instructor: Jimmy Worthy
This course will introduce students to intense literary analysis, or the practice of reading literature critically and actively. Through the study of different literary genres—the short story, speech, novel, drama, poetry, and literary criticism—and literary devices and terms, you will hone your critical reading, writing, and thinking skills. As this is also an introduction to the major class, you will be asked to think seriously about what it means to read, discuss, and write about literature as an informed English major as well as complete assignments designed to help you maximize your experience as an important part of the English Department at UMass.

English 201 Early British Literature 

(course in British literature before 1700 or 200 elective)

Lecture 1    TuTh 8:30-9:45    Instructor: Marjorie Rubright
Topic: The Word, the World & the Wanderer. Exploring imaginative works by both male and female authors, this survey of literature from 900 C.E. to 1700 C.E. explores literary art as a world-making enterprise. Significant changes in the English language occurred throughout this period, expanding the horizon of what we mean by 'English' literature. The course will situate the word, the world, and the wander as touchstones along our path as we travel from the epic poetry of Beowulf to Milton's Paradise Lost, from the medieval lyrical romance of Marie de France to literature written in and about the Americas. A host of different wanderers will serve as guides: from pilgrims, exiles, seafarers, and translators, to unruly women, queer shape-shifters, werewolves, fallen angels and devils. By the end of the course, you will: have a historicized appreciation of broad changes to the English language, be familiar with a range of genres produced in the medieval and earlier modern periods, have strategies for close reading to carry with you into future coursework, and experience an increased confidence in your ability to explore literature of the distant past.

English 202 Later British Literature 

(course in British literature after 1700 or 200 elective)

Lecture 1    MW 2:30-3:15    Instructor: Jordy Rosenberg
This course will give students a broad overview of how the novel in the Anglophone and British world came to exist in the forms that we recognize today.  Beginning in the 18th century and continuing into the present, authors may include Olaudah Equiano, Mary Shelley, William Godwin, Laurence Sterne, Edwidge Danticat, China Mieville, Zadie Smith, Arundhati Roy, Shola von Reinhold, and Isabel Waidner. Theorists of the novel form will include likely Sianne Ngai, Annie McClanahan, Mark McGurl, Srinivas Aravamudan, Sarah Brouillette, Anna Kornbluh, Ludovico Silva, and Roberto Schwarz.

English 205 Intro to Post-Colonial Studies 

(Anglophone/ethnic American literature or 200 elective)(Environmental Humanities)

Lecture 1    TuTh 11:30-12:45    Instructor: Malcolm Sen
This course surveys literatures written in English from South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.  In doing so it asks what unites the diverse literatures gathered under the rubric "postcolonial".  Is postcolonial simply a descriptive category, or does it suggest an oppositional or troubled stance towards colonialism and modernity?  To consider this question we will take up major issues and debates within postcolonial studies, namely: nationalism and nativism, subalternity, feminism, development, and globalization.  Throughout we will be concerned with questions of identity formation, representation, and literary form.

English 221 Shakespeare

(Course in British literature before 1700)(Literature as History)(AL)

Lecture 1    MW 12:20-1:10 + discussion     Instructor: Adam Zucker
A survey that covers Shakespeare's entire career, from early, sensationally bloody works like Titus Andronicus to the meditative late plays like The Winters Tale and The Tempest. Along the way, we'll investigate the language, the structure, and the elaborate plotting of some of the most famous (and infamous) works ever written in English. Special focus given to Shakespeare's revealing explorations of the interplay between family, political hierarchies, and desire; his interest in distant settings and peoples; and, perhaps most importantly, his attempts to dramatize the struggle of individuals to make sense of the worlds in which they live. Through careful reading and discussion, we will work towards an understanding of why plays that seem so removed from our day-to-day concerns have remained powerfully relevant for four hundred years. Three essays, a mid-term and a final exam. Attendance at lecture and consistent participation in discussion sections required.  (GenEd: AL)

• Discussion 01AA: Fri 10:10-11:00  Instructor: Christina Muoio
• Discussion 01AB: Fri 11:15-12:05  Instructor: Christina Muoio
• Discussion 01AC: Fri 1:25-2:15     Instructor: Zan Maley
• Discussion 01AD: Fri 1:25-2:15     Instructor: Zan Maley
• Discussion 01AE: Fri 10:10-11:00  Instructor: Delaney Sousa
• Discussion 01AF: Fri 11:15-12:05  Instructor: Delaney Sousa

English 254 Intro to Creative Writing 

(required intro to creative writing)(AL)

Lecture 1    MWF 11:15-12:05    Instructor: Amelia Van Donsel
The Language of Attention: Writing in a Busy World. What does paying attention look like for creative writers? Why do the smallest encounters, experiences, or objects inspire us to write? Which parts of our day do we genuinely notice and remember? This introductory course will explore the simple, daily practice of attention and its impact on our creative work. We will investigate how to more selectively attend to our inner and outer worlds, using both this awareness and what it yields as the first step in our creative process. Writing exercises and keeping a notebook of noticings throughout the semester will help us generate focused and surprising poems, short stories, and nonfiction pieces. In our weekly workshop, we will celebrate each other’s writing, discuss our observations, and notice opportunities for change. We will examine the work of contemporary writers, such as Solmaz Sharif, Rachel Zucker, Claudia Rankine, and Ocean Vuong, who share a profound interest in what it means to lend attention. In addition to learning how to bring our small worlds into the light, students will leave with a portfolio of five poems, two stories, and two nonfiction or hybrid texts. All levels welcome.

English 254 Intro to Creative Writing 

(required intro to creative writing)(AL)

Lecture 2    MWF 11:15-12:05    Instructor: Sofia Lauer
Writing Absence. What gets written into and out of narratives? How do stories leave out information to heighten tension? How can we read for absence, and use omission effectively in our own writing? Stories and poems often rely on rich descriptive language to situate the reader in a setting, introduce them to the critical characters, or guide them through a plot. However, for all the elements an author carefully writes in, often just as much is written out—implied but unmentioned, forgotten and left out or excluded with intent.

In “Writing Absence,” students will learn how prose, poetry, and hybrid forms offer arenas by which they can expand on absences they observe in their own lives: what they lack, what they need, and what they wish for. During this course, students will experiment with craft by reading contemporary examples, writing their own work in each genre, and participating in weekly workshops of their peers’ writings.

Readings will include works by Jeff VanderMeer, Ayşegül Savaş, Bhanu Kapil, Reginald Shepherd, and others. Students will generate abundantly throughout the Fall, writing at least five poems, two creative nonfiction essays, and two pieces of short fiction.

English 254 Intro to Creative Writing 

(required intro to creative writing)(AL)(Social Justice)

Lecture 3    MWF 12:20-1:10    Instructor: Suzanne Bagla
Refugee Writings. How does literature seek to make sense of displacement’s temporalities and transience? This class focuses on books, short stories, and poems by refugee writers, including Ocean Vuong, Daniel Nayeri, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Dinaw Mengestu, and others. Through reading these writers, students will locate overarching themes of refugee literature, the critical questions such literature poses, and how it seeks to make the refugee a subject rather than object. This process aids in analyzing how refugee writers utilize a unique writing style and approach in their literature. Examples include Daniel Nayeri’s patchwork and fragmentation approach, utilizing cultural memory work, transcribing oral history into fiction, and re-defining/re-framing modes of temporality. This class considers what makes a writing piece refugee literature, why refugee writers utilize specific unconstructed approaches to storytelling, and how a writer’s refugee identity cultivates unconventional and unique modes of fiction writing.

Writing done in this course will culminate in five poems, two short stories, and two essays. The feedback in the writing workshops will consist of understanding what’s working in a piece, what’s missing/gaps, and suggestions for the writer to help get a piece to the next draft. The workshopping and feedback process will center on the writer’s goals.

English 254 Intro to Creative Writing 

(required intro to creative writing)(AL)

Lecture 4    TuTh 1:00-2:15    Instructor: Megan Friedman
As Anne Carson writes “sometimes I dream a sentence and write it down. It’s usually nonsense, but sometimes it seems a key to another world.” Following Carson’s words, this course will explore how creative writing provides us with a means to investigate our dreams, thoughts, and inner worlds.

Students will explore various methods of implementing the psyche within their work through reading and discussing Anne Carson, Virginia Woolf, Rainer Maria Rilke, Andre Breton and other writers. Students will be encouraged to take risks within their writing and consider the philosophy behind their work. Over the course of the semester, each student will be responsible for writing 5 poems, 2 prose narratives, and 2 reflective essays on craft and process. Class time will be devoted to discussion of weekly readings and writing workshops. Each student will be granted 4 intensive workshops throughout the semester.

English 257H Interactive Fiction Honors 

(creative writing elective; 200 elective)

Lecture 1    MWF 11:15-12:05    Instructor: Daniel Sack
Subtitle: Performance, Play and Games Readers and spectators are always implicitly involved in the creation of an artwork as interpreters or as respondents. But what happens when that work explicitly invites one to collaborate in its fictional world? We live in an increasingly interactive environment, which requires a critical awareness of our relationships to new technologies and the people, places, and things with which they connect us. This course surveys a selection of art and entertainment from the last 50 years aimed at creating an interactive experience on the page, stage, gallery, or screen. We will witness the participation of others and will ourselves practice playing with (and in) the work. Together we will ask: What do we mean by participation or agency in a fictional world? How is it different from activity in the actual world? How might an increasingly interactive cultural landscape alter our understanding of narrative or storytelling, of subjectivity, and even free will? How might participation encourage empathy toward those with different perspectives or backgrounds? What are the political and social consequences of an increasingly participatory art? Open to all Commonwealth College students and others by instructor permission.

English 268 American Literature and Culture Before 1865 

(either course in early American literature or 200 elective)

Lecture 1    TuTh 10:10-11:00    Instructor: Hoang Phan
Beginning in the Age of Revolution and ending in the Age of Emancipation, this course will focus on the relationship between American literature and the broader social transformations of this period. Studying the formal and thematic innovations of a range of American writers, the course will explore the various ways these writers responded to the radical upheavals of their times. What are the differing narratives posed by literary works of these periods, on the issues of territorial expansion, slavery, and national union; citizenship and democracy; social order and revolution? Reading widely and deeply, we’ll study the writings of Charles Brockden Brown, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass; Herman Melville; and Walt Whitman, among others. Throughout our readings we’ll examine the ways in which the literature of this period contributed to the imagined community of the nation, as well as raised problems for the dominant narratives of the nation. This course is open to English majors only.  Prerequisite: ENGLWRIT 112 or equivalent.

English 269 American Literature and Culture After 1865

(either course in later American literature or 200 elective)

Lecture 1    TuTh 2:30-3:45    Instructor: Ruth Jennison
This course explores literary texts in the United States from 1865 to the present. We will examine poetry and novels from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, with a special focus on literature that engages with popular movements for justice and liberation. Through the study of texts drawn from feminist, queer, Black and anti-capitalist and working-class traditions, we will consider a number of questions, including: How do our texts register, respond to, and contest the formation of racial and gendered identities in the United States? How do literary forms adapt to speak to the rise of new forms of social resistance? How do our texts register the relationship between national and international struggles for freedom, and how do they confront the structures of American imperialism? What experimental strategies do our texts deploy to document and foster social solidarities with movements for independence and self-determination?  Classes will have a strong emphasis on student-driven discussion. Several short response papers, as well as a mid-term and final paper, are required.

English 300 Junior Year Writing 

(junior year writing or American literature after 1685 or 300 elective)(Literature as History)(Social Justice)

Lecture 01    TuTh 4:00-5:15    Instructor: Ruth Jennison
Topic: Resistance and Revolution in 20th and 21st Century American Poetry. How do American poets engage with struggles for social change? What strategies do they use to write about protests, strikes, boycotts, workplace and public occupations, sit-ins, pickets, and mass demonstrations? Our discussions and writing projects will explore how poetry offers ways for its readers to grasp capitalism as a system shaped by class war, racism and sexism. We will investigate the relationship between politics that take place in the streets and politics that take place on the page. Freewrites, short reflections, and longer papers will take up how our poets navigate their work as both militant activists and artists. We will close read and analyze new poetic vocabularies for imagining alternatives to capitalism. Texts will include poetry by Sol Funaroff, Louis Zukofsky, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Muriel Rukeyser, Amiri Baraka, John Wieners, Gwendolyn Brooks, Larry Eigner, Sonia Sanchez, Diane di Prima, Keston Sutherland, Sean Bonney, Stephen Collis, Kay Gabriel, and Bernadette Mayer.

English 300 Junior Year Writing 

(junior year writing or Anglophone/ethnic American literature)(Social Justice)

Lecture 02    MW 2:30-3:45    Instructor: Gretchen Gerzina
Topic: Black Women Novelists.  Beginning with the Harlem Renaissance and ending with early 21st century London, we will read seven novels by important black women novelists from America and Britain. Writers and novels are Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God), Nella Larsen (Passing), Toni Morrison (Song of Solomon), Gloria Naylor (Mama Day), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Americanah), Bernardine Evaristo (Girl, Woman, Other) and Zadie Smith (White Teeth). How do they explore, question and reimagine the place of black women in the modern world? 

Using these works as a basis for discussion of black women’s experiences and writing styles, students will gain expertise in constructing essays, searching and using critical scholarly resources, and revision. In addition to writing and revising essays, students will make a class presentation on a specific topic.

English 300 Junior Year Writing 

(junior year writing)

Lecture 03    TuTh 1:00-2:15    Instructor: Joseph Black
Topic: History of the Book Will books as material objects disappear in your lifetime? Or will the book, a remarkably long-lived piece of technology, continue to flourish alongside its electronic counterparts? This course surveys the history of books from the ancient world through medieval manuscripts, hand press books, and machine press books to the digital media of today. We will discover how books were made, read, circulated, and used in different eras, and explore the role they have played over time in social, political, scientific, and cultural change. The course involves hands-on work with books and manuscripts from across the centuries, demonstrations of various aspects of book-making, and visits to rare book libraries and archives.  English majors only.  Course prerequisite: English 200 with a grade of "C" or better.

English 300 Junior Year Writing

(junior year writing) 

Lecture 04    MWF 1:25-2:15    Instructor: Jordy Rosenberg 
Topic: Speculative Fiction.  This course will offer students an entry point into the history of speculative fiction.  Students will learn about the roots of contemporary sci-fi, fantasy, and spec-fic forms, and read contemporary work on the cutting edge of the genre from the Anglophone world.  We will also cover some literary theories of speculative and science fiction.  Authors will range in time period and geographical location, from Jonathan Swift to Suzanne Cesaire to Kazuo Ishiguro.  Three response papers and an in-class final exam.  Students will be able to produce creative or critical response papers. 

English 313 Intro to Old English Poetry

(early British or 300 elective)(WRLS)(TELA)

Lecture 1    MWF 12:20-1:10 PM    Instructor: Stephen Harris
Old English is a language spoken in Britain from the early 400s to the 1100s. In this course, you will learn to read it. It will give you a good grounding in English grammar as well as a solid sense of the origin of English vocabulary. Once you can read Old English, you are only steps away from reading Old Norse, the language of the Vikings, as well as Old Saxon and Old Frisian. As well as learning the Old English language, we will read Old English poetry, including "Caedmon's Hymn," "The Seafarer," "The Wanderer," "Dream of the Rood," "The Battle of Maldon," and the epic Judith, about a warrior maiden who leads her army to heroic conquest ("Sloh tha wundenlocc thone feondsceathan fagum mece ..."). It is like no other poetry in English. Reading it in the original language allows you to practice intense close reading, an essential component of a literary education. You will also be introduced to Norse and Celtic myths. Old English inspired J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It inspired Seamus Heaney's North as well as his Beowulf. And it was a profound influence on Jorge Luis Borges. We will examine runes and learn to make manuscripts. A working knowledge of English grammar is recommended.

English 319 Representing the Holocaust 

(300 elective)(ALDG)(Social Justice)

Lecture 1    Tues 2:30-3:45 + discussion    Instructor: Jonathan Skolnik
Major themes and critical issues concerning Holocaust representation and memory in a global context.  The course examines literature, film, memoirs, music, visual arts, memorials, museums, and video archives of survivor testimonies to explore narrative responses to racism and the destruction of European Jewry and others during World War II.  There are no prerequisites. 4 Credits. (Gen.Ed. DG AL).

• Discussion 01AA: Th 1:00-2:15     Instructor: Abi Mbaye
• Discussion 01AB: Th 10:00-11:15  Instructor: Abi Mbaye
• Discussion 01AC: Th 2:30-3:45   Instructor: Nataliya Kostenko
• Discussion 01AD: Th 10:00-11:15  Instructor: Nataliya Kostenko
• Discussion 01AE:  Th 11:30-12:45 Instructor: Jonathan Skolnik

English 329H Tutoring Writing: Theory and Practice Honors 

(WRLS Teaching/Tutoring or 300 elective)(TELA)

Lecture 1    TuTh 1:00-2:15    Instructor: Anna Rita Napoleon
Gen. Ed. College Writing 112 or 113 with a grade of "B" or better.  Students interested in the course should submit an application to writingcenter@acad.umass.edu by March 19: (1) a formal letter explaining why the student is interested and has potential to become a writing tutor; (2) an academic writing sample (attached as a word or pdf file) and (3) the name and email address of the student’s 112 instructor or another instructor who can speak to the student's qualifications.  While the preferred deadline was set for March 13, additional applicants may be considered if seats are available.  The strongest applications will be invited to an interview.

English 350H Expository Writing Honors 

(300 elective; WRLS Public/Prof Writing Course; Creative Writing 300 elective)

Lecture 1    MW 2:30-3:45    Instructor: John Hennessy
This course is designed for students who have a special interest in personal narratives, documentary forms, travel writing, and/or innovative approaches to feature writing. Students will read and write a variety of literary non-fiction forms, including memoir, documentary essays, and profiles, and the course will have a workshop component.  Texts will include works by Joan Didion, Helene Cooper, and others. Students will also be encouraged to try other forms of non-fiction, including travel writing, interviews, editorials, reviews, etc. Open to ALL students (not exclusive to Honors College students).

English 355 Creative Writing Fiction 

(300 elective/creative writing)

Lecture 1    MWF 11:15-12:05 PM    Instructor: Richie Wills
Fiction as a Mirror.  What does fiction reveal about human nature? What do our stories say about who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we navigate the world around us? This fiction workshop explores storytelling as a way to uncover deeper truths—about our desires, flaws, resilience, and contradictions. Through close readings and a collaborative workshop environment, we will examine how fiction captures the complexities of the human experience. 

We’ll study works by writers such as Akwaeke Emezi, Justin Torres, Nnedi Okorafor, Franz Kafka, N.K. Jemisin, Isaac Babel, Octavia Butler, Haruki Murakami, and others. Together, we’ll explore how these authors craft stories that reveal emotional and psychological depths, inviting us to reflect on our own lives and the world around us. 

Over the course of the semester, we will generate, draft, and revise two short stories. We will experiment and play with different craft techniques and peer workshops will offer a space for constructive feedback.

By the end of the course, students will have a deeper understanding of how fiction serves as a lens through which we examine ourselves and others—and how their own stories contribute to that tradition.

English 355 Creative Writing Fiction 

(300 elective/creative writing)

Lecture 2    MWF 1:25-2:15 PM        Instructor: Katia Bakhtiyarova
Ghost in a Love Story: Writing Genre-Bending Fiction  “Writing Genre-Bending Fiction” is a course designed to appeal to lovers of genre fiction who wish to learn how to write stories that both honor and subvert the expectations of forms such as fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, noir, horror, dystopia, and more. Writers will examine the well-established structures of genre fiction and cross-pollinate elements to create stories that are complicated and singular. How does a love story change when we add a ghost to it? What about a coming-of-age story that is interrupted by a magical act? What about a family drama that takes place in a dystopian world, but features a noir-inspired femme fatale? Anything is possible in this classroom, where, guided by contemporary masters of the genre-bend such as Carmen Maria Machado, Samanta Schweblin, and Laura van den Berg, we will truly embrace the ultimate liberation of fiction being the place where anything can happen. In writing and workshopping three stories, writers will hone the craft of both starting and ending a story, develop their skills as peer editors, and strategize around the long-term building of a life of writing, revision, community-building, and publication.

English 356 Creative Writing Poetry 

(300 elective/creative writing)

Lecture 1    MWF 12:20-1:10 PM    Instructor: Haley Harris
Interconnections of Consciousness: A Meeting Place for Poetry

“... poetry is not just written or spoken, but always becoming something else or bringing something else into being... a bundle of fibers... an interconnection”—Cecilia Vicuña

A poem is a strange and emergent meeting place that may contain anything and may exist anywhere. It is a zone through which each one of us can form, deepen, and consider our connections with each other, with our experiences, and with the world. In this course we will study the craft of poetry–how poems are made–in the attempt to understand what they do. The goal is to equip each student with detailed language to discuss the formal, musical, and emblematic elements that make a poem, along with cultivating a personal sense of what poetry means for each one of us. Mapping our own fragments of consciousness within the structures of form, we will assemble our very own “bundles of fibers”— our very own poems. In studying (and embodying) the poetic act, we will discover what can be revealed, connected, and transformed in our worlds, and what, too, remains shrouded in mystery. Students can expect to write at least one poem every week, as well as read and respond to four assigned poetry collections over the course of the semester.

English 358 The Romantic Poets 

(course in British literature after 1700 or 300 elective)

Lecture 1    MW 4:00-5:15 PM        Instructor: Suzanne Daly
Poetry of the Romantic period (1789-1832) including works by Anna L. Barbauld, Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Felicia Hemens, John Keats, Mary Robinson, Percy B. Shelley, Charlotte Smith, and William Wordsworth. Political, religious, and historical frames of critical reference will be brought to bear on our reading.

English 359 Victorian Imagination

 (course in British literature after 1700 or 300 elective)(Literature as History)

Lecture 1        MW 2:30-3:45    Instructor: Suzanne Daly
Legal definitions and popular conceptions of crime and criminal behavior underwent significant revision in nineteenth-century England, and the literature of the period registers major points of contention. We will read works of fiction and poetry that address the following questions: What kind of crimes did the Victorians like to imagine, to read about, and to punish vicariously through imaginative literature? What did criminality mean to them? What is narrative justice, and what formal and/or ideological functions does it serve? We will read fiction by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Elizabeth Gaskell, Oscar Wilde, and Sarah Waters. Poets may include Robert Browning, Christina Rossetti, Swinburne, and Tennyson.

English 371 African American literature 

(Anglophone/ethnic American or 300 elective)(Social Justice)

Lecture 1    MWF 1:25-2:15    Instructor: Sarah Patterson
The Idea of Friendship. The nature of friendship has been an enduring subject of discourse in American literature. Selections from Phillis Wheatley’s eighteenth-century poetry explore the virtues derived from friendships between Greco-Roman mythological characters and readers while later works such as Mark Twain’s novel Pudd’nhead Wilson (1893) typify the common trials and victories that compel characters to form affirming bonds. Connotations associated with “friendship” usually evoke the circumstances that usher specific people into amicable relationships, but the word also serves as a metaphor for the circumstances that beget relationships between communities, institutions and geographical regions. A critical approach to “friendship” gestures to the terms that order the spirit of an accord held between factions, the durability of peaceful relations and/or the conflicts that test oaths and vows. Our project is to interpret the layered meanings of friendship discourse apparent in eighteenth century to early twentieth-century American poetry and fiction. We will interrogate different types of friendly relations including friendships that move an individual from one socio-economic class into another, friendships that arise from shared values, friendships that provide models for social change and friendships that meet with disastrous ends. Students will study literature by African American authors and literature with African American characters. Readings include works by the authors Phillis Wheatley, Venture Smith, Herman Melville, Mark Twain and Sarah Orne Jewett.

English 376: American Fiction

(American literature before 1865 or 300 elective)(Literature as History)(Social Justice)

Lecture 1            MWF 11:15-12:05             Instructor: Sarah Patterson
The American Worker. This class follows a representational trajectory of American workers in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century novels and short stories. Fanny Fern’s Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time (1854) embraces a lively style of transcendentalist discourse that challenges the rigid social customs that undermine women’s progress. Henry James’s The American (1877) offers a critique of industry conditions that launch a business magnate’s personal transformation. Such works portray the occupational conditions within which American women, men and child laborers participated. We will study literature with extensive depictions of the interior spaces and inner workings of a variety of occupational industries. We will pay keen attention to the interiorities of law offices, overcrowded tenement buildings, factories and street-based industries that employed child laborers. Many early American writers first achieved an authorial status by publishing fiction about workers in nineteenth-century magazines like Putnum’s Monthly, The Student and the Schoolmate and The Anglo-African Magazine. To enrich the learning experience, students will have opportunities to explore the pages of historical periodicals in which readings originally appeared. Course readings include works by the authors Fanny Fern, Henry James, Herman Melville, Martin Delaney and Upton Sinclair.
 

English 379 Intro to Professional Writing

(300 elective)(PWTC)(WRLS)

Lecture 1    TuTh 1:00-2:15    Instructor: David Toomey
Lecture 2    MW 4:00-5:15    Instructor: Michael Lyons
Introduces principles of technical writing, page design, and UX/usability. Students write and design a 20-25 page manual documenting a software program, usually Microsoft Word, suitable for use as a professional writing sample. Prereq.: ENGLWP 112 or equivalent; ENGL 379, which may be taken concurrently, with instructor approval (email jlsolber@umass.edu); Junior or Senior status with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. (3 credits).

English 380 Professional Writing and Technical Communication I 

(PWTC)(WRLS)(300 elective)

Lecture 1    TuTh 11:30-12:45        Instructor: Janine Solberg
Introduces principles of technical writing, page design, and UX/usability. Students write and design a 20-25 page manual documenting a software program, usually Microsoft Word, suitable for use as a professional writing sample. Prereq.: ENGLWP 112 or equivalent; ENGL 379, which may be taken concurrently, with instructor approval (email jlsolber@umass.edu); Junior or Senior status with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. (3 credits).

English 385 Creative Nonfiction

(Creative Writing)(WRLS)

Lecture 1  TuTh 10:00-11:15      Instructor: Laura Furlan
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the possibilities and paradoxes of creative nonfiction in order to sharpen their skills as creative and critical writers. We will investigate the debated definition of “creative nonfiction,” read and discuss possible forms that this genre may take—the personal essay, flash nonfiction, the environmental essay, the lyrical essay, and travel narrative—and explore its boundaries through our own work. The center of this course will be a workshop of students’ writing. In workshops, and in supplementary discussions and activities, we’ll study elements of prose craft such as character, setting, dialogue, sound, voice, and image. In addition, we’ll focus on issues of particular importance to creative nonfiction, including voice, veracity, and innovation of form.

English 388 Writing, Rhetoric & Society 

(300 elective)(WRLS)(TELA)

Lecture 1    TuTh 2:30-3:45    Instructor: David Fleming
This course is an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of rhetoric, defined here as the art of persuasion. For nearly 2,500 years, rhetoric has been the central academic discipline for thinking about the adaptation of discourse to purpose, audience, occasion, medium, and subject matter. The earliest rhetorical arts were focused on public speaking in direct democracies; later rhetorics treated eloquence more broadly, including written discourse and its role in religion, science, commerce, art, and education. Contemporary rhetorical theories have expanded the purview of rhetoric to include visual media, digital culture, and nonverbal performance and to see rhetorical motivations lurking even in artifacts produced without conscious persuasive design. Rhetoric is useful as a critical tool for analyzing others’ discourse; as a practical art for inventing one’s own discourse; and as a theoretical discipline for interrogating the languages of social and political life. In this course, we’ll learn about and practice these various rhetorics. The course is also meant to help students meet relevant objectives of the English section of the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL).

English 389 The Major and Beyond 

(WRLS)

Lecture 1    Wednesdays 11:30 AM - 12:45     Instructor: Jennifer Minnen
(2 credits) Why wait any longer? This course helps you pave the way to a valuable post-graduate experience--be it a program, internship, or job. You will practice important job search skills, learn to articulate the worth of your major, and leave the class with a better sense of your vocational direction. In addition to receiving individualized guidance in creating a cover letter and résumé of immediate use, other assignments are likely to include attendance at career events, interviews with professionals from fields of interest, a professional presentation, a short paper researching professions, and participation in a mock interview. Note: for an additional credit and some extra work, students can opt to have the course count toward an English elective. Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors.   

English 391D Writing & Emerging Technology 

(300 elective)(WRLS)(Creative Writing)(TELA)

Lecture 1    MW 2:30-3:45    Instructor: Janine Solberg
The focus of this course is digital publishing and book design. Students can expect to develop a working mastery of Adobe InDesign (an industry-standard publishing tool) and cultivate a deeper appreciation for books as material, technological objects. Much of our work will be structured around hands-on exercises designed to help you become familiar with the InDesign workspace and its features—including and especially those relevant to the design of books. By the end of the semester, you will know how to lay out, style, and export a multi-chapter book, using industry-standard conventions and dimensions. You will also get to design your own book jacket and flap copy.

You can expect to come away from this course having generated 1-2 substantial design projects that you can add to your portfolio for use when applying to jobs or internships. Note: Students who wish to use their own creative writing or academic writing as the contents of their book design project will have the opportunity to do so. Other options will also be available to students who do not wish to work with their own writing.

This course counts toward the WRLS and Creative Writing concentrations and is a recommended course for students pursuing PWTC, as well as Jabberwocky staff and those interested in publishing careers. (3 credits)

English 391P Literary Editing, Publishing, Programming 

(WRLS)

Lecture 1    TuTh 10:00-11:15        Instructor: Nathaniel Pinkham
(2 credits) In this course, students will learn skills related to literary programming, editing, and publishing. Topics will include strategies for and approaches to running a successful reading series, managing, and producing a literary journal, book publishing, and others. Students will have the opportunity to study and learn about the English Dept. journal Jabberwocky and to intern for the MFA's Visiting Writers Series. Students may also take the course to support their work on professional literary internships they have secured themselves.

English 412 History of the English Language 

(early British literature or 400 elective)(TELA)(WRLS)

Lecture 1    MWF 10:10-11:00        Instructor: Stephen Harris 
Why do people in MA sound different than people in NY?  Have people always spoken like this?  HEL is a thrilling ride through the major changes in English phonology, morphology, syntax, spelling, and vocabulary from the 5th century to the 21st century. Among the topics we will consider are historical change and dialectic difference, literacy and morality, the emergence of vernaculars and the decline of Latin, and the current state of English. No previous knowledge of linguistics, Anglo Saxon, or Middle English is required.  

English 450 Advanced Expository Writing 

(400 elective)(Creative Writing)(WRLS)

Lecture 1    MWF 1:25-2:15    Instructor:  Kari Daly
Writing for Nonprofits.  This course will dive deeply into how professional writing is inextricably bound to issues of social justice and democracy. Together, we will examine theories of rhetoric and composition, focusing on how these theories shape professional writing and how they can advance social justice initiatives in nonprofit communication. Utilizing their new skillset, students will analyze and produce texts related to nonprofit work, including mission statements, grant applications, press releases and social media posts, as well as informational materials associated with nonprofits such as brochures, pamphlets, and signage.

English 455 Advanced Creative Writing Fiction 

(400 elective)(Creative Writing)

Lecture 1    MW 4:00-5:15    Instructor: Jordy Rosenberg
A seminar in writing short stories and other fiction for advanced creative writing students. Students read in contemporary fiction and in craft topics; write regularly and discuss one another's writing. Prerequisite: ENGLISH 350, 355, or 356.

English 468 James Joyce 

(Anglophone or 400 elective)(Environmental Humanities)

Lecture 1    TuTh 10:00-11:15        Instructor: Katherine O’Callaghan
From one hundred-letter thunderwords to falling giants and pirate queens, this course allows you to delve into the magical prose world of one of the world's most innovative writers. In "The Writings of James Joyce" we will discuss Joyce's short story collection Dubliners, his semi-autobiographical A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man, his modernist epic Ulysses, as well as sections from his extraordinary masterpiece Finnegans Wake. The emphasis will be on a close textual examination of Joyce's prose, as well as historical, cultural, and political contextualizations. Joyce's musical content and inspirations will be a dominant theme of the course. His character, Stephen Dedalus, worries that his "souls frets in the shadow" of the English language, but we will discover how Joyce reinvents English for his own purposes. For English majors only.

English 492D Children’s Literature 

(400 elective or later British literature)(Literature as History)

Lecture 1    MW 4:00-5:15    Instructor: Gretchen Gerzina
Topic: Pirates, Orphans, and Empire: The Victorians in Children's Literature. British children's novels offer several ways of understanding the Victorians and Edwardians through ideas about childhood and orphanhood, masculinity and femininity, literature, nature and scientific discovery and invention, social history, the imagination, poverty and consumerism. In addition to these novels, we will read critical materials on Victorian childhood and literature, the formation of class identity, why orphans are central to this literature, and how Victorianism and literature before the Great War set the stage for a rapidly changing world. 

For example, The Water Babies explores what was then the new concept of Darwinism and its place in a religious world. The Wind in the Willows looks at the role of the pastoral in a changing world of industrialism and consumerism. Both Peter and Wendy and Treasure Island look at pirates and the role of adventure stories, and ideas of masculinity. The two Alice novels make a strong pitch for fantasy and the imagination in a rigidly class-bound society. The Secret Garden discusses the regenerative power of nature, and both this novel and The Little Lame Prince talk about disability. Many of these books changed the way that adults and the world they made or inherited thought about childhood itself and are still relevant today. 

A 1-2 response will be written to each book, there will be 3 essays increasing from 5 to 15 pages, and students will learn to search for and incorporate critical scholarly essays in their written work. Students will make class presentations in groups of two.

English 494NI The Next Chapter: Topic – Nature, Climate Change & Literature

(Integrative Experience)(Environmental Humanities)

Lecture 1    TuTh 2:30-3:45    Instructor: Malcolm Sen 
All Literature is Environmental Literature  In this course, students are asked to reflect on their career trajectories as English majors and analyze key texts that stood out for them through the lens of Environmental Humanities critique. In addition, we will read a selection of short stories and poetry that deal with big issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and  nuclear warfare.  As in other IE courses, this course is designed to engage the following: 1) Students are asked “to reflect on and to integrate” their learning in college, from their major to their General Education courses to their electives and extracurricular experiences; 2) Students practice key “Gen Ed” objectives, such as oral communication, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary perspective-taking, at a more advanced level; And 3) Students apply what they’ve learned to “new situations, challenging questions, and real-world problems.” You can read more about the IE here: http://www.umass.edu/gened/objectives-designations/curricular-designations/integrative-experience.

English 494NI The Next Chapter: Topic — Irish Imagination

(Integrative Experience)

Lecture 2    MWF 10:10-11:00    Instructor: Katheirne O’Callaghan
Designed for senior primary English majors, this course asks students at that important moment in their education, what have you learned as an English major? How have your English studies intersected with other courses you’ve taken and programs you’ve pursued? And how will you make the most of those studies once you graduate? This course will help primary English majors in their senior year situate their work within both the different fields of English and the many disciplines of the wider academy, explore how their identity has affected and been affected by that work, and consider ways in which they might connect their work with the world outside the academy.

In this section we will approach the IE goals through the genre of the personal essay. We will explore samples from the recent growth of the personal essay in the Irish and other contexts. Satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for ENGLISH majors.

English 494RI Race and Contemporary Arts

(Integrative Experience)

Lecture 1        TuTh 10:00-11:15          Instructor: Caroline Yang
This Integrative Experience class looks at the relationship between art and politics -- specifically, the question of race in contemporary art. It is an interdisciplinary course that draws from a range of different art forms (literature, theater, film, the visual arts, dance, and music), as well as history and social science. In order to understand the complex ways in which race appears in the arts today, we will look at some of the historical origins of race and art in the United States, as well as in a comparative framework.

As an upper-division Integrative Experience course, students will be asked to reflect on and make connections between their undergraduate education and questions that animate the world. We will engage in alternate pedagogical and learning practices, including collaborative projects that use digital learning tools, team teaching, and shared discussion rubrics. This class is open to majors in English and the College of Fine Arts and Humanities.

English 499C Foundations and Departures in Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry and Literary Nonfiction 

(400 creative writing elective)

Lecture 1        Instructor: John Hennessy
Foundations and Departures in Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry, and Literary Non-Fiction Foundations and Departures in Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry, and Literary Non-Fiction is  a multi-genre, two-semester course in creative writing designed to help students complete a Capstone project within the genre of their choice. Both a class in contemporary literature and a writing workshop, Foundations and Departures will offer students a wide variety of reading assignments and writing exercises from across all three genres. At the end of the first semester students will submit a portfolio of original work; in the second semester students will finish drafting and revising their Capstone projects. Textbooks will include The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop, collections of poetry by Nathan McClain and Denise Duhamel, an anthology of contemporary short stories, and non-fiction by Ta-Nehisi Coates and others. 

Interested students should submit a personal statement: 1-2 pages, list and briefly discuss your favorite books, writers, poems, poets, etc.; also, tell me if you are a student in Commonwealth College—some priority will be given to ComColl students, but some of the most successful students in 499 in past years have come from outside Commonwealth College. Also include a writing sample—one complete story or essay, or 5-10 poems. Some combination of poetry and prose is also permitted. SEND TO:@email by APRIL 26.

Fall 2025 courses organized by requirements in the major that they meet.

English 200 Intro to Literary Studies

English 200, Section 1
English 200, Section 2
English 200, Section 3
English 200, Section 4 

One course in British Literature and Culture before 1700

English 201 Early British Lit 
English 221 Shakespeare  
English 313 Intro to Old English Poetry 
English 412 History of English Language 
 

Survey Requirements (total 2 courses)

Two courses total: One course each in two of the following categories:

• Category 1: British Literature and Culture after 1700

• Category 2: American Literature and Culture before 1865

• Category 3: American Literature and Culture after 1865

English 202 Later British Literature (category 1) 
English 268 American Literature and Culture before 1865 (category 2) 
English 269 American Literature and Culture after 1865 (category 3) 
English 300 Junior Year Writing, Sect 1: Resistance & Revolution in 20th and 21st Century American Poetry (category 3) 
English 358 The Romantic Poets (category 1) 
English 359 Victorian Imagination (category 1) 
English 376 American Fiction (category 2)
English 492D Children’s Literature “The Victorians in Children’s Literature” (category 1)

One course in global Anglophone or ethnic American literature, culture, or rhetorics 200+ level:

English 205 Intro to Post Colonial Studies  
English 300 Junior Year Writing, Sect 1: Resistance & Revolution in 20th and 21st Century American Poetry
English 300 Junior Year Writing: Section 2: Black Women Novelists 
English 371 African American Literature 
English 468 James Joyce 

200-400+ English electives:

English 201 Early British Literature
English 202 Later British Literature 
English 205 Intro to Post Colonial Studies 
English 221 Shakespeare 
English 254 Intro to Creative Writing (4 sections) 
English 257H Interactive Fiction Honors 
English 268 American Literature and Culture before 1865 
English 269 American Literature and Culture after 1865  
English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 1: Resistance & Revolution in 20th and 21st Century American Poetry 
English 300 Junior Year Writing: Section 2: Black Women Writers 
English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 3: History of the Book 
English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 4: Speculative Fiction
English 313 Intro to Old English Poetry 
English 319 Representing the Holocaust 
English 329H Tutoring Writing:  Theory and Practice Honors 
English 350H Expository Writing Honors 
English 355 Creative Writing Fiction (2 sections) 
English 356 Creative Writing Poetry 
English 358 The Romantic Poets  
English 359 Victorian Imagination 
English 371 African American Literature 
English 376 American Fiction
English 379 Intro to Professional Writing (2 sections) 
English 380 Professional Writing and Technical Communication 
English 385 Creative Nonfiction
English 388 Rhetoric, Writing & Society 
English 391D Writing & Emerging Technology 
English 412 History of the English Language 
English 450 Advanced Expository Writing 
English 455 Creative Writing: Fiction 
English 468 James Joyce 
English 492D Children’s Literature 
English 499C Honors Thesis: Foundations and Departures in Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry and Literary Non-fiction

Students may count English 398 (a graded, 3-credit internship) towards this requirement.

Junior Year Writing:

English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 1: Resistance and Revolution in 20th and 21st Century American Poetry 
English 300 Junior Year Writing: Section 2: Black Women Novelists 
English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 3: History of the Book
English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 4: Speculative Fiction

Second majors in English are not required to fulfill their junior year writing or integrative experience requirements in English as they will fulfill them in their primary major.

Integrative Experience:

English 494NI The Next Chapter, section 1 Sub-title: Nature, Climate Change, and Literature 
English 494NI The Next Chapter, section 2 Sub-title: Irish Imagination
English 494RI Race and Contemporary Arts

Second majors in English are not required to fulfill their junior year writing or integrative experience requirements in English as they will fulfill them in their primary major.

Important Notes:

If you wish to apply 1 course toward 2 approved requirements, you must pick up 1 extra 300+ English elective and notify the English Undergraduate Office so that we can make the exception on your ARR. For instance, if you would like to count English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 5 US Literature in a Global Context toward both the American literature before 1865 requirement and also toward Junior Year Writing, you must take one extra 300+ English elective. It can be a writing or literature course.

Dual degree 2nd majors must take junior year writing with us (but are still waived from the Integrative Experience)

We accept no more than three pre-approved transfer, exchange and/or five college courses toward our major requirements.

Contact:

Please contact Celeste (cstoddard@umass.edu) at the English Undergraduate office if you have any questions about the requirements or to get elective credit for an internship and/or transfer courses pre-approved.

Fall 2025 Courses sorted by specializations and certificate programs

American Studies

English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 1: Resistance & Revolution in 20th and 21st Century American Poetry 
English 371: African American Literature: The Idea of Friendship
English 376: American Fiction: The American Worker

Creative Writing

English 146 Living Writers
English 254 Intro to Creative Writing (4 sections) 
English 257H Interactive Fiction Honors 
English 350H Expository Writing Honors 
English 355 Creative Writing Fiction (2 sections) 
English 356 Creative Writing Poetry 
English 385 Creative Nonfiction
English 450 Advanced Expository Writing 
English 455 Creative Writing: Fiction

Environmental Humanities

English 205 Intro to Post Colonial Studies 
English 468 James Joyce 
English 494NI The Next Chapter, section 1 Sub-title: Nature, Climate Change, and Literature

Literature as History

English 221 Shakespeare
English 300 Junior Year Writing, Sect 1: Resistance & Revolution in 20th and 21st Century American Poetry
English 300 Junior Year Writing: Section 2: Black Women Writers 
English 359 Victorian Imagination
English 376 American Fiction: The American Worker
English 492D Children’s Literature “The Victorians in Children’s Literature”

Social Justice

English 116: Native American Literature
English 254: Intro to Creative Writing: Refugee Writings
English 300 Junior Year Writing: Resistance and Revolution in 20th and 21st Century American Poetry
English 300 Junior Year Writing: Black Women Novelists
English 319: Representing the Holocaust
English 371: African American Literature: The Idea of Friendship
English 376: American Fiction: The American Worker
 

Teaching The English Language Arts (TELA)

English 329H Tutoring Writing:  Theory and Practice Honors 
English 388 Rhetoric, Writing & Society 
English 391D Writing & Emerging Technology 
English 412 History of the English Language 

Writing, Rhetoric and Literacy Studies

English 300 Junior Year Writing, Section 3: History of the Book (writing theory)
English 329H Tutoring Writing:  Theory and Practice Honors (teaching/tutoring, writing theory)
English 350H Expository Writing Honors (public/professional)
English 379 Intro to Professional Writing (public/professional) 
English 380 Professional Writing and Technical Communication
English 385 Creative Writing: Nonfiction
English 388 Rhetoric, Writing & Society (public/professional/teaching/tutoring, writing theory)
English 389: The Major and Beyond: Career Exploration for English Majors (elective)
English 391D Writing & Emerging Technology (writing theory)
English 391P: Literary Programming, Editing and Publishing (elective)
English 412 History of the English Language (writing theory)
English 450 Advanced Expository Writing (public/professional)

Professional Writing and Technical Communication Certificate Program

(open only to juniors and seniors with a GPA of a 3.0 or higher)

English 379 Intro to Professional Writing (2 sections) 
English 380 Professional Writing and Technical Communication

The University Without Walls (UWW) at UMass Amherst offers online courses and degree programs. For students taking classes on campus, you will need to request an enrollment appointment on Spire before you can enroll in UWW courses. To learn more about UWW and the online degree programs they offer, visit their website.

Summer 2025 English Online Courses

U+ Summer 2025, Session 1 [May 19 - July 1]

English 254: Intro to Creative Writing
Writing as Practice
Instructor: Nathaniel Pinkham

How do I start writing? How do I keep it going? How do I end it?

These are the essential questions that we will explore through the semester. This class will be about the process of writing, how deliberate practice improves our ability to create gripping sentences, write intricate narratives, and form a compelling work. We will read across all genres, including fiction from Madeline ffitch and Haruki Murakami, poetry from Ocean Vuong and James Skyler, as well as creative nonfiction from David Foster Wallace and Joan Didion.

Through a workshop environment and collaboration with our peers, we will seek to make a community of writers that can engage with each other’s work openly and honestly. By the end of our time together, students will leave with a portfolio of five poems, two stories, and two nonfiction or hybrid texts, as well as narrative fragments that could become future stories, novels, poems, or works of creative nonfiction. More than anything, this course aims to encourage a writing habit that works for you, one that will help you inside this course and beyond it.

U+ Summer 2025, Session 2 [ July 7 - August 15]

English 356 : Creative Writing Poetry
Poetics of Space
Instructor: Lena Rubin

To locate oneself in space is a politically charged act, a practice against alienation and towards connection with the plants, animals, humans, buildings, relationships, communities, and weathers that populate the real landscapes in which we find ourselves writing. It’s also an aesthetic challenge. How can sunlight, summer air, the moon, a river, a city, or a room be reflected or refracted through a poem? In this course, we will look closely and listen deeply to the spaces that speak to us. A spirit of experimentation and play will guide us, alongside close reading of poets like Amiri Baraka, Basho, Anne Carson, Lisa Robertson, Joanne Kyger, and Gary Snyder. Taking inspiration from Lisa Robertson’s notion that “the movements of cities [are] echoed in the movements of bodies,” this course aims to foster a deeper sense of reciprocity between self and environment. This course helps you sharpen your skills at poetry craft and work toward completion of one or two poems. This asynchronous course will include lectures, writing exercises, and workshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times).

Winter 2025 English Online Courses

English 132 Gender, Sexuality, Literature and Culture
(ALDG)
Instructor: Rowshan Chowdhury

This course, ENGL 132 Gender, Sexuality, Literature & Culture, is designed to introduce students to basic concepts of gender, sexuality, and identity through the lens of literary studies. We'll explore literary examples from diverse cultures and identities, and critically engage with various issues such as gender inequalities, sexuality, families, media images, queer issues, masculinity, reproductive rights, and history. Throughout the course, we'll analyze how experiences of gender and sexuality intersect with other social constructs of difference, such as race/ethnicity, class, and age. In addition to literary analysis, we'll pay attention to different historical, cultural, socio-economic, and political constructs and how they have impacted our lives, as well as some of the social movements at local, national, and transnational levels. Through various creative and critical assignments, we'll grapple with some of the challenging themes that drive the field. Our goal is to better understand the imposition and importance of difference and become more competent thinkers, writers, and activists, able to work as purveyors of an ever-evolving conversation.

English 202 Later British Literature
(British literature after 1700 or 200 elective)
Instructor: Shwetha Chandrashekhar

This course presents a survey of the development of British literature from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. It will introduce students to a range of historical and sociocultural contexts and enhance their understanding of themes such as colonialism, slavery, racism, nationalism, and migration. We will interpret the terms “British” and “English” broadly and pay attention to how they have functioned to exclude cultures, languages, people, and places. Beginning with Swift’s imaginings of colonial dystopia and Wordsworth’s mourning for a vanishing culture and ending with Rushdie’s magical realist depictions of colonialism and its afterlives, this course seeks to reimagine these periods and writings from the vantage point of the twenty-first century.

English 254 Intro to Creative Writing
(creative writing core course or 200 English elective)
Instructor: Vika Mujumdar

Writing Transit: In Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work, Edwidge Danticat writes: “The nomad or immigrant who learns something rightly must always ponder travel and movement, just as the grief-stricken must inevitably ponder death.” In the twenty-first century, how do we write mobility, exchange, and transit, as we move into and exist in a world where all of these ideas and conceptions of space are central to our experience in this time of rapid globalization and development? With a definition that is anchored in both expansiveness and limitation, in both abundance and economy, we will examine the ways in which we might write the ways we understand transit and mobility—how do we understand place, geography, and home through the lens of transit? Using theory and literature as our starting points, we will examine our unique relationships to transit, defined expansively and consider how we might write movement. Writers we read will include, among others: Dur e Aziz Amna, Aria Aber, Malvika Jolly, Raven Leilani, ‘Pemi Aguda, Sally Wen Mao, and Jhumpa Lahiri. Through this thematic focus, we will examine setting, character, perspective, voice, and more, and students will leave with five poems, two short stories, and two essays.

English 339 Film and Literature
(300 English elective)
Instructor: Sam Davis

This course will survey the art and political nature of translating a book into a film in American culture. With a particular focus on works written by marginalized authors, we will read novels that were later turned into movies, whether in Hollywood or the Indie scene. We will read the novel Push by Sapphire (1996) and the 2009 filmic adaptation Precious, Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman (2007), later turned into the 2017 film, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s infamous The Great Gatsby (1925). Some questions that we will ask: how are these characters asked to represent themselves similarly or differently across mediums? How does the political moment of the novel or film publication influence this representation? We will read Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1982), Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2000), and James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk (1974) and watch their matching films that followed. Later in the course, we will expand the definition of “literature,” taking sensationalist newspaper articles and literature written about Brandon Tena and watch Boys Don’t Cry (1999). We will take a transitive look across genre and medium in order to unpack the different ways identity is represented in film and literature. For example, many interpret the character Nick in The Great Gatsby as a queer one, yet, almost a century later in 2013, the character and his storyline are stripped of their hints of queerness.

Since this class will be taught asynchronously, all materials will be stored online and easily accessible to students at all times. Because there will be films presented each week, I will hold a remote screening for students to watch the film all together to both encourage community building and to unburden students of potential costs associated with watching the films. Students will read critical social theory and film theory alongside the novels in order to better understand how representation works, both on screen and on the page. Students will write a midterm paper about one novel and film pairing, as well as a final paper comparing two different novels and their filmic adaptations, making an argument about the representations of gender and/or race in the texts. 

English 355 Creative Writing Fiction
(300 creative writing elective)
Instructor: Lawrence Flynn

Writing Fiction of Environmental Concern and Consciousness  “The success of all environmentalist efforts finally hinges not on some ‘highly developed technology, or some arcane new science’ but on ‘a state of mind’: on attitudes, feelings, images, narratives.” -Lawrence Buell, Writing for an Endangered World

Fiction can change hearts and minds. What are we to do with this awesome tool? This class applies a central belief in the power of fiction to a colossal dilemma of our era: the global climate crisis. How can fiction writers guided by ecological concern, consciousness, and knowledges illuminate the environmental catastrophe governing our collective moment? What role can fiction play in charting just habits of being and epistemological humility in relationship to non-human ecological processes? 

In this course, we will explore these big questions through the craft of fiction. We will draft either two environmentally conscious short stories or one novel excerpt, sharing our work in generous workshop collaborations with attunement to non-human characters, ethical concern, and scientific accuracy. We will learn to write guided by forms of nature—to craft syntax that spirals like whirlpools and explodes like flower buds. We will read classical and modern stories, novellas, and essays to guide our authorial intentions, inform our ecological knowledge, and bring purpose to our work.

English 391AJ Writing for a Living
(300 creative writing elective)
Instructor: Stefan Petrucha

Learn strategies and skills for presenting your book, your articles, your ideas, and yourself in a compelling and competitive manner to potential readers and buyers. Focusing on the rapidly changing world of publishing, will explore creative writing concepts that apply equally in creating job applications and business proposals.

Fall 2024 English Online Courses

English 132 Gender, Sexuality, Literature and Culture
Instructor: Tyler Clark
Camp Culture and Literature: A Herstory of Who She Is and What She Wants! In the 1960s, Susan Sontag famously defined “Camp” as a mode of being and viewing the world through stylization, artifice, and hyper-exaggeration. This nebulous term has also been described as failed seriousness, the tragically ludicrous, and the ludicrously tragic. Throughout history, epochs of time have been dedicated to a Camp sensibility, producing literature and media that accentuates and emphasizes the artificiality of society, cults of glamorous personality, and how the absurd has a way of revealing hypocrisy. Oftentimes, Camp sensibility intersects with marginalized identity as well, and this course will provide a basis for understanding its roots in gay culture. Camp literature takes the form of horror, comedy, tragedy, decadence, and drama, and this course will provide a survey of its most iconic iterations in a global context. Too often Camp is sublimated as unserious or undeserving of critical attention, but with the resurgence of Camp media—such as the popularity of drag or the 2019 Met Gala— this course seeks to broaden our understanding of what Camp is and why it exists. We will discuss how Camp is primarily a viewpoint with which to see the world through its artificiality, tracing its roots in nineteenth-century gay culture, and its varied representations in the modern age. So, zhoosh your riah, slap your drag, and se camper! (Gen.Ed. AL, DG).

English 339 Film and Literature (300 English elective)
Instructor: Nataliya Kostenko
What scares us? What do these fears say about who we are? How are our fears represented in both film and literature? What is the relationship between horror on the screen and horror in the written word? This course will center around these questions, as well as an exploration of horror in both film and literature. Horror as a genre features many iconic tropes, motifs, and supernatural creatures that have been redone and reformatted in countless ways across mediums, cultures, writers, and directors. Consequently, this genre lends itself uniquely well to studying cultural and artistic traditions and aesthetic relationships between film and literature. We will read classic horror texts by Bram Stoker and Edgar Allen Poe, as well as modern work by Ling Ma and Helen Oyeyemi. We’ll also watch a wide selection of horror films. Through these texts and films, we’ll explore the figures of the vampire and the zombie and the ways in which they represent and explore gothic aesthetics, xenophobia, colonialism, anxieties about the Other, out-of-control consumption, and racialized bodies.

English 391AJ Writing for a Living
Instructor: Stefan Petrucha
Learn strategies and skills for presenting your book, your articles, your ideas, and yourself in a compelling and competitive manner to potential readers and buyers. Focusing on the rapidly changing world of publishing, will explore creative writing concepts that apply equally in creating job applications and business proposals.