SPRING 2027 UPPER-LEVEL ENGLISH
COURSES
First year students welcome!
Note: There are no pre-requisites for any of these courses
and course numbers don’t
indicate difficulty
2003 Intro to Creative Writing MW 4:45-6:00,
Cathy Staples
Designed
for students who wish to experiment with composing several kinds of
creative writing: short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.
2009 Writing the Traditional Novel TR 11:30-12:45, Alan
Drew
A
creative writing workshop course designed for students eager to leap into the
complex process of writing a novella or short novel. Students will close-read
short novels to analyze elements of craft and workshop sections of their own
novel in-progress.
2013 Writing of Memoir TR 2:30-3:45, Tsering Wangmo
Memoir
is an opportunity to understand life. This writing workshop provides students
with practical skills in reading and writing about the events, memories, places
that inform their lives.
2022 Writing through Conflict TR 1:00-2:15, Alan
Drew
In
this creative writing workshop, you will study contemporary Irish/Northern
Irish writers while working on your own creative pieces. Over semester break,
you will travel to Belfast for a week of seminars and creative writing
workshops at the Seamus Heaney Centre.
2023 Journalism MWF 12:50-1:40, Kate Szumanski
Introduces
students to key techniques of news gathering and news writing. We will also
explore the principles and rules that guide the writing of news pieces,
editorials, and features.
2024 Scriptwriting MW 3:20-4:35, Michelle Filling-Brown
In
this creative writing course, students will study drama and techniques that
lead to developing characters, crafting stories, and writing scenes. In the
collaborative scriptwriting workshop, students will work as authors, editors,
and critics, ultimately each crafting a one-act play.
2302
Literature of the Apocalypse TR 1:00-2:15, Heather Hicks
One of the oldest forms of narrative,
apocalyptic literature is more popular - and powerful - than ever. Starting
with Revelation, this course traces this tradition through fascinating poems,
stories, novellas, novels and films to the present day.
2991 English Majors in the
Workplace M 1:55-3:10 for first 10 weeks of the semester, Michelle
Filling-Brown
Through reflection, conversation,
and practical exploration, students will gain a clearer understanding of the
many professional and academic pathways open to English majors, from
publishing, education, and law to nonprofit work, business, media, and graduate
study. Students will build essential career skills, including crafting polished
résumés, writing compelling cover letters, developing effective interviewing
strategies, and networking with Villanova alumni.
2994 Reading and Community T 5:30-6:45
for first 10 weeks of the semester, Mary Mullen
Studying the kind of reading that
takes place outside of the classroom in book groups and community reads, this
course practices reading in community while studying hot new books selected by
students in the course. Please note: this is a one-credit course.
3181
Irish Epics, Visions & Hauntings TR 8:30-9:45, Joseph Lennon
A
study of Irish literature from its origins in the world of Celtic mythology,
epic and saga through the development of Anglo-Irish literature.
3250
Shakespeare TR
11:30-12:45, Lauren Shohet
This
course studies the plays and/or poems of Shakespeare. It may be focused on a
particular genre of Shakespeare's work, a period in his career, or a topic. The
course seeks to develop students' appreciation of Shakespeare's artistry and
relevance.
3507 Strange Cases: Imagining Health & Illness TR 1:00-2:15, Joseph Drury
Explore literary responses to pivotal developments in medical science and practice from the eighteenth century to the present. Study works that engage with the new ideas about illness, treatment, and disability that arose alongside changing understandings of the human body.4000
American Literary Tradition I TR 1:00-2:15, Kimberly Takahata
What
makes literature “American?” Who gets to decide? This course examines how
literary traditions developed and changed in nineteenth-century America, with a
particular focus on race, citizenship, colonialism, and history-making.
4618 Harlem Renaissance TR 11:30-12:45,
Crystal Lucky
F.
Scott Fitzgerald called the years between the wars the “Jazz Age.” Folks uptown
recognized that a Renaissance was happening in Harlem. Students will study
major works by African Americans written during the 1920s and 1930s.
4646
Race and Ethnicity: American Novel MW 3:20-4:35, Yumi Lee
This
course examines a fascinating range of contemporary US literary texts to
explore the ways that gender and sexuality intersect with race, class and other
categories of identity to form our experiences of selfhood, community, national
belonging, and power.
4652
Letters, Texts, & Twitter MWF 10:40-11:30, Kamran Javadizadeh
How
does writing bring together distant lovers, friends, family? We'll read
letters, the digital forms (social media, instant messaging) that have replaced
them, and their representation in novels, poems, and essays to explore how
intimacy forms across distance.
4691
Work & Play in Contemporary Literature TR 10:00-11:15, Michael Dowdy
This
class explores representations of work and play in contemporary cultural texts
from the Americas. We will consider how stories, poems, films, and songs depict
the struggles and joys of various jobs: “dirty” (i.e., coal mining),
“unskilled” (i.e., crop picking), “professional” (i.e., sports), and more. In
these innovative texts, oppositions between work and play break down and
creative forms of solidarity and community emerge.
4702 Authors On & Off the
Page TR 4:00-5:15, Adrienne Perry & Tsering Wangmo
Do
you love to write? Dream of visiting with authors to discuss their work and the
publishing world? This course combines creative writing workshops with literary
analysis and the chance to hob-nob with prestigious authors during the
Villanova Literary Festival.
You can view a complete sneak peek of spring courses on our courses page.
