English Major

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ENGLISH (English)
Offered by the Department of English and Fine Arts.

English 109. Academic Communication for English as a Second Language Students. Introduction to academic reading and writing for English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Frequent writing assignments that emphasize writing for the various academic communities. Emphasis on the rhetorical, syntactical and grammatical conventions of written English.

English 111. Introductory Composition and Research. Emphasizes the fundamental uses of language, concentrating on sound academic writing and the rhetoric of argument. Introduces the student to basic methods and resources for academic research, and provides instruction and practice in the presentation, integration, and documentation of researched material. Establishes the foundation for analytical thinking through frequent writing assignments that derive from and reinforce a wide range of readings.

English 211. Literature and Intermediate Composition. Refines analytical and critical reading skills introduced in English 111 through the examination of significant literary texts. Course objectives include acquiring skills in analytical and argumentative writing, research methods and documentation, critical reading, and effective oral communication. Written assignments and class exercises incorporate literary analysis and research, and provide a foundation for communication skills advanced in English 411. All fourth-class cadets who have validated or received transfer credit for English 111 should enroll in English 211 at their earliest opportunity. Midterm explication paper and final research essay.

English 330. Communication in the Information Age. Examines the writing and presentation skills essential for Air Force leaders in the information age. Considers how computers and hypertext affect communication and how today's leaders use and present technical information to accomplish the mission. Through labs, discussions and workshops, students develop the necessary skills to communicate effectively in cyberspace (via the Web and email).

English 341. Literary Criticism. Introduces the theory and practice of literary criticism. Concentrates on major critical approaches, applying them to representative literature and showing how they lead the reader to deeper understanding and satisfaction from the work of art.

English 353. Shakespeare. Intensive study of Shakespeare’s poetry and major plays within the cultural and historical perspectives of Renaissance England. Designed for cadets in any major. Cadets attend a stage production of one play when available.

English 360. Classical Masterpieces. A study of influential genres of the Classical tradition, including epic, drama and history. Authors have included Homer, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Virgil, Tacitus and Dante. Key concepts to be studied include the role of the hero, the nature of political institutions and the relationship between man and the divine – in short, the foundations in Greek, Roman and Medieval European culture.

English 365. Television News: Production and Performance. Examines and uses the fundamentals of television production including: directing, writing and operating the various pieces of equipment necessary for producing television programs. Students write, direct, produce and perform in the weekly “Blue Tube” program, broadcast via closed-circuit television to the Academy community. Lab work stresses understanding the basic television production, public speaking skills, fundamentals and how to use the electronic technology to communicate to a mass audience. Additionally, students will hone critical analysis skills by completing a 4-6 page paper examining their motivation for entering the profession of arms.

English 370. Speech Communication: Theory and Practice. Considers selected topics in advanced speech communication through informative and persuasive speaking. Frequent speaking assignments.

English 380. Topics in Race, Gender, Class, and Culture. Topics in literature, communication theory, linguistics, and rhetoric. The course explores issues relating to class, gender and culture, including international and interdisciplinary topics. Emphasis will change for each offering, but may focus on the literature of women, the rhetoric of class, the impact of culture on linguistics, minority writers in the Americas, or African-American influence on American culture. Seminar approach.

English 383. Literature and Science. Considers the interrelationships among science, technology and literature – nonspeculative and speculative, science fact and science fiction. Eclectic in topical coverage, the course examines both the impact of science on literature and the impact of literature on science.

English 390. Junior English Seminar. A focused survey course, taught seminar style, covering a literary period, literary genre, or major author. The course will rotate periods over a four semester cycle. The periods will be fixed as: Medieval and/or Renaissance; Restoration and/or Eighteenth Century; Nineteenth Century; and Twentieth Century. In addition, courses will alternate between British, American and Communications/Rhetoric/Linguistics. Representative examples are “Medieval Literature,” “The nineteenth-Century American Novel,” “Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature,” “History of English Language,” “Modernism.” Examples of literary genre may include satire, short story, novel, lyric poetry, epic poetry, drama, political essay, creative non-fiction, biography, or memoir.

English 411. Language, Literature, and Leadership: Advanced Writing & Speaking. Building on English 111 and English 211, this capstone course focuses on the moral and intellectual aspects of war as expressed in the literature of our profession: biographical, autobiographical, and fictional accounts, along with the oratory of prominent public figures in times of national crisis. Rigorous written and oral assignments give cadets the opportunity to reflect on the inviolable bond that unites successful command with its moral, intellectual, and emotional foundations. The text list comprises major canonical works of fiction, memoir, and oratory that address the concreteness and complexity of war as well as the ethical issues of leadership.

English 411FX Language, Literature, and Leadership: Advanced Writing & Speaking for French Language Exchange Cadets. Building on English 111 and English 211, this capstone course focuses on the moral and intellectual aspects of war as expressed in the literature of our profession: biographical, autobiographical, and fictional accounts, along with the oratory of prominent public figures in times of national crisis. Rigorous written and oral assignments give cadets the opportunity to reflect on the inviolable bond that unites successful command with its moral, intellectual, and emotional foundations. This course is designed for participants in the exchange programs in France and Canada. Texts in the course are from major canonical works of fiction, memoir, and oratory that address the concreteness and complexity of war as well as the ethical issues of leadership, as well as the language of diplomacy and international relations.

English 461. British Literature I: Beginnings to Romanticism. A survey of English poetry, drama and prose of such authors as Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Swift, Fielding and Johnson.

English 462. British Literature II: Romanticism to the Present. A survey of later English literature focusing on Romantic poetry, Victorian prose and poetry and the Modern novels. Works are by such authors as Byron, Shelley, Austen, Bronte, Dickens, Hardy, Conrad, Tennyson, Browning, Yeats, Lawrence and Fowles.

English 470. American Literature: Introduction. Introduction to American fiction, poetry, drama, and prose. Representative authors might include Bradstreet, Melville, Dickinson, Douglass, Twain, Faulkner, Hemingway, and Morrison.

English 475. Creative Writing. Examines techniques of creative writing. In a workshop atmosphere, students experiment with writing, focusing generally on a specific form such as the short story or poetry. The student’s own work becomes the focus of discussion and attention.

English 484. Literature of War. Explores the treatment of war and issues related to military conflict in literature and other arts. Typical approaches are topical (The Warrior as Hero), cultural (American War Literature), or historical (Literature of the Vietnam War).

English 485. Contemporary Literature. A study of literature written within the last twenty years. Several genres will be offered, depending upon the semester and will change for each offering. Emphasis will be on American and British literature, plus Russian, Central American, European and Third World. Examples of contemporary writers are Sam Shepard, August Wilson, Marsha Norman, David Mamet, William Carpenter, Stephen Dobyns, Ann Beattie, Toni Morrison, Richard Ford, John Updike and Jay McInerney. Cadets will study at least three genres (for example: novels, short fiction, and poetry; or plays, essays, and criticism).

English 490. Senior English Seminar. An intensive seminar covering a literary period, literary genre, or major author. Representative period examples are “Coleridge and His Contemporaries,” “The Victorian Age,” and “American Literature Between the World Wars.” Examples of literary genre include satire, short story, novel, lyric poem and drama. Representative examples of major authors are Milton, Chaucer, Hawthorne, Hemingway, Hurston and O’Brien.

English 495. Special Topics. Selected Topics in English. Previous topics have included Afro-American Literature, Literature by Women, Detective Fiction, Science Fiction and The Roots of Fantasy, Film Studies, Introduction to Linguistics and Myth and the Hero.

English 499. Independent Study. Study and research in literature, composition or creative writing for students who have demonstrated an ability for advanced study in regularly offered enrichment courses and for whom an appropriate enrichment course does not exist. Topics and meeting arranged with the instructor.