Department of English - Georgia State University (2024)

23rd Floor, 25 Park Place Building
404-413-5800
english.gsu.edu

Lynée Lewis Gaillet, Chair
Audrey Goodman, Associate Chair
Mark Noble, Director of Undergraduate Studies
Elizabeth Sanders Lopez, Director of Lower Division Studies
Josh Russell, Director of Creative Writing

The Department of English is concerned with the study of language and literature and with the craft of writing considered integral to education since ancient times. Although the department concentrates on texts written in English by authors from Great Britain, Ireland, and the United States, it also examines translations of texts from other languages as well as newly emerging literatures in English from other cultural perspectives. Students may also encounter practices that are not, strictly speaking, “writing” at all, such as oral compositions, hypertexts, podcasts, and folk art.

In the first year, all students in the university take courses in the fundamentals of college-level writing and in the reasoned analysis of texts. Other English courses that form part of the core curriculum provide students with opportunities to study topics in world literature or surveys of British, American, and World literature.

English majors may concentrate in one of four areas: literature, rhetoric and composition, creative writing, and pre-education. Before choosing their concentrations, all English majors have the opportunity at the sophom*ore level to gain a broad foundation in British and American literature and studies in literature or rhetoric. Then, with the help of their advisers, majors choose upper-division courses, which allow them to pursue their interests in more depth. Finally, students study within their chosen concentrations in seminars designed as capstones for the major.

In addition, the department’s joint studies program with the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, England, offers Georgia State University English and history majors the opportunity to complete their degrees with a concentration in British and American Cultures.

On successfully completing their studies, English majors will have acquired a sensitivity to the written word and an appreciation for the creative process. They will have developed their skills in organization, writing, and interpretation. English courses offer students the opportunity to discover their own insights and to articulate them with precision.

Majors who concentrate in literature take a range of courses that afford them opportunities to read poetry, prose, and drama from a variety of historical periods and cultural groups. These literature courses seek to promote students’ verbal acuity and abilities at thoughtful evaluation.

Closely related to the study of literature is the department’s creative writing program. Faculty in this program guide students as they practice and refine their creative work in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Students who concentrate in rhetoric and composition learn about the history, theory, and practice of writing to specific audiences for particular purposes. In this concentration, students may focus on either historical rhetoric and the teaching of composition or writing within business and technical environments. Courses in this area allow students to explore the history and theory of writing as applied to the teaching of composition and to writing practices in the workplace.

English majors who wish to teach English in secondary schools integrate studies of literature, language, and composition with a senior seminar that combines these areas with pedagogy.

The Department of English offers courses in the related field of folklore. Georgia State University is the only institution in the state offering a wide selection of folklore courses.

A number of courses in the Department of English have an interdisciplinary approach, and several are crosslisted with other units within the university, such as the Department of African-American Studies and the Institute for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Because of the dynamic and varied nature of our discipline, many of the courses offered (especially on the 4000 level) focus on specific topics not indicated in detail here. Students should inquire in the department office for further information about courses.

Academic Advisem*nt for Undergraduate Students

Academic advisem*nt for undergraduate students is provided through the University Advisem*nt Center (freshman through junior status/fewer than 90 hours) and the college’s Office of Academic Assistance (senior status/90 or more hours). See Office of Academic Assistancefor additional information.

Program Degree Requirements

Students must pass ENGL 1102with a grade of C or higher or be currently enrolled in ENGL 1102to register for ENGL 2105, ENGL 2110,ENGL 2120,ENGL 2130, or ENGL 2160. Students must pass ENGL 1102 with a grade of C or be currently in the course to take ENGL 2105 or ENGL 2160. All English majors must pass ENGL 1102and either ENGL 2120or ENGL 2130with a grade of C or higher to enroll in upper-division English courses. ENGL 2110may be substituted for ENGL 2120or ENGL 2130as a prerequisite for 3000-level literary studies courses with a global or postcolonial mandate (ENGL 3940,ENGL 3945,ENGL 3965, andENGL 3970). Students must pass at least 6 hours in 3000-level English courses with a grade of C or higher in order to enroll in any 4000-level English course. All English minors who plan to take British literature courses must have completed ENGL 2120with a grade of C or higher, and all English minors planning to take American literature courses must have completed ENGL 2130with a grade of C or higher.

The department requires a minimum of 30 semester hours in upper-division English, with no more than 11 being transferred credits.

In addition to the Program Degree Requirements, students must fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements (see College Degree Requirements) and the University Degree Requirements (see 1400 University Degree Requirements and Graduation).

University Grade-Point Average and Grade Requirements

Georgia State University undergraduate students must achieve an overall institutional grade-point average of 2.0 and a major GPA of 2.0 in Areas G and H to receive a bachelor’s degree from the university. Grades of C- can be used to satisfy graduation requirements. However, some courses have prerequisites that require a grade of C or higher. (See 1460 GPA Requirementfor additional information.)

Graduation with Distinction in the Major

All students who are majoring in English may earn Graduation with Distinction in the Department of English if they have a GPA higher than 3.75. This honor will appear on the students’ transcripts and is separate from the Honors Thesis

Programs

• English, B.A.

• English Minor

Courses

• ENGL 0999 - Support for English Composition
• ENGL 3040 - Introduction to Literary Studies
• ENGL 3050 - Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition
• ENGL 3080 - Persuasion: History, Theory, Practice
• ENGL 3090 - Exposition: History, Theory, Practice
• ENGL 3100 - Composition StudieHistory, Theory, Practice
• ENGL 3105 - Practical Grammar
• ENGL 3110 - Technical Writing
• ENGL 3115 - Multimodal Composition
• ENGL 3120 - Digital Writing and Publishing
• ENGL 3125 - Digital Media Studies
• ENGL 3130 - Business Writing
• ENGL 3135 - Visual Rhetoric
• ENGL 3140 - Editing for Publication
• ENGL 3150A - Introduction to Creative Writing - Poetry
• ENGL 3150B - Introduction to Creative Writing - Fiction
• ENGL 3160 - Narrative Techniques
• ENGL 3170 - Poetic Techniques
• ENGL 3180A - Contemporary Poetry
• ENGL 3180B - Contemporary Fiction Craft
• ENGL 3190A - Introduction to Narrative Podcasting
• ENGL 3190B - Advanced Narrative Podcasting
• ENGL 3195 - Teaching in English Studies
• ENGL 3205 - Topics in Creative Writing
• ENGL 3210 - Advanced Grammar
• ENGL 3220 - History of the English Language
• ENGL 3225 - The History and Future of the Book
• ENGL 3230 - History of Literary and Cultural Theory
• ENGL 3250 - Topics in Contemporary Theory
• ENGL 3255 - Introduction to Digital Humanities
• ENGL 3256 - Advanced Topics in Digital Humanities Electronic Literature and Interactive Fiction
• ENGL 3260 - Theories of Popular Culture
• ENGL 3266 - British-American Culture Seminar II
• ENGL 3275 - Literature and Culture of the American South
• ENGL 3280 - English Drama before 1800
• ENGL 3290 - English Fiction before 1800
• ENGL 3300 - Medieval English Literature
• ENGL 3310 - Old English
• ENGL 3350 - Literature and War
• ENGL 3400 - Courtiers, Clergy, and Poets
• ENGL 3410 - Seduction, Revolution, and the Rise of Science
• ENGL 3420 - Mythology
• ENGL 3500 - Restoration and Earlier Eighteenth-Century English Literature
• ENGL 3510 - Later Eighteenth-Century English Literature
• ENGL 3520 - Life Writing
• ENGL 3550 - Early Indigenous Literatures
• ENGL 3600 - Early Romanticism
• ENGL 3605 - Late Romanticism
• ENGL 3610 - Love and Death in Victorian Poetry
• ENGL 3620 - Victorian Novels
• ENGL 3630 - Haunted Texts
• ENGL 3690 - Honors Readings
• ENGL 3695 - LGBTQ Literature
• ENGL 3700 - Early Twentieth-Century British Literature
• ENGL 3710 - Late Twentieth-Century British Literature
• ENGL 3720 - Twentieth-Century English Poetry
• ENGL 3800 - Early American Literature
• ENGL 3810 - American Romantics
• ENGL 3820 - Realism and Naturalism
• ENGL 3830 - American Modernisms
• ENGL 3840 - Postmodern American Literature
• ENGL 3850 - American Poetry
• ENGL 3860 - American Drama
• ENGL 3865 - The Short Story
• ENGL 3870 - American Fiction
• ENGL 3875 - Science Fiction
• ENGL 3880 - American Non-fiction Prose
• ENGL 3885 - Contemporary Literature
• ENGL 3895 - Comics and the Graphic Novel
• ENGL 3900 - Irish Literature
• ENGL 3905 - Jewish Literature
• ENGL 3910 - The Tradition of Children’s and Young Adults’ Literature
• ENGL 3915 - Literature of the Early South
• ENGL 3920 - Southern Literature
• ENGL 3930 - Modern Drama
• ENGL 3940 - Postcolonial Literature
• ENGL 3945 - Literature and Global Conflict
• ENGL 3950 - African-American Literature
• ENGL 3960 - African-American Literature by Women
• ENGL 3965 - African Literature
• ENGL 3970 - Caribbean Literature
• ENGL 3975 - Later Indigenous Literatures
• ENGL 3980 - Women’s Literature before 1800
• ENGL 3990 - Women’s Literature after 1800
• ENGL 3995 - Feminist Literary Criticism
• ENGL 4010 - Topics in African American Culture
• ENGL 4020 - Advanced Study in Indigenous Literature
• ENGL 4030 - Literature and the City
• ENGL 4040 - Religion and Literature
• ENGL 4050 - Transnational Literature
• ENGL 4100 - Study of a Single Author before 1800
• ENGL 4101 - Study of a Single Author after 1800
• ENGL 4110 - Chaucer
• ENGL 4130 - Shakespeare, Earlier Works
• ENGL 4140 - Shakespeare, Later Works
• ENGL 4150 - Milton
• ENGL 4201 - Special Topics before 1800
• ENGL 4202 - Special Topics after 1800
• ENGL 4203 - Special Topics in Rhetoric and Composition
• ENGL 4204 - Special Topicl*terature, Criticism, and Theory