English

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  • CAS EN 175: Literature and the Art of Film
    Provides an overview of fundamental concepts for the analysis and understanding of film. Films are screened weekly and in conjunction with works of literature. Students must register for screening, discussion, and lecture. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS EN 176: Introduction to Film & Media Aesthetics
    Introduction to fundamental concepts for the analysis/understanding of film and media. Key concepts of formal composition (e.g. editing, mise-en-sc?ne, cinematography, sound and more) over a diverse set of media texts. Foundational skills in analysis appropriate to film, television and moving-image media. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Critical Thinking
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS EN 177: Introduction to Asian-American Literature
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: None - Explores Asian American literature from the early twentieth century until today. Addresses questions of identity, immigration, national belonging, diaspora, war, and global capitalism. Authors include John Okada, Maxine Hong Kingston, Chang-Rae Lee, Jhumpa Lahiri, Monique Truong, and Ha Jin. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-intensive Course. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • The Individual in Community
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS EN 178: Introduction to Latinx Literature
    Survey of U.S. Latinx literature that introduces students to the major trends in the tradition. Course emphasizes the historical and aesthetic networks established in the Latinx literary canon that continue into the present, while also exploring the relationship between genre and socio-historical issues. We begin with readings from contemporary scholars who attempt to define what Latinx is and can be, establishing a foundation for thinking about the shifting definitions of "Latinx" in the U.S. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS EN 180: Post-Apocalyptic Narratives
    Why is contemporary culture drawn to stories of zombies, social collapse, and environmental disaster? What fascinates us about dystopia? Stories, novels, graphic novels, film, and television all examined to explore questions of narrative, interpretation, genre, politics, "high" vs. "popular" culture. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Ethical Reasoning.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Ethical Reasoning
  • CAS EN 195: Literature and Ideas
    How does literature relate to philosophy? How do poems and stories explore philosophical beliefs? Readings may include novels, epics, dialogues, sermons, theoretical treatises, and poetry, all engaging with broad questions about meaning, selfhood, divinity, politics, community, value. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Critical Thinking
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS EN 201: Introduction to Literary Studies
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASEN120) or another First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 100 or CAS WR 120) . - Introduction to literary analysis and interpretation. Variable topics. Through frequent writing assignments and discussion, students develop skills in the analysis of literary texts and learn to express their interpretive ideas in correct and persuasive prose. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS EN 202: Introduction to Creative Writing
    This is primarily a creative writing workshop, in which students write and revise their own short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and read their peers' work with generosity, providing constructive feedback. Students also learn to read closely the work of literary masters past and present. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Aesthetic Exploration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
  • CAS EN 213: The "Odyssey" and "Ulysses"
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course consists of a close reading of James Joyce's Ulysses with particular attention to his use of the Odyssey. We also examine the relation of oral and book cultures and other works Joyce takes in, such as the Aeneid, Divine Comedy and Hamlet. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS EN 215: Global Modernist Fiction
    A comparative study of five modernist authors from different world cultures: Faulkner, Kafka, Chang, Rushdie, and Murakami. Examines experiments in narrative technique as differently situated responses to the major events and legacy of the twentieth century. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • The Individual in Community
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS EN 220: Seminar in Literature
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., EN 120 or WR 100 or WR 120). - Fundamentals of literary analysis, interpretation, and research. Intensive study of selected literary texts centered on a particular topic. Attention to different critical approaches. Frequent papers. Limited class size. Satisfies WR 150 requirement. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing, Research and Inquiry, Research and Information Literacy. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing: Research & Inquiry, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing, Research, and Inquiry
  • CAS EN 221: Major Authors
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - Introduction to the major works of ancient and medieval literatures that influenced later Continental, English, and American literature: the Bible, Homeric epic, Greek tragedy, Vergil's Aeneid, and Dante's The Divine Comedy. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS EN 230: Environmental Humanities and Society
    Pre- Requisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Introduces students to Environmental Humanities as an interdisciplinary field exploring our understandings of diverse social, cultural, and aesthetic relationships to lived environments, environmental change, and environmental justice. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Ethical Reasoning, Aesthetic Exploration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS EN 304: Writing of Poetry
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor, to whom five to ten poems must be submitted dur ing the period just before classes begin. - This is primarily a poetry writing workshop, in which students write and revise their own poetry, and read their peers' poems with generosity, providing constructive feedback. Students also learn to read closely the work of master poets past and present. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Aesthetic Exploration.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
  • CAS EN 305: Writing of Fiction
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor, to whom two or three short stories must be submitted during the period just before classes begin. - The writing of short stories and perhaps longer fiction discussed in a workshop setting. For the more advanced student. Individual conferences. Limited enrollment.
  • CAS EN 306: Introduction to Playwriting
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course teaches playwriting craft through lectures, readings, discussion of dramatic writing, writing workshops, attending theatrical events, individual conferences, and the writing of short plays culminating in a one-act. A portfolio of revised work is due at semester's end. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Writing-Intensive Course, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS EN 322: British Literature I
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS EN 120 or WR 100 or WR 120), EN 220, and EN 221. - Beginnings of English literature from Anglo-Saxon period to end of the seventeenth century. Topics include the development of various poetic forms, medieval romance, and British drama. Authors may include Chaucer, Kempe, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Donne, and Milton. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS EN 323: British Literature II
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS EN 120 or WR 100 or WR 120), EN 220, EN 221, and EN322. - Overview of English literature between 1700 and 1900. Topics include London as urban center, modern prose fiction, Romantic and Victorian poetry, tensions between religion and science. Authors may include Pope, Swift, Wordsworth, Austen, Dickens, Tennyson, Wilde. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS EN 325: Topics in Early Modern British Literature
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course, or junior or senior standing. - May be repeated for credit as topics change each semester. Topics vary. Past topics include Gender and Revolution: 17th- Century English Women Writers, The Social Media of the English Revolution. Please see English Department’s website for current topic.
  • CAS EN 326: Arts of Gender
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. - Examines representations of gender and sexuality in diverse art forms, including drama, dance, film, and literature, and how art reflects historical constructions of gender. Topic for Fall 2023: Gendered Utopias, Gendered Dystopias. Is it possible to create spaces where women, non-binary and queer people, and other outsiders thrive, or do all paths lead inexorably to a dystopian future? Texts include non-fiction by Delany and Nelson and speculative fiction by Atwood and Butler. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • The Individual in Community