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The following information is subject to change.

For the most up-to-date and comprehensive course schedule, including meeting times, course additions, cancellations, and room assignments, refer to the Banner Class Schedule on the Registrar’s website.

For curriculum information, see the Undergraduate Full-Time Day Programs catalog, also on the Registrar’s website.

BANNER LISTINGS ARE LIVE AS OF OCTOBER 28.

First day of Spring 2020 registrationNovember 18

ENGL by Major Requirement

ENGL 1000 English at Northeastern

Instructor: Professor Neal Lerner
Sequence:  A – M 11:45-1:25
Attributes:

Intended for first-year students in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Introduces first-year students to the liberal arts in general; familiarizes them with their major; helps them develop the academic skills necessary to succeed (analytical ability and critical thinking); provides grounding in the culture and values of the University community; and helps them develop interpersonal skills—in short, familiarizes students with all skills needed to become a successful university student.

ENGL 1400 Introduction to Literary Studies

Section 01

Instructor: Professor Patrick Mullen
Sequence: 
 3 – MWR 10:30-11:35am

Section 02

Instructor: Professor Erika Boeckeler
Sequence:  3 – MWR 10:30-11:35am

Attributes:

Offers a foundational course designed for English majors. Introduces the methods and topics of English literary and textual studies, including allied media (e.g., film, graphic narrative). Explores strategies for reading, interpreting, and theorizing about texts; for conducting research; for developing skills in thinking analytically and writing clearly about complex ideas; and for entering into written dialogue with scholarship in the diverse fields that comprise literary studies.

ENGL 1410 Introduction to Writing Studies

Instructor: Professor Mya Poe
Sequence: E – WF 11:45-1:25pm
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Foundational, Theories and Methods
  • NUCore Writing Intsv in Majr
  • NUPath Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI)

Introduces students to the basic histories, theories, and methodologies surrounding how people learn to write and how writing is used in home, school, work, and civic contexts. Explores writing practices in the U.S. and in international contexts, including the social and political significance of writing in such cultural contexts. Class projects emphasize archival research, research on the development of writing practices, and community-based literacies. Satisfies introductory course requirement for English majors.

ENGL 1700 Global Literatures to 1500

Instructor: Professor Francis Blessington
Sequence: E – WF 11:45-1:15pm
Attributes:

Readings in Greek, Roman, and biblical literature and beyond: Homer, Virgil, Old and New Testament, and Dante’s Inferno. The works all writers read. Emphasis upon background to Western culture and imagination: myth, literary genres and conventions, philosophy, and religion.

ENGL 1600 Introduction to Shakespeare

Instructor: Professor Erika Boeckeler
Sequence:  4 – MWR 1:35-2:40
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Early Literatures
  • NUCore Humanities Lvl 1
  • NUpath Interpreting Culture (IC), Understanding Societies and Institutions (SI)

An introduction to Shakespeare’s plays in every genre, this course emphasizes questions of language and modes of reading as entryways into key themes and topics (e.g., gender, race, identity, kin/g/ship, desire) within the Bard’s corpus. An initial in-depth study of the first play will provide a foundational knowledge of rhetorical strategies, considerations of performance, thematic development, and historical context that will then shimmer throughout discussions of the other plays. We will also seek to answer the question: How does Shakespeare help us think through today’s world?

ENGL 2250 18th-Century British Literature

Instructor: Professor Nicole Aljoe
Sequence: A – MR 11:45-1:25
Attributes:

In the wake of the circulation of global ideas about identity and Enlightenment facilitated by technological advances in printing and publication, the Eighteenth-century in England was a period of rapid change, marked by significant alterations in notions of the self and its relationship to the world. Framed by Parliamentary assertions of individual rights—the English Bill of Rights in 1689, which limited the power of the British royalty and the Reform Acts of 1832, which extended the vote to a larger group of men—the period also encompassed the rise of capitalism and the expansion of slavery, increased class mobility and industrialization, as well as significant alterations in gender roles and conventions. Students in the course will read a selection of key poems, essays, plays, and particularly novels—which rose to greater prominence during the century—in order to explore the ways in which the novel and other genres both reflected and impacted the rapid changes of the 18th century world.

For Spring 2020, our explorations of 18th century literary cultures will pay particular attention to issues of class, race and gender via examinations of texts such as poetry by John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Anne Finch and Mary Leapor; Aphra Behn’s “Oroonoko”; excerpts from Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe”—which just celebrated its 300th anniversary; Margaret Cavendish’s scientific essays and poetry; “The Beggar’s Opera;” “Gulliver’s Travels”; the anonymously published novel, The Woman of Colour; and Jane Austen’s satire of 18th century novel-reading conventions, Northanger Abbey. Finally, course texts, activities, and final projects will draw upon the fantastic digital resources of the Women Writers Project—an online database of women’s writing prior to the Victorian-era intended on making these texts more accessible, based here at Northeastern University’s NULab. Coursework will include: weekly reading posts, 2 short essays, a mid-term and final exam, and a group project.

ENGL 2330 The American Renaissance

Instructor: Professor Theo Davis
Sequence: F – TF 1:35-3:15
Attributes:

Studies the nineteenth-century development of an American national literary tradition in the context of democratic and romantic attitudes toward experience, nation formation, and national crisis. Includes such writers as Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Fuller, and Melville.

ENGL/JWSS 3685 Modern & Contemporary Jewish Literature

Instructor: Professor Lori Lefkovitz
Sequence: B – MW 2:50–4:30
Attributes:

In this class we will read and interpret great 20th and 21st century stories, poems, plays, essays, and novels by Jewish writers. Considering cross-cultural influences, issues of religious, ethnic, and gender identity, and themes of acculturation, alienation, and immigration, we will ask both how these texts constitute a multi-national and multilingual ethnic canon and how they are informed by and comment on the particular historical circumstances in which they produced.  What insights does Jewish literature offer into global modern culture?

ENGL 4060 Topics in 20th/21st Century Literature: Writing Crime and Comedy in Irish Literature 

Instructor: Professor Patrick Mullen
Sequence: 4 – MWR 1:35-2:40
Attributes:

This course is for writers and scholars: our work will have critical and creative components. Ireland has rich comedy and gothic traditions in which humor and violence are closely connected. Both comedy and horror are modes through which writers have addressed the country’s oftentimes difficult history. We will read six works: Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman, Roddy Doyle’s Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Claire Kilroy’s Tenderwire, Paul Murray’s Skippy Dies, Lisa McInerny’s The Glorious Heresies, and Tana French’s The Witch Elm. For the critical component, you will read about the scholarly reception of these works and about theories of comedy and the gothic, and you will write brief analyses. For the creative component, you will write imitations in which you try to master the style of the novels. You will have the option of either a critical or creative final project. In the end, you will have a richer understanding of the place of comedy and crime in Irish literature. Furthermore, by approaching these works as writers yourselves, you will have the chance to refine your own sense of literary style.

ENGL 1450 Reading & Writing in the Digital Age

Instructor: Professor Abbie Levesque
Sequence: A – MR 11:45-1:25
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Comparative
  • NUCore Humanities Lvl 1
  • NUpath Analyzing and Using Data (AD), Interpreting Culture (IC), Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI)

In this course, students will explore how the digital age has shaped their reading and writing. Students will investigate what “digital” really means, and discover how to create data from unexpected sources. Readings will include traditional editorials and academic pieces as well as memes, video games, and other new media, with a focus on the ways we think about reading in the digital age. Students will write across several different mediums, and will learn how to compose in a variety of genres to see how digital technologies and interfaces help us make choices in writing. By the end of this course, students will have developed new technical skills for understanding reading and writing as data and a portfolio of writing across several digital genres.

ENGL 2510 Horror Fiction

Instructor: Professor Gary Goshgarian
Sequence: F – TF 1:35-3:15
Attributes:

This course explores English and American horror fiction from Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker (Dracula) to contemporary masters such as Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Clive Barker. Using short stories, novels, and movies, we will examine the evolution of horror fiction and the various themes, techniques, and uses of macabre. Student writing: announced quizzes, midterm & final take-home essay exams (7-10 pages); optional critical analysis of some horror work not read in the course (7-10 pages).

ENGL 2695 Travel Writing (online) – 2 sections

Section 01:

Instructor: Professor Kathleen Kelly
Sequence: Online

**NEW added 11/21/19: Section 02:

Instructor: Professor Jon Benda
Sequence: Online

Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Comparative, Writing
  • NUPath Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation (EI), Interpreting Culture (IC)

I’m betting that many of you have a phone full of pictures of places you’ve visited, even for a day. People love taking selfies in front of world-famous places—Stonehenge, Niagara Falls, the Taj Mahal, Mt. Fuji. We take pictures, collect postcards, and buy souvenirs to remind us of the experiences we’ve had across town, across the country, across the world. We are enlarged each time we reach beyond what is known and familiar.

This course is intended to enrich your experiences away from home. You will learn about travel writing and place-based writing by reading examples of the two genres (many about the place where you are), as well as reading what experienced travel writers, critics, and scholars have to say about travel writing and place-based writing. You will also contribute your own thoughtful, informed observations about traveling through essays, photo-collages, and videos. Your experiences are the foundation for everything that you create in this course.

ENGL 1140 Grammar: The Architecture of English

Instructor: Professor Janet Randall
Sequence:  E – WF 11:45-1:25
Attributes:

You can certainly live in a building without knowing how it’s constructed, but if you want to do any remodeling, you might want to look at the blueprints.  The same is true of language.  Every day, we put words together into grammatical phrases and sentences without thinking at all about the “construction principles” we follow.  How do we do this amazing task?  We follow an internalized – and completely unconscious — system of linguistic rules, a “blueprint” of our mental grammar. In this course we will explore the elements in this blueprint and the construction principles for combining them.  By the end of the course, you will have a fresh approach to analyzing and constructing sentences and the architecture of English overall.

ENGL 1410 Introduction to Writing Studies

Instructor: Professor Mya Poe
Sequence: E – WF 11:45-1:25pm
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Foundational, Theories and Methods
  • NUCore Writing Intsv in Majr
  • NUPath Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI)

Introduces students to the basic histories, theories, and methodologies surrounding how people learn to write and how writing is used in home, school, work, and civic contexts. Explores writing practices in the U.S. and in international contexts, including the social and political significance of writing in such cultural contexts. Class projects emphasize archival research, research on the development of writing practices, and community-based literacies. Satisfies introductory course requirement for English majors.

ENGL 2695 Travel Writing (online) – 2 sections

Section 01:

Instructor: Professor Kathleen Kelly
Sequence: Online

**NEW added 11/21/19: Section 02:

Instructor: Professor Jon Benda
Sequence: Online

Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Comparative, Writing
  • NUPath Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation (EI), Interpreting Culture (IC)

I’m betting that many of you have a phone full of pictures of places you’ve visited, even for a day. People love taking selfies in front of world-famous places—Stonehenge, Niagara Falls, the Taj Mahal, Mt. Fuji. We take pictures, collect postcards, and buy souvenirs to remind us of the experiences we’ve had across town, across the country, across the world. We are enlarged each time we reach beyond what is known and familiar.

This course is intended to enrich your experiences away from home. You will learn about travel writing and place-based writing by reading examples of the two genres (many about the place where you are), as well as reading what experienced travel writers, critics, and scholars have to say about travel writing and place-based writing. You will also contribute your own thoughtful, informed observations about traveling through essays, photo-collages, and videos. Your experiences are the foundation for everything that you create in this course.

ENGL 2700 Creative Writing

Instructor: Professor Christen Enos
Sequence: 2 – MWR 9:15-10:20
Attributes:

In this introductory course, we will explore three genres of creative writing: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Students will work through the process of generating their own creative pieces, including brainstorming, drafting, workshopping, and revising. In addition, we will study various examples from each genre, examining form, theme, and language.

ENGL 3375 Writing Boston

Instructor: Professor Somy Kim
Sequence: A – MR 11:45-1:25
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Writing, Experiential in the Major
  • NUCore Experiential Learning, Writing Intsv in Majr
  • NUPath Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation (EI), Integrating Knowledge and Skills through Experience (EX), Interpreting Culture (IC), Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI)

Boston has become home to a diverse array of ethnic communities, creating what it means to be of, and in, Boston.  In this course, we will explore how writing has shaped the life of the city by reading a range of genres—non-fiction essays, reports, short stories, poetry, video—from immigrant and diaspora writers who have defined what it means to be both of Boston and elsewhere. As a service-learning course, students will engage in a writing project with a community partner that has made it its mission to self-advocate and support their respective immigrant communities in Boston. This course offers students the opportunity to research and write about the city and those who have written their place in it. The course will culminate in a digital storytelling project showcase.

ENGL 3377 Poetry Workshop

Instructor: Professor Jeremy Bushnell
Sequence: B – MW 2:50-4:30
Attributes:

Offers an advanced workshop in writing and reading original poetry. Students experiment in established poetic forms. Features in-class discussion of student work.

ENGL 3378 Fiction Workshop

Instructor: Professor Gary Goshgarian
Sequence: D – TF 9:50-11:30
Attributes:

This is a fiction-writing workshop, the objective of which is to get you started on the novel you always wanted to write. With an eye to producing material worthy of publication, our primary objective is for you to produce at least two solid chapters (the first and a subsequent chapter) and an enticing synopsis which will serve as bases to develop and eventually present to a literary agent and or editor. Any fictional genre is acceptable—mainstream, literary, mystery, thriller, horror, science fiction, romance, western, etc.—all but vampire or zombie stories. Those have been overdone. I do not encourage writing short stories since they don’t sell. You will be expected to read your own material in class for roundtable response and to offer comments on others’ material.

ENGL 3382 Publishing in the 21st Century

Instructor: Professor Sebastian Stockman
Sequence: D – TF – 9:50-11:30am
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Writing, Experiential in the Major
  • NUCore Experiential Learning, Writing Intsv in Majr
  • NUPath Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation (EI), Integrating Knowledge and Skills through Experience (EX), Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI)

Offers an advanced workshop in writing and reading original poetry. Students experiment in established poetic forms. Features in-class discussion of student work.

ENGL 3384 The Writer’s Marketplace

Instructor: Professor Jeremy Bushnell
Sequence: 4 – MWR 1:35-2:40
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Writing
  • NUCore Writing Intsv in Majr
  • NUPath Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation (EI), Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI)

Explores how writers negotiate the world of literary publishing. Focuses on producing publishable work in genres of the student’s choice (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction), submitting work to appropriate venues, and working with editors and agents.

ENGL/JWSS 3685 Modern & Contemporary Jewish Literature

Instructor: Professor Lori Lefkovitz
Sequence: B – MW 2:50–4:30
Attributes:

In this class we will read and interpret great 20th and 21st century stories, poems, plays, essays, and novels by Jewish writers. Considering cross-cultural influences, issues of religious, ethnic, and gender identity, and themes of acculturation, alienation, and immigration, we will ask both how these texts constitute a multi-national and multilingual ethnic canon and how they are informed by and comment on the particular historical circumstances in which they produced.  What insights does Jewish literature offer into global modern culture?

ENGL 3375 Writing Boston

Instructor: Professor Somy Kim
Sequence: A – MR 11:45-1:25
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Writing, Experiential in the Major
  • NUCore Experiential Learning, Writing Intsv in Majr
  • NUPath Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation (EI), Integrating Knowledge and Skills through Experience (EX), Interpreting Culture (IC), Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI)

Boston has become home to a diverse array of ethnic communities, creating what it means to be of, and in, Boston.  In this course, we will explore how writing has shaped the life of the city by reading a range of genres—non-fiction essays, reports, short stories, poetry, video—from immigrant and diaspora writers who have defined what it means to be both of Boston and elsewhere. As a service-learning course, students will engage in a writing project with a community partner that has made it its mission to self-advocate and support their respective immigrant communities in Boston. This course offers students the opportunity to research and write about the city and those who have written their place in it. The course will culminate in a digital storytelling project showcase.

ENGL 3382 Publishing in the 21st Century

Instructor: Professor Sebastian Stockman
Sequence: D – TF – 9:50-11:30am
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Writing, Experiential in the Major
  • NUCore Experiential Learning, Writing Intsv in Majr
  • NUPath Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation (EI), Integrating Knowledge and Skills through Experience (EX), Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI)

Offers an advanced workshop in writing and reading original poetry. Students experiment in established poetic forms. Features in-class discussion of student work.

ENGL 4710 Capstone Seminar: Issues in Literary Studies and Writing: Ecotheory

Instructor: Professor Kathleen Kelly
Sequence: B – MW 2:50–4:30
Attributes:

  • Major Requirement/s Capstone
  • NUCore Capstone, Writing Intsv in Majr
  • NUPath Writing-Intensive in the Major (WI), Demonstrating Thought and Action in a Capstone (CE)

Have you ever wondered why talking animals are featured so often in literature? Why it seems that we can’t get enough of stories about monsters? If your future will look like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road? Why the tree is such a potent symbol? Wondered about the ethics of Northeastern’s investment in fossil fuels at the same time that it promotes sustainability? Why “a dark and stormy night” is such a cliché—and a useful one? If Henry David Thoreau meant all the things that he said? About the relationship between race and place? (Flint, Michigan, for example?) Why “nature” is gendered female? Whether you should stop eating meat—or if you are vegetarian, whether you should try to persuade others to stop eating “food with a face”? Why there is no easy answer to solving climate change, and why we argue about it so rancorously? Wondered if poetry has any place in a world in which CO2 levels are at a historic high? What it means to be human?

The answers to these and other related questions can be found—or, at least, discussed with spirit and passion—in what we call the environmental or ecological humanities, which includes ecocriticism, animal studies, environmental history, and studies of what is called the posthuman condition.

In this version of the Junior-Senior Capstone, we will spend the first third of the course familiarizing ourselves with a few key critical and theoretical texts, reading and responding to a handful of poems and selected short fiction across a number of genres as well as to theoretical pieces on ecotheory. You then have two choices for the second third of the course: first, to develop a project of your choosing based on whatever it is you love to read (and/or watch at the movies), and green your read—open up your text(s) to an ecological reading, broadly defined. Second, to develop your own set of readings on a topic of your choice, using the readings on ecotheory as a model for generating your own readings. So, for example, if you wanted to write about Caribbean women writers, you would gather together the relevant materials—in essence, you would create a cross between a bibliography and a lesson plan to serve as the foundation for your project. We’ll spend the last third of the term workshopping papers.

ENGL by Attribute

Capstone

ENGL 4710 Capstone Seminar (see Capstone)

Experiential Learning

ENGL 3375 Writing Boston (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL 3382 Publishing in the 21st Century (see Writing, Experiential)

Humanities Level 1

ENGL 1450 Reading & Writing in the Digital Age (see Comparative)
ENGL 1600 Introduction to Shakespeare (see Literary Periods)
ENGL 1700 Global Literature to 1500 (see Foundational)
ENGL 2330 American Renaissance (see Literary Periods)

Writing-Intensive in the Major

ENGL 1400 Introduction to Literary Studies (see Foundational)
ENGL 1410 Introduction to Writing Studies (see Foundational, Theories & Methods)
ENGL 3375 Writing Boston (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL 3382 Publishing in the 21st Century (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL 3384 The Writer’s Marketplace (see Writing)
ENGL 4710 Capstone Seminar (see Capstone)

AD = Analyzing and Using Data

ENGL 1450 Reading & Writing in the Digital Age (see Comparative)

CE = Demonstrating Thought and Action in a Capstone

ENGL 4710 Capstone Seminar (see Capstone)

DD = Engaging Difference and Diversity

ENGL 1700 Global Literatures to 1500 (see Foundational)
ENGL 2330 The American Renaissance (see Literary Periods)
ENGL/JWSS 3685 Modern & Contemporary Jewish Literature (see Diversity, Literary Periods)

EI = Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation

ENGL 2695 Travel Writing (online) (see Comparative, Writing )
ENGL 2700 Creative Writing (see Writing)
ENGL 3375 Writing Boston (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL 3377 Poetry Workshop (see Writing)
ENGL 3378 Fiction Workshop (see Writing)
ENGL 3382 Publishing in the 21st Century (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL 3384 The Writer’s Marketplace (see Writing)

EX = Integrating Knowledge and Skills Through Experience

ENGL 3375 Writing Boston (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL 3382 Publishing in the 21st Century (see Writing, Experiential)

IC = Interpreting Culture

ENGL/INSH 1300 Introduction to Health and Humanities
ENGL 1450 Reading & Writing in the Digital Age (see Comparative)
ENGL 1600 Introduction to Shakespeare (see Literary Periods)
ENGL 1700 Global Literatures to 1500 (see Foundational)
ENGL 2330 The American Renaissance (see Literary Periods)
ENGL 2695 Travel Writing (online) (see Comparative, Writing )
ENGL 3375 Writing Boston (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL/JWSS 3685 Modern & Contemporary Jewish Literature (see Diversity, Literary Periods)

SI = Understanding Societies and Institutions

ENGL 1600 Introduction to Shakespeare (see Literary Periods)

WI = Writing Intensive in the Major

ENGL 1400 Introduction to Literary Studies (see Foundational)
ENGL 1410 Introduction to Writing Studies (see Foundational, Theories & Methods)
ENGL 1450 Reading & Writing in the Digital Age (see Comparative)
ENGL 3375 Writing Boston (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL 3382 Publishing in the 21st Century (see Writing, Experiential)
ENGL 3384 The Writer’s Marketplace (see Writing)
ENGL 4710 Capstone Seminar (see Capstone)

ENGL by Minor

Introductory Course Offerings*

  • ENGL 1140 Grammar: The Architecture of English (see Theories & Methods)
  • ENGL 1400 Introduction to Literary Studies (see Foundational)
  • ENGL 1410 Introduction to Writing Studies (see Foundational, Theories & Methods)
  • ENGL 1450 Reading & Writing in the Digital Age (see Comparative)
  • ENGL 1600 Introduction to Shakespeare (see Literary Periods)
  • ENGL 1700 Global Literature to 1500 (see Foundational)

*Students in the English minor will need to contact Michaela Modica (m.kinlock@northeastern.edu) to have the ENGL 1400 registration restriction removed, as the class is currently only open to English majors and combined majors in Banner.

See Fall 2020.

Writing Theories & Methods

  • ENGL 1410 Introduction to Writing Studies (see Foundational, Theories & Methods)

Writing Electives

  • ENGL 1140 Grammar: The Architecture of English (see Theories & Methods)
  • ENGL 1410 Introduction to Writing Studies (see Foundational, Theories & Methods)
  • ENGL 1450 Reading & Writing in the Digital Age (see Comparative)
  • ENGL 2700 Creative Writing (see Writing)
  • ENGL 3375 Writing Boston (see Writing, Experiential)
  • ENGL 3377 Poetry Workshop (see Writing)
  • ENGL 3378 Fiction Workshop (see Writing)
  • ENGL 3382 Publishing in the 21st Century (see Writing, Experiential)
  • ENGL 3384 The Writer’s Marketplace (see Writing)

Digital and Computational Methods

  • ENGL 1450 Reading & Writing in the Digital Age (see Comparative)

Introductory Course

  • ENGL/INSH 1300 Introduction to Health and Humanities

Humanities Requirement

  • ENGL 4710 Capstone Seminar (see Capstone)