Fall 2025 • Winter 2026 • Spring 2026

Fall 2025term list

  • ENGL 100: Controlling Narratives

    Do we lose control in hurrying to seize it? Gyasi's fictional character poses the question, "Do we have control over our thoughts?" Ta-Nehisi Coates' experiences convince him that he has no control over his own body. In addition to Gyasi's Transcendent Kingdom and Coates' Between the World and Me, we will read an autobiography, a memoir, essays, as well as an anthropologist's narrative on college life and discuss the differing scenarios in which control might be beyond reach, negotiated, staged, wrested away, or strategically ceded. Equally important: Is the control you exercise over your own writing constant or sporadic?

     Prerequisites:

    Student is a member of the First Year First Term class level cohort. Students are only allowed to register for one A&I course at a time. If a student wishes to change the A&I course they are enrolled in they must DROP the enrolled course and then ADD the new course. Please see our Workday guides Drop or 'Late' Drop a Course and Register or Waitlist for a Course Directly from the Course Listing for more information.

     6 credits; AI/WR1, Argument & Inquiry/WR1; offered Fall 2025 · Kofi Owusu

  • ENGL 100: Literary Revision: Authority, Art, and Rebellion

    The poet Adrienne Rich describes revision as "the act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of entering an old text from a new critical direction." This course examines how literature confronts and reinvents the traditions it inherits. Through a diverse selection of fiction, poetry, and drama, we will examine how writers rework literary conventions, "rewrite" previous literary works, and critique societal myths. From Charles Chesnutt to Charles Johnson, from Henrik Ibsen to Rebecca Gilman, from Charlotte Bronte to Jean Rhys, from Maupassant and Chekhov to contemporary reinventions, we will explore literary revision from different perspectives and periods.

     Prerequisites:

    Student is a member of the First Year First Term class level cohort. Students are only allowed to register for one A&I course at a time. If a student wishes to change the A&I course they are enrolled in they must DROP the enrolled course and then ADD the new course. Please see our Workday guides Drop or 'Late' Drop a Course and Register or Waitlist for a Course Directly from the Course Listing for more information.

     6 credits; AI/WR1, Argument & Inquiry/WR1; offered Fall 2025 · Nancy Cho

  • ENGL 100: Novel, Nation, Self

    With an emphasis on critical reading and writing in an academic context, this course will examine how contemporary writers from a range of global locations approach the question of the writing of the self and of the nation. Reading novels from both familiar and unfamiliar cultural contexts we will examine closely our practices of reading, and the cultural expectations and assumptions that underlie them.

     Prerequisites:

    Student is a member of the First Year First Term class level cohort. Students are only allowed to register for one A&I course at a time. If a student wishes to change the A&I course they are enrolled in they must DROP the enrolled course and then ADD the new course. Please see our Workday guides Drop or 'Late' Drop a Course and Register or Waitlist for a Course Directly from the Course Listing for more information.

     6 credits; AI/WR1, Argument & Inquiry/WR1; offered Fall 2025 · Arnab Chakladar

  • ENGL 118: Introduction to Poetry

    “Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought”—Audre Lorde. In this course we will explore how poets use form, tone, sound, imagery, rhythm, and subject matter to create works of astonishing imagination, beauty, and power. In discussions, Moodle posts, and essay assignments we’ll analyze individual works by poets from Sappho to Amanda Gorman (and beyond); there will also be daily recitations of poems, since the musicality is so intrinsic to the meaning. 6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Constance Walker

  • ENGL 141: Latinx Voices in the Age of Trump

    The last few years have placed Latinx communities under siege and in the spotlight. The demands of the census and new policies around immigration mean that who counts as Latinx and why it matters has public visibility and meaning. Simultaneously, the last few years have seen an incredible growth of new literary voices and genres in the world of Latinx letters. From fictional and creative nonfiction accounts of detention camps, border crossings, and asylum court proceedings to lyrical wanderings in bilingualism to demands for greater attention to Afrolatinidad and the particular experiences of Black Latinxs–Latinx voices are rising. We will engage with current literary discussions in print, on social media, and in literary journals as we chart the shifting, developing terrain of Latinx literatures. Offered at both the 100 and 200 levels; coursework will be adjusted accordingly.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Adriana Estill

  • ENGL 149: Tolkien and Herbert

    This course will study the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Frank Herbert, with an emphasis on their best-known texts, Lord of the Rings and Dune. These books are often cited as the highest achievements in their respective genres (fantasy and science fiction), and share intriguing similarities, including the One Ring and Spice/Mélange, the perils of power, environmental concerns, blockbuster film treatments, and obsessive world-building. We will also consider secondary works by each author, including Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, selections from his letters, and Herbert’s Dune Messiah, the sequel to Dune. Critical approaches will include ecocriticism, postcolonialism, and Bloom’s anxiety of influence.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Tim Burbery

  • ENGL 160: Creative Writing

    You will work in several genres and forms, among them: traditional and experimental poetry, prose fiction, and creative nonfiction. In your writing you will explore the relationship between the self, the imagination, the word, and the world. In this practitioner’s guide to the creative writing process, we will examine writings from past and current authors, and your writings will be critiqued in a workshop setting and revised throughout the term. 6 credits; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026 · Gregory Hewett, Gwen Kirby, Christopher Tradowsky

  • ENGL 216: Milton and Modernity

    John Milton wrote what is perhaps the most influential, and arguably greatest, poem in the English language. In this work (Paradise Lost), and indeed throughout his corpus, Milton engaged his literary predecessors extensively, yet he also anticipated modern concerns in striking ways. We will read his major works (“Lycidas,” the sonnets, Paradise Lost, and Paradise Regained), as well as prose selections, attending to his use of sources, and to the ways Milton presages debates over free speech and book banning, Darwinism, the multiverse, and AI.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Tim Burbery

  • ENGL 224: Cruel Summer, 1816

    A circle of poets and writers, friends and lovers, spend the summer in Geneva sightseeing, arguing, telling ghost stories, reading and writing passionately together—and changing the course of literary history.  We’ll explore the personal and artistic relations between Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and others, reading the works they wrote in conversation with each other including Frankenstein, “Prometheus,” and Prometheus Unbound, as well as studying diaries, manuscripts, biographical accounts, and films.  Offered at both the 200 and 300 levels; coursework will be adjusted accordingly.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Constance Walker

  • ENGL 241: Latinx Voices in the Age of Trump

    The last few years have placed Latinx communities under siege and in the spotlight. The demands of the census and new policies around immigration mean that who counts as Latinx and why it matters has public visibility and meaning. Simultaneously, the last few years have seen an incredible growth of new literary voices and genres in the world of Latinx letters. From fictional and creative nonfiction accounts of detention camps, border crossings, and asylum court proceedings to lyrical wanderings in bilingualism to demands for greater attention to Afrolatinidad and the particular experiences of Black Latinxs–Latinx voices are rising. We will engage with current literary discussions in print, on social media, and in literary journals as we chart the shifting, developing terrain of Latinx literatures. Offered at both the 100 and 200 levels; coursework will be adjusted accordingly.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Adriana Estill

  • ENGL 247: The American West

    Wallace Stegner once described the West as "the geography of hope" in the American imagination. Despite various dystopian urban pressures, the region still conjures up images of wide vistas and sunburned optimism. We will explore this paradox by examining both popular mythic conceptions of the West (primarily in film) and more searching literary treatments of the same area. We will explore how writers such as Twain, Cather, Stegner and Cormac McCarthy have dealt with the geographical diversity and multi-ethnic history of the West. Weekly film showings will include The Searchers, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Unforgiven, and Lone Star. Extra Time Required, evening screenings.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Michael Kowalewski

  • ENGL 256: Excavating Histories: Archival Research Methods

    This course will introduce the fundamentals of working with special collections and archives, including ethical best practices and methods of research and interpretation. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship, we will explore questions such as: What constitutes an archive? What motivates people to create and seek out archives? Whose lives and histories have been privileged in the cultivation of archives, and what is being done to address these disparities? What are the limits of archiving as a means of redress? Course work will include in-person visits to collections at Carleton and beyond, as well as research in digitized collections nationwide.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Emily Coccia

  • ENGL 257: Fandom and the Queer Digital Commons

    In this introduction to fan studies, students will engage with foundational and emerging scholarship, as well as popular media that represent key sites in the development of modern fandom. A famously “undisciplined” discipline, fan studies draws on a variety of intellectual traditions, and we will read broadly to consider what fandom includes, where its politics emerge, and how to engage as ethical researchers. This course foregrounds modern queer fan cultures to explore the shifting relationship between creators and audiences and the tensions within fan communities. Television and films from the 1960s to the present will serve as weekly case studies.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Emily Coccia

  • ENGL 263: Hybrid Memoir and Creative Nonfiction

    This course explores innovative approaches to forms such as the personal essay, memoir, and travel writing. Students will experiment with various craft techniques, such as story structure, voice, and literary devices, and craft their own original personal narratives. We’ll read authors such as Ocean Vuong, Sarah Minor, Alexander Chee, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil, while generating new material through weekly writing exercises and reflections. These techniques will help students navigate difficult topics, break free from writing ruts, and develop fresh perspectives on their story. We'll foster a collaborative writing space, practice the art of feedback, and build a portfolio of work.

     6 credits; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Marianne Manzler

  • ENGL 270: Short Story Workshop

    An introduction to the writing of the short story. Each student will become familiar with contemporary short stories, complete a number of short writing exercises, and have discussed in class two full-length stories (from 3,000 to 7,000 words in length) and give constructive suggestions, including written critiques, for revising the stories written by other members of the class. Attention will be paid to all the elements of fiction: characterization, point of view, conflict, setting, dialogue, etc.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One 6 credit English course excluding Independent Studies and Comps with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; S/CR/NC; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026 · Gwen Kirby

  • ENGL 294: Directed Research in English

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

     1 – 6 credits; No Exploration; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026

  • ENGL 295: Critical Methods

    Required of students majoring in English, this course explores practical and theoretical issues in literary analysis and contemporary criticism.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One English Foundations including (100) course with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the English Literature and Composition AP exam or received a grade of 6 or better on the English Language A: Literature IB exam AND 6 credits from English courses (100-399) not including Independent Studies and Comps with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025, Spring 2026 · Peter Balaam, Nancy Cho

  • ENGL 324: Cruel Summer, 1816

    A circle of poets and writers, friends and lovers, spend the summer in Geneva sightseeing, arguing, telling ghost stories, reading and writing passionately together—and changing the course of literary history.  We’ll explore the personal and artistic relations between Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and others, reading the works they wrote in conversation with each other including Frankenstein, “Prometheus,” and Prometheus Unbound, as well as studying diaries, manuscripts, biographical accounts, and films.  Offered at both the 200 and 300 levels; coursework will be adjusted accordingly.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One English Foundations including (100) course with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the English Literature and Composition AP exam or received a grade of 6 or better on the English Language A: Literature IB exam AND 6 credits from English courses (100-399) not including Independent Studies and Comps with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Constance Walker

  • ENGL 394: Directed Research in English

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

     1 – 6 credits; No Exploration; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026

  • ENGL 395: The Writings of Virginia Woolf

    Virginia Woolf is regarded as one of the chief modernist writers, as well as one of the twentieth-century's most important feminist thinkers. She revolutionized the novel and the concept of time in fiction, as well as ideas of gender and sexuality. She, along with other members of the Bloomsbury Group, was also a critic of World War I and the build-up to World War II. In this course we will read the majority of her novels, as well as selected essays, diary entries, and letters. Articles by literary critics will offer various contexts for our discussions. Some works included: Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, and "A Room of One's Own."

     Prerequisites:

    Student must have completed any of the following course(s): ENGL 295 and one 300 level ENGL course with grade of C- or better. Not open to students who have taken ENGL 353.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025 · Gregory Hewett

Winter 2026term list

  • ENGL 109: The Craft of Academic Writing

    This course is designed to demystify the practice of academic writing and to introduce students to the skills they’ll need to write effectively in a variety of academic disciplines and contexts. Students will learn how to respond to other authors’ claims, frame clear arguments of their own, structure essays to develop a clear logical flow, integrate outside sources into their writing, and improve their writing through revision. All sections will include a variety of readings, multiple writing assignments, and substantial feedback from the course instructor. 6 credits; No Exploration, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026, Spring 2026 · Nancy Cho, Bret Vukoder

  • ENGL 112: Introduction to the Novel

    This course explores the history and form of the British novel, tracing its development from a strange, sensational experiment in the eighteenth century to a dominant literary genre today. Among the questions that we will consider: What is a novel? What makes it such a popular form of entertainment? How does the novel participate in ongoing conversations about family, sex, class, race, and nation? How did a genre once considered a source of moral corruption become a legitimate literary form? Authors include: Daniel Defoe, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Bram Stoker, Virginia Woolf, and Jackie Kay. 6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026, Spring 2026 · Jessica Leiman

  • ENGL 131: Speculative Fiction

    This course uses "speculative fiction" as umbrella term for categories and (sub)genres that include science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and horror. Deviation from the norm is our norm. You will have to teach your eyes to hear, and your ears to see. Above all, your multisensory engagement should allow for a reality check: does speculative fiction replicate or repudiate known stereotypes of women and blacks, in particular? What do you find (un)appealing about speculative fiction? We will read a variety of short fiction from the DARK MATTER anthology as well as longer narratives by Octavia Butler and Nalo Hopkinson.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Kofi Owusu

  • ENGL 144: Shakespeare I

    A chronological survey of the whole of Shakespeare's career, covering all genres and periods, this course explores the nature of Shakespeare's genius and the scope of his art. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between literature and stagecraft ("page to stage"). By tackling the complexities of prosody, of textual transmission, and of Shakespeare's highly figurative and metaphorical language, the course will help you further develop your ability to think critically about literature. Offered at both the 100 and 200 levels, coursework adjusted accordingly. Declared or prospective English majors should register for ENGL 244.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2026 · Pierre Hecker

  • ENGL 160: Creative Writing

    You will work in several genres and forms, among them: traditional and experimental poetry, prose fiction, and creative nonfiction. In your writing you will explore the relationship between the self, the imagination, the word, and the world. In this practitioner’s guide to the creative writing process, we will examine writings from past and current authors, and your writings will be critiqued in a workshop setting and revised throughout the term. 6 credits; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026 · Gregory Hewett, Gwen Kirby, Christopher Tradowsky

  • ENGL 230: Studies in African American Literature: From the 1950s to the Present

    We will explore developments in African American literature since the 1950s with a focus on literary expression in the Civil Rights Era; on the Black Arts Movement; on the new wave of feminist/womanist writing; and on the experimental and futuristic fictions of the twenty-first century. Authors to be read include Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Malcolm X, Audre Lorde, Amiri Baraka, Ishmael Reed, Alice Walker, August Wilson, Charles Johnson, Ntozake Shange, Gloria Naylor, Suzan-Lori Parks, Kevin Young, and Tracy Smith. 6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2026 · Kofi Owusu

  • ENGL 235: Asian American Literature

    This course is an introduction to major works and authors of fiction, drama, and poetry from about 1900 to the present. We will trace the development of Asian American literary traditions while exploring the rich diversity of recent voices in the field. Authors to be read include Carlos Bulosan, Sui Sin Far, Philip Kan Gotanda, Maxine Hong Kingston, Jhumpa Lahiri, Milton Murayama, Chang-rae Lee, Li-young Lee, and John Okada. 6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Nancy Cho

  • ENGL 244: Shakespeare I

    A chronological survey of the whole of Shakespeare's career, covering all genres and periods, this course explores the nature of Shakespeare's genius and the scope of his art. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between literature and stagecraft ("page to stage"). By tackling the complexities of prosody, of textual transmission, and of Shakespeare's highly figurative and metaphorical language, the course will help you further develop your ability to think critically about literature. Offered at both the 100 and 200 levels, coursework will be adjusted accordingly. Non English majors should register for English 144.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Pierre Hecker

  • ENGL 245: Bollywood Nation

    This course will serve as an introduction to Bollywood or popular Hindi cinema from India. We will trace the history of this cinema and analyze its formal components. We will watch and discuss some of the most celebrated and popular films of the last 60 years with particular emphasis on urban thrillers and social dramas. 6 credits; IS, International Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Arnab Chakladar

  • ENGL 253: Food Writing: History, Culture, Practice

    We are living in perhaps the height of what might be called the “foodie era” in the U.S. The cooking and presentation of food dominates Instagram and is one of the key draws of YouTube and various television and streaming networks; shows about chefs and food culture are likewise very popular. Yet a now less glamorous form with a much longer history persists: food writing. In this course we will track some important genres of food writing over the last 100 years or so. We will examine how not just food but cultural discourses about food and the world it circulates in are consumed and produced. We will read recipes and reviews; blogs and extracts from cookbooks, memoirs and biographies; texts on food history and policy; academic and popular feature writing. Simultaneously we will also produce food writing of our own in a number of genres.  6 credits; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Arnab Chakladar

  • ENGL 259: Creative Travel Writing Workshop

    Travelers write. Whether it be in the form of postcards, text messages, blogs, or articles, writing serves to anchor memory and process difference, making foreign experience understandable to us and accessible to others. While examining key examples of the genre, you will draw on your experiences off-campus for your own work. Student essays will be critiqued in a workshop setting, and all work will be revised before final submission. Some experimentation with blended media is also encouraged. This course was formerly listed as CCST 270.

    CCST 259 is cross listed with ENGL 259.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has enrolled in any of the following course(s): Any Carleton OCS course or Non-Carleton OCS course with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; S/CR/NC; ARP, Arts Practice, IS, International Studies, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Peter Balaam

  • ENGL 268: Writing with AI

    Is “Writing with AI” a contradiction in terms? Is all AI writing just a remix of other, better writing by humans? Can we create interesting, engaging, creative writing in collaboration with AI? This course will grapple with these questions as we take multiple AI tools for a spin. We’ll use AI to create a variety of texts, including stories, games, images, and essays. Along the way, we’ll think about how writing with AI affects the ways we work and think as writers, and what we gain and lose by using it.

     6 credits; WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · George Cusack

  • ENGL 270: Short Story Workshop

    An introduction to the writing of the short story. Each student will become familiar with contemporary short stories, complete a number of short writing exercises, and have discussed in class two full-length stories (from 3,000 to 7,000 words in length) and give constructive suggestions, including written critiques, for revising the stories written by other members of the class. Attention will be paid to all the elements of fiction: characterization, point of view, conflict, setting, dialogue, etc.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One 6 credit English course excluding Independent Studies and Comps with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; S/CR/NC; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026 · Gwen Kirby

  • ENGL 279: Living London Program: Urban Field Studies

    A combination of background readings, guided walks and site visits, and individual exploration will give students tools for understanding the history of multicultural London. Starting with the city’s early history and moving to the present, students will gain an understanding of how the city has been defined and transformed over time, and of the complex cultural narratives that shape its standing as a global metropolis. There will be short written exercises (creative and analytical), informal mini-presentations, and a final group presentation focused on a specific urban site.

     Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Living London Program.

     6 credits; S/CR/NC; IS, International Studies, No Exploration; offered Winter 2026 · Constance Walker

  • ENGL 281: London Lives

    London has been a vibrant, multi-ethnic nurturing ground of creative lives and communities for over two millennia.   We will explore the city as home and inspiration for the creators of brilliant art, architecture, fiction, and film, looking at how the city shaped their lives and works. Visits will include field trips to Dickens’s Spitalfields, Woolf’s Bloomsbury, and Ali’s Brick Lane, among others. Students will also have the opportunity to study a London writer, artist, or creator of their choice. Offered at both the 200 and 300 levels; coursework will be adjusted accordingly.

     Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Living London Program.

     6 credits; IS, International Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Constance Walker

  • ENGL 282: Living London Program: London Theater

    Students will attend productions (at least two per week) of classic and contemporary plays in a range of London venues both on and off the West End, and will do related reading. We will also travel to Stratford-upon-Avon for a three-day theater trip. Class discussions will focus on dramatic genres and themes, dramaturgy, acting styles, and design. Guest speakers may include actors, critics, and directors. Students will keep a theater journal and write several full reviews of plays. Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Living London Program.

     6 credits; IS, International Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Constance Walker

  • ENGL 294: Directed Research in English

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

     1 – 6 credits; No Exploration; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026

  • ENGL 319: The Rise of the Novel

    This course traces the development of a sensational, morally dubious genre that emerged in the eighteenth-century: the novel. We will read some of the most entertaining, best-selling novels written during the first hundred years of the form, paying particular attention to the novel’s concern with courtship and marriage, writing and reading, the real and the fantastic. Among the questions we will ask: What is a novel? What distinguished the early novel from autobiography, history, travel narrative, and pornography? How did this genre come to be associated with women? How did early novelists respond to eighteenth-century debates about the dangers of reading fiction? Authors include Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe, Eliza Haywood, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, and Jane Austen.

    Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One English Foundations including (100) course with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the English Literature and Composition AP exam or received a grade of 6 or better on the English Language A: Literature IB exam AND 6 credits from English courses (100-399) not including Independent Studies and Comps with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Jessica Leiman

  • ENGL 371: Advanced Poetry Workshop

    In this workshop, students choose to write poems from a broad range of forms, from sonnets to spoken word, from ghazals to slam, from free-verse to blues. Over the ten weeks, each poet will write and revise their own collection of poems. Student work is the centerpiece of the course, but readings from a diverse selection of contemporary poets will be used to expand each student’s individual poetic range, and to explore the power of poetic language. For students with some experience in writing poetry, this workshop further develops your craft and poetic voice and vision. Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): ENGL 160 or ENGL 161 or ENGL 263 or ENGL 265 or ENGL 270 or ENGL 271 or ENGL 273 or CAMS 271 or CAMS 278 or CAMS 279 or CCST 270 or THEA 246 with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Gregory Hewett

  • ENGL 381: London Lives

    London has been a vibrant, multi-ethnic nurturing ground of creative lives and communities for over two millennia.   We will explore the city as home and inspiration for the creators of brilliant art, architecture, fiction, and film, looking at how the city shaped their lives and works. Visits will include field trips to Dickens’s Spitalfields, Woolf’s Bloomsbury, and Ali’s Brick Lane, among others. Students will also have the opportunity to study a London writer, artist, or creator of their choice. Offered at both the 200 and 300 levels; coursework will be adjusted accordingly.

     Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Living London Program.

     6 credits; IS, International Studies, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026 · Constance Walker

  • ENGL 394: Directed Research in English

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

     1 – 6 credits; No Exploration; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026

  • ENGL 400: Integrative Exercise

    Senior English majors may fulfill the integrative exercise by completing one of the four options: the Colloquium Option (a group option in which participants discuss, analyze and write about a thematically coherent list of literary works); the Research Essay Option (an extended essay on a topic of the student’s own devising); the Creative Option (creation of a work of literary art); or the Project Option (creation of an individual or group multidisciplinary project). The Research Essay Option is open to students who have completed a senior seminar in the major by the end of fall term senior year. The Creative Option is open only to students who have completed at least two creative writing courses (one of which must be at the 300 level) by the end of fall term senior year. Prerequisites:

    Student is an English major AND has Senior Priority.

     6 credits; S/NC; No Exploration; offered Winter 2026 · Peter Balaam

Spring 2026term list

  • ENGL 109: The Craft of Academic Writing

    This course is designed to demystify the practice of academic writing and to introduce students to the skills they’ll need to write effectively in a variety of academic disciplines and contexts. Students will learn how to respond to other authors’ claims, frame clear arguments of their own, structure essays to develop a clear logical flow, integrate outside sources into their writing, and improve their writing through revision. All sections will include a variety of readings, multiple writing assignments, and substantial feedback from the course instructor. 6 credits; No Exploration, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026, Spring 2026 · Nancy Cho, Bret Vukoder

  • ENGL 112: Introduction to the Novel

    This course explores the history and form of the British novel, tracing its development from a strange, sensational experiment in the eighteenth century to a dominant literary genre today. Among the questions that we will consider: What is a novel? What makes it such a popular form of entertainment? How does the novel participate in ongoing conversations about family, sex, class, race, and nation? How did a genre once considered a source of moral corruption become a legitimate literary form? Authors include: Daniel Defoe, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Bram Stoker, Virginia Woolf, and Jackie Kay. 6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Winter 2026, Spring 2026 · Jessica Leiman

  • ENGL 115: The Art of Storytelling

    Jorge Luis Borges is quoted as saying that “unlike the novel, a short story may be, for all purposes, essential.” This course focuses attention primarily on the short story as an enduring form. We will read short stories drawn from different literary traditions and from various parts of the world. Stories to be read include those by Aksenov, Atwood, Beckett, Borges, Camus, Cheever, Cisneros, Farah, Fuentes, Gordimer, Ishiguro, Kundera, Mahfouz, Marquez, Moravia, Nabokov, Narayan, Pritchett, Rushdie, Trevor, Welty, and Xue. 6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Kofi Owusu

  • ENGL 160: Creative Writing

    You will work in several genres and forms, among them: traditional and experimental poetry, prose fiction, and creative nonfiction. In your writing you will explore the relationship between the self, the imagination, the word, and the world. In this practitioner’s guide to the creative writing process, we will examine writings from past and current authors, and your writings will be critiqued in a workshop setting and revised throughout the term. 6 credits; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026 · Gregory Hewett, Gwen Kirby, Christopher Tradowsky

  • ENGL 214: Revenge Tragedy

    Madness, murder, conspiracy, poison, incest, rape, ghosts, and lots of blood: the fashion for revenge tragedy in Elizabethan and Jacobean England led to the creation of some of the most brilliant, violent, funny, and deeply strange plays in the history of the language. Authors may include Cary, Chapman, Ford, Marston, Middleton, Kyd, Tourneur, and Webster. 3 credits; IS, International Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; not offered 2025–2026 · Pierre Hecker

  • ENGL 218: The Gothic Spirit

    The eighteenth and early nineteenth century saw the rise of the Gothic, a genre populated by brooding hero-villains, vulnerable virgins, mad monks, ghosts, and monsters. In this course, we will examine the conventions and concerns of the Gothic, addressing its preoccupation with terror, transgression, sex, otherness, and the supernatural. As we situate this genre within its literary and historical context, we will consider its relationship to realism and Romanticism, and we will explore how it reflects the political and cultural anxieties of its age. Authors include Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, and Emily Bronte. 6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Jessica Leiman

  • ENGL 219: Global Shakespeare

    Shakespeare’s plays have been reimagined and repurposed all over the world, performed on seven continents, and translated into over 100 languages. The course explores how issues of globalization, nationalism, translation (both cultural and linguistic), and (de)colonization inform our understanding of these wonderfully varied adaptations and appropriations. We will examine the social, political, and aesthetic implications of a range of international stage, film, and literary versions as we consider how other cultures respond to the hegemonic original. No prior experience with Shakespeare is necessary. 3 credits; IS, International Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; not offered 2025–2026 · Pierre Hecker

  • ENGL 222: The Art of Jane Austen

    All of Jane Austen's fiction will be read; the works she did not complete or choose to publish during her lifetime will be studied in an attempt to understand the art of her mature comic masterpieces, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Constance Walker

  • ENGL 223: American Transcendentalism

    Attempts to discern the nineteenth-century Zeitgeist come down, Emerson says, to a “practical question of the conduct of life. How shall I live?” This interdisciplinary course will investigate the works of the American Transcendentalist movement in its restless discontent with the conventional, its eclectic search for better ways of thinking and living. We will engage major works of Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, and Whitman alongside documents of the scientific, religious, and political changes that shaped their era and provoked their responses. 6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Peter Balaam

  • ENGL 246: Film, Literature, and Culture in Mumbai and Seoul Program: Beyond Bollywood

    While the output of the popular Hindi film industry of Mumbai, also known as Bollywood, has global reach and renown, other genres of films produced in Mumbai are not as well-known or studied. In this course, students will encounter independent feature films, documentaries and short films that will expand their understanding of the larger world of Hindi cinema in particular, and Indian cinema more broadly. Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Film, Literature and Culture in Mumbai and Seoul program.

     3 credits; IS, International Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis; not offered 2025–2026 · Arnab Chakladar

  • ENGL 248: Visions of California

    An interdisciplinary exploration of the ways in which California has been imagined in literature, art, film and popular culture from pre-contact to the present. We will explore the state both as a place (or rather, a mosaic of places) and as a continuing metaphor–whether of promise or disintegration–for the rest of the country. Authors read will include Muir, Steinbeck, Chandler, West, and Didion. Weekly film showings will include Sunset Boulevard, Chinatown and Blade Runner.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Michael Kowalewski

  • ENGL 269: The Art of Time in Fiction

    All stories are bounded by time: the time a narrative takes to unfold, from a single day to a century; the time between writing a story and the story’s events; the time it takes a reader to consume a narrative. In this course, we will ask, how does a writer choose the scope of their story? How do writers approach events that happened a week ago versus one hundred years ago? How does length impact a reader’s emotional experience? Students will write short imitations of published work as well as original stories, and read short stories, novels, and critical essays.

    Recommended preparation: ENGL 160

     ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Gwen Kirby

  • ENGL 272: Film, Literature, and Culture in Mumbai and Seoul Program: Representing Mumbai

    In Mumbai we will read a range of poems, short stories, novels and non-fiction that take Mumbai/Bombay as their setting and discuss the ways in which the heterogeneous cosmopolitanisms of the city are both represented and re-articulated in writing on the city. While our focus will be on Mumbai/Bombay, the course will also function as an introduction to twentieth century and contemporary Indian writing. Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Film, Literature and Culture in Mumbai and Seoul program.

     3 credits; IS, International Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis; not offered 2025–2026 · Arnab Chakladar

  • ENGL 275: Film, Literature, and Culture in Mumbai and Seoul Program: Document Mumbai and Seoul

    Under supervision of the program director, students will work together in small groups to conceive and produce text and image based projects that will knit their experience of Mumbai and Seoul together. Students will draw on the breadth of guided program outings in both cities as well as on their own explorations to produce work that expresses their understanding of the cultural contexts of and connections between these two vibrant metropolises as well as their own experience of them. Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Film, Literature and Culture in Mumbai and Seoul program.

     6 credits; ARP, Arts Practice; offered Spring 2026 · Arnab Chakladar

  • ENGL 294: Directed Research in English

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

     1 – 6 credits; No Exploration; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026

  • ENGL 295: Critical Methods

    Required of students majoring in English, this course explores practical and theoretical issues in literary analysis and contemporary criticism.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One English Foundations including (100) course with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the English Literature and Composition AP exam or received a grade of 6 or better on the English Language A: Literature IB exam AND 6 credits from English courses (100-399) not including Independent Studies and Comps with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Fall 2025, Spring 2026 · Peter Balaam, Nancy Cho

  • ENGL 344: Reading Queerly

    What might it mean to cultivate a queer relationship to reading? Is it a question of identity? That is, does a queer critic read queerly? Might it be a matter of argument? Is reading against the grain inherently queer? Or could it be that queer reading is defined by an affective relationship to the text? We will explore a range of multimedia primary sources and foundational works of queer literary criticism, considering how reading emerged as a privileged site for articulating and embodying queerness. Primary sources range from Henry James and Shakespeare to David Bowie, Prince, and Taylor Swift.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One ENGL Foundations course with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Spring 2026 · Emily Coccia

  • ENGL 359: Contemporary World Literature

    Our focus is on contemporary writers. Specifically, we will privilege genre-bending fiction published within the last two decades in which we encounter a continuum, not a line of demarcation, between us and them, insider and outsider, here and there, then and now, femaleness and maleness, North and South, the local and the global. Authors to be read include Zinzi Clemmons, Teju Cole, Esi Edugyan, Mohsin Hamid, Tommy Orange, Zadie Smith, and Colson Whitehead.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): One English Foundations including (100) course with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 on the English Literature and Composition AP exam or received a grade of 6 or better on the English Language A: Literature IB exam AND 6 credits from English courses (100-399) not including Independent Studies and Comps with a grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; IS, International Studies, LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Kofi Owusu

  • ENGL 370: Advanced Fiction Workshop

    An advanced course in the writing of fiction. Students will write two to three short stories which will be read and critiqued by the class. In addition to writing, students will read and discuss short story collections by contemporary masters of the genre, asking questions about what it means for a writer to have an artistic project and encouraging students to think about their own aims as fiction writers.

    Recommended preparation: ENGL 270

    Repeatable: This course is repeatable with instructor permission.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): ENGL 160 or ENGL 161 or ENGL 263 or ENGL 265 or ENGL 270 or ENGL 271 or ENGL 273 or CAMS 271 or CAMS 278 or CAMS 279 or CCST 270 or THEA 246 with a grade of C- or better.

    Students who have previously taken ENGL 370 must request a prerequisite override from the instructor.

     6 credits; S/CR/NC; ARP, Arts Practice, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Gwen Kirby

  • ENGL 394: Directed Research in English

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

     1 – 6 credits; No Exploration; offered Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026

  • ENGL 395: The Romantic Mode

    In literary study, Romanticism is frequently presented as an historical period, an era beginning in the aftermath of the French Revolution and coming to an end in the development of 19th-C realism and 20th-C. modernism. Following recent Marxist reconfigurations, in this Advanced Seminar we will construe Romanticism as a mode of thought and expression released from period and never having come to an end at all. An interdisciplinary, international, and anti-capitalist approach to the topic with contributions from philosophy, painting, music, and politics, and with primary sources of literary art drawn from Shakespeare to the present.

    Repeatable: Course is repeatable provided the topics are different.

     Prerequisites:

    Student must have completed any of the following course(s): ENGL 295 and one 300 level ENGL course with grade of C- or better.

     6 credits; LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2026 · Peter Balaam