Academic Catalog 2026-2027

Department of English

The mission of the Department of English is to cultivate understanding, knowledge, and the application of the English language in a culturally diverse environment. The faculty teach literature, language arts, critical reading and thinking, and research techniques at the core curriculum level for all undergraduates and at the baccalaureate level for majors and minors. Through its courses and programs, the Department of English aims to equip students to succeed in academic endeavors in college as well as in graduate and professional schools and to prepare them to assume responsible, successful, and fulfilling roles in society.

The Department of English offers courses leading towards the Bachelor of Arts in English, with three undergraduate degree plans and the Master of Arts (M.A.) Degree in English, with two concentrations. Students interested in the Master of Arts Degree in English should consult the Graduate School Catalog for course and program information.

Undergraduate Degree(s):

Minor(s):

Graduate Degree(s):

  • Master of Arts in English (Thesis Concentration)
  • Master of Arts in English (Non-Thesis Concentration)

In selecting English as a major or a minor, students must formally register in the Department of English and must seek guidance from departmental advisors. English majors and minors must have grades of C or better in all English courses completed at the time the admission request is made. 

For the baccalaureate degree in English, students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 122 semester hours. Students in Texas are required to take 42 hours in General Education core curriculum courses towards those 122 hours. Transfer students may substitute FS 102 Freshman Seminar/ first Year Experience with any college level course to complete the total credit hours required for graduation by their degree plan.

Students majoring in the English with a minor program concentration are required to declare the minor and to take  a minimum of 18 credit hours in courses in a separate academic discipline. Please note that some minors require more than 18 hours. Students majoring in the English with teaching certification must take 27 credit hours of Education Courses in EDCI, including student teaching and six hours of required reading courses. Students majoring in English with a professional writing concentration take 18 hours in technical and/or creative writing in the Department of English.

Grades of “C” or better are required in all courses dedicated to either the major or the minor program. No course offered through the Department can be used to satisfy both a core curriculum requirement and a major requirement for graduation. To be eligible for graduation as English majors, students must follow a program of specific course requirements as well as successfully complete an exit examination which is part of the ENG 432 Capstone Seminar requirements.

The Department of English also offers courses in Philosophy.  These include PHIL 1301 Introduction To Philosophy and PHIL 431 Aesthetics. 

The offices of the Department of English are located in the Martin Luther King Center, Room 106. Visit our website at http://www.tsu.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools/colabs/english/ Visit the Department of English Writing Lab at Martin Luther King Center, 252, and at http://www.tsu.edu/owl/

Questions may be directed to the Department Office at 713-313-7916.

English Courses

ENG 305  Mythology & Literature  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Study of classical and other myths, legends, and folktales, with emphasis on the original works and their appearance in literature.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 336  The Novel  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Study of the novel as a genre and of its various forms from the picaresque to the contemporary novel.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 338  Writing in The Disciplines  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Course provides practice in composing specific research projects related to technical, professional,, and academic disciplines, including education law, medicine, engineering and the sciences. Students develop research projects. 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 339  Women's Literature  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
A study of the distinctly female tradition in literature, by examining the style and content of women’s fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) or (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 341  Literature and Film  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
A study of the relationships between the two media, literature and film, by exploring works linked by genre, topic, and style.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) or (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 343  African Literature  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
A study of the literature of Africa and of the works of Africana writers, in English translation.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) or (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 347  Workshop in Creative Writing  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
A creative writing workshop course in poetry and fi ction. Offered during the summer session.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) or (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 350  Fiction Workshop  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
A course in which students write, discuss, criticize, and revise original works of short fiction, with student-instructor conferences and class discussion of student writing.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) or (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 351  Tech Editing for Professionals  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
Course focuses on reading, writing, and editing, particularly on the kind on the kind of writing that file reports, manuals, and other technical products. Evaluate technical documents and readings about technical writing specific to the business and STEM professions. 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) or (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333) or (ENG 235 or ENGL 2326) or (ENG 244 or ENGL 2328))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 352  Poetry Workshop  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
A course in which students write, discuss, criticize and revise original works of poetry with student instructor conferences and class discussion of student writing. Offered during the fall semester of even-numbered academic years.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) or (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 412  Seminar in Technical Writing  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
A course in which students learn specific technical writing skills of professions such as business, government, and science and demonstrate these through project proposals, response papers, abstracts, summaries, memos and letters, PowerPoint presentations, and various types of business and industry reports.
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 417  African American Gothic Lit  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
0-Survey of African-American literary canon. Students will learn the history and significance of the genre as it replicates the American story. Student will read literary texts that mirror the African-American experience as outline in Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction. Course meets 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 131 or ENGL 1301) and (ENG 132 or ENGL 1302))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 430  Hist & Theory of English Lang  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Introduction to the principles of language theory and to the history of the English language.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 432  Capstone Seminar  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Capstone Seminar (3) A Culmination of baccalaureate work and preparation for further work in academic or nonacademic environments. This is a senior level course which will allow students to work closely with advisors and mentors in their. The capstone course will encompass three areas of achievement and assessment: and objective examination suitable for preparation for professional credentials or graduate school admission; a senior portfolio to allow students to articulate through their written work their skills and abilities attained during their course work; and a capstone project in which the student will demonstrate mastery of research and documentation skills as well as the ability to write, think and edit.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 433  Shakespeare & Renaissa Studies  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Study of selected tragedies, histories, comedies, and non-dramatic works by William Shakespeare, set in the context of the English Renaissance. Required of English majors.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 437  Prin Literary Criticism  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Study of critical approaches to literature, which may be applied in the appraisal of selected works.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 439  The Teaching of English  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
The study and application of philosophies, objectives, methods, and materials used in teaching English at the secondary level.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 131 or ENGL 1301) and (ENG 132 or ENGL 1302))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 440  African American Poets  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Study of selected poetry and drama written by African American authors.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 441  African-Am Lit:Fiction & Crit  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Study of the fiction and criticism written by African American authors.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 450  IND Reading & Res In Mod LIt  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Individualized reading program for advanced English majors with an emphasis on modernist literature. May be taken for graduate credit.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 131 or ENGL 1301) or (ENG 132 or ENGL 1302))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 452  Report and Proposal Writing  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
Students learn technical writing skills that lead to finished report writing and full proposal writing. 3 hours
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENG 468  Creative Nonfiction  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
An intensive survey of contemporary creative- non-fiction, devoting attention to masterpiece of the canon and engaging students in a systematic study of the techniques in these works and the social, political, and historical contexts out of which they emerged. Student will write both analytical and critical responses. 3 hours per week.
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENGL 1001  NCB Integrated Reading and Writing lab  (0 Credits)  
Lecture: 0, Lab: 2  
A non-course base integrated reading and writing tutorial lab for students who do not meet the college readiness standard for both reading and writing. To be taken as a co-requisite with ENGL 1301.
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENGL 1301  Freshman English I  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
First of a two-part composition course in which students analyze professionally-written essays that are samples of rhetorical modes and write competent multi-paragraph essays utilizing formal principles of grammar, usage, mechanics, rhetoric, and style.
Prerequisite(s): ( or or or or TSI Exemption TAKS with a score of 2200 or or C-Better Eng/Wrt Resident Stu with a score of 2.00 or C-Better Eng/Wrt Transfer Stu with a score of 2.00) or (TSI WRIT Assessment with a score of 339 and TSI ESSAY Assessment with a score of 5 and Adult Basic Education WRITING with a score of 4) or (TSI WRIT Assessment with a score of 340 and TSI ESSAY Assessment with a score of 4) or ( and WRIT 101 (may be taken concurrently) or ENG 130 or ENG 101 (may be taken concurrently) or HCCE 130) or (TSI WRIT Assessment with a score of 363 and TSI ESSAY Assessment with a score of 4) or TSI ESSAY Assessment with a score of 5 or (TSI WRIT Assessment with a score of 910 and TSI ESSAY Assessment with a score of 5 and Adult Basic Education WRITING with a score of 5) or (TSI WRIT Assessment with a score of 945 and TSI ESSAY Assessment with a score of 5)
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
TCCN: ENGL 1301  
ENGL 1302  Freshman English II  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
Second half of a two-part composition course designed to improve and extend students' skills in organizing and developing persuasive and analytical essays, to enhance knowledge of literary genres, and provide instruction in research skills needed in the preparation of documented essays.
Prerequisite(s): (ENG 131 or ENGL 1301)
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
TCCN: ENGL 1302  
ENGL 2307  Introduction to Creative Writing  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Creative writing workshop in both fiction and poetry.
Prerequisite(s): (ENG 131 or ENGL 1301) and (ENG 132 or ENGL 1302)
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENGL 2311  Technical & Business Writing  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Intensive study of and practice in professional settings. Focus on the types of documents necessary to make decisions and take action on the job, such as proposals, reports, instructions, policies and procedures, e-mail messages, letters, and descriptions and services. Practice individual and collaborative processes involved in the creation of ethical and efficient documents.
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENGL 2326  American Literature  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
Survey of selected prose, poetry, and drama of the United States from the colonial period to the present.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 131 or ENGL 1301) and (ENG 132 or ENGL 1302))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
TCCN: ENGL 2326  
ENGL 2328  African-American Literature  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
Survey of African American literature with emphasis on major authors and movements.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 131 or ENGL 1301) and (ENG 132 or ENGL 1302))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
TCCN: ENGL 2328  
ENGL 2332  World Literature I  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
Survey of some masterpieces of poetry, prose, and drama from antiquity to the Renaissance.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 131 and ENG 132) or (ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302) or (ENG 131 and ENGL 1302) or (ENG 132 and ENGL 1301))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
TCCN: ENGL 2332  
ENGL 2333  World Literature II  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
Survey of some masterpieces of poetry, prose, and drama from the Renaissance to the present.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 131 or ENGL 1301) and (ENG 132 or ENGL 1302))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
TCCN: ENGL 2333  
ENGL 3301  Great American Writers I  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
Survey of major works of American literature from pre-colonial to 1865. The course emphasizes literary movements, genres, and themes.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENGL 3302  Great American Writers II  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Survey of selected works of major American authors from the colonial era to the present. The course also emphasizes literary movements, genres, and themes as well as enhances further development of students? analytic, research, and composition skills.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 132 or ENGL 1302) and (ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) or (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENGL 3303  British Literature I  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Survey of major works of British literature from its beginnings through the eighteenth century.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENGL 3304  British Literature II  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3, Lab: 0  
Survey of major works of British literature from the nineteenth century to the present.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English
ENGL 3346  Black Literature  (3 Credits)  
Lecture: 3  
In this course students will examine "the self-representation of people of color, and focus particularly on the tensions that emerge between the individual and cultural forces that surround it." Throughout the semester, students will focus on poems, songs, models, etc., written in the 20th and 21st century, that look at the ongoing struggle between individualism and collective identity.
Prerequisite(s): ((ENG 230 or ENGL 2332) and (ENG 231 or ENGL 2333))
College/School: Liberal Arts & Behavioral Scie
Department: Department of English