English Course Offerings- Spring 2025

Group shot of faculty in English and Philosophy

Note for Students

Registration begins November 4th. Advising week is October 28th-November 1st. We encourage you to meet with your advisor.

Please note there could be some adjustments in delivery mode options, like an additional SO section associated with an in-seat class. These changes may not be reflected in this listing but could be found in the online schedule when it goes live on October 14th.

For a full listing of all the courses offered in English, please see the undergraduate catalog or graduate catalog.

Also, did you know that ISU has millions of dollars in scholarships available every year? Register in the Bengal Online Scholarship System to receive updates on scholarships relevant to your major and interests. Sign up today.

English also offers scholarships specific to our program for undergraduate students and TAships/Fellowships for graduate students. You can find information about these awards here.

Delivery Mode Legend

SO courses are online courses that meet Synchronously Online (have a specific day/time meeting pattern).

AO courses are online courses that meet Asynchronously Online (are done anytime on your schedule).

BL courses are blended courses whose in-seat time has been reduced due to a strong online component.

DL courses are distance learning courses that have sections on different campuses such as Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, and/or Meridian as well as a possible online option.

If no delivery mode is indicated, this is an in-seat only course.

ENGL 1101/1101P (Objective 1): Writing and Rhetoric I/Plus

Multiple sections offered, see MyISU class schedule.

In this course students will read, analyze, and write expository essays for a variety of purposes consistent with expectations for college-level writing in standard edited English.

ENGL 1102 (Objective 1): Writing and Rhetoric II

Multiple sections offered, see MyISU class schedule.

Writing essays based on readings. Students will focus on critical reading, research methods, gathering ideas and evidence, and documentation.

ENGL 1107 (Objective 7): Nature of Language

01: TR 4-5:15 pm SO with Elizabeth Redd (CRN: 20792)

This course is an introduction to the field of linguistics. We will look at how the study of language is approached by linguists within the discipline of linguistics and by linguists within the discipline of anthropology, as well as exploring how other fields utilize linguistics for their own interests while impacting the whole field of linguistics in the process. Because this is a survey course, we only examine a portion of the many areas within linguistics without going into great detail in any one area.

ENGL 1123: Advanced Academic Writing for Non-Native Speakers of English

01: TR 9:30-10:45 with Aniqa Jahangeer (CRN: 21667)

Introduction to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing) and concepts such as audience, purpose, and thesis. Continued emphasis on development of grammar and vocabulary.

ENGL 1126 (Objective 4A): Art of Film I

01-04: Thurs. 6-8:30 pm DL with Carlen Donovan

In Art of Film I, we will explore the creative process, artistic principles, and history of cinema. Through film viewings, readings, writing, and discussion, we will analyze influential films, examine major movements, and explore critical approaches and filmmaking techniques. Our goal is for you to develop the skills to critically analyze and evaluate films, both in and outside of class, while gaining a deeper understanding of the human experience through the art of film.

ENGL 1126 (Objective 4A): Art of Film I

05: TR 2:30-3:45 with Margaret Johnson (CRN: 22959)

Why do movies matter? What do they teach us about our world, our histories, and our values? How can films both entertain us and challenge? The Art of Film I introduces students to the history of cinema, to a variety of film genres and movements, and to the artistic elements related to the creation and study of film. We will discuss films from the last century, including ones from both American and international cinema. As we consider the cultural and historical importance of film, students will develop the ability to analyze and communicate their ideas and critiques using film terminology. This course requires students to view films outside of class through a variety of online rental platforms.

ENGL 1175 (Objective 4A): Literature and Ideas: Literature and the Natural World

02: AO Late 8 Session with Curtis Whitaker (CRN: 22964)

Humanity’s relationship to the natural world has figured prominently in literature from the earliest days to the present. Questions about how we connect to animals, to plants, and to the larger systems of nature that surround us are perennial ones that artists have explored in stories, poems, and films. This introductory course will consider how these engagements happen over time in diverse landscapes from Africa, China, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., with an eye toward the environmental crisis we face in the present.

ENGL 2206: Creative Writing Workshop

01: TR 9:30-10:45 with Susan Goslee (CRN: 21934)

This class will introduce you to the study of creative writing craft in the genres of poetry, the short story, and creative nonfiction. We’ll read a variety of contemporary texts from a craft-based perspective to learn how authors construct their work. We’ll also practice elements of the creative process, from generating material to revising polished drafts, with the goal of creating works that are valuable to and rewarding for an audience of readers. In class-wide workshops of student works, we’ll practice giving and being receptive to critical feedback. We’ll also have fun with discussions and collaborative activities designed to encourage creative thinking.

ENGL 2210 (Objective 9): American Cultural Studies: 'That's Entertainment' in American Culture

01: MWF 10-10:50 with William Donovan (CRN: 21425)

02: MWF 10-10:50 SO with William Donovan (CRN: 21942)

Learn about American Culture through what entertains us: ghost stories, Disney animated features, and attending elite cultural events. Textbooks available free as pdf download.

ENGL 2211: Introduction to Literary Analysis

01: MWF 11-11:50 with Gibette Encarnación (CRN: 21426)

02: MWF 11-11:50 SO with Gibette Encarnación (CRN: 22701)

This course introduces students to the tools they need to engage deeply with literature and articulate their interpretations with clarity and sophistication. Through a careful examination of a diverse range of texts, we will develop a nuanced understanding of the literary craft and explore the ways in which authors use language to convey complex ideas and emotions. We will hone our ability to analyze texts at the sentence and word level, identifying significant literary devices, rhetorical strategies, and thematic elements. By exploring the interplay of these components, we will gain a deeper appreciation for the artistry and complexity of literary works.

Ultimately, this course aims to foster a love of literature and a critical engagement with the written word. By developing a strong foundation in literary analysis, students will be well-prepared to take on advanced literary studies and contribute meaningfully to intellectual conversations.

ENGL 2215 (Objective 4A): Survey of World Mythology

01: TR 9:30-10:45 with Michael Stubbs (CRN: 23784)

02: TR 9:30-10:45 SO with Michael Stubbs (CRN: 23785)

This introductory course will offer breadth and depth. First we will take a deep look at the familiar myths of Greece and Rome and the Norse people. Then we will shift to the Americas and study the myths of the Aztec. After that, we will cross the ocean to study myths from Japan.

ENGL 2258 (Objective 4A): Survey of World Literature II

01: TR 11-12:15 with Roger Schmidt (CRN: 24724)

02: TR 11-12:15 SO with Roger Schmidt (CRN: 24748)

A survey of major literary works from around the world, most of them read in translation, from the French Revolution to the present day.

ENGL 2268: Survey of British Literature II

01: MWF 10-10:50 with Matthew VanWinkle (CRN: 20028)

02: MWF 10-10:50 SO with Matthew VanWinkle (CRN: 24281)

This course offers an overview of British literature from the late eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. This era encompasses a variety of changes in literature and culture: new ways of imagining the individual’s relationship to society, the fluctuating fortunes of Britain on the global stage, and the constant renegotiation of the relationship between the present and a variety of imagined pasts. As a thread through these changes, this course will dwell on the attitude toward change itself. How possible, how desirable is change? How quickly or slowly, how dependently or independently of human activity, does change occur? We will read the poetry and prose of the last three hundred years that both responds to and helps to shape a range of answers to these questions.

ENGL 2278: Survey of American Literature II

01: MWF 9-9:50 with David Lawrimore (CRN: 20029)

Take a broad view of American literature from the Civil War to the present. Reading widely across a range of genres, we will consider how different social groups responded to the changing circumstances of their historical moment, leading us to the nation we have today.

ENGL 2280: Grammar and Usage

01: TR 1-2:15 with Sonja Launspach (CRN: 20030)

This course is a basic introduction to the grammar of standard English. Through preparation and participation, students should be able to use grammar terminology appropriately, identify the lexical categories of words, and analyze the different components of grammar, such as phrases and clauses. The class uses a Team Based Learning approach. Part of our discussion may include the historical development and use of grammatical forms. Assignments will include individual knowledge application exercises, skills based mastery, team concept explorations, practice exercises, textual analysis and a final grammatical analysis.

ENGL 2281: Introduction to Language Studies

01-05: MW 11-12:15 DL with Sonja Launspach

Most people are interested in language, but feel that they don’t understand how it works. English 2281 introduces us to the field of linguistics. We’ll begin the course by looking at descriptive linguistics: the sound system, words, phrases, and sentences. Then we will consider applied linguistics, which looks at how we interpret language, and how it relates to culture and social relations. We will explore such questions as where language comes from, and explain the dynamics underlying real-world uses of language, including language history, conventions of politeness and cooperation, and the influence of culture, prestige, and gender. Do animals have language? Do different genders use language differently? And just why do teenagers use slang?

ENGL 3305: Art of Film II: Ghosts and Monsters: The Horror Film

01: TR 1-2:15 with Carlen Donovan (CRN: 22107)

For 130 years, horror films have reflected audiences’ deepest fears and cultural anxieties. In this class, we will explore the evolution of horror, and will examine its enduring impact and unique aesthetics. We’ll also investigate some of horror’s major subgenres, from the 19^th to the 21^st centuries. Readings for this course will be provided at no cost, but students may need to budget for film rentals.

ENGL 3306: Intermediate Creative Writing Workshop

01: TR 11-12:15 with Susan Goslee (CRN: 21205)

In this intermediate creative writing course, we will read and write in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Class sessions will be a mix of discussion, generative writing, collaborative games, brief craft lectures, reading comprehension checks, and workshop. Your homework will be a mix of writing prompts, reading assignments, critical reading questions, and revising drafts up to fully-realized short stories, essays, and poems. Each prompt focuses on a different formal or thematic move that you will later draw on to write complete works. These polished pieces will strive to reward multiple readings, avoid the familiar, respect (or knowingly slight) grammar, earn their surprises, and make a stab at beauty—or proudly decide to do otherwise.

ENGL 3307: Professional and Technical Writing

Multiple sections offered, see MyISU class schedule.

No matter what field you are going into, communication both written and oral will be a major part of your daily life. This course will teach you how to communicate professionally through various documents such as proposals, emails, reports, webpages, resumes and more. Course content will enable students to tailor documents for readers and users within their chosen fields of study. Additionally, since most people will be working collaboratively in the professional world, team work is stressed. Students often remark that this is one of the most valuable courses they have taken because it prepares them for work beyond the university.

ENGL 3308: Business Communication

Multiple sections offered, see MyISU class schedule.

An advanced course in conventions of business communications, emphasizing purpose and audience. Focus on style, semantics, research skills, format, persuasion, and critical analysis and synthesis of data.

ENGL 3311: Literary Criticism and Theory

01: MWF 12-12:50 with David Lawrimore (CRN: 21051)

02: MWF 12-12:50 SO with David Lawrimore (CRN: 22966)

This course emphasizes the literary aspects of literary theory by prioritizing aesthetics, narratology, affect, and form. We will investigate certain characteristics exclusive to literature while also considering what literature can tell us about the world we live in. We will also apply these methods to a number of literary works, including the novels of Gustav Flaubert, Herman Melville, and Philip K. Dick.

ENGL 3324: Studies in Non-Fiction

01: TR 1-2:15 with Harold Hellwig (CRN: 24730)

In this course we’ll examine a range of nonfiction writing with the intention of learning to read like writers. We will look at elements of craft (narrative versus exposition, sentence structure, characterization, use of the telling detail, organization and narrative arc, setting scenes, handling time and tension) in order to find tricks and moves that you can use in your own work. You will learn to set aside your personal responses to a piece of work to focus on what the writer is trying to do and how she achieves that. We will learn about the history of the genre and by the end of the course, each of you should be able to define what you think counts as creative nonfiction.

You will do more than mimic and impersonate the greats, but you will learn from great writing the skills needed to write your own great nonfiction. Together we will notice aspects of the essays that we might miss on our own, and we’ll each bring our own unique sensibilities to the task of figuring out what works, and how and why it works. Good writing is born out of attentive reading and lively conversation.

This course will train you to read as a writer and to use the strategies of professional writers in your own work. We will practice “close reading for craft,” attending to persona, point of view, and voice; problems and questions; coherence and connection; and public significance in the essays we read. Our collective analysis of exemplary writing is the heart of the course. Reading for craft means we’re interested more in the “how” than the “what.” Breaking down elements of style and narrative requires us to stay focused on authorial intent rather than content. We may admire the forest but we’re crawling down into the root system this semester to see what makes the trees rustle as they do—in published works and in your not-yet-published work.

ENGL 3355: Studies in Latino Literatures: Survey of Latinx Literature in the United States

01: MWF 1-1:50 with Gibette Encarnación (CRN: 24731)

This course will offer a comprehensive survey of Latinx literature in the United States from the 19th century to the present. We will explore the rich and diverse literary traditions of Latinx writers, including their contributions to American literature and their representations of Latinx experiences, identities, and cultures. Through close readings of both historical and contemporary texts, students will gain a deeper understanding of the social and cultural contexts that have shaped Latinx life in the United States and the literature that seeks to represent it. We will discuss themes such as immigration, race, gender, sexuality, class, and the complexities of belonging to multiple cultural traditions.

This course will also examine the ways in which Latinx writers have challenged dominant narratives and contributed to a more inclusive understanding of American literature and culture. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyze Latinx literature critically, appreciate its significance within American literary history, and recognize its ongoing contributions to contemporary culture.

ENGL 4401/5501: Advanced Composition: The Rhetoric of Music Albums

01: W 4-6:30 pm with Robert Watkins (CRN: 21428/21429)

02: W 4-6:30 pm SO with Robert Watkins (CRN: 24750/24751)

Learn about rhetorical genre and document design by analyzing music albums and producing a multimodal writing portfolio.

ENGL 4402/5502: User Experience Design and Usability

01-04: Thurs. 4-6:30 pm DL with Abraham Romney

This class addresses the fundamentals of User Experience (UX) Design and Usability, applying writing and research skills to create clear, user-friendly content for digital products, enhancing accessibility and user satisfaction. Through hands-on projects and case studies, you'll be introduced to UX writing, conduct user research, and learn to develop reports that inform design decisions and help to understand how people interact with technology. This is a required course for the Technical Communication Certificate.

ENGL 4406/5506: Advanced Poetry Workshop: Poetry and the Supernatural

01: TR 1-2:15 with Bethany Schultz Hurst (CRN: 22441/22440)

This semester’s reading will focus on contemporary poetry collections in conversation with supernatural elements: monsters, ghosts, cryptids, witches, and mythological creatures. We’ll consider how poetry can use these mysterious figures to address historical patterns, current social and ecological disasters, and cultural and individual understandings of race and gender identities. In response, we’ll write our own drafts engaging with the otherworldly (though poetry of this world also will be welcome), and will constructively workshop one another’s work. Throughout the semester, we’ll identify and practice various poetic craft elements, while studying how various poetic modes—such as persona poems, documentary poetry, and ekphrasis—can expand approaches to our material, whether eerie or earthly.

ENGL 4409/5509: Literary Magazine Production

01: W 4-6:30 pm with Susan Goslee (CRN: 20034/20035)

From the call for American independence in the pamphlet “Common Sense” to the first state-side publication of “The Waste Land” in the Dial, small magazines and presses have fomented political and literary change in our country. While students in this course may not bring about similar revolutions, they will gain exciting hands-on experience in the production of Black Rock & Sage, ISU’s student journal of creative works. Students will first develop strategies for soliciting literary, art, music, and schematic submissions. Then in exciting and lively debates, they will select the stories, poems, and essays that are to be published. Students will also produce events on campus to promote the magazine and support ISU’s art culture and solicit businesses for advertising support for the journal. To inform our production of Black Rock & Sage, we will survey a variety of well-established student-run journals, read interviews with significant journal editors, study the history of the “little” magazine, and consider briefly the relationship among the arts, democracy, and culture. Students will participate with critical papers of varying lengths and discussion. In this class, students will help shape the ways in which Idaho State contributes to the nation’s literary dialogue.

ENGL 4461/5561: Studies in Classical Literature

01: M 4-6:30 pm with Jessica Winston (CRN: 24735/24757)

02: M 4-6:30 pm SO with Jessica Winston (CRN: 24758/24759)

What is epic? We will read, in their entirety, four major Greek and Roman epics, works that have had a major influence on British, American, and world literature. We will explore the origins of epic and how authors tell and retell myths and legends for thematic, generic, and cultural purposes. Working with recent, acclaimed translations, we will also consider whether and how these stories continue to speak in the present day. The four epics will be Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. All readings are in English translation.

ENGL 4468/5568: Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature: James Joyce's Ulysses

01: TR 2:30-3:45 with Matthew Levay (CRN: 24765/24766)

02: TR 2:30-3:45 SO with Matthew Levay (CRN: 24769/24770)

Since its publication in 1922, James Joyce’s Ulysses has been called the greatest novel ever written as well as the most challenging. In this class, we will devote our attention to a careful, critical reading of Ulysses, asking how exactly this ambitious, comic, enigmatic, and ultimately beautiful novel has affected generations of readers. Along the way, we’ll discuss the novel’s treatment of Irish politics, religion, gender, sexuality, popular culture, and everyday life, as well as its famously experimental form.

ENGL 4469/5569: Studies in Twenty-First Century Literature: Contemporary Postcolonial Literature

01: MWF 1-1:50 with Alan Johnson (CRN: 23803/24760)

02: MWF 1-1:50 SO with Alan Johnson (CRN: 23805/24763)

This course introduces you to contemporary postcolonial literature, which means contemporary works from countries once colonized by European nations. Writers in these countries, which include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya (to name just a few), have been producing some of the most significant works of world literature in recent decades, both in English and other European languages. (Each of these countries also publishes outstanding work in their own languages, even though not all of these have been translated into English.) We will read a number of novels and poems alongside pertinent literary criticism, and we’ll situate each text in its cultural and historical contexts. We’ll consider how these works address ideas about national and regional identities in a global context.

ENGL 4470/5570: Postcolonial Literature

01: MWF 1-1:50 with Alan Johnson (CRN: 24736/24762)

02: MWF 1-1:50 SO with Alan Johnson (CRN: 24761/24764)

ENGL 4473/5573: Studies in a Single Author or Circle Post-1800: James Joyce's Ulysses

01: TR 2:30-3:45 with Matthew Levay (CRN: 24737/24767)

02: TR 2:30-3:45 SO with Matthew Levay (CRN: 24768/24771)

ENGL 4487/5587: History of the English Language

01: T 4-6:30 pm with Thomas Klein (CRN: 24738/24772)

02: T 4-6:30 pm SO with Thomas Klein (CRN: 24773/24774)

This course aims to give you a historical perspective on the ongoing development of English, and to provide you with analytical tools to perceive the ways in which language operates and changes. We will trace the story of how English, once the dialect of an obscure Germanic tribe, came to be one of the world’s most widespread languages; we will see how it changed and why. We will also concentrate on linguistic resources, especially dictionaries, considering what they have to offer and their shortcomings.

A chief aim of this course is to promote a philological frame of mind (philologist—literally, “a lover of words”). The philologist is attracted by the origins of language and its historical artifacts. When you find yourself wondering when orange first came into the language or what promiscuous originally meant, you are becoming a philologist.

ENGL 4494: Senior Seminar in Creative Writing

01: TR 11-12:15 with Bethany Schultz Hurst (CRN: 21052)

The Creative Writing Senior Seminar supports advanced study of creative writing craft while asking students to consider their roles as literary citizens. Together, we’ll consider craft topics, such as different configurations of narrative time, and constructively workshop one another’s work. Our creative work for the semester will be student-directed; students will propose, draft, and revise semester-long writing projects of their own design (poetry collections, short stories, chapters of novels, etc.). These projects will be supported by individual book lists that the instructor and student together compile. (Students will be expected to purchase these additional books or access them through the library.) Throughout the semester, students will develop their literary citizenship by planning, advertising and hosting the kinds of Creative Writing campus events (open mics, writing workshops, etc.) that can foster a healthy writing community.

ENGL 6610: Careers in English

01: TBD with Thomas Klein and Margaret Johnson (CRN: 22439)

This course is designed to help English doctoral students nearing the end of the program as they navigate the academic job market. Though primarily intended for those about to complete their dissertations, anyone interested in the academic job search process—including graduate students from other programs, English graduate students at an earlier stage in their programs, and adjunct instructors—is also welcome to enroll. Topics will include the process of searching for faculty jobs, Carnegie classifications and distinctions between institutions, dissertation/research abstracts, teaching philosophies, CVs, application letters, diversity statements, and interviewing techniques. Although the course is largely focused on the job market for teaching positions, we will also discuss alt-ac careers and the process of searching for positions in other areas of academia (e.g., academic administration, writing and editing services, publishers, museums, libraries, government, non-profits, etc.). The class will combine theoretical and rhetorically oriented discussions of job search materials with workshop-style evaluation of documents written by enrolled students.

ENGL 6626: Seminar in a Literary Period, Post-1800: Forms of Feeling in Romantic and Victorian Literature

01: T 7-9:30 pm with Matthew VanWinkle (CRN: 24739)

02: T 7-9:30 pm SO with Matthew VanWinkle (CRN: 24775)

From William Wordsworth’s famous definition of poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling recollected in tranquility” to George Eliot’s resonant declaration that the purpose of art is to “bind together by feeling and passion the vast empire of human society,” nineteenth-century writers explored the nature of emotion with insight and urgency. This class will trace this exploration through the era’s poetry and fiction, giving particular consideration to the critical conversation that views this body of work through the affective turn in literary criticism, summarized by Nancy Armstrong as “a comprehensive effort to rethink the source and operations of human emotion.”

ENGL 6635: Special Topics in the Teaching of English: Teaching Sensitive Topics

01: Thurs. 7-9:30 pm with Amanda Zink (CRN: 22694)

02: Thurs. 7-9:30 pm SO with Amanda Zink (CRN: 22699)

Because “English” is a discipline in the humanities, where by definition we study what it means to be human, the literature we teach will inevitably include topics that some would consider sensitive, controversial, or even taboo. More importantly, the students we teach will bring life experiences to our classroom that some would consider sensitive or controversial. This course will read literary texts via pedagogical theory to help graduate students develop a philosophical foundation and a practical methodology for approaching such literature and students in our classrooms.