Courses in the English Department are designed to enrich students’ understanding of life and arts through the study of literature in English. Courses are organized in various ways and at a number of levels. A detailed English Department Handbook is available in the department office and by clicking here. See also the Queens College Undergraduate Bulletin & Course Catalog.
Curriculum Structure
At the 100-level, English Department courses teach rhetoric and composition and provide writing- intensive introductions to fiction, drama, poetry and to the contested issues generally enlivening the study of literature. With the exception of English 130 and 170W, 100-level English courses may not be applied for credit toward the English major.
The 200-level courses include intermediate-level electives in writing and in literary research methods, together with period surveys of British, American, and other literature written in English.
The 300-level courses are advanced electives in creative writing, historical studies of the poetry, drama, and fiction of various periods, courses in literary theory, studies of major literary figures such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton, courses in minority and ethnic literatures, and other specialized approaches to literature, as well as a senior seminar “Topics in Literature.” Courses with VT in the title indicate that the course has a variable topic and may be taken more than once for degree credit. VT courses count only once for credit toward the English major.
Undergraduate Course Bulletin
The following courses are those in the college bulletin and may vary by semester.
For more details about current and upcoming course offerings, see these descriptions of 300-level courses.
ENGL 108. Academic Communication.
ENGL 109. Introduction to Academic Writing.
ENGL 110. College Writing I.
ENGL 115. VT: Topics in Writing.
ENGL 130, 130H. Writing about Literature in English.
ENGL 151, 151W. Readings in British Literature.
ENGL 152, 152W. Readings in American Literature.
ENGL 153, 153W. Introduction to the Bible.
ENGL 154, 154W. Readings in Fiction.
ENGL 155, 155W. Readings in Drama.
ENGL 156, 156W. Introduction to Shakespeare.
ENGL 157, 157W. Readings in Global Literatures in English.
ENGL 161, 161W. Introduction to Narrative.
ENGL 162, 162W. Literature and Place.
ENGL 165W. Introduction to Poetry.
ENGL 170W, 170H. Introduction to Literary Study.
ENGL 190. Reading as Writers.
ENGL 201W. VT: Writing for Special Fields.
ENGL 202W: Rhetoric and Writing in English Education.
ENGL 203W. Writing Science & Technology for the Public.
ENGL 204W. Writing from the Field.
ENGL 205W. Methods for Writing Research.
ENGL 206. Writing Studio.
ENGL 210W. Introduction to Creative Writing.
ENGL 211W. Introduction to Writing Nonfiction.
ENGL 241, 241H. The Text in its Historical Moment.
ENGL 242. Literary History.
ENGL 243, 243H. Genre.
ENGL 244, 244H. Theory.
ENGL 251. British Literature Survey I.
ENGL 252. British Literature Survey II.
ENGL 253. American Literature Survey I.
ENGL 254. American Literature Survey II.
ENGL 255. Global Literatures in English.
ENGL 290. The English Language.
ENGL 299.1, 299.2, 299.3. Internship.
ENGL 302. Playwriting Workshop.
ENGL 303W. Nonfiction Workshop.
ENGL 304. Poetry Workshop.
ENGL 305, 305W. VT: Studies in Literature and Culture.
ENGL 306. VT: Studies in Poetry.
ENGL 307. VT: Studies in Fiction.
ENGL 308. VT: Studies in Drama and Performance.
ENGL 309. VT: Studies in Theory.
ENGL 310. VT: Studies in Non-Fiction Prose.
ENGL 311. Medieval Literature, pre-1100.
ENGL 312. Medieval Literature, 1100–1500.
ENGL 313. The Arthurian Tradition.
ENGL 314. VT: Studies in Popular Genres.
ENGL 315. Digital Literary Studies.
ENGL 316. VT: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literature.
ENGL 317. Adaptation Studies.
ENGL 318. Modernisms.
ENGL 319. Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Literature.
ENGL 320. Early Modern Literature.
ENGL 321. Seventeenth-Century Literature.
ENGL 322. Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature.
ENGL 323. British Romanticism.
ENGL 324. Victorian Poetry and Prose.
ENGL 325. VT: Gender and Sexualities.
ENGL 326. VT: Women’s Writing.
ENGL 327, 327W. Environmental Literature.
ENGL 328. VT: Topics in Children’s Literature.
ENGL 329. Young Adult Literature.
ENGL 331. Chaucer.
ENGL 332. Shakespeare I.
ENGL 333. Shakespeare II.
ENGL 334. Milton.
ENGL 340. Medieval and Early Modern Drama.
ENGL 341. Drama of the Restoration and Eighteenth Century.
ENGL 344. The Eighteenth-Century Novel.
ENGL 345. The Nineteenth-Century Novel.
ENGL 346. Early Twentieth-Century Fiction.
ENGL 348. The Early Black Atlantic.
ENGL 349. Colonial American Literature.
ENGL 350. Early American Literature.
ENGL 351. Nineteenth-Century U.S. Literature.
ENGL 352. Late-Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century U.S. Literature.
ENGL 353. Mid Twentieth-and Twenty-First-Century U.S. Literature.
ENGL 354. African American Literature I.
ENGL 355. African American Literature II.
ENGL 356. Literature of the American Indians.
ENGL 360. VT: Latino/Latina Literature in English.
ENGL 363. VT: Global Literatures in English.
ENGL 364. VT: African Literature and Culture.
ENGL 365. Celtic Myth and Literature.
ENGL 366. Introduction to Irish Literature.
ENGL 367. Modern Irish Literature.
ENGL 368W. VT: Irish Literature.
ENGL 369. Asian American Literature.
ENGL 370. Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Drama.
ENGL 371. Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Drama and Performance.
ENGL 372. Anglophone African Fiction.
ENGL 373. Early Twentieth-Century Poetry.
ENGL 374. Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Poetry.
ENGL 376. Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Fiction.
ENGL 377. VT: Modern South Asian Literature.
ENGL 378. VT: Caribbean Literature.
ENGL 379. VT: Transnational/Postcolonial/Global Literature.
ENGL 380. Classical Backgrounds of Literature in English.
ENGL 381. The Literature of the Bible.
ENGL 389. VT: Literature and Folklore.
ENGL 390. Comedy and Satire.
ENGL 391W. Senior Seminar: Topics in Literature.
ENGL 392. VT: Composing Digital Media
ENGL 394W: Writing Multilingualism.
ENGL 396W: Writing Studies.
ENGL 397. VT: Seminar in Teaching Writing.
ENGL 398. Portfolio Workshop
ENGL 399W. Department Honors Seminar.
For more information about each course offering–including catalog information from CUNYfirst, general education requirements each course satisfies (if any), basis for general education approvals, course attributes, and enrollment histories–see the Queens College Academic Senate Course Information tool.