Every autumn, the Augusta campus English faculty hosts a Fall Bacchanal to welcome (and welcome back) old and new students to the English program. Each year the program is different: we have met on the campus green for lunch and conversation, played croquet, played bocce, introduced ourselves to students and introduced students to each other, answered questions about the English program, organized a literary scavenger hunt in the Katz Library, served tea and cookies, and generally enjoyed each other’s company.

The date of the Fall Bacchanal will be posted on this site and on flyers found all over campus.  If you’re interested in the English program, want to meet faculty and other English majors, or just want to know more about how reading and creating great literature will make your life better, come join us at the Bacchanal!

The Third Annual UMA Undergraduate English Conference

 

Tuesday, April 9th

The conference offers the opportunity to exchange ideas in a variety of formats, showcase the work of students of English, and to engage in lively discussion. Participating in the conference provides a chance to share work with an audience of fellow English students, professors, and other members of the UMA community. This annual event is organized by English department faculty and students in the ENG 499 Senior Seminar and funded partly by a Presidential mini-grant.

 

Starting at 9:00am in Jewett 289, there will be an array of student papers.

 

9-10:30am

Welcome and opening remarks

Panel 1: Power and Resistance in the 20th Century

 

10:45-11:45

Panel 2: Children's and Young Adult Literature

 

Lunch will be served in Jewett Hall 289 at 11:45 and will feature a 10-minute student play.

 

We will then decamp to Jewett 295

1-2:00pm

Panel 3: Approaches to World Literature

 

2:15-3:15

Panel 4: Creative Writing: Works from Jane Ellingwood's Creative Writing Class

 

We are honored to present Ruth Ozeki as our keynote speaker.

 

Please join us in the Randall Student Center Fireside Lounge at 4pm for her talk:

"Tales for the Time Being."

 

A Q&A session and book signing will follow.

 

 

 

ENG005 BASIC WRITING

A workshop approach designed to help students develop the basic skills they need for writing coherent expository prose. Students will learn how to edit their own papers as they are led systematically through all stages of composition—prewriting, writing, rewriting. This course is prerequisite to ENG101, but may be waived by any student who achieves sufficiently high scores on the UMA Placement Test or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Minimum grade of "C" required. Credits for this course do not fulfill degree requirements. CR 3

ENG010 WRITING IMPROVEMENT

A developmental course designed for students whose writing placement assessment or performance in ENG005 indicates the need for further instruction before taking ENG101. Expository writing is emphasized; attention to individual writing needs is given. Credits for this course do not fulfill degree requirements. CR 3

ENG012 ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING SKILLS

Instruction concentrates on how to read critically and how to develop, analyze, and structure ideas into writing. Based upon placement testing. Credits for this course do not fulfill degree requirements. CR 3

ENG101 COLLEGE WRITING

Intensive practice in expository writing with reading of illustrative materials. Required of all students. Prerequisites: ENG005 with a grade of "C" or better or passing grade on diagnostic tests and REA008 with a grade of "C" or better or passing grade on diagnostic tests. CR 3

ENG102W INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

A general introduction to literary genres - the essay, short story, novel, drama, and poetry - including a study of critical terminology, close textual reading, and practice in writing. Six papers, at least one dealing with each genre, will be required. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG111W JOURNALISM

Instruction and practice in developing, reporting and writing news stores. Emphasis on accuracy, style and editorial responsibility. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG117W ELEMENTS OF PROFESSIONAL WRITING

The development of an effective vocabulary, style and tone, and practice using formats common to professional writing are the focus of this course. Where appropriate, communication technology, such as the use of computer generated templates and E-mail, is encouraged. Students develop a portfolio of writings typical in their disciplines. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG150 WRITING WORKSHOP

A writing laboratory course extending the skills which students acquire in ENG101 through their application in other disciplines. Students will take the course in conjunction with content courses. The primary instructors and the writing instructor will collaborate on assignments which emphasize the centrality of revision in the writing process. Prerequisite: ENG101. May be taken multiple times. CR 1

ENG185W INTRODUCTION TO MYTHOLOGY: THE ORIGINS OF LITERATURE

Reading and investigation of important early Western mythological texts with emphasis on Babylonian, Sumarian, and Greek mythology. Texts include myths and collections of myths vital to Western civilization and literature as well as classical works rich in allusions to mythology. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG201 introduction to literary criticism and theory

This course is designed to provide students majoring in English with necessary skills in writing, research, and criticism. The class will explore the history of English as a discipline, a range of topics in literary criticism and theory, and intensive literary research techniques. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG202W ENGLISH LITERATURE: BEOWULF TO ROMANTICS

Surveys major British authors of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and eighteenth century. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG203W ENGLISH LITERATURE: ROMANTICS TO TWENTIETH CENTURY

Surveys English authors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG209W MODERN LITERATURE I

Readings in some of the significant fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama of our times. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG210W MODERN LITERATURE II

Readings in some of the significant fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama of our times. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG215W CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

Readings in major works of fiction, drama, and nonfiction which exemplify the development of literature in the contemporary period. Specific texts may vary. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG225 INTERMEDIATE CRITICAL WRITTEN EXPRESSION

A continuation of ENG101 which provides additional writing experience, with particular emphasis on the extended essay, using a variety of source materials (literary, primary, and secondary), and on more complex forms of organization and analysis. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG240W SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

Examines selected items of English literature drawn from poetry, drama and fiction within a broad historical context. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG245W SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE

A thematic analysis of American literature which examines the difference between neoclassic, romantic, regional, realistic, naturalist, and contemporary views of experience. Topics may include people's relationship with the land, the artist in American society or the American hero/heroine. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG249W UTOPIAN AND DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE

Examines Utopian and Dystopian constructs in literature from varied historical periods. Considers what such works reveal about power, wealth, education, family, property, status, religion, sexuality, idealism and spiritual enlightenment. CR 3

ENG250W AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1900

Surveys Native-American and European-American literatures through Walt Whitman. Explores American literature as a plurality of conflicting voices united only in their attempts to create, define, and debate the themes of American experience. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG251W AMERICAN LITERATURE 1900-PRESENT

Surveys the dominant themes and forms of literature from Walt Whitman through the contemporary era. Explores the American themes of disillusionment, freedom, alienation, and revolt. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG289 TOPICS IN LITERATURE

(Topic would be indicated.) Studies in literature not offered regularly, e.g. literature of a single century, a period, or milieu. For associate degree students. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG294 INDEPENDENT STUDY IN ENGLISH

The purpose of this course is to develop a close faculty-student interchange of ideas and to encourage a student to undertake as much independent study as possible. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: ENG101, ENG102W, and completion of 30 credit hours. CR 1-6

ENG310W CREATIVE NONFICTION

Students develop their skills in writing a variety of forms of creative nonfiction, including genres such as memoir, biography, oral history, science, nature, and travel. The course also broadens students' reading and appreciation of master writers from several different eras and cultures. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG317W ADVANCED TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

An advanced course in professional document design that applies problem-solving strategies to resolve communication issues. Practice in editing and collaborative writing are included. Students are expected to use communications software to produce and revise their documents. They may be required to research subjects via the Internet and use E-mail to communicate with each other and the professor. One-third of the semester is devoted to an individual project. Prerequisite: ENG117W or permission of instructor. CR 3

ENG331W AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE

This course introduces students to the African-American literary tradition and the critical questions and concepts central to this tradition. Students will study a variety of primary texts and explore some of the ideas, genres, and movements developed in response to and/or alongside these texts, such as the slave narrative, the "tragic mulatto," the Harlem Renaissance, folklore, the Black Aesthetic, and black feminism. Prerequisite: ENG102W or permission of instructor. CR 3

ENG336W THE WRITERS OF MAINE

Works of Sarah Orne Jewett, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edwin Arlington Robinson, and Kenneth Roberts considered in detail. Works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by other Maine authors, past and present, also receive attention. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG343W NEW NOVELS: MANY CULTURES, MANY VOICES

Provides an introduction to several world and U. S. cultures through the lens of selected literary works. It explores, in an introductory way, some styles and topics of current fiction, as well as the historical and cultural backgrounds and belief systems that produced them. Prerequisites: ENG101 and 102W or permission. CR 3

ENG345W THE AMERICAN WRITER

A study of an era of American literature as approached through the writings of one of that era's eminent writers. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG346W THE RUSSIAN WRITER

Lectures, reports, and classroom analysis of one Russian writer and his/her major work. Examples of writers are Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Turgenev, Chekhov, and Solzhenitzyn. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG347W THE AMERICAN SHORT STORY: SOURCES, FORMS, DEVELOPMENT

The American short story examined in terms of sources and form from its beginnings to the present. Emphasis will be on the development and achievements of the short story as a major American contribution to world literature. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG348W EUROPEAN SHORT STORY

Readings in the major short story fiction of England, France, Spain, Italy and Russia. Emphasis on the universal concerns of individual writers. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG350W WOMEN WRITERS

(This course is cross listed with WST350W). This course aims to explore the different paths that women's writing has taken. Study will include authors from a range of historical periods and regions. Genres that may be examined include the novel, poetry, and drama, as well as less-traditional forms of writing such as diaries and letters. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG351W CREATIVE WRITING

This workshop based course focuses on students' short stories and poems. Workshops consist of in-class analysis and critique. Revision techniques will be emphasized. Final portfolio required. Prerequisite: ENG102. CR 3

ENG352 FANTASY, MYTH AND ENCHANTMENT AS SELF-DISCOVERY

An examination of the various forms of fantasy, myth and tales and their role in providing insights into human behavior and the human quest for knowledge and certainty, especially as they provide role models for all essential human activity. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG355W NINETEENTH CENTURY EUROPEAN FICTION

Studies novels and short stories of continental Europe. Emphasis on major influential works. Considers similarities and differences among the novel traditions. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG356W THE ENGLISH NOVEL

Studies origin and development of the English novel from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the present. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG365W MAIN CURRENTS IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE I

A study of representative masterpieces of Russian in English translation designed for the non-Russian major. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG366W MAIN CURRENTS IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE II

A study of representative masterpieces of Russian in English translation designed for the non-Russian major. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG389 TOPICS IN LITERATURE

(Topic would be indicated.) Studies in literature not offered regularly, e.g. literature of a particular period or milieu, or related to a special subject or aspect of culture. For associate and baccalaureate degree program students. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG390W RISE OF REALISM

Surveys late 19th century and early 20th century realism and naturalism. Examines Davis, Twain, Crane, London, and Wharton, among others. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG394 INDEPENDENT STUDY IN ENGLISH

The purpose of this course is to develop a close faculty-student interchange of ideas and to encourage a student to undertake as much independent study as possible. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: ENG101, ENG102W, and completion of 60 credit hours. CR 1-6

ENG417W DOCUMENT DESIGN AND PRESENTATIONS

An advanced course in writing and document design. Students expand and refine their repertoire of professional writing principles and skills be designing documents for diverse audiences and purposes. They also work with communication media, write collaboratively, and practice presentation strategies. Prerequisite: ENG317W or permission. CR 3

ENG446 HISTORY OF LITERARY CRITICISM AND CRITICAL THEORY

A study of literary criticism and theory from Plato to the present day critical theorists. Following a brief introduction to the methods and practices of critics in the Classic, Neo-Classic, and Romantic periods, the course will focus on twentieth century critical theories. Specific theories to be studied may include structuralism, psychoanalytic theory, Marxist criticism, deconstruction, feminist theory, and the new historicism. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG450W POETRY

Analyzes various kinds of poetry to develop critical methods and standards for understanding. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG451W TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN FICTION

Surveys modern and postmodern American fiction and its cultural contexts. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG452W CREATIVE WRITING II

An advanced course in creative writing with emphasis on writing short stories, poetry, and memoir. In a workshop setting, students will critique one another's work and develop a creative portfolio over the semester. Prerequisites: any literature course and ENG 351 or equivalent/permission of instructor. CR 3

ENG454W AMERICAN NOVEL

Studies representative romances and novels from the eighteenth century through the contemporary era. Focuses upon the genre's formal evolution and cultural contexts. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG456 INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

Surveys the history of the English language. Provides a detailed introduction to phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and speech act theory, especially as they contribute to the understanding of literature and other forms of social discourse. Prerequisite: ENG101. CR 3

ENG459W AMERICAN RENAISSANCE

A critical survey of American romanticism and its contexts. Studies Emerson, Fuller, Thoreau, Whitman, and others for their examinations of transcendental idealism and moral disillusionment especially as these themes are revealed by the individual's conflict with nature and society. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG460 SELECTED AUTHORS

Focuses on one or more major authors for an in-depth study. Offered periodically. Prerequisite: ENG102W or permission of instructor. CR 3

ENG461W ROMANTIC AND VICTORIAN POETRY

Study of the major British Romantic and Victorian poets. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG466W SELECTED WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE I

A study of representative tragedies, comedies, romances, histories, and poems of Shakespeare. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG467W SELECTED WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE II

A study of representative tragedies, comedies, romances, histories, and poems of Shakespeare. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG469W TWENTIETH CENTURY EUROPEAN FICTION

A study of works of fiction from continental Europe, with a focus on the development of form and technique in the short story and novel. Prerequisite: ENG102W. CR 3

ENG489 TOPICS IN LITERATURE

(Topic would be indicated.) Studies in literature not offered regularly, e.g. literature of a single century, period, or milieu. For baccalaureate degree students. Prerequisites: junior standing (60 semester hours completed) plus appropriate prerequisite in discipline when topic is approved. CR 3

ENG494 INDEPENDENT STUDY IN ENGLISH

The purpose of this course is to develop a close faculty-student interchange of ideas and to encourage a student to undertake as much independent study as possible. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: ENG101, ENG102W, and completion of 90 credit hours. CR 1-6