Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• CAS EN 365: Studies in Non-Cinematic Media
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. - This course explores the economic, political, and aesthetic implications of the ¿Marvel Cinematic Universe.¿ How does the MCU¿s interlocking multimedia meganarrative give the impression of a ¿universe,¿ and how does that universe interact with the one we live in'. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Creativity/Innovation
  • Digital/Multimedia Expression
• CAS EN 369: Haruki Murakami and His Sources
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. - Students read works by Haruki Murakami and by writers who shaped him or were shaped by him, reflect on the nature of intertextuality, and gain a perspective on contemporary literature as operating within a global system of mutual influence. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Creativity/Innovation
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
• CAS EN 370: Introduction to African American Women Writers
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course, or junior or senior standing. First-Ye ar Writing Seminar (e.g., WR120) - This course studies the cultural contexts and the ongoing relevance of significant works by African American Women Writers. Works by Jacobs, Butler, Harper, Hurston, Brooks, Kincaid, Morrison and Marshall complemented by critical articles lay out this rich tradition. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS EN 373: Detective Fiction
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. - Major writers in the history of literary crime and detection, mainly British and American, with attention to the genre's cultural contexts and development from the eighteenth century to the present, as well as the literary features and standards of aesthetic evaluation of works in this genre. Authors may include Godwin, Poe, Conan Doyle, Chandler, contemporary authors. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Critical Thinking
  • Historical Consciousness
• CAS EN 375: Special Topics in Cinema and Media Studies
  Explores Topics in Cinema & Media Studies - May be repeated for credit as topics change. Two topics are offered Spring 2025. Section A1: Russian and East European Film. Examination of a series of masterpieces by filmmakers from ¿the other Europe.¿ Explores both the stylistic aspects and the role of film as a social and political commentary in socialist and post-socialist periods. No prerequisites. In English. Section B1: Critical Theory and the Politics of Cinema. An exploration of cinema¿s relationship to power and ideology through key texts in the critical theory tradition, from Marx and Engels to the Frankfurt School, Black British cultural studies, and feminist film theory.
• CAS EN 377: Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. - An exploration of the literature of the "New Negro Renaissance" or, more popularly, the Harlem Renaissance, 1919-1935. Discussions of essays, fiction, and poetry, three special lectures on the stage, the music, and the visual arts of the Harlem Renaissance. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS EN 385: Auteur Filmmaking
  Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., EN 120 or WR 100 or WR 120). - Topic for Spring 2025: Section A1: Céline Sciamma & Sébastian Lifshitz. This course centers on the fiction films of Céline Sciamma and the documentaries of Sébastien Lifshitz, two contemporary French auteurs who explore themes of childhood, female adolescence, gender identity, and LGBTQ representation. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Aesthetic Exploration.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
• CAS EN 386: Topics in Anglophone Literature
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. May be repeated for credit as topic varies. Past topics include Post Colonial Theater, Feminist Comics. Please see English Department's Website for current topic.
• CAS EN 390: Topics in Comparative Literature
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. - May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
• CAS EN 393: Technoculture and Horizons of Gender and Race
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. - Explores new media theory, postmodernist thought, social media, and video games to confront gender, race, and sexuality. Through critical reading, writing, and hands-on digital technology use, students consider how race, sexuality, and gender live in virtual worlds. Also offered as CAS WS 393. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
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  • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • The Individual in Community
• CAS EN 394: Cultures of Science
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one previous literature course or junior or senior standing. - This course explores the shared cultures of the sciences and literature from the Enlightenment through the Victorian eras in Britain and Europe. We combine the history of science, the social history of literature and related arts, and sociology of knowledge. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Social Inquiry II.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS EN 398: Global Shakespeares
  Why do contemporary writers parrot and parody "Shakespeare," and how much of this activity is about Shakespeare at all' This seminar provides an introduction to reading and writing about Shakespeare's plays. But it also takes a step back to consider Shakespeare as a phenomenon, inspiring adapters around the world. Beyond learning about particular offshoots and adaptations, the deeper point is to explore how playwrights think about their sources, their audiences, and their art. Effective Summer 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Creativity/Innovation
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
• CAS EN 401: Senior Independent Work
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: approval of Honors Committee. - SR INDEP WORK
• CAS EN 402: Senior Independent Work
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: approval of Honors Committee. - SR INDEP WORK
• CAS EN 404: History of Literary Criticism I
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: two previous literature courses or junior or senior standing. - A historical survey of western literary-critical standards from the earliest surviving formulations in classical Athens to the dawn of the twentieth century. Writers include Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Augustine, Dante, Sidney, Hume, Wordsworth, Marx, Nietzsche. 4 cr. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
• CAS EN 406: History of Literary Criticism II
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: two previous literature courses or junior or senior standing. - Survey of recent literary critical theory. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
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  • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
• CAS EN 437: Thinking with Animals
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: two previous literature courses or junior or senior standing. - In literary texts, animals appear as tricksters, clueless victims, predatory men, eloquent captives, and heroic matriarchs. This course analyzes narratives about animals in Anglo-American philosophy, science, and literature. Human myths about animals and the supremacy of the human are central to beliefs about race, gender, and private property. Focuses on animals as food, embodied mindedness, environmental justice, and ecological thinking. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
• CAS EN 452: Asian American Studies: Theory and Methods
  A brief overview of the theories and methods of Asian American studies, reading theory, literature, history, culture, sociology, and legal study to define a mode of inquiry and action inspired by a legacy of activism and survival from the Asian diaspora. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
• CAS EN 465: Critical Studies in Literature and Society
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Two previous literature courses or junior or senior status. - Topic varies by semester. Past topics include Fables and Tales, Hamlet/Lear/Macbeth, etc. Please see English Department's website for current topic.
• CAS EN 466: Critical Studies in Literature and Society
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Two previous literature courses or junior or senior status. - Topic varies by semester. Past topics include Literature of the Early Black Atlantic, Environmental Imaginaries, etc. Please see English Department's website or contact instructor for current topic.