Ways of Reading: Fiction ENG-103

Stories: how do they tell us about the world? Looking at short fiction and novels from a range of historical periods, in this course we will cultivate the ability to read with imaginative, intellectual, and spiritual discernment.

Ways of Reading: Poetry and Drama ENG-104

How do poems and plays express human experience? Looking at poetry and drama from a range of historical periods, in this course we will continue to cultivate the ability to read with imaginative, intellectual, and spiritual discernment.

Expository Writing I ENG-201

A course on the art and craft of expository writing–writing that seeks to explore, explain, or argue a topic for a given audience. Students will practice various modes of nonfiction writing, from personal to persuasive essays, so as to learn the knowledge and skills needed to express themselves fluently and literately in written English, whether in print or digitally. Through a workshop format, students will learn seven traits of effective writing, study well-crafted essays on a range of intriguing topics, improve
grammatical correctness in their own writing, gain twenty-first century research skills, and become rhetorically savvy writers. This course is strongly recommended for students considering a career in teaching.

Creative Writing I: Essential Tools and Strategies ENG-203

Energy, imagery, tension, patterns, insight, and revision: this course focuses on tools and strategies such as these, common to all forms of creative writing. Using a workshop format, this course develops students’ imaginative writing skills and cultivates productive writing habits. Students also explore a Christian understanding of the gift and practice of imagination as they experiment in different genres and modes–from fiction and poetry to creative nonfiction, drama, and graphic narratives.

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Playwriting ENG-213

This course focuses on the student’s unique voice and vision primarily expressed through the written word. Providing a forum for presenting works in progress, the course enables students to hear their words read, with feedback and discussion by the instructor and fellow playwrights. Students create scenes emphasizing dialogue and character, and participate in exercises related to narrative and the formation of dialogue.

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Introduction to Classical Western Mythology ENG-215

An introduction to the central myths and stories that have shaped the literary and cultural imaginations of the Western world. Readings will engage paradigmatic narratives from Greek and Roman mythology.

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Canadian Literature Survey ENG-222

This course explores the origins and development of Canadian literature by examining the forces that shaped it, the forms and genres that have characterized it, and the themes that have preoccupied it. As a study of Canadian literature from its beginning in the late eighteenth century to its presence as a contemporary literature in the 1970s, the course pays particular attention to the development of distinctive forms of prose and poetry and their relationship to the faith-perspectives of their practitioners.

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American Literature Survey ENG-232

This course surveys American writing from its origins before the United States existed as a nation until the middle of the twentieth century (WWII). Emphasizing the interrelationship between the literature and its historical background, the course includes the study of important prose and poetry from the colonial, revolutionary, Romantic, and Modern periods. Attention is given to this literature’s diverse cultural
strands, the contested space of exploration and colonization (including Puritanism), Enlightenment rationalism and individual liberty, transcendentalism, slavery and civil war, race relations, realism, naturalism, Imagism, and Modernism.

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Children’s Literature ENG-251

A critical survey of classic and contemporary writing for children, exploring major themes and genres in the history of children’s literature.

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The British Novel ENG-257

A survey of the British Novel from its emergence as a literary form to the present day. The novel’s development will be traced through studies of representative writers such as Defoe, Austen, Dickens, Hardy, Woolf, Forster, Orwell, and Barnes.

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Expository Writing II ENG-302

An advanced course in essay writing, with a particular emphasis on argumentation. Students will refine their understanding of rhetorical theory and methods, cultivate ethical language practices, develop a mature style through attention to the sentence, and engage in an advanced study of grammar and editing.

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Writing Fiction ENG-303

An intermediate course in the writing of fiction, using a workshop format. Students will
gain experience in crafting fiction through attention to the full range of story elements
and to different narrative genres. Works by other writers are studied in the light of basic
principles of form.

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Journalistic Writing I: Reporting and Newswriting ENG-304

A course in writing for the news media, focusing on print and internet, using a workshop format. Students will examine and discuss examples of professional journalism, try out the basic forms themselves, and give feedback on each other’s work.

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Journalistic Writing II: Column and Opinion Writing ENG-305

A course in writing columns and opinion pieces for papers, magazines, web journals, and other news media, using a workshop format. Students will examine and discuss examples of professional column writing, practice such writing themselves, and give feedback on each other’s work. Students will learn advanced techniques of interviewing, researching and writing, and will receive some instruction on marketing a column to a periodical publication.

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Writing Poetry ENG-306

An intermediate course in the writing of poetry, using a workshop format. Students will gain experience in crafting poems through attention to a full range of poetic elements and to different genres. Poems by other writers will be studied in the light of basic principles of form. Through such writing and study, students will cultivate a Christian aesthetic of poetry.

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History of Literary Criticism ENG-315

A historical survey of some of the major ideas and practices in literary criticism, from Plato to the middle of the twentieth century.

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Contemporary Canadian Literature ENG-322

This course explores the blossoming of Canadian literature from the 1970s into the twenty-first century by focusing on the local, regional, national, and global dimensions of this writing. While attending to different regions, the course addresses rich issues at the heart of this national literature: ethnicity, the environment, gender relations, indigenous life, immigrant experience, and religious faith within a postmodern world. While studying the formal conventions and cultural relationships that Canadian writers engage, students will also interact with local writers and visiting poets.

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Contemporary American Literature ENG-332

This course studies American poetry and fiction from 1945 to the present, emphasizing the interrelationship between the literature and the tumultuous period in which the United States became a global power. The course includes attention to a central aspect of American experience, race relations; to the unrest and experimentation of the time, represented, for example, by the Beat Movement; and to the contribution of Christian authors to the American canon (e.g. Flannery O’Connor, John Updike, and Marilynne Robinson).

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History of Language ENG-340

A study of the development of the English language, from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day.

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Medieval English Literature ENG-341

A study of the poetry and prose of medieval England, with special attention to the works of Chaucer.

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Sixteenth-Century English Literature ENG-342

The literature of England from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, including Shakespeare’s non-dramatic poetry and works by Sidney and Spenser.

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Seventeenth-Century English Literature ENG-343

The literature of the late Renaissance in England, from the reign of James I to the Restoration, including works by Wroth, Donne, Herbert, and Milton.

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Nineteenth-Century English Literature I: Romantic ENG-345

This course introduces students to the major writers who are associated with English Romanticism (1790-1830), including Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats, and Shelley.

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Nineteenth-Century English Literature II: Victorian ENG-346

Poetry, prose and drama from the Victorian period, including works by Tennyson, the Brownings, Dickens, George Eliot, Arnold, the Rossettis, Hopkins, and Wilde.

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British Literature, 1900-1950 ENG-347

Literature from the first half of the twentieth century, including works by Hardy, Conrad, Yeats, Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Woolf, and Forster.

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British Literature, 1950-Present ENG-357

This course will investigate how British novels, short fiction and poetry are both marked by and speak into the challenging context of rapid change in British society since WW II. The course will include fiction by Golding, Greene, Carter, Byatt, Ishiguro, Barnes, M. Amis, and Z. Smith, and poetry by Auden, Larkin, Hughes, Heaney, G. Hill, and Boland.

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Shakespeare ENG-361

A study of six representative comedies, histories, and tragedies by William Shakespeare from a number of critical perspectives.

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Postcolonial Literature ENG-376

An introduction to twentieth century literature in English from South Africa, West Indies, India, and East and West Africa, with some links to literature in contemporary Canada.

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Senior Writing Project ENG-403

An advanced course in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry under the supervision of a writing specialist. Students will meet in workshop format and/or with the instructor in personal tutorials.

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Contemporary Critical Theory ENG-416

A consideration of the many different theoretical and critical approaches to literature and cultural studies that have proliferated since the middle of the twentieth century.

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Studies in Canadian Literature ENG-425

A study of a specific theme, genre, author or group of authors in Canadian literature.

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Modern Canadian Fiction ENG-426

A study of modern and contemporary Canadian short stories and novels, with a focus
on a specific genre, theme, cultural context or region.

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Modern Canadian Poetry ENG-427

A literary and theoretical exploration of the wide variety of styles and genres of poetry presently being written in Canada. As part of their coursework, students will attend readings in local venues, and will host the Canada Council poets at Redeemer.

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Studies in American Literature ENG-435

A study of a specific theme, genre, author or group of authors in American literature.

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Studies in English Literature ENG-445

A study of a specific theme, genre, author or group of authors in English literature.

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The Fiction of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien ENG-446

An honours-level seminar on the lives and major works of these influential twentieth century Christian scholars.

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Shakespeare and Theory ENG-447

The interpretation of Shakespeare on the stage and in the academy is shaped by both specific critical theories and general cultural practices. In this seminar course, students will test interpretations of Shakespeare in Formalist, Structuralist, Psychoanalytical, Marxist, New Historicist, Gender, Queer, and Postcolonial criticism.

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Milton ENG-448

This course is an intensive study of the major poetry and prose of John Milton (1608-1674), following the arc of Milton’s career against the background of the religious, political, and literary controversies of the seventeenth century. Together with shorter poems and selections of prose, students will be studying A Maske, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes.

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Studies in Selected Literature ENG-475

A study of a specific theme, genre, author or group of authors in selected literature.

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Studies in Postcolonial Literature ENG-476

Twentieth century literature in English from countries that were previously British colonies, read in relation to canonical literature from Britain itself.

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Honours Writing Practicum ENG-483

An off-campus practicum in writing for students in the Honours Writing Stream. Students specializing in creative writing, expository writing, creative non-fiction, poetry, drama, and journalism are all eligible to apply. For more information please consult the department.

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Honours Independent Study ENG-485

For information on setting up an independent study see page 60 of the Academic Calendar.