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Special Topics (ENGLISH 113) FALL 2026

Catalog course ENGL 113 consists of multiple topics of focus that vary each semester. Current and/or forthcoming descriptions are listed below. To see course details, including dates, times and professors, please use the .

ENGL 113.01 Writing AS SELF DISCOVERY
This course will orient you to the world of expository writing and will provide a solid preparation for the written assignments you will encounter throughout your course work at 熊猫在线视频. Our work together will emphasize writing as a process and it will focus on exploring, planning and organization of complex ideas, editing and revising of drafts, and developing writing skills through effective means of organization, support and justification of ideas. As such, students will read intellectually intriguing essays, engage in writing workshops that focus on developing a clear and coherent expository style of writing, craft individual and critical responses, construct unified and coherent paragraphs, and contribute to the dialogue about writing that would emerge from our classroom responses. By the end of the semester, you should have generated at least 28 pages of polished prose.

ENGL 113.03, 04 Writing the Self:  Identity, Culture and Voice
In this course we will examine how identity is communicated through writing. Focusing on the intersections of who we are and how we write, students will not only explore how established writers communicate their identities and cultures, but students will also develop their individual voice while considering how their identity is informed by larger cultural contexts. The course aims to cultivate strategies for personal expression and foster critical discussions on the relationship between identity and culture through writing. Additionally, we will analyze various writing genres to understand how identity influences and is represented in each.

ENGL 113.06, 07 RHETORIC IN THE ARTS
In this course we will engage in persuasive writing about the arts, and we will evaluate other writers鈥� discourse on the arts. These activities will inevitably involve asking questions about the role of the arts in society and the ways in which the arts reflect broader cultural issues. Therefore, focusing on the arts will, beyond honing our own sensibilities and critical thinking skills, serve as a way of gaining a more sophisticated and responsible understanding of the societies in which we are citizens.

ENGL 113.08 WRITING IN COMMUNITY
Writing sometimes feels like solitary, lonely work. We sit at our desks, close our doors to the world and grapple with our ideas in quiet. Though it may feel solitary, when we engage in the writing process, we aren鈥檛 really working alone: we鈥檙e joining bigger, broader conversations, something that Kenneth Burke calls the 鈥淯nending Conversation.鈥� In these conversations, we find the scholars and writers whose work we gather, read and analyze; we find our peers and mentors who write alongside us; and we find our intended audiences 鈥� those communities we are writing for. 

This section of ENGL 113 will help you to see writing as a process 鈥� an ongoing 鈥渃onversation鈥� 鈥� and will ask you to practice the many parts of the writing process so that you can develop your own process that will work for you across the next several years of your education. You鈥檒l begin by proposing a 鈥渃onversation鈥� to join (a semester topic that you鈥檙e personally invested in). From there, you鈥檒l get focused experience and ample practice writing across a variety of contexts and genres, for different audiences, so that you can gain confidence and skill as a writer. In community with your professor and peers, this course invites you to become a more deliberate, intentional writer, thinker and listener.

ENGL 113.10 HOW TO PAY ATTENTION
Do you find it a struggle to focus on just one thing? Are you often distracted, even when doing something that is meaningful to you? Have you noticed the people around you frequently tuning out or giving you half their attention? In this course we鈥檒l look at research, op-eds and stories that help us tackle the problem of why, as a society, our attention spans are melting away 鈥� and what to do about it. Although the reading will be important, this class is primarily a practical workshop in writing the kinds of prose expected in college courses. This section of English 113 is focused on human skill development and human critical thinking.

ENGL 113.11,12 Analyzing Empathy
In this course, we will use the complex and sometimes controversial concept of empathy as a basis for the study of the conventions and possibilities of academic writing. Through a variety of readings 鈥� primarily essays and short fiction 鈥� we will explore the challenges that face writers endeavoring to define empathy and to determine how it can contribute to contemporary society. We will begin with texts that depict or challenge common methods, such as personal observation and storytelling, that allow us to engage with the feelings and experiences of others. We will then turn toward more specific cases, including works of historical drama and speculative fiction that attempt to give readers access to thoughts and emotions that might be drastically different from their own experiences. Throughout the course, we will think critically about this subject matter and the questions about it that our readings might raise: What are the limits of empathy? When might an empathetic approach create harm instead of helping? To what extent is it the responsibility of writers to create an easy sense of connection for their readers, and to what extent is it the responsibility of readers to engage with perspectives that differ from their own? Is empathy valuable as an abstract feeling, or does it only take on value when it translates into action?

ENGL 113.13 WIT, WISDOM, AND WIZARDRY
Who are you? What are you called to do? How do you know? How does your calling intersect with justice and community and global problems? What does it mean to flourish as person, a student, a professional, a citizen?

When you have to make a difficult decision, how do you proceed? Do you carefully analyze the circumstances and rationally weigh your options? Do you cry, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not my fault!鈥� and lash out at the world that forced the decision upon you? Do you close your eyes, grit your teeth and just accept whatever wild ride you鈥檙e on, vaguely hoping for the best? How do various aspects of your identity shape the decisions you make? How do the decisions you make shape the person you become?

In this class, we鈥檒l read three books together, looking at ways that different characters approach the process of decision-making and identity. We鈥檒l discuss different factors that affect their decisions, from family expectations and gender issues to friendships and special talents. We鈥檒l write about ourselves and how we make our own decisions, as well as about these characters and what we can learn from them. Writing for this course will include daily reading responses, several short essays and a research paper.

ENGL 113.17 LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY
(description coming soon)

Special Topics (Anchor Plan and Upper Level Courses) FALL 2026

Current and/or forthcoming descriptions are listed below. To see course details, including dates, times and professors, please use the .

ENGL 110.01
This course covers literary texts that reflect fears about the end of the world. We will place fiction, poetry and drama about monsters, natural disasters and other catastrophes into conversation with descriptions of the real-life wars, technological developments, medical challenges, political conflicts and religious anxieties that inspired these visions of the apocalypse. After exploring the British Romantic period as a starting-point for modern apocalyptic literature, we will turn to modern and contemporary American literature, focusing on both the challenges that our texts depict and the strategies for hope and resilience that they reflect. Readings may include works by Mary Shelley, T. S. Eliot, Octavia Butler, Ted Chiang, Emily St. John Mandel and Joy Harjo. Analysis of these texts will center on the ways in which the study of literature can enable us to process some of the most difficult elements of human experience.

ENGL 130.01 African Novels, Music and Film
Based on the changing trends in political, social and cultural developments in African societies from colonialism to post-independence, the course explores the literature of Africa on several fronts: the history, implementation of political oppression under apartheid, and indigenous struggles and resistance to it; post-independent corruption and disillusionment; and the current migration of the youth to Western societies in search of better opportunities. Through a combination of writing and artistic expressions as music, songs and dance, the course uses four novels (Mine Boy, Xala, So Long a Letter, and Blue White Red), two documentaries (Amandla! and The June 16 Soweto Uprising), Paul Simon鈥檚 Graceland: The African Concert of 1987, and a movie (Sarafina!) to depict the course of political oppression and economic exploitation and indigenous resistance and eventual liberation from the 1950s to the contemporary situation. Louise Meintjes鈥� paper, 鈥淧aul Simon鈥檚 Graceland, South Africa, and the Mediation of Musical Meaning,鈥� provides additional context for critical analysis and literary engagement of the theme of oppression.

ENGL 210.01 African Storytelling and Generative AI
This course explores African literature and storytelling as cultural and material productions in selected novels from Africa. With a focus on Generative AI and its significance for literary interpretation, the course adopts a 6-week module that examines Chinua Achebe鈥檚 Things Fall Apart through using ChatGPT and conventional scholarly approaches. In this module, we will analyze the complications of using Open AI as scholarly reference, its lack of sensitivity to cultural nuances and historical backgrounds, and its potential to legitimize stereotypical representations of African culture and identity. The rest of the course will be devoted to exploring African storytelling in multiple socio-cultural contexts and the construction of meanings from the texts selected for study.

ENGL 230.01 Survey of British Literature:  Romantics TO CONTEMPORARY
In the 1790s, writers known as the Romantics upended British literary tradition, revolutionizing poetry to express their fascination with humanity鈥檚 relationship to nature and the divine. Soon after, authors like Jane Austen and Mary Shelley supercharged the novel into a gripping storytelling medium. This course will span over two centuries of great literature, tracing how Britain鈥檚 empire-building produced an increasingly complex British identity. We鈥檒l read poetry, travel narratives, fiction and drama from England, Scotland and former colonies like India, Ireland and South Africa. In the Victorian age, we鈥檒l see how literary realism enabled new ways to tell (or obscure) the truth about scientific discoveries, class tensions and global injustices. In the Modernist era, we鈥檒l see brilliant writers wrestle with world war and women鈥檚 fight for rights. We鈥檒l close with postcolonial literature, examining the questions of 鈥渨ho belongs鈥� and 鈥渨ho speaks for England鈥� that Britain continues to struggle with today.

ENGL 230.02 Harlem Renaissance: Literature and Protest
This course explores the Harlem Renaissance as a pivotal moment in which African American writers used literature as a form of social protest. Students will examine how authors confronted racism, colorism, gender discrimination and the lasting effects of slavery while redefining Black identity through the ideals of the New Negro Movement. Through close readings of fiction, poetry and essays by African American writers, including women whose contributions were often marginalized, students will analyze how creative expression served as a means of resistance during the era of Jim Crow. Ultimately, the course examines how these writers challenged social injustice and redefined the American literary landscape.

ENGL 230.03 FROM VIRGIL TO DANTE AND CHAUCER
Transporting ourselves to the past can give us a new perspective on the present and on big questions like what it is to love, what causes violence, how to lead a good life, how stories give meaning to individuals and communities, and how people can live together well in communities and nations. We will consider how both pre-Christian and Christian authors answer such questions, how Christianity changed the world, and how Christian authors find value in the classical inheritance. Texts will include Virgil鈥檚 Aeneid, Boethius鈥檚 Consolation of Philosophy, the Canterbury Tales.

ENGL 240.01 Editing and Publishing
This course will focus on developing the professional skills of a working editor within the publication process, whether it be books, periodicals or websites. Students will be introduced to basic editing practices, from copy-editing with its focus on correcting and improving grammatical and stylistic choices, to the more complex skills of editing for substance, organization and clarity of purpose. Part of the course will explore the business aspects of freelance editing, including best practices for working directly with authors, and students will occasionally interact with professionals from the West Michigan publishing industry, who will share their experiences and insights on what it takes to become a successful working editor.

ENGL 240.02 Intro to Writing in Healthcare Professions
This course is an introduction to writing effectively in a variety of healthcare professions. It is designed for future healthcare practitioners, not what are generally called 鈥渉ealthcare writers鈥� (although it will be beneficial to them as well). Its primary objective is to help future practitioners succeed in professional schooling and during their early years of practice. The course will have students work through basic professional and medically-related writing tasks, both large and small, and produce writing that is clear, organized, correct and effectively communicates its point. An additional course objective is to give students necessary skills for analyzing and composing messages in basic formats such as letters, instructions, resumes and reports. The course also includes a brief review of fundamental grammar, punctuation and stylistic conventions in Standard Edited English.

ENGL 311.01 Shakespeare's PlayS
Many of Shakespeare鈥檚 plays explore what it means to be treated as an outsider. Studying these plays can guide us in questioning issues of justice when women are treated as possessions, Jewish merchants are ridiculed, and military commanders are questioned because of the color of their skin. In this course, we will work our way together through several plays, reading and watching and studying and arguing about the meaning we find in them. We will examine the historical and literary contexts, studying the plays as literature and as performance pieces and assessing the insights offered by various critical approaches.

ENGL 374.01 Mythic Themes in American Literature
This course is mainly concerned with the ways in which various mythological narratives and archetypal characters have fed the imaginations of American writers. We will look at how Greek, European, Indigenous and other mythologies have continued to shape American literary expression and self-understanding while also considering how the Bible has often provided a kind of mythical structure for some of the culture鈥檚 most enduring stories and poems. Some familiarity with Greek or other mythologies would be helpful to students but not essential.