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Virginia Commonwealth University · Courses

ENGL

162 courses with the subject ENGL, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.

ENGL 201Western World Literature I3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to the literature of Western cultures from the ancient world through the Renaissance, emphasizing connections among representative works.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 202Western World Literature II3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to the literature of Western cultures from the end of the Renaissance to the present, emphasizing connections among representative works.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 203British Literature I3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to the literature of the British Isles from the Middle Ages through the 18th century, emphasizing connections among representative works.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 204British Literature II3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to the literature of the British Isles from the late 18th century to the present, emphasizing connections among representative works.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 205American Literature I3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to the literature of the United States from its origins through the 1860s, emphasizing connections among representative works.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 206American Literature II3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to the literature of the United States from the 1860s to the present, emphasizing connections among the representative works.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 211Contemporary World Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 295 or UNIV 200. A study of selected literature published in the past 25 years and chosen from a number of different nations and cultures. Crosslisted as: INTL 211.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 214English Grammar and Usage3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisites: UNIV 111 and UNIV 200. An intensive study of English grammar, usage, punctuation, mechanics and spelling.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 215Reading Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. An inquiry into literary and cultural texts, emphasizing critical thinking and close reading. Individual sections may survey a portion of literary history or focus on a theme or unifying question.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 217Reading New Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to literary texts published in the new century.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 236Women in Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 295 or UNIV 200. An introduction to literature by and/or about women. Crosslisted as: GSWS 236.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 250Reading Film3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Develops students' visual literacy by exploring and analyzing the various elements of film (cinematography, lighting, editing, art direction, acting and sound, among others). Examples will be drawn from both U.S. and world cinema and from all eras of filmmaking.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 291Topics in Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum six credits toward graduation, in all topics courses at the 200 level. Prerequisite: ENGL 295 or UNIV 200. An introduction to literature through the in-depth study of a selected topic or genre. See the Schedule of Classes for specific topics to be offered.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum six credits toward graduation, in all topics courses at the 200 level.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 295Introduction to Creative Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An introduction to the basic elements of writing poetry and fiction, using published examples of contemporary fiction and verse as guides in the study of literary form and the production of original creative writing. Students will be offered a practitioner's perspective on genre conventions and the process of revision.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 301Introduction to the English Major3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Study of literature focused on skills helpful in the English major, introducing students to the ways in which language is used in literary texts and to the practice of writing responses to those texts. Texts will represent at least two genres (drama, poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction). This course should be taken at the beginning of the student's major, preferably before completing more than six hours of other upper-level English courses. Majors are required to take ENGL 301; they must achieve a minimum grade of C to complete the requirement.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 302Legal Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. Intensive practice in writing on subjects related to law or legal problems. Emphasis on organization, development, logical flow and clarity of style. May not be used to satisfy the literature requirement of the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 303Writing for Stage and/or Screen3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A workshop in playwriting or screenwriting primarily for students who have not yet completed a full-length dramatic work. Students will present a portfolio of work at the end of each course.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 304Persuasive Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. An advanced study of persuasive prose techniques, with attention to the relationships among content, form and style. Students consider rhetorical techniques used across various genres, and produce and support compelling claims that persuade and inform. They will also acquire skills to interpret, assess and analyze strategies used in a variety of texts. Specific topics vary by section and instructor.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 305Writing Poetry3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An introduction to the craft of writing poetry. Students will explore the elements of poetic technique and produce a volume of quality work.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 307Writing Fiction3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A fiction workshop primarily for students who have not produced a portfolio of finished creative work. Students will present a collection of their work at the end of each course.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 309Writing Creative Nonfiction3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A creative nonfiction workshop primarily for students who have not produced a portfolio of finished creative work. Students will present a collection of their work at the end of each course.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 310Professional Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. An introduction to writing practices common to for-profit and/or not-for-profit organizations. Students hone foundational writing and design skills to communicate effectively with specific audiences across multiple media. Depending on the instructor, this course prepares students to assess and craft effective job application materials, workplace correspondence and other business documents, including digital texts and/or websites.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 311Introduction to Literary Theory3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Introduces students to the variety of critical methods that are sometimes employed — often subconsciously or habitually — in writing about literature. Requires students to think abstractly and theoretically about the nature of the literary text, but it also gives students valuable practice in mastering different critical methods through close engagements with short stories, poems and plays.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 313Popular Culture Studies:_____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credit hours. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the popular culture of a specific time period, a particular form or an orchestrated phenomenon, with attention paid to the producers, audiences and meanings of the texts. Topics will vary by section.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 315Fan Fiction Studies:_____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the phenomenon of fan fiction as understood as a disciplinary field. Focuses on creative works and other forms of engagement responding to originating texts in diverse media. Topics will vary by section.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 317Body and Culture: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. A study of cultural perspectives on the body and its health and associated issues (such as gender construction, mortality, disease, physical needs, myths, emotions or bodily anxieties), honing observational skills for the complex ways in which bodies hold meaning. Time periods, geographic scope and genres covered will vary by section. May include guest visits by health professionals to help students contextualize cultural themes alongside modern health care.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 320Early Literary Traditions3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of early and medieval literature such as epic, romance, saga or lyric poetry written in England or influencing English literature prior to 1500.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 321English Drama From 900 to 16423

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the origin of the English drama and its development until the closing of the theaters in 1642, exclusive of Shakespeare.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 322Medieval Literature: Old English to Middle English3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of texts in Old and Middle English, and the literary and cultural traditions that influence the rise of English literature over 500 years from the early to the High Middle Ages, or from Bede and Beowulf to Chaucer.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 324Late Medieval Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An introduction to the literature of the 15th and 16th centuries. Works surveyed will likely include those of Langland, Julian of Norwich, Kempe, Malory, Henryson, Skelton, More, Tyndale, Foxe, Surrey, Spenser and Sidney.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 325Early Modern Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An introduction to the literature of the 16th and 17th centuries, which may include Sidney, Spenser, Donne, Jonson, Lanyer, Wroth, Phillips, Cavendish, Bradstreet, Hutchinson, Milton and Bunyan.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 326Shakespeare in Context3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Examines selected works of Shakespeare in historical, political, sociocultural, literary and/or other contexts.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 330The London Stage: 1660-18003

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of English theatrical texts of various genres written and produced in London between 1660-1800.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 331Restoration and 18th-century British Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A survey of representative poetry, drama and prose from the Restoration and 18th century, usually including Behn, Dryden, Pope, Swift, Johnson and Gay.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 33218th-century British Novels and Narratives3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the British narratives in the long 18th century, usually including Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Burney, Sterne, Austen, Radcliffe and Walpole.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 335British Literature of the Romantic Era3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Exploration of the literature and the cultural phenomenon of Romanticism in Britain during the years 1783-1832, with reading from poets such as Blake, Wordsworth, Byron and Shelley, and from a variety of other writers.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 33619th-century British Novels and Narratives3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of British narratives of the 19th century, usually including Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, the Brontes, George Eliot and Hardy.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 337Victorian Poetry3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A survey of the poetry of Victorian Britain, usually including Tennyson, the Brownings, Arnold and the pre-Raphaelites.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 340Early 20th-century British Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Representative British and Irish poetry, fiction and drama of the early 20th century, including such writers as Yeats, Joyce, Shaw, Lawrence, Conrad, Auden, Forster and Woolf.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 341British Literature and Culture After 19453

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A British studies course that surveys writing in Britain and Ireland since the mid-20th century, with emphasis on social, economic and ideological contexts. Includes such authors as William Golding, Doris Lessing, Seamus Heaney, Harold Pinter, Philip Larkin, Iris Murdoch, Kazuo Ishiguro, Salman Rushdie and Carol Ann Duffy.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 342The Modern Novel3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An examination of the novel, chiefly British and European, in the 20th century.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 343Modern Poetry3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of British and American poetry in the first half of the 20th century.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 344Modern Drama3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the development of Continental, English and American drama since Ibsen.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 345Contemporary Poetry3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of British and American poetry from approximately 1945 to the present for the purpose of determining the aesthetic and thematic concerns of contemporary poets.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 347Contemporary Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of internationally prominent texts in various genres produced during the past 30 years. Familiarizes students with distinctive properties of literary expression that have emerged in this period, such as the political, historical, economic and social influences that have shaped literary production.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 348The Literature of Addiction3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An exploration of literature which reflects experiences of addiction and recovery within families, relationships and broader cultural contexts. The focus and approach may vary by section. Students may study poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama and media. Crosslisted as: AMST 348.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 349Care, Ethics and Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Explores the complex relation between literary interpretation and diagnosis (itself a form of interpretation) in medical and other care environments and probes the value of literature in understanding health issues around pain, trauma and other lived experience. Using literature as a point of entry, students will learn interpretation skills that will deepen their ethical understanding of care. The class will provide an opportunity for experiential learning.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 350Digital Rhetoric3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. The study and practice of rhetoric as it applies to digital media.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 352Feminist Literary Theory3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. The study of contemporary feminist thought and feminist approaches to analyzing literature and culture. This course examines the history and development of feminist theory as a methodology in the humanities, explores several of the major theoretical trends of the past 30 years and examines applications of feminist theory to specific works of literature. Crosslisted as: GSWS 352.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 353Women's Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit once (for a maximum of six credits) when a different group of writers is studied. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of selected literature written by woman-identified writers. Crosslisted as: GSWS 353.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit once (for a maximum of six credits) when a different group of writers is studied.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 354Queer Literature: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of queer literature. Considers issues of history, theory, aesthetics, politics, authorship and/or interpretive communities and examines the intersection of social identities with particular attention to race/ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, class and/or nationality. Topics will vary by section. Crosslisted as: GSWS 354.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 355Black Women Writers3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Explores the variety of ways African-diasporan women and woman-identified writers gained self-expression in the midst of gender and race oppression from slavery to the present. Also explores the rise of Black feminist discourse as a project of reclaiming and giving voice to writers who had previously been silenced or suppressed. Crosslisted as: GSWS 359.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 356Prison Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of prison literature within or across particular time periods and/or geographic places. Explores writings by incarcerated people in consideration of their political, social and economic context.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 358Native American and Indigenous Literatures3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of Native and/or indigenous writing and representation from the pre-colonial era to the present. Instructors may choose thematic, geographic, generic or period focus for the course.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 359Studies in African American Literature: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An in-depth study of a literary genre; an aesthetic, cultural or political theme in African American literature; or a major writer or writers in African American literature. See the Schedule of Classes for specific topics to be offered each semester. Topics will vary by section. Crosslisted as: AMST 359.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 361The Bible as Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Literary aspects of the Bible will be considered. Also, attention will be given to the history of the English Bible. Crosslisted as: RELS 361.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 363African Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of regional and/or cultural traditions of African literature with special attention paid to socio-political perspectives. Crosslisted as: AFAM 363/INTL 366.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 364Mythology and Folklore3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of one or more forms of folklore, such as folktales, fairy tales, legends, myths, proverbs, riddles, ballads and/or games, with some attention to literary, social or historical significance and contexts. This course may also include approaches to collecting material or to examining later literary forms and texts inspired by folklore. Crosslisted as: ANTH 364.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 365Caribbean Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A survey of West Indian writings. Attention will be given to African, European and Amerindian influences, as well as to the emergence of a West Indian literary tradition. Crosslisted as: AFAM 365/INTL 367.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 366Writing and Social Change: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture/workshop hours. 3 credits. May be repeated once for credit with a different topic. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A focused study of the literatures of underserved communities such as those of prisoners, recovering addicts, inner-city teens or immigrants. Students will collaborate with one such community on an original writing project.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated once for credit with a different topic.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 367Writing Process and Practice3

Semester course; 3 lecture/workshop hours. 3 credits. Prerequisites: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. Joins writing theory to writing practice. Students will explore their own writing practice and expand their knowledge of rhetorical processes and the teaching/learning of writing. Covers readings and investigations into theories about writing and the writing process, as well as the principles of working one-on-one with student writers. In the latter part of the semester students will devote two hours per week to peer consulting in the Writing Center.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 368Nature Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the literary genre of nature writing in English. Crosslisted as: ENVS 368.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 369Illness Narratives3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An overview of the history, interpretations and practices of reading and writing illness narratives — through case studies and theoretical perspectives, in fictionalized and nonfiction accounts, from the viewpoint of various actors (doctors, patients, patient families and their caregivers). Students will further examine the role of narrative knowledge in health care. Crosslisted as: SCTS 301.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 370Medicine in Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of how the representational practices found in literary works may inform or enhance an understanding of a variety of medical issues.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 371American Literary Beginnings3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the most important writings from the founding of the first colonies to the establishment of the federal government with attention to such authors as Bradford, Byrd, Bradstreet, Equiano, Cabeza de Vaca and Franklin.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 372U.S. Literature: 1820-18653

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the writings of American authors in the middle decades of the 19th century, with attention to such authors as Poe, Emerson, Thoreau, Stowe, Hawthorne, Melville, Douglass and Whitman.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 373U.S. Literature: 1865-19133

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of writings from the end of the Civil War to World War I, with attention to such authors as Dickinson, Clemens, Howell, James, Wharton, Crane, Norris, Dreiser, Chopin and Chesnutt.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 374U.S. Literature: Modernism3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the most important writings between World War I and World War II, with attention to such authors as Anderson, Frost, Eliot, Stein, Glasgow, Fitzgerald, Wright, Cather, Hemingway, O'Neill, Hurston, Toomer and Faulkner.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 375U.S. Literature After 19453

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of American writings since the end of World War II, with attention to such authors as Albee, Baldwin, Carver, Coover, Ellison, Erdrich, Ginsberg, Lowell, Morrison, Plath, Pynchon, Salinger and Walker.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 37719th-century U.S. Novels and Narratives3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of selected novels with some attention to other forms of narrative that reflect the experiences of diverse groups in the United States.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 37820th-century U.S. Novels and Narratives3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of selected novels with some attention to other forms of narrative that reflect the experiences of diverse groups of the United States.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 379African-American Literature: Beginnings Through the Harlem Renaissance3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An examination of the culture and literature of African Americans from their roots in Africa and the African Diaspora to the Harlem Renaissance. Authors may include Wheatley, Douglass, DuBois, Hurston, Hughes and Cullen. Crosslisted as: AFAM 379.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 380Southern Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the literature of the South with attention to writers such as Byrd, Poe, Chopin, Faulkner, Welty, Wolfe, O'Connor, Walker and Percy.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 381Multiethnic Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the literature and culture of multiethnic writers in the United States. May include Native American, Latino/a, African-American, Asian-American and/or Jewish-American authors.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 382African-American Literature: Realism to the Present3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An examination of the culture and literature of African-Americans from the Harlem Renaissance to the present day. Authors may include Wright, Ellison, Hayden, Brooks, Walker and Morrison. Crosslisted as: AFAM 382.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 383Short Fiction: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of short fiction. Topics will vary by section.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 385Fiction into Film3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Prerequisite:ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the translation of literature into film. Topical approaches vary from semester to semester. Consideration is given to the literature in its original form and to the methods of translating it into film.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 386Children's Literature I3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. This course is designed to give students an appreciation of the value of children’s literature, present a look at current trends and provide a wide range of reading from different literary genres and diverse authors. The course will also explore the creative use of literature and its contribution to the development of oral and written expression in children from birth to grade 6. Throughout the course students will develop skills as educators who are critically reflective practitioners. Crosslisted as: TEDU 386.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 388Professional, Scientific and Technical Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture/workshop hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. Focuses on technical writing and design practices of clear, effective communication in for-profit and/or not-for-profit organizations. Working collaboratively to research and assess field-specific problems, students will produce proposals and reports common to business, science, technology and consumer industries and/or governmental, civic and arts-related organizations.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 390Introduction to Linguistics3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. An introduction to methods of language analysis, emphasizing the study of sounds and sound patterns, and units of meaning and their arrangements. Crosslisted as: LING 390/ANTH 390.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 391Topics in Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Maximum of 12 credits in all topics courses at the upper level. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An in-depth study of a literary genre, an aesthetic or cultural theme in literature, or of a major writer in English or American literature. See the Schedule of Classes for specific topics to be offered each semester.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 392Language, Culture and Cognition3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. Prerequisite: ANTH 220 or 230. Introduces theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of language from sociocultural perspectives. The perspectives include linguistic, philosophical, psychological, sociological and anthropological contributions to the understanding of verbal and nonverbal communication as a social activity embedded in cultural contexts. No prior training in linguistics is presupposed. Crosslisted as: ANTH 328/FRLG 328/LING 392.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 393Rhetoric in Public Life3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisites: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Examines how rhetoric, the art of discovering the available means of persuasion, is indispensable for constructing public life. Teaches students how to become stewards of public life by (a) analyzing rhetorical strategies, logical fallacies, and the tropes, schemes and figures of speech found in journalism about contemporary social issues and (b) using rhetoric to develop common sense about divisive social issues.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 394Topics in Professional Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 304, ENGL 310 or ENGL 388. May be repeated for a total of six credits with different topics. (Students may complete a maximum of 12 credits in all topics courses at the upper level.) An in-depth study of the writing practices of a particular for-profit or not-for-profit institution. See the Schedule of Classes for specific topics to be offered each semester. This is not a creative writing course.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a total of six credits with different topics.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 401Shakespeare3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Advanced study of Shakespeare’s works. May focus on a specific genre (tragedies, comedies, romances, histories, lyrics, narrative poems) or period of Shakespeare’s career.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated once for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 402Chaucer3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of "The Canterbury Tales," with some attention to the early works.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 403Milton3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of shorter poems, selected prose, "Paradise Lost" and "Samson Agonistes.".

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 407Medieval Epic and Romance3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the vernacular epic and romance in England and on the continent prior to 1500.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 410Medieval Studies: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Studies in the English language and literature of the Middle Ages in its cultural context.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 411Early Modern Studies: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Studies in the language, literature and culture of early modern Britain, ca. 1500 to 1700.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 41218th-century Studies: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with different topics for maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Studies in the literature, language and culture of the 18th century in Britain and/or the United States.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with different topics for maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 41319th-century Studies: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Studies in the literature, language and culture of the 19th century in Britain and/or the United States.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 41420th-century Studies: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Studies in the literature, language and culture of the 20th century in Britain, the United States and/or elsewhere in the Anglophone world.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 415Topics in Book History3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of six credits. Studies in the social, cultural and material histories of the book. Depending on the instructor, this course may offer a wide historical survey of book forms, whether manuscript, print or digital; or it may address a particular kind of book within a specific historical period and/or geographic location. Topics will vary by section.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 416Topics in Authorship3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Depending on the instructor, this course may study the concept of authorship within a specific time period or culture; or it may trace the genesis, development and/or function of authorship more broadly. Topics will vary by section.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 417Themes in African American Literature: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An advanced study of a literary genre; an aesthetic, cultural or political theme in African American literature; or a major writer or writers in African American literature. Taught in a seminar format. See the Schedule of Classes for specific topics to be offered each semester. Topics will vary by section.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 435Advanced Poetry Writing3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 305. Study of the craft of writing, with instruction and guidance toward constructive self-criticism. Workshop members will be expected to produce a substantial volume of quality work and to become proficient in critical analysis in order to evaluate and articulate the strength of their own poetry. May not be used to satisfy the literature requirement of the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated once for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 437Advanced Fiction Writing3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 307. Study the craft of fiction writing, with instruction and guidance toward constructive self-criticism. Workshop members will be expected to produce a substantial volume of short stories or portion of a novel and to become proficient in the critical analysis of fiction in order to evaluate and articulate the strength of their own work. May not be used to satisfy the literature requirement of the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated once for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 439Advanced Creative Nonfiction Writing3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 309. Advanced study of the craft of creative nonfiction writing, with instruction and guidance toward constructive self-criticism. Workshop members will be expected to produce a substantial volume of writing or a portion of a book-length work of nonfiction, and to become proficient in the critical analysis of literary nonfiction in order to evaluate and articulate the strength of their own work.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated once for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 441Literary Technique:____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 305, ENGL 307 or ENGL 309. Enrollment requires permission of the instructor. A scholarly and creative hybrid course that focuses on particular authors, literary forms or elements of technique. Combines specialized analysis of literary practices with creative writing in response to selected authors, forms or elements of technique. Topics will vary by section.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 445Form and Theory of Poetry3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the poetics, including prosody, with attention to the nature and functioning of language in poetry (especially metaphor), the development of poetic genres and the process by which poems are created and come to have meaning.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 447Form and Theory of Fiction3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of narration in verbal and other media, with attention to the nature, organization and functioning of language in narrative, the development of narrative genres, and the process by which narratives are created and come to have meaning.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 449Form and Theory of Creative Nonfiction3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An examination of one or more types of creative nonfiction. These may include magazine articles, research-based reportage, New Journalism, memoir, biography, autobiography, the meditative essay, the personal essay and others. May also include creative writing in the genre.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 450Modern Grammar3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. Study of modern English grammar and usage with some attention to linguistic theory. May not be used to satisfy the literature requirement of the College of Humanities and Sciences. Crosslisted as: LING 450.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 451History of the English Language3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. The historical development of the English language; etymology, morphology, orthography and semantics. May not be used to satisfy the literature requirement of the College of Humanities and Sciences. Crosslisted as: LING 451.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 452Language and Gender3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. A study of relationships between gender and language focusing on such issues as differences between the ways women and men use language, relationships between language and power and ways in which language reflects and reinforces cultural attitudes toward gender. May not be used to satisfy the literature requirement of the College of Humanities and Sciences. Crosslisted as: LING 452/GSWS 452.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 453Modern Rhetoric3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. A study of a broad range of modern rhetorical theories, emphasizing their possible relationships with linguistics, literary criticism, civic engagement and the process of writing. Crosslisted as: LING 453.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 459Political Rhetoric in the U.S.3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. A study of the public rhetoric that shapes beliefs and influences behavior in the U.S. in relation to pressing social issues, emphasizing the links between rhetorical theory, criticism, civic engagement and the process of writing.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 480Authors: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An advanced study of a specific author’s texts and contexts. Taught in a seminar format with an emphasis on research.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 481Genres: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An advanced study of a single genre, either over time or at a particular historical moment. Taught in a seminar format with an emphasis on research.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 482Literary Topics: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An in-depth study of an aesthetic or cultural theme in literature. Taught in a seminar format with an emphasis on research.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 483Literary Texts and Contexts: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An advanced study of a select group of literary texts with emphasis on the culture and historical moment in which they were produced. Taught in a seminar format with an emphasis on research.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 484Literary Movements: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An advanced study of a group of writers whose work shares a common subject matter, writing style or philosophy. These may be defined by members of the movement (e.g., the Beats) or by critics in retrospect (e.g., the Metaphysical Poets). Taught in a seminar format with an emphasis on research.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 485Literary Theory and Criticism: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An advanced study of a single theoretical and critical methodology, or a small cluster of them, as well as of their application to a variety of literary texts. Taught in a seminar format.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 487Scholarly Editing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the theory, methodology and practice of scholarly editing. Students are trained to produce and evaluate both documentary editions, in which an editor works with a single document, and critical editions, in which the editor works with multiple texts of the same work. In addition, students are trained in the practice of editing secondary material.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 489Literary Editing and Publishing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. A study of the art and business of commercial editing and publishing. Provides a review of current literary publishers (book, magazine and e-pubs) and exposes students to the editorial process via editing assignments, field research of literary publishers, and contemporary publishing operations and issues.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 491Topics in Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Maximum of 12 credits in all topics courses at the upper level. Prerequisites: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Intensive study and practice of writing in a specific genre or application. See the Schedule of Classes for specific topics to be offered each semester.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 492Independent Study1-3

Semester course; 1-3 independent study hours. 1-3 credits. Maximum of three credits per semester. May be repeated for a maximum of nine hours. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. This course is designed for students who wish to do extensive reading and writing in a subject not duplicated by any English course in this bulletin.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of nine hours.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 493English Internship1-3

Semester course; 1-3 field experience hours. 1-3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum total of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. Enrollment is restricted to students with demonstrated writing ability; completion of ENGL 302, 304 or 310 is recommended. Permission and determination of credit must be established prior to registration. Students will apply research, writing and/or editing skills in an approved job in areas such as business, government, law or financial services.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum total of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 494Blackbird Editorial Internship1-3

Semester course; 1-3 field experience hours. 1-3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum total of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An internship in which students gain hands-on experience in literary editing and publishing through work on the internationally recognized journal, Blackbird. Students will apply writing or editing skills for the online literary magazine, Blackbird. This opportunity is open to students with demonstrated writing ability; completion of ENGL 304, 310, 388, 395, 489 or 491 is recommended. An application is required, and determination of credit and permission from the department must be established prior to registration for the course. No more than six credits in ENGL 494, ENGL 495 and/or ENGL 496 may be counted toward the degree.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum total of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 495Social Media Internship1-3

Semester course; 1-3 field experience hours. 1-3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum total of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An internship in which students gain hands-on experience in writing for social media. Students will apply writing skills for organizations inside or outside the university. This opportunity is open to students with demonstrated writing ability; completion of ENGL 304, 310, 388 or 491 is recommended. Determination of credit and permission from the department must be established prior to registration for the course. No more than six credits in ENGL 494, ENGL 495 and/or ENGL 496 may be counted toward the degree.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum total of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 496Distinguished Major Independent Study3

Semester course; 1 lecture and 2 independent study hours. 3 credits. Enrollment requires permission of the program director. Reserved for students who have been admitted to the Distinguished English Major program and may be repeated for a maximum of six credits. No more than six credits in ENGL 494, ENGL 495 and/or ENGL 496 may be counted toward the degree.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 497British Virginia Internship1-3

Semester course; 1-3 field experience hours. 1-3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum total of six credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, ENGL 202, ENGL 203, ENGL 204, ENGL 205, ENGL 206, ENGL 211, ENGL 215, ENGL 217, ENGL 236, ENGL 250, ENGL 291, ENGL 295 or NEXT 240. An application is required, and determination of credit and permission from the department must be established prior to registration for the course. An internship in which students gain hands-on experience in the production of digital editions of 17th-century colonial documents. These editions are to be published by British Virginia, VCU’s digital publisher of colonial documents. Students will develop and apply design skills. They will also have the opportunity to build transcription and description skills, working with early modern documents in facsimile and in person. With permission, the course may satisfy one pre-1700 requirement, provided that a student enrolls for three credits. No more than six credits in ENGL 493, ENGL 494, ENGL 495 and/or ENGL 497 may be counted toward the degree.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum total of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 499Senior Seminar in English3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 301 with a minimum grade of C. Restricted to seniors in English with at least 85 credit hours taken toward the degree. A study of a specific topic, author, movement or genre in a seminar format. Students will produce an extended, documented essay as a seminar paper. See the Schedule of Classes for specific topics to be offered each semester.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 500Practicum in College English1-6

Semester course; 1-6 credits. May be repeated for credit. May not be applied toward degrees in English. Prerequisite: permission of director of graduate studies. Student participation in planned educational experience under the supervision of English department faculty. The practicum may include classroom teaching, Writing Center tutoring, or participation in research projects.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
6
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 501Introduction to Graduate Studies in English1

Semester course; 1 lecture hour. 1 credit. Required of all new graduate students seeking the M.A. in English. An introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of advanced English studies.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
1
Credit unit
Hour
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 528Children's Literature II3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. A study of classic and current children's books from a variety of literary genres. Magazines and media-related reference resources and journals are reviewed. The creative use of literature, its sociocultural functions and its contribution to the development of the oral and written expression of children from nursery to grade eight are explored. A focus on children with special problems is included. May not be taken for credit toward undergraduate English major if student has taken ENGL 351/TEDU 351. May not be used to fulfill literature requirement for M.A. in English or M.F.A. in Creative Writing, but may be taken as elective credit. Crosslisted as: TEDU 528.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 532Applied English Linguistics3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 390. Application of linguistic theories and methods to selected teaching problems, such as teaching English grammar and usage, teaching English as a second or foreign language, or teaching standard English to students who speak different dialects.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 550Studies in Linguistics3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 390. A general introduction to one area of linguistic study, such as pronunciation, grammar, stylistics, dialects, usage standards, lexicography, onomastics or semantics.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 552Methods for Teaching Multilingual Learners3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Provides students who plan to teach people whose native language is not English with a variety of instructional/learning strategies. Presents and explores current approaches and methodology, as these relate to linguistic features and pedagogy. Crosslisted as: TEDU 552/LING 552.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 560Studies in British Literature and Culture3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Covers important topics in British literary and cultural studies including major literary periods, genres, major authors or literary movements. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 570Special Topics in American Literature and Culture3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (may be delivered face-to-face, online, or hybrid). 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits with permission of the instructor. Covers important topics in American literary and cultural studies including major literary periods, genres, authors and literary movements.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits with permission of the instructor.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 601Young Adult Literature3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. Examination of literature written for young adults, literature appropriate for young people in middle schools and high schools. Focuses on the content, characteristics and teaching of such literature. Crosslisted as: ENED 601.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 605Introduction to Scholarship in English Studies3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Introduces the practice of research and scholarly discourse in English studies. Emphasizes scholarly resources (printed and electronic) and textual studies.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 606Literary Criticism3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. A comparative study of critical approaches to literary texts (reader-oriented, new critical and formalist, psychoanalytic, archetypal, feminist and gender-oriented, structuralist, poststructuralist, new historicist and postcolonial). These approaches will be evaluated in terms of their capacity to address major components of the literary process (author, text, reader, history, culture); they will also be tested on selected literary texts. Some attention is given to the historical development of criticism, but the primary focus is on its theoretical claims, methodologies and aims.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 611Authors3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (may be delivered face-to-face, online, or hybrid). 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. A study of the relationships among authorship (in material or discursive form), texts and cultural contexts.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 614Cultural Discourses3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (may be delivered face-to-face, online, or hybrid). 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. A study of contemporary literary and nonliterary texts produced within a designated period of time.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 620Intertextuality3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (may be delivered face-to-face, online, or hybrid). 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. A study of texts, potentially of disparate genres and contexts, focused on similar theme, concern or issue. Will examine both foundational, originating texts and subsequent reactions.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 622AI Studies3

Semester course; 3 seminar hours (delivered online, face-to-face or hybrid). 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits toward graduation. A study of current topics in the critical study of AI systems, with a focus on societal and environmental impacts.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits toward graduation.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 624Texts and Contexts3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (may be delivered face-to-face, online, or hybrid). 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. A study of the ways in which texts shape, reflect and inform their cultural contexts.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 627Genres3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (may be delivered face-to-face, online, or hybrid). 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. A sustained and detailed examination of one or more genres.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 629Form and Theory of Genre: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. Enrollment is restricted to students in the M.A. in English or M.F.A. in Creative Writing programs. Will address a number of key issues concerning the structure and theory of verse, fiction or creative nonfiction. Will provide readers and writers of these three literary genres an opportunity to study and practice a broad range of forms and techniques, as well as to explore various genre conventions and their thematic and rhetorical significance. Students may study work from various periods, with some focus on the contemporary, and apply to them the insights offered by major theorists of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 630Form and Theory of Fiction3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated once for credit. Will address a number of key issues concerning the structure, conventions and function of narrative discourse and will seek to give readers and writers of fiction an opportunity to study a broad range of narrative forms, as well as to explore genre conventions and their thematic and rhetorical significance. Students will read stories and novels from various historical periods, with some focus on the contemporary, and apply to them the insights offered by major theorists of narrative. They also may write imitations, parodies and responses examining and demonstrating the aesthetics of fiction.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated once for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 631Form and Theory of Creative Nonfiction3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated once for credit. Will address a number of key issues concerning the structure, conventions and function of varied types of creative nonfiction and will seek to give readers and writers an opportunity to study a broad range of forms in the genre, which may include magazine articles, research-based reportage, New Journalism, memoir, biography, autobiography, the meditative essay, the personal essay, the lyric essay and others, as well as to explore genre conventions and their thematic and rhetorical significance. Students will read across this range of forms, with some focus on contemporary writing, and apply to them insights offered by major theorists of the genre. They also may write imitations, parodies and responses examining and demonstrating the aesthetics of creative nonfiction writing.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated once for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 632Community Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. This course teaches students how to use research in rhetoric and composition to design and deliver a community writing project that is mutually empowering, knowledge generating and publicly oriented -- designed to inspire social change.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 636Teaching Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Examines theories and practices of teaching writing, with emphasis on the connections between theory and practice.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 637Theories of Rhetoric and Composition3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: ENGL 636. A study of theory and scholarship in rhetoric and writing.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 638Responding to Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. This course studies theories and practices for responding to expository and persuasive nonfiction texts, both students' and professionals', academic and creative.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 652Studies in Writing and Rhetoric: ____3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. A study of an area or specialized issue in rhetoric and/or writing such as the history of rhetoric, theories of invention, qualitative research methods in writing, or studies in style.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 661Themes in Interdisciplinary Studies3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. A study in depth of a theme, topic, or concept involving two or more disciplines.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 666Creative Writing: ____3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. Enrollment is restricted to students in the M.F.A. program or with permission of the Creative Writing Committee. Students seeking to join the class who are not enrolled in the M.F.A. program must receive approval from the program director. Study of the art of one of the genres of creative writing, with the goal of producing professionally acceptable and publishable work. Workshop members shall produce a substantial amount of writing and in addition shall be able to evaluate and articulate the strengths of their own work. Graded as Pass/Fail.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 667Creating Writing: Poetry3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: graduate standing in M.F.A. program or permission of the Creative Writing Committee. All students seeking to enroll must contact the creative writing M.F.A. director. Study of the art of poetry writing, with the goal of producing professionally acceptable and publishable poetry. Workshop members shall produce a substantial amount of poetry and in addition shall be able to evaluate and articulate the strengths of their own work. Graded as pass/fail.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 668Creative Writing: Drama3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: graduate standing in M.F.A. program or permission of the Creative Writing Committee. All students seeking to enroll must contact the creative writing M.F.A. director. Study of the art of playwriting with the goal of creating plays that are suitable for production. Workshop members shall produce a substantial volume of writing, one-act plays, or a portion of a longer play, and, in addition, shall be able to evaluate and articulate the strengths of their own work. Graded as pass/fail.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 670Literary Editing and Publishing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. A course in which the student learns to edit fiction, poetry, drama, or nonfiction. Genre covered will vary from semester to semester. Attention will be paid to the ways in which editors work with writers in all the technical aspects of editing, revising and publishing. Ethical responsibilities of editors to authors and their texts will be stressed. Questions considering the publishing world at large will be considered.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 671Film and Television Scripts3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. Study of the theory and practice of producing shooting scripts for television and motion pictures. Emphasis will be placed on the various kinds of scripts most commonly used by directors and cinematographers (e.g., silent, narrated and dramatized). Attention will also be paid to the ways in which script writers adapt material to audiences, and the ways in which strict time frames are imposed on scripts. Students will write scripts of various kinds and lengths. Graded as pass/fail.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 672Writing Nonfiction3

Semester course; 3 workshop hours. 3 credits. May be repeated for credit. Enrollment requires permission of the instructor. Study and practice of writing one or more modes of nonfiction on the professional or preprofessional level under critical supervision. Emphasis will be placed on such matters as organization, style, revision and adaptation to particular audiences and publications. Possible kinds of writing could include reports; writing based on statistics; writing textbooks; writing separate chapters of books; and writing reviews, criticism and advocacy materials. Graded as pass/fail.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 673Teaching Creative Writing3

Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. The course is intended for those who teach or plan to teach creative writing. A comparative analysis of different approaches to the teaching of creative writing. Attention will be paid to the different ways in which elements such as dialogue, sound pattern, scene development, line break, meter, voice and distance can be taught.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 692Independent Study1-3

1-3 hours. Variable credit. Maximum of 6 credits. Prerequisite: permission from department chair. For students in English/English education to pursue, in depth, a particular problem or topic about which an interest or talent has been demonstrated.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 694Internship in Writing1-3

Semester course; 1-3 field experience hours. 1-3 credits. May be repeated for credit. Enrollment requires permission of director of M.A. or M.F.A. program. Analyses and practices of professional writing and editing in settings such as business, government and industry.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit.
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 695Directed Study/Major Project and Presentation1-3

Semester course; variable hours. 1-3 credits. May not be repeated for credit. Students who choose not to write a thesis will complete a substantial project with a graduate faculty adviser and share the results of his or her research in a public presentation. This project may be an expansion or reworking of a seminar paper or group of seminar papers and must contain a statement of the theoretical, critical or methodological issues important to the project. An abstract of the research will be submitted three to four weeks before the presentation date scheduled for that semester and must be approved by the M.A. committee. The presentation will take place before the adviser, M.A. committee members, and interested faculty and students on the date designated by the M.A. director. Graded PR. Note: Students who present a paper at a national conference or publish in a reputable journal may be exempted from the presentation upon the approval of the M.A. committee.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 798Thesis1-3

Continuous courses; hours to be arranged. Credits to be arranged; 1-3 credits per course. Preparation of a thesis or project based on independent research or study and supervised by a graduate adviser.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu
ENGL 799Thesis1-3

Continuous courses; hours to be arranged. Credits to be arranged; 1-3 credits per course. Preparation of a thesis or project based on independent research or study and supervised by a graduate adviser.

Subject
ENGL
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Hours
Type
course
Edition
2026-2027
Catalog
Bulletin 2026-27
Source
bulletin.vcu.edu

Source: Virginia Commonwealth University's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 59