Department of English
Christopher Warren, Department Head
Location: Baker Hall 259
https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/
The Department of English at Carnegie Mellon engages students in the important study of reading and writing as intellectual activities embedded in historical, cultural, professional, technological, and literary practices. Working with experts in their areas, students become effective writers and analysts of various kinds of texts in a range of media, from traditional print documents to film, multimedia, and on-line texts. Faculty use distinctive methods of studying texts, but all share a deep commitment to working in small and intense workshops and seminars to help students learn to become experts in analyzing existing texts, and in producing original and distinctive work of their own.
The Department of English offers the following degree programs (or primary majors, to which they are often referred):
- B.A. in Creative Writing
- B.A. in Film & Visual Media
- B.A. in Literature & Culture
- B.A. in Professional Writing
- B.S. in Technical Writing
All five primary majors are structured to allow students to balance liberal and professional interests.
- Students in the Creative Writing program focus on analyzing and learning to produce poetic and narrative forms.
- Students in the Film & Visual Media program focus on cultural analysis, writing, production, and digital media.
- Students in the Literature & Culture program focus on the production and interpretation of print texts and other media in their social and cultural contexts.
- Students in the Professional Writing program focus on analyzing and producing non-fiction for a variety of professional contexts.
- Students in the Technical Writing program focus on integrating writing with technical expertise in a chosen area of concentration (Technical Communication [TC] or Science & Medical Communication [SMC]).
Students who wish to broaden their experience with English courses may do so by taking more than the minimum requirements for each major or by combining two of the majors within the department for an additional major in English. Common combinations include, but are not limited to: a B.A. in Professional Writing with an additional major in Creative Writing; a B.A. in Creative Writing with an additional major in Film & Visual Media; or a B.A. in Literature & Culture with an additional major in Professional Writing. Due to significant course overlap, students are not permitted to major in both Professional Writing and Technical Writing together. Consult the Department of English and the section on “Additional Majors in English” for further detail.
All of the English majors may be combined with majors and minors from other Carnegie Mellon departments and colleges. The Department of English advisor can help you explore the available options so that you can choose a major or combination of programs that is appropriate for your interests and goals.
Additionally, we offer minors in:
- Creative Writing
- Humanities Analytics
- Literature & Culture
- Professional Writing
- Technical Writing
We also regularly offer exciting courses in two of Dietrich College's interdisciplinary minors:
- Gender Studies
- Film & Media Studies
Outside of the classroom, students get involved in a range of complementary activities, including: publishing, editing, and marketing through involvement with The Oakland Review and The Carnegie Mellon University Press; writing and editorial positions on the student newspaper, The Tartan; the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society (for those who qualify); and The Major Buddy Program.
We welcome all undergraduate students in the campus community, regardless of their majors or minors, to join us in our English courses, beginning with offerings at the 200-level.
The B.A. in Creative Writing
Carnegie Mellon is one of only a few English departments in the country where undergraduates can major in Creative Writing (CW). In the CW major, students develop their talents in writing fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and creative nonfiction. While studying with faculty members who are writers, CW majors read widely in literature, explore the resources of their imaginations, sharpen their critical and verbal skills, and develop a professional attitude toward their writing. The extracurricular writing activities and a variety of writing internships available on and off campus provide Creative Writing majors with valuable experiences for planning their future. After graduation, our Creative Writing majors go on to graduate writing programs and to careers in teaching, publishing, public relations, advertising, TV and film, freelance writing, and editing, among others.
Curriculum
Creative Writing majors must complete 11 courses in the following areas:
Creative Writing Core (7 courses, 63 units)
Introductory Genre Writing Courses* (2 courses, 18 units):
| Units | ||
| 76-260 | Introduction to Writing Fiction | 9 |
| 76-261 | Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction | 9 |
| 76-265 | Introduction to Writing Poetry | 9 |
| 76-269 | Introduction to Screenwriting | 9 |
*A student must earn a grade of A or B in the introductory genre writing class in order to be eligible to enroll in a workshop of that same genre. A student who earns a grade of C in an introductory genre writing course may enroll in a related workshop only with the permission of the workshop professor. A student who earns a D or R in an introductory genre writing course may not take a workshop in that genre.
Reading in Forms (1 course, 9 units):
| Units | ||
| 76-363 | Reading in Forms: Poetry | 9 |
| 76-364 | Reading in Forms: Fiction | 9 |
Four Creative Writing Workshops (4 courses, 36 units)
Complete four Creative Writing workshops, at least two in a single genre. A student must earn a grade of A or B in the introductory genre writing class in order to be eligible to enroll in a workshop of that same genre. Beginning Workshops must be taken before Advanced Workshops. Workshops in all genres may be taken more than once for credit. Additionally, if a student has been accepted into the Dietrich College Senior Honors Program and is completing their thesis in the field of Creative Writing, they may use one semester of thesis credit (66-501 Dietrich College Senior Honors Thesis I or 66-502 Dietrich College Senior Honors Thesis II) to fulfill a workshop requirement.
| Units | ||
| 76-365 | Beginning Poetry Workshop | 9 |
| 76-460 | Beginning Fiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-462 | Advanced Fiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-465 | Advanced Poetry Workshop | 9 |
| 76-464 | Creative Nonfiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-469 | Screenwriting Workshop | 9 |
| *A student must earn a grade of A or B in the introductory genre writing class in order to be eligible to enroll in a workshop of that same genre. | ||
English Electives (4 courses, 36 units)
Complete four additional courses from the English Department’s offerings. Two of the four English Electives must be courses that are designated as fulfilling the literature requirement and focus on close reading of literary texts. Please consult the list of courses published each semester by the Department for current offerings. English Electives may include any 9.0-unit 76-2xx to 76-4xx course offered by the Department. Additionally, English Electives can include no more than one course at the 200 level. The remaining English Electives must be at the 300 or 400 level. In choosing English Electives, students are encouraged to sample courses from across the Department.
Double Counting
Students may double count up to two courses with other programs outside of the Department of English. NOTE: courses being used for the Dietrich College General Education requirements do not have a double-counting limit.
Transfer Courses
Students may transfer up to two courses from other non-CMU programs/institutions toward the primary or additional major in Creative Writing or the BHA in Creative Writing, with the exception of one of the two required Introductory Genre Writing courses. If the two-course maximum is met, other related transfer courses will be considered for general education requirements and/or free electives for graduation. Please see the Dietrich College Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit Policy for more information.
Recommended Curriculum Pathway: B.A. in Creative Writing
Below is the recommended plan, or pathway, for completing the B.A. in Creative Writing in four years. This pathway includes the Creative Writing course requirements as well as requirements for the Dietrich College General Education curriculum. While it is not required for students to follow this pathway precisely, it is highly recommended for students to do so, and we recommend students begin the major’s courses as early as possible. (Students in Dietrich College may declare their primary major as early as the beginning of their second semester.) Students who have not yet declared their major in the Department of English may still take courses with us.
Students may also view the pathway for the B.A. in Creative Writing via the Stellic Degree Audit Application.
| First-Year | Second-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Communication Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Data Analysis Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Scientific Inquiry Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Intercultural & Global Inquiry Course |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Humanities Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Social Sciences Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Computational Thinking Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Logic/Math Course |
| GEN ED: Grand Challenge Seminar Course | Introductory Genre Writing Course #1 | Introductory Genre Writing Course #2 | GEN ED: Equity & Justice Course |
| Free Elective | Free Elective | Reading in Forms Course | Creative Writing Workshop #1 |
| Free Elective | Free Elective | Free Elective | Free Elective |
| Third-Year | Fourth-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Contextual Thinking Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Additional Discipline Course (Business, Design, Engineering) | OPTIONAL GEN ED: Senior Capstone OR Free Elective |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: The Arts Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Creative Writing Literature Elective #2 | Creative Writing Workshop #4 |
| Creative Writing Literature Elective #1 | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Creative Writing English Elective #1 | Creative Writing English Elective #2 |
| Creative Writing Workshop #2 | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Creative Writing Workshop #3 | Free Elective |
| Free Elective | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Free Elective | Free Elective |
The B.A. in Film & Visual Media
The Film & Visual Media major trains students through a combination of coursework in:
- visual media,
- film history and analysis,
- screenwriting,
- and production of film and other visual media.
This major offers a comprehensive education in film and visual media, from theoretical framing and historical-cultural contextualization to training skills in both creating and analyzing film, as well as the development of a complex blend of creative, professional and technical competencies.
CMU's Department of English is an ideal home for the Film & Visual Media major due to the department’s combination of creative writers, film and media studies scholars, film makers, digital humanities, and visual communication researchers.
Curriculum
In additional to satisfying all of the Dietrich College degree requirements for B.A. candidates, Film & Visual Media majors must complete 12 courses in the following areas. Note: courses cannot double count between areas. For example, if you take 76-429 Introduction to Digital Humanities for the Digital Media area, you cannot also count that course for your Literature & Cultural Studies area.
Required introductory courses (2 courses, 18 units)
| Course | Units | |
| 76-239 | Introduction to Film Studies | 9 |
| 76-259 | Film History | 9 |
Production Courses (2 courses, 18-21 units)
| Required Course | Units | |
| 76-292 | Introduction to Film Production * | 9 |
- *
Students who have completed 76-239 Introduction to Film Studies and/or 76-269 Introduction to Screenwriting will be given registration preference.
| Additional Production Course (options include but are not limited to:) | Units | |
| 54-191 | Acting for Non-Majors | 9 |
| 60-110 | Foundations: Time-Based Media | 10 |
| 60-125 | IDeATe: Introduction to 3D Animation Pipeline | 12 |
| 60-141 | Black and White Photography I | 10 |
| 60-218 | IDeATe Portal: Real-Time Animation | 10 |
| 60-220 | IDeATe: Technical Character Animation | 10 |
| 60-241 | Black and White Photography II | 10 |
| 60-245 | Portrait Photography | 10 |
| 60-333 | IDeATe: Animation Rigging | 10 |
| 60-375 | Large Format Photography: Antiquarian Avant-Garde | 10 |
| 60-415 | Advanced ETB: Animation Studio | 10 |
| 60-416 | Advanced ETB: Documentary Storytelling | 10 |
| 62-141 | Black and White Photography I | 10 |
| 62-375 | Large Format Photography: The Antiquarian Avant-Garde | 10 |
| 76-313 | Creative Visual Storytelling in Film Production | 9 |
| 76-358 | Making the Documentary | 9 |
| 76-374 | Mediated Narrative | 9 |
| 76-394 | The Video Essay: Theory & Practice | 9 |
| 76-481 | Introduction to Multimedia Design | 12 |
| 82-265 | Third Cinema: People, Language, and Culture in Documentary Storytelling | 9 |
Screenwriting Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
| Required Courses | Units | |
| 76-269 | Introduction to Screenwriting | 9 |
| 76-469 | Screenwriting Workshop | 9 |
Digital Media Courses (2 courses, 18-20 units)
| Options include but are not limited to: | Units | |
| 15-104 | Introduction to Computing for Creative Practice | 10 |
| 60-125 | IDeATe: Introduction to 3D Animation Pipeline | 12 |
| 60-142 | Digital Photography I | 10 |
| 60-242 | Digital Photography II | 10 |
| 62-150 | IDeATe Portal: Introduction to Media Synthesis and Analysis | 10 |
| 76-314 | Data Stories | 9 |
| 76-388 | Coding for Humanists | 9 |
| 76-429 | Introduction to Digital Humanities | 9 |
Literature & Cultural Studies Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
Course options include but are not limited to the following:
| Course | Units | |
| 76-207 | Special Topics in Literature & Culture | 9 |
| 76-210 | Banned Books | 9 |
| 76-220 | Mystery! From Detective Fiction to True Crime | 9 |
| 76-221 | Books You Should Have Read By Now | 9 |
| 76-241 | Introduction to Gender Studies | 9 |
| 76-244 | Immigrant Fictions | 9 |
| 76-245 | Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories | 9 |
| 76-247 | Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances | 9 |
| 76-268 | Comic Books & Pop Culture | 9 |
| 76-275 | Introduction to Critical Writing | 9 |
| 76-278 | Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling | 9 |
| 76-295 | Russian Cinema: From the Bolshevik Revolution to Putin's Russia | 9 |
| 76-299 | 19th Century Russian Masterpieces | 9 |
| 76-310 | Advanced Studies in Film and Media | 9 |
| 76-312 | Crime and Justice in American Film | 9 |
| 76-313 | Creative Visual Storytelling in Film Production | 9 |
| 76-314 | Data Stories | 9 |
| 76-317 | Contemporary American Fiction | 9 |
| 76-326 | Contemporary Global Fiction | 9 |
| 76-329 | Performing Race in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-339 | Topics in Film and Media | 9 |
| 76-341 | The Age of Jane Austen | 9 |
| 76-342 | Love: A Cultural History | 9 |
| 76-347 | Major Fiction | 9 |
| 76-348 | Adaptation: Fiction to Film | 9 |
| 76-367 | Fact Into Film: Translating History into Cinema | 9 |
| 76-376 | Crafting Race in 19th-Century Britain | 9 |
| 76-392 | Special Topics in Literature & Culture | 9 |
| 76-414 | Decolonial Imaginaries | 9 |
| 76-429 | Introduction to Digital Humanities | 9 |
| 76-423 | Transnational Feminisms | 9 |
| 76-431 | Gender Play in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-439 | Seminar in Film and Media Studies | 9 |
| 76-450 | Law, Culture, and the Humanities | 9 |
| 76-467 | Crime Fiction and Film | 9 |
| 76-493 | Science Fictions/Speculative Futures: Utopian/Dystopian Visions in Film & Media | 9 |
| 82-253 | Korean Society through Film and Literature | 9 |
| 82-279 | Anime - Visual Interplay between Japan and the World | 9 |
Topics in Film & Visual Media Studies Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
Course options include but are not limited to the following:
| Course | Units | |
| 76-278 | Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling | 9 |
| 76-295 | Russian Cinema: From the Bolshevik Revolution to Putin's Russia | 9 |
| 76-312 | Crime and Justice in American Film | 9 |
| 76-339 | Topics in Film and Media (Can be taken more than once for credit, provided the course topic is new each time). | 9 |
| 76-348 | Adaptation: Fiction to Film | 9 |
| 76-353 | Transnational Feminisms: Fiction and Film | 9 |
| 76-367 | Fact Into Film: Translating History into Cinema | 9 |
| 76-439 | Seminar in Film and Media Studies | 9 |
| 76-454 | Rise of the Blockbuster | 9 |
| 76-482 | Rise of the Art Film | 9 |
| 76-493 | Science Fictions/Speculative Futures: Utopian/Dystopian Visions in Film & Media | 9 |
| 79-220 | Screening Mexico: Mexican Cinema, 1898 to Present | 9 |
| 79-225 | West African History in Film | 9 |
| 79-319 | India Through Film | 6 |
| 79-339 | Juvenile Delinquency & Film: From Soul of Youth (1920) to West Side Story (1961) | 6 |
| 82-253 | Korean Society through Film and Literature | 9 |
| 82-278 | Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling | 9 |
| 82-279 | Anime - Visual Interplay between Japan and the World | 9 |
| 82-284 | Multicultural Pittsburgh: VR Storytelling | 6 |
| 82-296 | From Augustine to Avatars: Personal Narratives Across Media | Var. |
| 82-355 | Tpcs in Hispanic Std: Beyond the Film Screen: The Hispanic World Through Film | 9 |
Recommended Courses
While not required, the following courses are recommended as a part of the curriculum. They include:
| 76-310 | Advanced Studies in Film and Media | 9 |
| 76-374 | Mediated Narrative | 9 |
Double Counting
Students may double count up to two courses with other programs outside of the Department of English. NOTE: courses being used for the Dietrich General Education requirements do not have a double-counting limit.
Transfer Courses
Students may transfer up to two advisor-approved courses from other programs outside of Carnegie Mellon University toward the primary or additional major in Film & Visual Media Studies, with the exception of 76-239 Introduction to Film Studies and 76-259 Film History. If the two-course maximum is met, other related transfer courses will be considered for general education requirements and free electives for graduation. Please see the Dietrich College Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit Policy for more information.
Recommended Curriculum Pathway: B.A. in Film & Visual Media
This plan is the recommended pathway for completing the B.A. in Film & Visual Media in four years. While it is not required for students to follow this pathway precisely, it is highly recommended for students to do so, and we recommend students begin the major’s courses as early as possible. Students in Dietrich College may declare their primary major as early as February 1. Students who have not declared their major in the Department of English may still take courses with us.
Students may also view the four-year plan (also known as a Pathway) for the B.A. in Film & Visual Media via the Stellic Degree Audit Application.
| First-Year | Second-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Communication Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Data Analysis Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Scientific Inquiry Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Intercultural & Global Inquiry Course |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Humanities Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Social Sciences Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Computational Thinking Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Logic/Math Course |
| GEN ED: Grand Challenge Seminar Course | 76-310 Advanced Studies in Film and Media (recommended course, but not required) | 76-259 Film History | 76-469 Screenwriting Workshop |
| 76-239 Introduction to Film Studies (Also counts as GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: The Arts) | Literature & Culture Course #1 | 76-269 Introduction to Screenwriting | Digital Media Course #1 |
| Free Elective | Free Elective | 76-292 Introduction to Film Production | Topics in Film Course #1 |
| Third-Year | Fourth-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Contextual Thinking Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. OR Topics in Film Course #2 | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Additional (Business, Design, Engineering) | OPTIONAL GEN ED: Senior Capstone OR Free Elective |
| GEN ED: Equity and Justice Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. OR 76374 Mediated Narrative (recommended course, but not required) | Topics in Film Course #2 OR Free Elective | 76-374 Mediated Narrative (recommended course, but not required) OR Free Elective |
| Production Elective Course or 323 Text to Screen (which is a recommended course, but not required) | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. OR Free Elective | Free Elective | Free Elective |
| Literature & Culture Course #2 | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. OR Free Elective | Free Elective | Free Elective |
| Digital Media Course #2 | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. OR Free Elective | Free Elective | Free Elective |
The B.A. in Literature & Culture
The Literature & Culture Major teaches students how to read, interpret and write persuasively about novels, poems, plays and other imaginative works across a variety of genres and media forms. Along with teaching students the analytical skills and methodological tools to interpret these works, this major teaches the importance of understanding imaginative works within their cultural and historical contexts. In addition, the major is designed to train students in strong professional and academic skills like critical thinking, inductive reasoning and persuasive argumentation that are applicable to other fields of study and a variety of career paths.
Curriculum
In addition to satisfying all of the Dietrich College degree requirements for B.A. candidates, Literature & Culture majors must complete 13 courses in the following areas:
Required Introductory Courses (3 courses, 27 units)
| Course | Units | |
| 76-260 | Introduction to Writing Fiction | 9 |
| or 76-261 | Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction | |
| or 76-265 | Introduction to Writing Poetry | |
| or 76-269 | Introduction to Screenwriting | |
| 76-245 | Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories | 9 |
| or 76-247 | Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances | |
| 76-275 | Introduction to Critical Writing | 9 |
200-Level Literature & Culture Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
One course must cover the period before 1830. NOTE: a single course cannot double count toward both the Required Introductory Courses requirement and the 200-Level Literature & Culture Courses requirement. For example, students cannot count 76-245 Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories as a Required Introductory Course as well as a 200-Level Literature & Culture Pre-1830 Course. The course must be used to fulfill one requirement or the other.
Options include but are not limited to:
| Pre-1830 Courses | ||
| 76-203 | Literature & Culture in the 18th Century | 9 |
| 76-230 | Literature & Culture in the 19th Century | 9 |
| 76-233 | Literature and Culture in the Renaissance | 9 |
| 76-245 | Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories (if not taken as one of the required introductory courses) | 9 |
| 76-247 | Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances (if not taken as one of the required introductory courses) | 9 |
| Additonal 200-Level Courses | Units | |
| 76-207 | Special Topics in Literature & Culture Topics and instructors vary by semester. | 9 |
| 76-210 | Banned Books | 9 |
| 76-220 | Mystery! From Detective Fiction to True Crime | 9 |
| 76-221 | Books You Should Have Read By Now | 9 |
| 76-239 | Introduction to Film Studies | 9 |
| 76-241 | Introduction to Gender Studies | 9 |
| 76-244 | Immigrant Fictions | 9 |
| 76-245 | Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories | 9 |
| 76-247 | Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances | 9 |
| 76-259 | Film History | 9 |
| 76-268 | Comic Books & Pop Culture | 9 |
| 76-289 | Billingual & Bicultural Experiences in the US | 9 |
| 76-278 | Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling | 9 |
| 76-295 | Russian Cinema: From the Bolshevik Revolution to Putin's Russia | 9 |
| 76-296 | 20th Century Russian Masterpieces | 9 |
| 76-299 | 19th Century Russian Masterpieces | 9 |
300-Level Literature & Culture Courses (2 Courses, 18 units)
Course options include but are not limited to the following:
| Course | Units | |
| 76-310 | Advanced Studies in Film and Media | 9 |
| 76-312 | Crime and Justice in American Film | 9 |
| 76-313 | Creative Visual Storytelling in Film Production | 9 |
| 76-314 | Data Stories | 9 |
| 76-317 | Contemporary American Fiction | 9 |
| 76-326 | Contemporary Global Fiction | 9 |
| 76-329 | Performing Race in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-337 | Intersectional Feminism | 9 |
| 76-339 | Topics in Film and Media | 9 |
| 76-341 | The Age of Jane Austen | 9 |
| 76-342 | Love: A Cultural History | 9 |
| 76-343 | Rise of the American Novel | 9 |
| 76-347 | Major Fiction | 9 |
| 76-367 | Fact Into Film: Translating History into Cinema | 9 |
| 76-392 | Special Topics in Literature & Culture | 9 |
Theory Course (1 course, 9 units)
Each semester, a specific course is designated as the Theory Course. Past options include but are not limited to the following:
| Course | Units | |
| 76-329 | Performing Race in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-337 | Intersectional Feminism | 9 |
| 76-341 | The Age of Jane Austen | 9 |
| 76-423 | Transnational Feminisms | 9 |
Rhetoric Course (1 course, 9 units)
Course options include but are not limited to the following:
| Course | Units | |
| 76-219 | Law & Blame | 9 |
| 76-325 | Intertextuality | 9 |
| 76-327 | Equity & Communication: Strategies for Institutional Change | 9 |
| 76-373 | Argument | 9 |
| 76-384 | Race, Nation, and the Enemy | 9 |
| 76-389 | Rhetorical Grammar | 9 |
| 76-415 | Mediated Power and Propaganda | 9 |
| 76-416 | Rhetorics of Race & Empire | 9 |
| 76-425 | Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere | 9 |
| 76-427 | Topics in Rhetoric: Audience | 9 |
| 76-473 | Rhetoric & the Construction of Race | 9 |
| 76-475 | Law, Performance, and Identity | 9 |
| 76-476 | Rhetoric of Science | 9 |
| 76-479 | Model Minorities? Race, Rhetoric, & Identity in Asian America | 9 |
| 76-483 | Research Methods in Technical & Professional Communication | 9 |
| 76-490 | Digital Rhetorics | 9 |
| 76-492 | Rhetoric of Public Policy | 9 |
400-Level Seminar Course (1 course, 9 units)
Each semester, a 400-level course is designated as the Seminar Course. Literature & Culture majors are required to take this course in their final semester. Course options may include but are not limited to the following:
| Course | Units | |
| 76-410 | The Long Eighteenth Century | 9 |
| 76-423 | Transnational Feminisms | 9 |
| 76-429 | Introduction to Digital Humanities | 9 |
| 76-431 | Gender Play in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-439 | Seminar in Film and Media Studies | 9 |
| 76-446 | Revenge Tragedy | 9 |
| 76-448 | Shakespeare on Film | 9 |
| 76-450 | Law, Culture, and the Humanities | 9 |
| 76-467 | Crime Fiction and Film | 9 |
| 76-468 | Space and Mobilities | 9 |
| 76-495 | Other People's Words: The History, Theory, and Practice of Interviews | 9 |
English Elective Courses (3 courses, 27 units)
Courses for the English Elective requirement can be fulfilled by choosing any of our 200- to 400-level courses. Students are encouraged to sample courses across our programs.
Double Counting
Students may double count up to two courses with other programs outside of the Department of English. NOTE: courses being used for the Dietrich College General Education requirements do not have a double-counting limit.
Transfer Courses
Students may transfer up to two advisor-approved courses from other non-CMU programs/institutions toward the primary or additional major in Literature & Culture or the BHA in Literature & Culture, with the exception of the Required Introductory Courses. If the two-course maximum is met, other related transfer courses will be considered for general education requirements and/or free electives for graduation. Please see the Dietrich College Transfer Credit Process for more information.
Recommended Curriculum Pathway: B.A. in Literature & Culture
This plan is the recommended pathway for completing the B.A. in Literature & Culture in four years. While it is not required for students to follow this pathway precisely, it is highly recommended for students to do so, and we recommend students begin the major’s courses as early as possible. Students in Dietrich College may declare their primary major as early as their second semester. Students who have not declared their major in the Department of English may still take courses with us.
Students may also view the four-year plan pathway for the B.A. in Literature & Culture via the Stellic Degree Audit Application.
| First-Year | Second-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Communication Course | GEN ED: Foundations Data Analysis Course | GEN ED: Foundations Scientific Inquiry Course | GEN ED: Foundations Intercultural & Global Inquiry Course |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Humanities Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Social Sciences Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Computational Thinking Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Logic/Math Course |
| GEN ED: Grand Challenge Seminar Course | 76-245 Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories (also fulfills the GEN ED: Foundations: Contextual Thinking requirement) if not fulfilled in Fall of First-Year, OR Free Elective) | GEN ED: Equity and Justice Course | 200-Level Literature & Culture Course #1 |
| 76-247 Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances (also fulfills the GEN ED: Foundations: Contextual Thinking requirement), OR Free Elective | Free Elective | 76-275 Introduction to Critical Writing | 200-Level Literature & Culture Course #2 |
| Free Elective | Free Elective | 76-26x Introductory Genre Writing Course (Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, or Screenwriting) | Free Elective |
| Third-Year | Fourth-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: The Arts Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Additional Course (Business, Design, Engineering) | 76-4xx Capstone Seminar |
| 300-Level Literature & Culture Course #1 | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | 300-Level Literature & Culture Course #2 | English Elective Course #2 |
| Theory Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | English Elective Course #1 | English Elective Course #3 |
| Rhetoric Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Free Elective | Free Elective |
| Free Elective | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Free Elective | Free Elective |
The B.A. in Professional Writing
Professional Writing (PW) combines a professional education with a strong foundation in rhetorical studies. The major prepares students for successful careers as writers and communications specialists in a range of fields, including but not limited to: editing and publishing, government, law, journalism, the non-profit sector, education, public and media relations, corporate communications, advocacy writing, and the arts.
Because the major in Professional Writing is deliberately structured as a flexible degree that allows for a broad range of options, PW majors should consult closely with the Department of English academic advisor on choosing both elective and required courses and in planning for internships and summer employment. Various opportunities for writers to gain professional experience and accumulate material for their writing portfolios are available through campus publications, internships for academic credit, and writing-related employment on and off campus.
Curriculum
In addition to satisfying all of the Dietrich College degree requirements for B.A. candidates, Professional Writing majors must fulfill 13 requirements in the following areas:
Professional Writing Core (10 courses, 84 units)
Departmental Core Requirement (1 courses, 9 units):
| Introductory Genre Writing Course | ||
| 76-260 | Introduction to Writing Fiction | 9 |
| 76-261 | Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction | 9 |
| 76-265 | Introduction to Writing Poetry | 9 |
| 76-269 | Introduction to Screenwriting | 9 |
Professional Writing Core Requirements (4 courses, 30 units):
| 76-271 | Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing | 9 |
| 76-300 | Professional Seminar | 3 |
| 76-373 | Argument | 9 |
| 76-390 | Style | 9 |
Rhetoric Requirement (1 course, 9 units):
Complete one course from a set of varied offerings in Rhetoric. These courses focus explicitly on language and discourse as objects of study and emphasize the relationships of language, text structure, and meaning within specific contexts. Courses include but are not limited to the following:
| Course | Units | |
| 76-219 | Law & Blame | 9 |
| 76-325 | Intertextuality | 9 |
| 76-327 | Equity & Communication: Strategies for Institutional Change | 9 |
| 76-384 | Race, Nation, and the Enemy | 9 |
| 76-389 | Rhetorical Grammar | 9 |
| 76-415 | Mediated Power and Propaganda | 9 |
| 76-416 | Rhetorics of Race & Empire | 9 |
| 76-425 | Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere | 9 |
| 76-427 | Topics in Rhetoric: Audience | 9 |
| 76-473 | Rhetoric & the Construction of Race | 9 |
| 76-475 | Law, Performance, and Identity | 9 |
| 76-476 | Rhetoric of Science | 9 |
| 76-479 | Model Minorities? Race, Rhetoric, & Identity in Asian America | 9 |
| 76-490 | Digital Rhetorics | 9 |
| 76-492 | Rhetoric of Public Policy | 9 |
Advanced Writing/Rhetoric Courses (4 courses, 36-42 units):
Complete four courses from a set of varied offerings in Advanced Writing/Rhetoric as designated each term by the Department of English. Options include all courses that fulfill the Rhetoric requirement, plus additional courses in specialized areas of professional writing. Students should select courses in consultation with their Department of English academic advisor or the Director of Professional & Technical Writing. Courses include but are not limited to the following:
| Units | ||
| 76-301 | Internship Please see the Department of English policy on Internship for Credit under "Other Programs." | var. |
| 76-314 | Data Stories | 9 |
| 76-354 | Watchdog Journalism | 9 |
| 76-372 | News Writing | 9 |
| 76-380 | Methods in Humanities Analytics | 9 |
| 76-388 | Coding for Humanists | 9 |
| 76-391 | Document & Information Design | 9 |
| 76-464 | Creative Nonfiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-474 | Software Documentation | 9 |
| 76-481 | Introduction to Multimedia Design | 12 |
| 76-483 | Research Methods in Technical & Professional Communication | 9 |
| 76-487 | Information Architecture & Content Strategy Co-requisite course: 76-488 Information Architecture & Content Strategy Lab (3.0 units) | 9 |
| 76-494 | Healthcare Communications | 9 |
English Electives (3 Courses, 27 Units)
Complete three courses from any of English Department’s offerings (with the exception of 76-270 Writing for the Professions, which is designed for non-majors). One may be at the 200-level or above; the remaining two must be at the 300- or 400-level. Two of the three electives must be courses designated as Text/Context Electives, which focus on the relationship between texts and their cultural and historical contexts.
| Text/Context Electives | ||
| 76-203 | Literature & Culture in the 18th Century | 9 |
| 76-207 | Special Topics in Literature & Culture | 9 |
| 76-210 | Banned Books | 9 |
| 76-220 | Mystery! From Detective Fiction to True Crime | 9 |
| 76-230 | Literature & Culture in the 19th Century | 9 |
| 76-233 | Literature and Culture in the Renaissance | 9 |
| 76-239 | Introduction to Film Studies | 9 |
| 76-241 | Introduction to Gender Studies | 9 |
| 76-244 | Immigrant Fictions | 9 |
| 76-245 | Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories | 9 |
| 76-247 | Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances | 9 |
| 76-259 | Film History | 9 |
| 76-268 | Comic Books & Pop Culture | 9 |
| 76-278 | Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling | 9 |
| 76-295 | Russian Cinema: From the Bolshevik Revolution to Putin's Russia | 9 |
| 76-296 | 20th Century Russian Masterpieces | 9 |
| 76-299 | 19th Century Russian Masterpieces | 9 |
| 76-312 | Crime and Justice in American Film | 9 |
| 76-317 | Contemporary American Fiction | 9 |
| 76-326 | Contemporary Global Fiction | 9 |
| 76-329 | Performing Race in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-339 | Topics in Film and Media | 9 |
| 76-341 | The Age of Jane Austen | 9 |
| 76-342 | Love: A Cultural History | 9 |
| 76-343 | Rise of the American Novel | 9 |
| 76-347 | Major Fiction | 9 |
| 76-353 | Transnational Feminisms: Fiction and Film | 9 |
| 76-367 | Fact Into Film: Translating History into Cinema | 9 |
| 76-376 | Crafting Race in 19th-Century Britain | 9 |
| 76-392 | Special Topics in Literature & Culture | 9 |
| 76-401 | Hollywood vs. the World | 9 |
| 76-407 | Topics in Literary & Cultural Studies | 9 |
| 76-414 | Decolonial Imaginaries | 9 |
| 76-423 | Transnational Feminisms | 9 |
| 76-431 | Gender Play in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-434 | Literature & Social Change in the 19th Century | 9 |
| 76-442 | Black Lives in Pre-1900 Britain | 9 |
| 76-461 | Refugee Stories: Literature, Art and Film | 9 |
| 76-467 | Crime Fiction and Film | 9 |
| 76-468 | Space and Mobilities | 9 |
| 76-482 | Rise of the Art Film | 9 |
| 76-493 | Science Fictions/Speculative Futures: Utopian/Dystopian Visions in Film & Media | 9 |
| 76-446 | Revenge Tragedy | 9 |
| 76-448 | Shakespeare on Film | 9 |
| 76-450 | Law, Culture, and the Humanities | 9 |
| 76-454 | Rise of the Blockbuster | 9 |
Double Counting
Students may double count up to two advisor-approved courses with other programs outside of the Department of English. Note: courses being used for the Dietrich General Education requirements do not have a double-counting limit.
Transfer Courses
Students may transfer up to two advisor-approved courses from other non-CMU programs/institutions toward the primary major in Professional Writing, with the exception of the Departmental Core Requirement course and the Professional Writing Core Requirement courses. If the two-course maximum is met, other related transfer courses will be considered for general education requirements and free electives for graduation. Please see the Dietrich College Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit Policy for more information.
Recommended Curriculum Pathway: B.A. in Professional Writing
This plan is the recommended pathway for completing the B.A. in Professional Writing in four years. While it is not required for students to follow this pathway precisely, it is highly recommended for students to do so, and we recommend students begin the major’s courses as early as possible. Students in Dietrich College may declare their primary major as early as their second semester. Students who have not declared their major in the Department of English may still take courses with us.
Students may also view the pathway for the B.A. in Professional Writing via the Stellic Degree Audit Application.
| First-Year | Second-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Communication Course | GEN ED: Foundations Data Analysis Course | GEN ED: Foundations Scientific Inquiry Course | GEN ED: Foundations Intercultural & Global Inquiry Course |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Humanities Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Social Sciences Course | GEN ED: Foundations: Computational Thinking Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Logic/Math Course |
| GEN ED: Grand Challenge Seminar Course | 76-271 Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing | 76-26x Introductory Genre Writing Course (Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, or Screenwriting) | GEN ED: Equity and Justice Course |
| Free Elective | Free Elective | 76-300 Professional Seminar | 76-390 Style |
| Free Elective | Free Elective | Free Elective | Text/Context Course #1 |
| Free Elective | |||
| Third-Year | Fourth-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Contextual Thinking | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Additional Course (Business, Design, Engineering) | Optional GEN ED: Senior Capstone |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: The Arts Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Advanced Writing/Rhetoric Course #2 | 76-373 Argument |
| Rhetoric/Language Studies Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Advanced Writing/Rhetoric Course #3 | Advanced Writing/Rhetoric Course #4 |
| English Elective | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Text/Context Course #2 | Free Elective |
| Advanced Writing/Rhetoric Course #1 | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Free Elective | Free Elective |
The B.S. in Technical Writing
The B.S. in Technical Writing (TW) is one of the oldest undergraduate technical communication degrees in the country with a history that stretches back to 1958. The degree is specifically designed to prepare students for successful careers involving scientific, technical, and computer-related communication, including writing and designing for digital media.
Today’s technical communicators have the strong backgrounds in technology, communication, and design needed to enter a broad range of information-based fields, and do work that both includes and goes well beyond writing documents for print distribution. The expanding range of options includes positions that involve organizing, managing, communicating, and facilitating the use of both technical and non-technical information in a range of fields and media.
Technical communicators develop and design web sites, explain science and technology to the public, develop print and multimedia materials, develop information management systems, design and deliver corporate training, and develop support systems for consumer products ranging from software for word processing or personal finances to complex data management systems.
The B.S. in TW recognizes the important changes taking place in communication-based careers and includes two distinctive tracks, one in Technical Communication (TC) and one in Scientific and Medical Communication (SMC). Both tracks begin with a common core of foundation courses, as well as a shared set of prerequisites in math, statistics, and computer programming. The two tracks differ in the set of theory/specialization courses beyond the core, with each track including a specialized set appropriate to its focus, as well as with electives outside of the Department of English to deepen their area of specialty in their track.
In both tracks, TW students:
- work on real projects for actual clients,
- learn group interaction and management skills,
- and develop a flexible repertoire of skills and strategies to keep up with advances in software and technology.
Above all, they focus on developing structures and information strategies to solve a broad range of communication and information design problems.
TW students are able to draw on exceptional resources on and off campus to enhance their education. Most obvious are the course offerings of Carnegie Institute of Technology, the Mellon College of Science, and the School of Computer Science. Additional course offerings in business, organizational behavior, policy and management, psychology, history, and design are also encouraged. TW students can also apply for grants and fellowship through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholar Development to work on independent research projects with faculty.
While the TW major appeals to students with strong professional interests, both core and elective requirements develop the broad intellectual background one expects from a university education and prepare students to either enter the workplace upon graduation or pursue graduate study in fields as diverse as communications, business, instructional design, information design, education, and science and healthcare writing. Additionally, all TW students are required to enroll in Professional Seminar (76-300), which meets once a week during the fall term and provides majors with the opportunity to meet and network with practicing professionals in a range of communications fields.
The Technical Communication (TC) Track
The Technical Communication track (TC) prepares students for careers in the rapidly changing areas of software and digital media. Students learn the fundamentals of visual, verbal, and on-line communication as well as the technical skills needed to design, communicate, and evaluate complex communication systems and to manage the interdisciplinary teams needed to develop them. Students become fluent in both print-based and electronic media across a variety of information genres and learn to design information for a range of specialist and non-expert audiences. The TW/TC major can be pursued as a primary major within Dietrich College or as an additional major for students in other Colleges with an interest in combining their specialized subject matter knowledge with strong writing and communications skills. Graduates of this track are likely to follow in the footsteps of previous TW students from Carnegie Mellon who are currently employed as web designers, information specialists, technical writers, and information consultants in a range of technology and communication-based organizations including Salesforce, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, and HP Vertica.
The Scientific and Medical Communication (SMC) Track
The Scientific and Medical Communication track (SMC) is designed for students who seek careers that focus on communication and information design problems in health, science, and medicine. It should appeal to students with interests in the health care professions, science and public policy, patient education, scientific journalism and related fields. Like the TC track, the SMC track is designed to provide both the technical and the communication skills needed to analyze and solve complex communication problems. Students learn the fundamentals of visual, verbal, and on-line communication as well as the technical skills needed to design, communicate, and evaluate complex information systems and to manage the interdisciplinary teams needed to develop them. Students become fluent in both print-based and electronic media across a variety of information genres and learn to design information for a range of specialist and non-expert audiences The TW/SMC major can be pursued as a primary major within Dietrich College or as a secondary major for students in other Colleges, such as MCS, with an interest in science or medicine.
Curriculum
All Technical Writing majors must satisfy the Dietrich College requirements for the B.S. degree, and a set of 3 to 4 prerequisite courses in calculus, statistics, and computer science. All prerequisites should be completed by the beginning of the fall semester, junior year. Prerequisites may double count toward Dietrich College Requirements or requirements for other majors or minors.
Mathematics Prerequisite (1 course, 10 units):
| Complete one of the following: | Units | |
| 21-111 | Differential Calculus | 10 |
| 21-112 | Integral Calculus | 10 |
| 21-120 | Differential and Integral Calculus | 10 |
| 21-127 | Concepts of Mathematics | 12 |
Statistics Prerequisite (1 course, 9 units):
| 36-200 | Reasoning with Data | 9 |
Computer Science Prerequisites (1 - 2 courses*, 10 - 22 units):
| Students in the Technical Communication track must complete two required Computer Science courses: | Units | |
| 15-110 | Principles of Computing | 10 |
| 15-112 | Fundamentals of Programming and Computer Science | 12 |
| Students in the Scientific and Medical Communication track complete one required Computer Science course: | Units | |
| 15-110 | Principles of Computing | 10 |
15-110 Principles of Computing is designed for students with little or no prior programming experience and is appropriate for students in both the SMC and TC tracks. 15-112 Fundamentals of Programming and Computer Science prepares students in the TC track for all other advanced Computer Science courses.
Beyond these prerequisites, students in both TC and SMC tracks take a common set Core Requirements in writing, communication, professional development, and information design and architecture.
DEPARTMENTAL CORE REQUIREMENT (1 COURSE, 9 UNITS):
| Introductory Genre Writing Course | ||
| 76-260 | Introduction to Writing Fiction | 9 |
| 76-261 | Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction | 9 |
| 76-265 | Introduction to Writing Poetry | 9 |
| 76-269 | Introduction to Screenwriting | 9 |
TW Core Requirements (6 courses, 42 units):
| 76-271 | Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing | 9 |
| 76-300 | Professional Seminar | 3 |
| 76-390 | Style | 9 |
| 76-391 | Document & Information Design * | 9 |
| 76-487 | Information Architecture & Content Strategy ** | 9 |
| 76-488 | Information Architecture & Content Strategy Lab ** | 3 |
* prerequisite = 76-271 Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing
**prerequisite = 76-271 Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing + 76-391 Document & Information Design
Theory/Specialization Courses (3 courses, 27 units):
To complement the Core Requirements listed above, TW students take a set of three Theory/Specialization courses specific to either the TC or SMC track. In addition, students in the TC track take 3 electives in management, technology, and social issues, and students in the SMC track take a series of three courses in the natural sciences or engineering relevant to their areas of interest.
Complete three courses to deepen your area of specialty and complement your chosen track (TC or SMC) in the major. At least one course must be chosen from the Recommended Courses list for TW majors. The other two courses may be chosen from the Recommended Courses list and/or the Additional Options list. TW students should select courses in consultation with the Department of English academic advisor.
| Recommended Courses include but are not limited to the following (choose one): | Units | |
| 76-395 | Science Writing | 9 |
| 76-425 | Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere | 9 |
| 76-474 | Software Documentation | 9 |
| 76-476 | Rhetoric of Science | 9 |
| 76-481 | Introduction to Multimedia Design | 12 |
| 76-494 | Healthcare Communications | 9 |
| Additional Options include but are not limited to the following: | Units | |
| 76-318 | Communicating in the Global Marketplace | 9 |
| 76-325 | Intertextuality | 9 |
| 76-372 | News Writing | 9 |
| 76-389 | Rhetorical Grammar | 9 |
| 76-395 | Science Writing | 9 |
| 76-425 | Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere | 9 |
| 76-474 | Software Documentation | 9 |
| 76-475 | Law, Performance, and Identity | 9 |
| 76-476 | Rhetoric of Science | 9 |
| 76-481 | Introduction to Multimedia Design | 12 |
| 39-605 | Engineering Design Projects | 12 |
Electives (3 courses, 27 units):
TW majors take 3 courses outside of English to deepen their area of specialty in their track. Typically, students in the TC track select courses that focus on management, technology, and social issues. Students in the Science and Medical Communication (SMC) track select courses in the natural sciences, engineering, or statistics. Students should work with the Department of English academic advisor and the TW Program Director to select courses that are meaningful for their track.
Electives for the TC Track (Choose 3)
| Technical Communication Electives | ||
| 19-211 | Ethics and Policy Issues in Computing | 9 |
| 19-403 | Policies of Wireless Systems | 12 |
| 03-121 | Modern Biology | 9 |
| 36-309 | Experimental Design for Behavioral & Social Sciences | 9 |
| 36-350 | Statistical Computing | 9 |
| 42-202 | Physiology | 9 |
| 51-261 | Communication & Digital Design Fundamentals | 9 |
| 51-262 | Communication and Digital Design Fundamentals | 9 |
| 51-264 | Product Design Fundamentals: Design for Interactions for Products | 9 |
| 70-311 | Organizational Behavior | 9 |
| 70-332 | Business, Society and Ethics | 9 |
| 70-342 | Managing Across Cultures | 9 |
| 79-212 | Jim Crow America | 9 |
| 79-230 | The Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace Process Through 1948 to Present | 9 |
| 80-220 | Philosophy of Science | 9 |
| 80-221 | Philosophy of Social Science | 9 |
| 80-234 | Race, Gender, and Justice | 9 |
| 80-244 | Environmental Ethics | 9 |
| 85-213 | Human Information Processing and Artificial Intelligence | 9 |
| 85-241 | Social Psychology | 9 |
| 85-370 | Cognitive Neuroscience Research Methods | 9 |
| 85-392 | Human Expertise | 9 |
| 88-341 | Team Dynamics and Leadership | 9 |
| 88-366 | Behavioral Economics of Poverty and Development | 9 |
Electives for the SMC Track (Choose 3)
Students following the SMC Track must take three courses from any of the following subject areas/codes:
- Biology: 03-xxx
- Chemical Engineering: 06-xxx
- Chemistry: 09-xxx
- Civil Engineering: 12-xxx
- Electrical & Computer Engineering: 18-xxx
- Mechanical Engineering: 24-xxx
- Materials Science & Engineering: 27-xxx
- Physics: 33-xxx
- Biomedical Engineering: 42-xxx
Double Counting
Students may double count up to two courses with other programs outside of the Department of English. NOTE: courses being used for the Dietrich General Education requirements do not have a double-counting limit. Also, the Mathematics and Computer Science prerequisite requirement courses for the Technical Writing major do not have a double-counting limit, nor do the Electives required for each specific track (TC track or SMC track).
Transfer Courses
Students may transfer up to two advisor-approved courses from other non-CMU programs/institutions toward the primary or additional major in Creative Writing or the BHA in Technical Writing, with the exception of the Introductory Genre Writing Course and Technical Writing Core Requirement Courses. If the two-course maximum is met, other related transfer courses will be considered for general education requirements and free electives for graduation. Please see the Dietrich College Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit Policy for more information.
Recommended Curriculum Pathway: B.S. in Technical Writing
This plan is the recommended pathway for completing the B.S. in Technical Writing in four years. While it is not required for students to follow this pathway precisely, it is highly recommended for students to do so, and we recommend students begin the major’s courses as early as possible. Students in Dietrich College may declare their primary major as early as February 1. Students who have not declared their major in the Department of English may still take courses with us.
Students may also view the four-year plan (also known as a Pathway) for the B.S. in Technical Writing via the Stellic Degree Audit Application.
| First-Year | Second-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Communication Course | GEN ED: Foundations Data Analysis Course | GEN ED: Foundations Scientific Inquiry Course | GEN ED: Foundations Intercultural & Global Inquiry Course |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Humanities Course | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Social Sciences Course | 15-112 Fundamentals of Programming and Computer Science (for TC Track students) OR Free Elective (for SMC Track students) | GEN ED: Equity and Justice Course |
| GEN ED: Grand Challenge Seminar Course | 15-110 Principles of Computing | 76-26x Introductory Genre Writing Course (Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, or Screenwriting) | 76-390 Style |
| Mathematics Prerequisite Course for TW Major | 76-271 Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing* | 76-300 Professional Seminar | Technical Communication Elective #1 (TC Track students) OR Free Elective (SMC Track students) |
| Free Elective | Free Elective | Free Elective | Free Elective |
| Third-Year | Fourth-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| GEN ED: Foundations: Contextual Thinking | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Additional Course (Business, Design, Engineering) | Optional GEN ED: Senior Capstone |
| GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: The Arts Course | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Theory and Specialization Course #1 (from Recommended List) | Theory and Specialization Course #3 |
| 76-391 Document & Information Design* | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Theory and Specialization Course #2 | Free Elective (TC Track students) OR Natural Science & Engineering Elective #3 (SMC Track students) |
| Technical Communication Elective #2 (TC Track students) OR Natural Science & Engineering Elective #1 (SMC Track students) | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Technical Communication Elective #3 (TC Track students) OR Natural Science & Engineering Eletive #2 (SMC Track students) | 76-487 Information Architecture & Content Strategy* |
| Free Elective | Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc. | Free Elective | 76-488 Information Architecture & Content Strategy Lab* |
| Free Elective | |||
*These courses must be taken in the sequence indicated. 76-271 is offered all semesters and therefore can be taken fall or spring of sophomore year. 76-271 is a prerequisite for 76-391, and 76-271 + 76-391 are the prerequisites for 76-487 and 76-488. 76-391 is typically only offered in the fall semesters, and 76-487 and 76-488 are typically only offered in spring semesters.
Additional Major
Because course sequencing can become an issue when doing multiple majors, students are strongly advised to consult closely with the Department of English academic advisor when pursuing an additional major in the Department of English.
For Students with a Primary Major in the Department of English
Students with a primary major in the Department of English have the option of completing additional majors within the department. Students may combine any of the departmental majors with one another, with the exception of Professional Writing and Technical Writing. Students may not combine these two majors because so many of the courses overlap.
Additionally, because some Department of English majors have similar requirements to each other, students with a primary major in the Department of English may have slight modifications in the requirements for the additional major(s) they choose within the Department, so as not to create repetition in coursework. Please see the Department of English's academic advisor for specific details about combining majors.
For Students with a Primary Major Outside of the Department of English
Students with primary majors in other departments who wish to complete additional majors in the Department of English are welcome to do so and are encouraged to make an appointment with the academic advisor as early as possible. The requirements for completing an additional major in the Department of English are the same as those listed in the Curriculum section of each of our degrees, the only difference being that students will complete the degree requirements of their home college as well if they are not already students with primary majors in the Dietrich College of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Example 1: If you have a primary major in Computer Science and wish to have an additional major in Creative Writing, you will complete the requirements for the Computer Science primary major and the other degree requirements in the School of Computer Science, as well as the 11 courses required for the Creative Writing major.
Example 2: If you have a primary major in Decision Science and wish to do an additional major in Professional Writing, you will complete the requirements for the Decision Science primary major and the other degree requirements in Dietrich College of the Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as the 13 courses required for the Professional Writing major.
In planning schedules for additional majors, it is critically important that students consult with the academic advisor for their primary major and the Department of English academic advisor to ensure that all requirements for graduation can be met.
Double Counting
Double-counting courses between a primary major and an additional major that are both within the Department of English is not permitted.
Example: A student may not double-count courses between a primary major in Creative Writing and an additional major in Literature & Culture.
Double-counting between a primary major outside of the Department of English and an additional major within the Department of English is permitted, with the maximum number of courses being two, both of which must be advisor-approved. The exception to this policy occurs when the primary major outside of the Department of English has a double-counting policy that allows for fewer than two courses to double count. In that case, the double-counting policy for the primary major outside of the Department of English takes precedence.
Example 1: Your primary major outside of the Department of English allows a maximum of one course to double-count with other programs. As a result, only one course in your additional major in the Department of English can double-count.
Example 2: You have a primary major in Global Studies, which allows a maximum of four courses to double-count with other programs, and you plan to have an additional major in Literature & Culture. Because the Global Studies double-counting rule exceeds a maximum of two courses, you would only be able to double-count a maximum of two courses between the majors.
Transfer Courses
The transfer course policy for additional majors is the same of that for primary majors. Please see the Transfer Courses section for the degree that aligns with your additional major. For example: If you have an additional major in Creative Writing, you will consult the Transfer Courses section for the B.A. in Creative Writing.
Minor in English
The English Department also offers minors in Creative Writing, Humanities Analytics, Literature & Culture, Professional Writing, and Technical Writing. We also house two Dietrich College interdisciplinary minors in Film and Media Studies and Gender Studies. All of these minors are available to all undergraduate students, including English majors.
Double Counting
Students who have a minor in English as well as a primary and/or an additional major in English may not double count any English courses with that minor. (Please see the separate double counting rules for the interdisciplinary minors in Film and Media Studies and Gender Studies.) Otherwise, up to two courses from the minor may double count with programs outside of the English Department. Courses that meet the various requirements are advertised on a semester-by-semester basis. Full descriptions are available each semester on the Department's Courses web page.
Transfer Courses
Students may transfer in a maximum of one advisor-approved course from an institution outside of Carnegie Mellon University, with the exception of the following courses, to count toward a minor:
- Creative Writing: 76-26x Introductory Genre Writing Course
- Humanities Analytics: 76-275 Introduction to Critical Writing and 76-380 Methods in Humanities Analytics
- Film & Visual Media: 76-239 Introduction to Film Studies and 76-310 Advanced Studies in Film and Media
- Literature & Culture: 76-26x Introductory Genre Writing Course and 76-275 Introduction to Critical Writing
- Professional Writing: Required Intro Course and the Core Writing Courses
- Technical Writing: Required Intro Course and the Core Writing Courses
Courses that meet the various requirements are advertised on a semester-by-semester basis. Full descriptions are available each semester on the Department's Courses web page.
Creative Writing Minor
Complete 6 courses and a minimum of 54 units, which includes First-Year Writing.
Required Prerequisite: First-Year Writing (9 units)
| 76-101 | Interpretation and Argument | 9 |
| 76-102 | Advanced First Year Writing: Special Topics Students must test into this course. | 9 |
| 76-106 | Writing about Literature, Art and Culture | 4.5 |
| 76-107 | Writing about Data | 4.5 |
| 76-108 | Writing about Public Problems | 4.5 |
Introductory Genre Writing Course (1 course, 9 units)
| 76-260 | Introduction to Writing Fiction | 9 |
| 76-261 | Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction | 9 |
| 76-265 | Introduction to Writing Poetry | 9 |
| 76-269 | Introduction to Screenwriting | 9 |
Reading in Forms Course (1 course, 9 units)
| Reading in Forms Courses | ||
| 76-363 | Reading in Forms: Poetry | 9 |
| 76-364 | Reading in Forms: Fiction | 9 |
Two workshops (2 courses, 18 units)
Students must complete the Introductory Genre Writing course and earn an A or B in order to be able to take the beginning version of the workshop in that same genre. For example: if you want to take 76-365 Beginning Poetry Workshop, you need to earn an A or B in 76-265 Introduction to Writing Poetry first.
If students wish to take the advanced version of a workshop, they must earn an A or B in the beginning version of the workshop in that same genre. For example: if you want to take 76-462 Advanced Fiction Workshop, you need to earn an A or B in 76-460 Beginning Fiction Workshop first.
Students need only take 76-260 Introduction to Writing Fiction or 76-261 Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction and earn an A or B in order to be able take 76-464 Creative Nonfiction Workshop.
Students need only take 76-269 Introduction to Screenwriting and earn an A or B in order to be able to take 76-469 Screenwriting Workshop.
| Workshops | ||
| 76-365 | Beginning Poetry Workshop | 9 |
| 76-460 | Beginning Fiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-462 | Advanced Fiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-464 | Creative Nonfiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-465 | Advanced Poetry Workshop | 9 |
| 76-469 | Screenwriting Workshop | 9 |
One 200-level or above English Elective (1 course, 9 units)
Students may choose any nine-unit course from 76-2xx through 76-4xx to fulfill this requirement.
Humanities Analytics Minor
Tech CEOs and data scientists are increasingly calling for employees with more exposure to the humanities.
At the same time, the human experience that is traditionally at the core of a humanities education is being dramatically transformed by the emergence of big data, digital platforms, computational thinking, and digital connectivity.
Spurred by such developments, the minor in Humanities Analytics (HumAn) trains students in the processes involved in analyzing, digitizing, questioning, quantifying, and visualizing different types of humanities and cultural phenomena, such as printed books, fan fiction, manuscripts, historical records, art, music, and film.
The minor is open to students across multiple colleges and degree programs and enriches their education in distinct ways that complement their primary majors. For example, students with a primary major in a humanities or social science department will learn the foundational methods used in the computational analysis of text. Students with a primary major in a non-humanities field will use technology as a lens into cultural history and will develop skills for making humanities knowledge visible and appealing. The minor bridges divides not only between the "digital/technological" and the "humanistic," but also between the qualitative and quantitative, between theory and application, and between critiquing and making.
HumAn prepares students for careers in:
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Technology
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Data Science
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Data Journalism
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Cultural Commentary
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Natural Language Processing
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Professional Writing
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Publishing
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Museums
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Libraries
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Academia
Complete 6 courses and a minimum of 54 units.
Required Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
| Required Courses | Units | |
| 76-275 | Introduction to Critical Writing | 9 |
| 76-380 | Methods in Humanities Analytics | 9 |
Core Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
| Core Courses | Units | |
| 76-314 | Data Stories | 9 |
| 76-388 | Coding for Humanists | 9 |
| 76-425 | Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere | 9 |
| 76-429 | Introduction to Digital Humanities | 9 |
| 88-275 | Bubbles: Data Science for Human Minds | 9 |
| 88-300 | Programming and Data Analysis for Social Scientists | 9 |
Electives (2 courses, 18 units)
Choose two courses from the following categories. One course must come from List A, and one from List B. Additional courses not on List A or List B may also be approved as electives; please speak with the Department of English academic advisor for more information.
List A - Choose one
| Electives | Units | |
| 05-391 | Designing Human Centered Software | 12 |
| 05-434/11-344 | Machine Learning in Practice | 12 |
| 11-411 | Natural Language Processing | 12 |
| 11-441/741 | Machine Learning with Graphs 1 | 9 |
| 15-104 | Introduction to Computing for Creative Practice | 10 |
| 15-110 | Principles of Computing | 10 |
| 15-112 | Fundamentals of Programming and Computer Science | 12 |
| 16-223 | IDeATe Portal: Creative Kinetic Systems | 10 |
| 16-385 | Computer Vision | 12 |
| 17-340 | Green Computing | 9 |
| 17-450 | Crafting Software | 12 |
| 17-562 | Law of Computer Technology | 9 |
| 36-202 | Methods for Statistics & Data Science | 9 |
| 36-204 | Discovering the Data Universe | 3 |
| 36-226 | Introduction to Statistical Inference | 9 |
| 36-311 | Statistical Analysis of Networks | 9 |
| 36-315 | Statistical Graphics and Visualization 2 | 9 |
| 36-350 | Statistical Computing 2 | 9 |
| 36-462 | Special Topics: Statistical Machine Learning | 9 |
| 48-095 | Spatial Concepts for Non-Architecture Majors | Var. |
| 48-120 | Digital Media I | 6 |
| 51-229 | Digital Photographic Imaging | 9 |
| 53-451 | Research Issues in Game Development: Designing for XR | 12 |
| 60/62-142 | Digital Photography I | 10 |
| 62-150 | IDeATe Portal: Introduction to Media Synthesis and Analysis | 10 |
- 1
Course is very mathematical and is therefore appropriate only to students with such a preparation.
- 2
This course has prerequisites.
List B - Choose one
| Electives | Units | |
| 76-210 | Banned Books | 9 |
| 76-245 | Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories | 9 |
| 76-247 | Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances | 9 |
| 76-325 | Intertextuality | 9 |
| 76-373 | Argument | 9 |
| 76-476 | Rhetoric of Science | 9 |
| 79-200 | Introduction to Historical Research & Writing | 9 |
| 79-234 | Technology and Society | 9 |
| 80-180 | Introduction to Linguistics | 9 |
| 80-280 | Linguistic Analysis | 9 |
| 80-381 | Meaning in Language | 9 |
| 80-383 | Language in Use | 9 |
| 82-282 | Interpreting Global Texts & Cultures | Var. |
| 82-283 | Language Diversity & Cultural Identity | 9 |
| 82-383 | Second Language Acquisition: Theories and Research | 9 |
| 82-480 | Translation Technologies | 9 |
Literature & Culture Minor
Complete 6 courses and a minimum of 54 units.
Required Courses (2 Courses, 18 units)
| Required Courses | Units | |
| 76-275 | Introduction to Critical Writing | 9 |
| 76-260 | Introduction to Writing Fiction | 9 |
| or 76-261 | Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction | |
| or 76-265 | Introduction to Writing Poetry | |
| or 76-269 | Introduction to Screenwriting | |
| 18 | ||
200-Level Literature & Culture Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
One course must cover the period of 1830 or before. Course options include but are not limited to the following:
| Courses for 1830 or Before | Units | |
| 76-203 | Literature & Culture in the 18th Century | 9 |
| 76-230 | Literature & Culture in the 19th Century | 9 |
| 76-233 | Literature and Culture in the Renaissance | 9 |
| 76-245 | Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories | 9 |
| 76-247 | Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances | 9 |
| Additional 200-Level Courses | Units | |
| 76-207 | Special Topics in Literature & Culture Topic and instructor vary by semester. | 9 |
| 76-210 | Banned Books | 9 |
| 76-220 | Mystery! From Detective Fiction to True Crime | 9 |
| 76-221 | Books You Should Have Read By Now Topic and instructor vary by semester. | 9 |
| 76-239 | Introduction to Film Studies | 9 |
| 76-241 | Introduction to Gender Studies | 9 |
| 76-244 | Immigrant Fictions | 9 |
| 76-259 | Film History | 9 |
| 76-268 | Comic Books & Pop Culture | 9 |
| 76-278 | Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling | 9 |
| 76-295 | Russian Cinema: From the Bolshevik Revolution to Putin's Russia | 9 |
| 76-296 | 20th Century Russian Masterpieces | 9 |
| 76-299 | 19th Century Russian Masterpieces | 9 |
300- or 400-Level Literature & Culture or Theory Courses (2 Courses, 18 units)
Course options include but are not limited to the following:
| 300- or 400-Level Literature, Culture, and Theory Courses | Units | |
| 76-312 | Crime and Justice in American Film | 9 |
| 76-313 | Creative Visual Storytelling in Film Production | 9 |
| 76-314 | Data Stories | 9 |
| 76-317 | Contemporary American Fiction | 9 |
| 76-326 | Contemporary Global Fiction | 9 |
| 76-329 | Performing Race in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-337 | Intersectional Feminism | 9 |
| 76-339 | Topics in Film and Media | 9 |
| 76-341 | The Age of Jane Austen | 9 |
| 76-342 | Love: A Cultural History | 9 |
| 76-343 | Rise of the American Novel | 9 |
| 76-347 | Major Fiction | 9 |
| 76-348 | Adaptation: Fiction to Film | 9 |
| 76-353 | Transnational Feminisms: Fiction and Film | 9 |
| 76-367 | Fact Into Film: Translating History into Cinema | 9 |
| 76-376 | Crafting Race in 19th-Century Britain | 9 |
| 76-392 | Special Topics in Literature & Culture | 9 |
| 76-401 | Hollywood vs. the World | 9 |
| 76-407 | Topics in Literary & Cultural Studies | 9 |
| 76-410 | The Long Eighteenth Century | 9 |
| 76-423 | Transnational Feminisms | 9 |
| 76-429 | Introduction to Digital Humanities | 9 |
| 76-431 | Gender Play in Early Modern Drama | 9 |
| 76-434 | Literature & Social Change in the 19th Century | 9 |
| 76-439 | Seminar in Film and Media Studies | 9 |
| 76-442 | Black Lives in Pre-1900 Britain | 9 |
| 76-446 | Revenge Tragedy | 9 |
| 76-448 | Shakespeare on Film | 9 |
| 76-450 | Law, Culture, and the Humanities | 9 |
| 76-454 | Rise of the Blockbuster | 9 |
| 76-461 | Refugee Stories: Literature, Art and Film | 9 |
| 76-467 | Crime Fiction and Film | 9 |
| 76-468 | Space and Mobilities | 9 |
| 76-482 | Rise of the Art Film | 9 |
| 76-493 | Science Fictions/Speculative Futures: Utopian/Dystopian Visions in Film & Media | 9 |
| 76-495 | Other People's Words: The History, Theory, and Practice of Interviews | 9 |
Professional Writing Minor
Complete 6 courses and a minimum of 54 units.
Required Course (1 course, 9 units)
| Required Intro Course | Units | |
| 76-270 | Writing for the Professions | 9 |
| or 76-271 | Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing | |
Core Writing Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
| Two 200- or 300-Level Core Writing Courses | Units | |
| 76-260 | Introduction to Writing Fiction | 9 |
| or 76-261 | Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction | |
| or 76-265 | Introduction to Writing Poetry | |
| or 76-269 | Introduction to Screenwriting | |
| 76-373 | Argument | 9 |
| 76-389 | Rhetorical Grammar | 9 |
| 76-390 | Style | 9 |
300- or 400-Level Writing Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
| Two 300- or 400-Level Writing Courses (18 units minimum) | Units | |
| 76-306 | Editing and Publishing (requires instructor permission) | Var. |
| 76-314 | Data Stories | 9 |
| 76-318 | Communicating in the Global Marketplace | 9 |
| 76-325 | Intertextuality | 9 |
| 76-354 | Watchdog Journalism | 9 |
| 76-368 | Role Playing Game Writing Workshop | 12 |
| 76-372 | News Writing | 9 |
| 76-384 | Race, Nation, and the Enemy | 9 |
| 76-388 | Coding for Humanists | 9 |
| 76-391 | Document & Information Design | 9 |
| 76-395 | Science Writing | 9 |
| 76-415 | Mediated Power and Propaganda | 9 |
| 76-425 | Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere | 9 |
| 76-464 | Creative Nonfiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-473 | Rhetoric & the Construction of Race | 9 |
| 76-474 | Software Documentation | 9 |
| 76-475 | Law, Performance, and Identity | 9 |
| 76-476 | Rhetoric of Science | 9 |
| 76-481 | Introduction to Multimedia Design | 12 |
| 76-483 | Research Methods in Technical & Professional Communication | 9 |
| 76-487 | Information Architecture & Content Strategy Co-requisite course: 76-488 Information Architecture & Content Strategy Lab (3.0 units) | 9 |
| 76-492 | Rhetoric of Public Policy | 9 |
| 76-494 | Healthcare Communications | 9 |
200-level or Above English Elective (1 course, 9 units)
| One 200-Level or Above English Elective | Units | |
| Students may choose from the Department's listings. Please contact the academic advisor for more information. | 9 | |
Technical Writing Minor
Complete 6 courses and a minimum of 54 units.
Required Introductory Course (1 course, 9 units)
| Required Intro Course | Units | |
| 76-270 | Writing for the Professions | 9 |
| or 76-271 | Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing | |
Two 200- or 300-level Core Writing Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
| Two 200- or 300-Level Core Writing Courses | Units | |
| 76-373 | Argument | 9 |
| 76-389 | Rhetorical Grammar | 9 |
| 76-390 | Style | 9 |
| 76-391 | Document & Information Design | 9 |
Two 300- or 400-Level Theory/Specialization Courses (2 courses, 18 units)
| Two 300- or 400-Level Theory/Specialization Courses | Units | |
| 76-314 | Data Stories | 9 |
| 76-318 | Communicating in the Global Marketplace | 9 |
| 76-327 | Equity & Communication: Strategies for Institutional Change | 9 |
| 76-380 | Methods in Humanities Analytics | 9 |
| 76-395 | Science Writing | 9 |
| 76-425 | Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere | 9 |
| 76-474 | Software Documentation | 9 |
| 76-476 | Rhetoric of Science | 9 |
| 76-481 | Introduction to Multimedia Design | 12 |
| 76-483 | Research Methods in Technical & Professional Communication | 9 |
| 76-487 | Information Architecture & Content Strategy | 9 |
| 76-488 | Information Architecture & Content Strategy Lab | 3 |
One Additional 300- or 400-Level Theory/Specialization Course (1 course, 9 units)
| Additional 300- or 400-Level Theory/Specialization Course | Units | |
| In addition to any of the courses above that have not already been taken, courses include but are not limited to: | ||
| 76-306 | Editing and Publishing (requires instructor approval) | Var. |
| 76-325 | Intertextuality | 9 |
| 76-354 | Watchdog Journalism | 9 |
| 76-368 | Role Playing Game Writing Workshop | 12 |
| 76-372 | News Writing | 9 |
| 76-384 | Race, Nation, and the Enemy | 9 |
| 76-415 | Mediated Power and Propaganda | 9 |
| 76-427 | Topics in Rhetoric: Audience | 9 |
| 76-464 | Creative Nonfiction Workshop | 9 |
| 76-473 | Rhetoric & the Construction of Race | 9 |
| 76-475 | Law, Performance, and Identity | 9 |
| 76-490 | Digital Rhetorics | 9 |
| 76-492 | Rhetoric of Public Policy | 9 |
| 76-494 | Healthcare Communications | 9 |
Senior Honors Thesis
Seniors in all five majors in the Department of English who meet the necessary requirements are invited by Dietrich College Senior Honors Program to propose and complete a senior honors thesis during their final year of study. The thesis may focus on research and/or original production in any of the areas offered as a major within the Department. To qualify for the Dietrich College Senior Honors Program, students must have a cumulative Quality Point Average (QPA) of at least 3.50 in their major and 3.25 overall at the end of their junior year and be invited by Dietrich College to participate. Students then choose a thesis advisor within the Department and propose and get approval from Dietrich College for a senior honors thesis. The senior honors thesis is completed over the two semesters of the student's senior year (9 units each semester) under the direction of the chosen advisor. By successfully completing the thesis, students earn 18 units of credit and qualify to graduate with College Honors.
Creative Writing majors participating in the Dietrich College Senior Honors Program whose thesis is directly related to their Creative Writing major may petition to have one semester of their thesis work count as one of their Workshop course requirements.
Contact the Associate Director of Academic Affairs, Laura Donaldson, at ldonalds@andrew.cmu.edu for more information.
Internships for Credit
Qualified students in all five majors in the Department of English have the option of doing professional internships for academic credit. These opportunities help students explore possible program-related careers as well as gain workplace experience. Our students have interned in a wide variety of communications-related positions including placements at local radio, television, and print publications; museums, theaters, and cultural organizations; non-profit and public service organizations; public relations, advertising, and marketing firms; software and technology companies; media organizations; and hospitals and healthcare communication organizations.
For Primary and Additional Majors
Students doing a primary or additional major in Creative Writing, Film & Visual Media, Literature & Culture, Professional Writing, or Technical Writing can count one 9.0- or 12.0-unit enrollment in 76-301 Internship toward requirements in their major as listed below:
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In Creative Writing, these 9.0 to 12.0 units can count toward the fulfillment of an English elective.
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In Film & Visual Media, these 9.0to 12.0 units can count toward the fulfillment of a production elective.
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In Literature & Culture, these 9.0 to 12.0 units can count toward the fulfillment of an English elective.
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In Professional Writing, these 9.0 to 12.0 units can count towards the fulfillment of an English elective or an advanced writing course.
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In Technical Writing, these 9.0 to 12.0 units can count towards the fulfillment of a technical communication elective.
For Minors
Students minoring in the Department of English who wish to earn credit for an internship related to their minor should contact the Associate Director of Academic Affairs, Laura Donaldson, at ldonalds@andrew.cmu.edu.
Dietrich College Policy
The Dietrich College policy allows up to 27.0 units of internship credit to count toward the overall 360.0 units students need to complete their degrees. For non-Dietrich primary majors, please consult your home college’s policy.
Students are permitted to earn pay at the internship for which they are also earning credit.
To learn more about internships for credit in the Department of English, please see our Internship for Credit Policies and Procedures.
The Accelerated MA in Professional Writing: MAPW 4+1
The Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW) 4+1 is an accelerated masters program under which Carnegie Mellon students (usually majors or minors in the English department or BHA or BHS students with relevant coursework) can qualify to complete the M.A. in Professional Writing in two semesters and a required full-time internship instead of the usual three semesters and a summer internship. Most 4+1 students complete their internship requirement during the summer after their graduation.
Students apply for admissions during their senior year (the GRE is not required) and, following admission and evaluation of their transcripts, may receive credit for up to four courses, or one full semester of work, toward the M.A. requirements. The degree provides the advantages of an M.A. degree in an accelerated time frame, features intensive work in writing and visual design for both print and new media, and prepares students for a range of communications careers.
The coursework and career options most commonly pursued by students in the degree include:
- Technical Writing
- Science and Healthcare Writing
- UX Writing/Content Design
- Information Architecture
- Public & Media Relations / Corporate Communications
- Editing and Publishing
Students interested in applying to the 4+1 program should consult the Director of the MAPW program, Professor Suguru Ishizaki at suguru@cmu.edu, early in their junior year for further details and advice on shaping undergraduate coursework to qualify for this option.
Course Descriptions
About Course Numbers:
Each Carnegie Mellon course number begins with a two-digit prefix that designates the department offering the course (i.e., 76-xxx courses are offered by the Department of English). Although each department maintains its own course numbering practices, typically, the first digit after the prefix indicates the class level: xx-1xx courses are freshmen-level, xx-2xx courses are sophomore level, etc. Depending on the department, xx-6xx courses may be either undergraduate senior-level or graduate-level, and xx-7xx courses and higher are graduate-level. Consult the Schedule of Classes each semester for course offerings and for any necessary pre-requisites or co-requisites.
- 76-050 Study Abroad
- All Semesters
No course description provided.
- 76-100 Reading and Writing in an Academic Context
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
Designed as an entry point for other first-year writing courses at Carnegie Mellon, 76100 is an academic reading and writing course for multilingual students which offers a space for learners to recognize and use the communicative strengths that are created by knowing two or more languages. Experiences in the course give students the opportunity to draw on multiple cultural and linguistic understandings and practices when analyzing and creating meaningful texts. The course emphasizes critical reading and research strategies for a variety of sources which become the basis for individually and collaborativelyproduced texts. The course introduces students to rhetorical choices within and across languages at the sentence, paragraph, and whole text or genre levels. Students will explore a variety of practices in academic writing (e.g., paraphrase, synthesis, counterargument and refutation, citation) as they relate to genre, audience, purpose, and other factors of a communicative situation. We discuss and practice explicit rhetorical and linguistic conventions for writing in academic English so that writers make choices to connect with readers in academic and professional discourse communities. Students who take this course identify as multilingual students who use English skillfully but perhaps with less comfort as they use another language. These students complete an online placement process that guides them through making their own informed course placement. Students may also skip the placement process and enroll directly into the course. For some students, 76100 is a prerequisite requirement for other first-year writing courses; therefore, students should check with their academic advisors regarding how 76100 fulfills their general education course requirements. All 76100 courses are structured by the learning objectives shared across sections of the course, but sections present different themes in their readings.
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/academic-programs/writing-and-communication/index.html
- 76-101 Interpretation and Argument
- All Semesters: 9 units
Interpretation and Argument, an inquiry-driven writing course, is one of a number of first-year writing course options available to students at Carnegie Mellon. A full-semester course experience, 76101 introduces students to foundational practices for reading, synthesizing and producing scholarly knowledge within an academic context. Within the course, students learn transferable, genre-based skills applicable to a variety of different fields. Students use a comparative genre analysis method for using models to complete new writing tasks, including an academic research proposal and a research article that contributes to an ongoing academic conversation. Faculty who teach 76-101 typically select a range of texts (e.g., scholarship, journalism, film) about an unresolved issue, so that students can identify relevant questions to frame their own research projects. Students should expect explicit, research-based instruction within the course, reflecting upon their writing processes, as well as planning, drafting and revising drafts. Because the course emphasizes authentic stakes and purposes for communicating with academic audiences, students will regularly share their work with their peers in oral and written forms within an interactive and collaborative classroom environment. Due to the limits of our schedule, we are unable to meet each student's individual preferences for course topics, but we do offer a wide variety from which to choose.
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/academic-programs/writing-and-communication/index.html
- 76-102 Advanced First Year Writing: Special Topics
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
76-102, Advanced First-Year Writing courses are designed for students who have demonstrated an understanding and practice of academic writing that most incoming freshmen have not, both in terms of mindful writing knowledge and experiential range. Because of the students' level of preparedness, the First-Year Writing Program provides intensive, advanced courses for students to work closely with senior faculty within the English department. Advanced courses assume that students have established strong reading and synthesizing skills, as well as a demonstrated interest in writing and communication, prior to entering Carnegie Mellon. The course topics shift each semester, but for every advanced first-year writing course, the core goals are to deepen students' rhetorical knowledge and production skills that align with the faculty member's specialty. Because the course emphasizes authentic stakes and purposes for communicating with academic audiences, students will regularly share their work with their peers in oral and written forms within an interactive and collaborative classroom environment. Students enroll through special invitation, after completing an application process. There are no prerequisites for the course.
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/academic-programs/writing-and-communication/index.html
- 76-106 Writing about Literature, Art and Culture
- Fall and Spring: 4.5 units
This mini or half-semester course (one of two minis students can choose to fulfill their FYW requirement) uses artistic, literary, and cultural texts (e.g., poetry, short story, lyrics, video clips) to introduce students to a variety of academic reading and writing practices that enable students to engage with texts and write about them with complexity and nuance. Within the course, we will discuss texts and evidence from multiple perspectives. We will examine how literary and cultural scholars write about texts (defined broadly), how they make claims, provide reasoning, and use textual support to argue for particular ways of seeing cultural objects. Throughout the semester, students will draw upon prior strategies and develop new ones for close reading and for critical analysis in order to produce their own thesis-driven arguments about why texts matter. We will consider and write about the extent to which these reading strategies are relevant for other kinds of reading and analysis by comparing texts from a variety of different disciplinary contexts. Because the course emphasizes authentic stakes and purposes for communicating with academic audiences, students will regularly share their work with their peers in oral and written forms within an interactive and collaborative classroom environment.
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/academic-programs/writing-and-communication/index.html
- 76-107 Writing about Data
- Fall and Spring: 4.5 units
This mini or half-semester course (one of two minis students can choose to fulfill their FYW requirement) focuses upon interpreting and making arguments using mainly numerical data but also qualitative data. We will look at research in a range of disciplines including psychology, education, medicine, engineering, and the sciences and note how writers select and analyze the data they collect. We will also examine what happens to this research when it is picked up by the popular media. Students will also practice collecting and analyzing their own data and reporting it to suit the needs of various stakeholders. There are two primary audiences for this section. Students in data-driven majors will find the section useful preparation for communicating in their disciplines. Students in other fields will learn how to critique and respond to the many ways that numbers shape our lives. This section presumes a basic ability to calculate averages, percentages, and ratios, but no advanced mathematical or statistical preparation. Instead, this section provides a fascinating look at how numbers and words intersect to create persuasive arguments in academic, professional, and popular contexts. Students will compare and analyze texts that make arguments with data, practice rhetorical strategies for synthesizing and representing data so that by the end of the class, students will apply these strategies to write an original data-driven research proposal. Because the course emphasizes authentic stakes and purposes for communicating with academic audiences, students will regularly share their work with their peers in oral and written forms within an interactive and collaborative classroom environment.
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/academic-programs/writing-and-communication/index.html
- 76-108 Writing about Public Problems
- Fall and Spring: 4.5 units
This mini or half-semester course (one of two minis students can choose to fulfill their FYW requirement) centers on introductory professional writing and offers students the opportunity to develop a proposal for change; students will examine a public problem of their choice, conduct primary and secondary research, and create a public-facing presentation. This course asks students to recognize that many problems we encounter in our communities require an invested stakeholder, like ourselves, to conduct a careful investigation of perspectives and constraints before proposing a feasible solution that considers diverse stakeholders' values and viewpoints. Students will learn how public problems are defined and argued in the proposal genre by reading a range of expert texts and analyzing a variety of sample proposals. Students will conduct various forms of social research (email, interview, survey, and/or observation) to gain perspective on a problem and develop a solution mindful of others' expertise and experience. Students will also synthesize relevant secondary research to rhetorically frame a proposal in ways that will compel their intended audience to take action. By the end of the course, students will write and present their own change proposal that identifies a community-based problem, proposes a thoughtfully-researched solution, and recommends a feasible plan for change in one of their own communities. Because the course emphasizes authentic stakes and purposes for communicating with professional and academic audiences, students will regularly share their work with their peers in oral and written forms within an interactive and collaborative classroom environment.
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/academic-programs/writing-and-communication/index.html
- 76-202 Writing with Generative AI
- Fall and Spring
Generative AI (GenAI) tools and Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming the landscape of professional, technical, and business communication. This course provides students with an opportunity to explore and develop their understanding of and expertise in these technologies, their historical context, and their applications. Students will deploy critical thinking skills to evaluate AI's role in writing, addressing ethical considerations such as bias, plagiarism, and intellectual property rights, and throughout the course, students will engage in practical exercises in prompt engineering and AI-human collaboration to gain experience in effectively using AI for brainstorming, research, drafting, editing, and presenting in professional contexts. Through case study analyses, class discussions, hands-on workshops, and lectures, all designed to support active learning and practical application, students can expect to engage a variety of GenAI/LLM tools with the writing process across various genres and professional contexts. This course is essential for students as it equips them with the knowledge and skills to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI in writing. By simultaneously fostering a critical and ethical awareness, students will be better prepared to leverage AI tools responsibly and effectively in their future careers.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or 76-106 or 76-108 or 76-107
- 76-203 Literature & Culture in the 18th Century
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will examine race, gender, and their intersections as points of entry into the major literary and cultural movements of the long eighteenth century, which continue to shape our present. From about 1660 to 1820, historical phenomena such as European empires, the Rights of Woman, and slavery and abolition coincided with changes in print and media culture to produce the rich literary productions we will study. Through reading and graded assignments such as short essays and oral presentations, students will learn methods for analyzing the formal features of literary texts (such as narrative structure and poetic rhythm) and how such texts respond to the pressures of history. Furthermore, students will develop their ability to think critically about race and gender, to argue persuasively, and to express ideas clearly. Examples of readings include Aphra Behn's Ooronoko, Jonathan Swift's "The Lady's Dressing Room," Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, Mary Prince's The History of Mary Prince, and William Wordsworth's "To Toussaint L'Ouverture."
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-204 Race, Ethnicity, Controversy
- Intermittent: 9 units
Coverage of police violence. Condemnations of Critical Race Theory. Book bans. "Kung flu." In recent years, current issues around race have proliferated, and with them, complex layers of discourse and controversy. This course examines current issues around race through the twin lenses of rhetoric and ethnic studies, asking how power is expressed through rhetorics of race and controversy. What are the communicative practices involved in framing or responding to racial violence, prejudice, and controversy? How do these practices harness various cultural, political, and historical forces, and to what effect? How do these discourses contribute to racialization, and where, and how, are differential distributions of power being expressed? We will seek to understand discourses around these issues and the backgrounds of various debates, from policing and abolition, to recurring anti-Asian racism, to affirmative action debates, to transracial adoption. Students will learn to analyze discourses around race rhetorically, identify structures of power at work in these discourses, and produce a final paper analyzing the rhetorics of a current issue or controversy around race.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-207 Special Topics in Literature & Culture
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
Topics very by semester and section. Please see course URL for more information.
Course Website: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cv4PYt9WifMbOgn-ehK_9l6hI4ESCIrcQ_oXkh7zDLY/edit?usp=sharing
- 76-210 Banned Books
- Fall: 9 units
Literature is powerful! Indeed, we're interested in books that are so controversial that people will shout, argue, and try to change laws in order to have a book removed from a curriculum, a school or public library, or a prison. At the same time, we'll learn about how, in response, other people work extremely hard to defend books against removal and censorship. The term "banned books" can be a bit misleading in the US context; only in very rare cases does the US federal government get involved in trying to ban or censor a published work. Nonetheless, the US is a hot spot for those who seek to attack books, and those who seek to defend them. In this course you will find that the actions of attackers and the actions of defenders are often mutually reinforcing. Every student in this course will contribute to a public facing website called The CMU Banned Books project. This website is used by journalists, scholars and activists around the world.
- 76-211 Model Minorities?: Introduction to Asian American Studies
- Intermittent: 9 units
"Asian American" is a self-conscious political identity developed by pan-Asian ethnic groups in solidarity with one another in 1968. What does it mean now, 55 years later, to be Asian American? How is "Asian Americanness" defined through and against dominant racial, social, cultural, and political meanings? How do Asian Americans fit into the differentially racialized landscape of the U.S., and how, in turn, are Asian American identities and experiences shaped and expressed? How does the political and activist history of Asian America inform Asian Americanness, and social movements in general, today? Is the label of "Asian American" a drawback or a resource? To grapple with these questions, this course brings together Asian American studies, ethnic studies, and Asian American rhetoric to examine the currents of global and domestic power that have shaped Asian American experience, the movements and communities that have acted in solidarity among and against those forces, and the communicative practices that both shape and are shaped by Asian Americans.
- 76-216 Happily Ever After: Fantasies of Romance
- Intermittent: 9 units
Why are we so invested in the fantasy of nineteenth-century romance? From a craze for Jane Austen to Shonda Rhimes' Bridgerton, we keep coming back to balls, dashing heroes (and anti-heroes), and the marriage plot. Who, and what, do these fantasies empower? Who gets left out of the romance? This course examines both the realities of nineteenth-century marriage, love, and sexuality, and the fantasies that emerge in their modern re-imaginings. We cover gendered readership during the nineteenth-century print boom, the idea of canonical literature, and the role of race, class, and sexuality in both society and romantic narratives, as well as the difference between "high" and "low" culture, filmic adaptation, and fan-culture. Our texts include poetry, novels, film, diaries written in code, fairy tales, and YouTube adaptations.
- 76-219 Law & Blame
- Fall: 9 units
In this course, you'll explore how language is used to accuse, defend, and attribute responsibility in legal cases and how these rhetorical strategies intersect with larger societal issues of justice and injustice. The study of these questions is not only valuable for understanding the legal process, participating in it, or writing about it, but the practice of attributing responsibility is common in many social and institutional contexts beyond law, even in daily conversation. By examining a variety of legal trials—ranging from high-profile criminal cases to routine accidents—you'll learn about the linguistic as well as the social, cultural, and political dimensions of accountability discourse, including how systemic inequalities related to race, class, gender, sexuality, and other identities shape attributions of responsibility. In discussion-intensive sessions and through a series of writing assignments, you'll not only develop your own strategies for advocating for or against responsibility in particular cases but you'll cultivate the critical tools necessary to craft and evaluate rhetorical approaches to attributions of responsibility among professional peers, while reflecting on relevant conceptions of justice. Whether your interest is in law, politics, culture, or ethics, this course equips you with tools to analyze real-world legal cases, assess their broader impact on justice through the lens of inequity and conflict, and actively participate in debates about attributions of blame across legal, business, and everyday contexts.
- 76-220 Mystery! From Detective Fiction to True Crime
- Intermittent: 9 units
Mystery fiction is one of the most enduring and popular literary genres, and the current media landscape has expanded the concept of the "armchair detective" to include podcasters, journalists, and true crime addicts. This course provides a better understanding of narrative and genre, as well as social norms around gender and race, by looking at the conventions of mystery fiction and true crime. What can these "formulaic" genres teach us about storytelling, character development, and narrative point of view? What do they reveal about a society's notions of justice and order? And how is textual analysis itself an act of detection? Texts may include podcasts, documentaries, and newstories; classic stories and novels by Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Walter Mosely; and "noir" films such as Vertigo and Gaslight.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-221 Books You Should Have Read By Now
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
Topics vary by semester and section. Please see the course URL.
Course Website: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cv4PYt9WifMbOgn-ehK_9l6hI4ESCIrcQ_oXkh7zDLY/edit?usp=sharing
- 76-230 Literature & Culture in the 19th Century
- Intermittent: 9 units
Topics vary by semester.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-233 Literature and Culture in the Renaissance
- Intermittent: 9 units
The Renaissance was a time of world-shattering change brought about by innovation, exploration, colonization, religious upheaval, the emergence of capitalism, the print revolution, scientific discovery, and unprecedented flourishing in the creative arts. In England, the same years also ushered in a golden age for English literature, which grew into its own with the arrival of canonical authors such as Thomas More, William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, John Milton, and many others. This course will introduce students to literary and cultural studies by convening a survey of works from the English Renaissance alongside a selection of critical readings that will help to bring England's extraordinary literary output into connection with its equally fascinating cultural context. In addition to canonical works by authors such as Shakespeare and Milton, we will also study lesser-known works by brilliant female authors such as Elizabeth Carey and Margaret Cavendish, women who have been left out of the traditional canon, not for a lack of literary merit, but because of their gender. On a similar note, the course will also consider questions such as, "How can modern readers best navigate the ethical hazards presented by problematic, centuries-old artworks?" "To what extent can we hold such artworks responsible for ideas that violate contemporary values, or contemporary boundaries of appropriateness?" and "To what extent can one study and learn from such artworks without endorsing or perpetuating the objectionable ideas or opinions they represent?" As we read, write, and converse together, we will work toward a broad understanding of what the literature of the English Renaissance means in a 21st century context, and how it has helped to shape the culture of modernity.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-239 Introduction to Film Studies
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
This course is an introduction to the history, technology, aesthetics, and ideology of film. Our main focus is the narrative fiction film, but we will also discuss documentaries, avant-garde work, and animation. The central organizing principle is historical, but there are a number of recurring thematic concerns. These include an examination of the basic principles of filmmaking, the development of film technology, the definition of film as both art and business, and the history of film as an object of critical and cultural study. The goals of this course are threefold. First, it will provide you with a solid grounding in the key issues and concepts of film studies. Second, it will expand your ability to knowledgeably critique individual cinematic works and their relationship to the larger culture. Lastly, it will provide you with experience in expressing your critiques in writing.
- 76-241 Introduction to Gender Studies
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
Intersectional feminism. Structural oppression. Biological sex vs. gender roles. LGBTQIA+ rights. Consent. Masculinity. #metoo and gender-based violence. Sexual politics. Global feminism. This course offers students a scholarly introduction to these social and political issues through critical readings, literature and film. In this discussion-based class, students read and discuss contemporary gender studies that speaks to questions of identity, race, nation, sexuality, and disability. Critical readings include work by Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Judith Butler, Kimberl and #233; Crenshaw, Sara Ahmed, Eve Sedgewick, Raewyn Connell, Mari Matsuda, Mona Eltahawy, Rosemarie GarlandThomson, and Kate Bornstein. Fiction might include Toni Morrison, Ocean Vuong, and Alison Bechdel.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-242 American Woman Writers
- Intermittent: 9 units
In 1855, Nathaniel Hawthorne lamented to his publisher that "America is now wholly given to a damned mob of scribbling women and I should have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash." Even today, The New York Times Book Review and other gatekeepers rarely give women writers the coverage that male writers receive. In this course we will trace the multiple traditions of 20th century American women's writing and examine how women writers question, resist, subvert, and revise traditional gender roles. Our readings will address: the social construction of gender; the relationship between gender and genre; the cultural positions of women as writers and readers; women's rights and suffrage; women and work; female sexuality and sexual freedom; constructions of motherhood; intersections of gender with race, class, and ethnicity. Readings include: The House of Mirth, Pale Horse Pale Rider, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Raisin in the Sun, To be Young, Gifted and Black, Woman Warrior, Fun Home, and The Namesake. Every other week (or so) we will be reading excerpts from Feminist Literary Theory and Criticism.
- 76-244 Immigrant Fictions
- Intermittent: 9 units
Contemporary writers offer vibrant portrayals of questions around identity and belonging that accompany migration and immigration to the United States. Their works show how displaced people and their children reinvent themselves, even as they look back to other homelands. This contemporary literature course combines fiction, poetry, drama and scholarly non-fiction readings to examine the experiences of the transnational movement of people to the United States, including international students, refugees, and documented and undocumented migrants and their families. We will consider not only the experience of personal migration, but also the global social, economic and political processes that structure that movement. Possible fiction readings draws from Asian American studies, Latinx studies, and African American studies, and might include Jhumpa Lahiri, Valerie Luiselli, Chimamanda Adichie, Christina Garcia, Juno D and #237;az, Lisa Ko, Cathy Park Hong, and Edwidge Danticat.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-245 Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories
- Fall: 9 units
For F25 only: In the closing decades of the sixteenth century, enterprising cultural producers in early modern London began to develop a new commercial venture called 'playing': a business that offered ordinary people a few hours of dramatic entertainment for the price of one penny. In addition to watching the professional players onstage, spectators also participated in a form of play themselves (in a sense) because theatrical experience provided a unique opportunity to engage imaginatively with otherwise inaccessible people, worlds, and ideas. More than four hundred years later, the drama of the period now ranks among the most esteemed texts in all English literature, and the name 'Shakespeare' has become a byword for literary genius. This course will offer an overview of Shakespeare's tragedies and histories. As we read through a selection of key works, we will endeavor to understand what, and how, they meant in their original context, thereby developing a historically informed perspective on their influence over our own cultural landscape. The course counts toward the GenEd requirement, and is also part of the CMU Prison Education Project. Classes will take place at Somerset State Correctional Institution. CMU students will study alongside incarcerated students. A bus will provide transport for the students from CMU. Students will have to fill out a brief questionnaire before enrolling. For further details, see: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/students/undergraduate/programs/pep/index.html
Course Website: https://bit.ly/f25cmupep245
- 76-247 Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances
- Spring: 9 units
Sometime around the late sixteenth century, enterprising cultural producers in early modern London began to develop a new commercial venture called 'playing': a business that offered ordinary people a few hours of dramatic entertainment for the price of one penny. In addition to watching the professional players onstage, spectators also participated in a form of play themselves, in a sense, because theatrical experience provided a unique opportunity to engage imaginatively with otherwise inaccessible people, worlds, and ideas. More than four hundred years later, the drama of the period now ranks among the most esteemed texts in all English literature, and the name 'Shakespeare' has become a byword for literary genius. This course will offer a selection of Shakespeare's delightful and sometimes surprisingly edgy comedies and late romances. As we read through these works, we will endeavor to understand what, and how, they meant in their original context, thereby developing a historically informed perspective on their influence over our own cultural landscape.
- 76-251 Exploring Creative Writing in Community
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course, taught in Somerset Prison, will be focused on the ways generative writing can deepen empathy for self and others, while expanding imagination. We will read stories, poems, novels, and creative non-fiction for inspiration, and students will create their own work often using the readings as models. In class, prompts will be offered for more writing, and students will share their work. The class is based on understanding that Creative Writing has the power to re-shape how we see our past, present, and future. Just as importantly, through creative work we can re-shape our ideas about ourselveswho we are, and who we are becoming, in the world. A good class for those interested in the intersection between justice and education. Half of the class will be composed of incarcerated people, and the other half will be Carnegie Mellon students. All Carnegie Mellon students with interest in writing are welcome. Please fill out the form in the course URL.
Course Website: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfedNUdgWSUcE7hjqlBqayl8VnpaakxFOHauRzp4Ogl4Et-mw/viewform?
- 76-253 Information Graphics
- Intermittent: 3 units
This micro-course introduces the basics of designing information graphics to students in all disciplines who are interested in learning to communicate complex information clearly and ethically using information graphics. Information graphics are ubiquitous. They are used by both practitioners and academics across many disciplines to communicate complex ideas, processes, and systems. While millions of decisions are made based on information graphics daily, creating an effective graphic is not simple. Designing information graphics requires careful consideration from multiple perspectives, including visual perception, social psychology, semiotics, and design ethics. What makes information graphics effective? What is required to optimize the design of an information graphic? How should information graphics be evaluated? Can information graphics be neutral, without bias? In this introductory course, we will address these and other questions through a hands-on project and discussions on various threads of studies around the analysis of information graphics. Assigned readings will complement the projects allowing students to examine information graphics from the perspectives of relevant theories and research findings. Class discussions and critiques are an essential part of this course.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-254 Arts Greenhouse: Community Engagement with Local Middle School Students
- Intermittent: 12 units
This course is designed to provide students with hands-on, in-person experience in designing and implementing a community engagement project in partnership with Arts Greenhouse. CMU students will analyze their prospective student audience and create a humanities-based project with a final product to share locally with sixth- through eighth-grade Arts Greenhouse students. CMU students will engage in task analysis to break down all the steps their partner students will have to follow to create the final product/project. Students in this course will also explore the highlights of teaching methodology to prepare them with the necessary tools to reach their middle school audience. As a culmination of the course, college students will implement these projects in Arts Greenhouse partner schools. Additionally, CMU students will put into practice the leadership skills necessary to build working relationships with community partners.
Prerequisites: 76-101 Min. grade B or 76-102 Min. grade B or (76-106 Min. grade B and 76-107 Min. grade B) or (76-108 Min. grade B and 76-107 Min. grade B) or (76-106 Min. grade B and 76-108 Min. grade B)
- 76-259 Film History
- Fall: 9 units
This introductory course will focus on the history of the American film industry, 1930-1955. Every week, we will screen a film of the most important genres and we will understand these films in relation to multiple contexts: the system of production, popular, critical, and scholarly reception, and social and political events. We will be concerned with understanding how the studio system produced and marketed these works, and how that system changed significantly as result of various events post-WW II. By focusing on individual studios (for example, MGM and Warner Bros.) as "test cases," the class will also examine how particular companies produced films of a certain type in terms of such parameters as genre, theme, player, class address, and/or style. Readings will deal with the history of Hollywood, the various films, stars and/or filmmakers considered, as well theoretical/critical issues such as authorship, reception, and high vs. low culture. Students will learn important skills for film history, including reception study, archival research, and contextual analysis. Grades will be based on three papers that require different kinds of historical research, a midterm, and a final.
Prerequisite: 76-239
- 76-260 Introduction to Writing Fiction
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
This is an introduction to the reading and writing of short fiction. Character development and the creation of scenes will be the principal goals in the writing of short stories during the course of the semester. Revisions of the stories will constitute a major part of the final grade. Reading assignments will illustrate the different elements of fiction reviewed and practiced, and students will analyze and discuss stories from a writer's point of view.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-261 Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction
- Intermittent: 9 units
According to The National Endowment for the Arts, creative nonfiction is "factual prose that is also literary." Memoir, the essay, and literary journalism are just three kinds of work that fit into this broad, vital genre. While creative nonfiction often borrows techniques from fiction, such as narrative, scene, dialogue, and point of view, creative nonfiction is based on actual events, characters and places. What distinguishes creative nonfiction from journalism is that it conveys more than bare-bones facts: language, analysis and narrative voice are an integral part of each piece. Journalists seek the truth by attempting to be objective. Writers of creative nonfiction understand that truth is often the biased, subjective "truth" as experienced by the author.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-265 Introduction to Writing Poetry
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
What is a poem? In this class, we'll attempt to arrive at a definition for ourselves as we learn about poetry's building blocks, traditions, and explorations. We'll examine poetic meter, rhyme, form, line, and music, taking a look at traditional approaches and contemporary craft. As we examine the work of a wide range of poets, well discuss how aspects like repetition, sound, silence, image, perspective and voice come together to deliver the poem's content. We'll read and discuss the work of published poets as well as the work of our peers, and create poems of our own, both in and out of class. And we'll consider the role poetry plays in our lives, how it connects to our contemporary moment, and how it exists in the public imagination, as we engage with contemporary writing both on the page, and at poetry readings we'll attend during the semester.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-268 Comic Books & Pop Culture
- Intermittent: 9 units
From newspaper comic strips to the Golden Age of superheroes, from graphic novels to the MCU, and from manga to webcomics, this course explores the history and impact of comics in society. Why do so many turn to comics to share their stories? How do the visual and textual work together to create a unique literary form? How has that form evolved in response to technological and social change? Together, we investigate how comics and their adaptations (including films and video games) have shaped our ideas about power, justice, identity, teamwork, technology, and morality.
- 76-269 Introduction to Screenwriting
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
This is a course in screenplay narrative. The screenplay has a certain format observed by every screenwriter. It is not so difficult to learn the format. The difficulty is in developing a screen story populated by believable characters, creating an expressive and logical relationship between the scenes by manipulating screen space and screen time (knowing what to omit from the story and what to emphasize), and finally writing dialogue that sounds real, but that does not simply copy everyday speech. The class will be structured into weekly writing exercises, discussion of the narratives under consideration, presentation and discussion of student work, and a final writing project.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-270 Writing for the Professions
- All Semesters: 9 units
Writing in the Professions is a writing and communication design course for mainly sophomores and juniors (although it can be relevant for some freshmen and seniors) in all majors other than English. The course is appropriate for upper-level students in all CMU colleges and assumes that they may not have had much college-level writing instruction beyond the first year. The basic idea of the course is to give experience in developing the design skills for writing and communicating as students transition from student to professional. The course will cover some foundational principles of designing multimodal writing and communication within a variety of tasks including resume and cover letter writing, proposal writing and writing instructions. Students will discern the difference between writing for general and specific audiences, and analysis of visual aids in various texts. The course requires that students work both independently and in groups. All sections of 76-270 align with particular core objectives. However, some sections of 76-270 are discipline-focused and reserved for students from specific programs or colleges. Students should review the section title before attempting to register to discern which section is most appropriate for them. Dietrich College students can count any 76-270 section toward their GenEd requirement: Disciplinary Perspectives-Design.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/academic-programs/writing-and-communication/index.html
- 76-271 Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing
- Spring: 9 units
Professional and technical communicators use words and images to connect people with information. With a strong foundation in rhetoric, this course will sharpen your abilities to communicate information clearly, effectively, and responsibly to real readers, stakeholders, and decision makers. Our assignments and conversations will include a wide range of genres and rhetorical situations you can expect to encounter as a professional and technical communicator, including job application genres, narrative genres like feature articles that blend subject matter interviews with keen observation, research genres like proposals, and team writing genres like technical documentation. A high level goal for the course is to combine theory, methods, and best practices for putting real readers and users of information at the center of our communication strategies. By the end of the course, you will have a portfolio of polished work that you can use to narrate your professional strengths and interests. This course is designed for undergraduates pursuing majors and minors in a writing and communication field, and who want to explore professional and technical communication as a discipline and career area.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-275 Introduction to Critical Writing
- Fall: 9 units
The goal of this course is to sharpen your ability to read and write about literary and other imaginative works. Critical reading and writing mean gathering and evaluating language and images to form an interpretation of a print, visual, or other media text. To that end, you will learn analytical keywords and terms from literary and cultural theory and how to apply them to texts and other objects. The focus will be on theories of race, gender and empire and how they inform literary texts and our reading of them. Our course's method for critical writing instruction will be to workshop drafts of your essays. To that end, you will write four short interpretive papers in the course. You will also gain practice at oral presentation, peer-review and critique. Since this is a writing workshop and our time for reading will be somewhat limited, we will read a several shorter literary texts in a range of genres (fiction, drama, poetry) while we consider questions of form. The communication and analytic skills you acquire in this class will transfer to your work in a wide range of academic disciplines and professional contexts.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-278 Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
The course covers modern Japanese literature (from 1868 to the present) and post-war Japanese film (from 1945 to the present). The modern film and literature have inherited unique premodern characteristics such as an open-ended plot without any closure, a non-linear as well as linear way of storytelling, and a preference of atmosphere and beauty over a structured plot. On the other hand, partly owing to the Western influences, they have seen innovations in the art of storytelling (e.g., contextualization of modern self in an open-ended story, filming techniques). The course focuses on the artistic media (e.g., language, sound, color, film techniques) of each film and literary work and their interactions with the plot and the historical and social contexts of each work. It also explores how the art of storytelling is in tandem with the vicissitudes of human condition as illustrated in Japan's variety of films and literature in the twentieth and twenty-first century. Analyses of each storytelling not only reveal cultural dynamics behind Japanese modernity, but also invite students to find new insights into Japanese culture and their ways to perceive our globalized world. What kind of cultural exchanges took place between modern Japan and the West? How are Japan's traditional values transformed in the face of modern technicalization and industrialization, compared to the modernization of other countries? And, in turn, what kind of impact has modern Japanese culture had on today's world? Tackling these questions among others, the course also extends to such issues as the legacy of traditional Japanese culture, the modern Emperor system, the World War II experiences, emerging voices of minorities and the popular culture (e.g., anime and subculture).
- 76-283 Language Diversity & Cultural Identity
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
TBD
- 76-285 AI Filmmaking
- Intermittent: 6 units
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to AI-driven filmmaking, from script to final product, using readily available AI tools.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-286 Oral Communication
- Intermittent: 6 units
Oral presentations are essential to professional success. Yet many people find themselves growing weak in the knees at the thought of presenting in front of a group. They read off of notes, speak too fast, or pepper their speech with nervous filler words such as "um" or "you know." 76-286 Oral Presentations is a mini intended for students who want to boost their confidence in presenting in front of others. You will learn strategies for structuring the content of a presentation, designing effective presentation slides, and controlling your voice and body language to produce a smooth, confident-sounding oral delivery. We will begin with giving short informal presentations and gradually increase the stakes as your confidence improves. You will have weekly opportunities to practice and improve your skills. We will also find opportunities to practice in a variety of physical settings so you can envision yourself as a calm, confident speaker no matter your surroundings. Grades in the course will be based on improvement and effort to encourage students to focus on their development rather than on final outcomes.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-289 Billingual & Bicultural Experiences in the US
- Intermittent: 9 units
What does it mean to be bilingual in the USA, when approximately 80% of Americans are monolingual English-speakers? In this course, we will learn about the nature and experience of bilingualism and biculturalism (past and present) and how it shapes different perspectives and worldviews and #8212;within an individual, between individuals, and on a larger (societal, cultural) level. The course highlights the experiences of groups such as immigrants, racial/ethnic minorities, indigenous communities, and users of signed languages to foreground experiences that may be similar to or different from those of the students. We use a variety of resources (e.g., social media, film and documentaries, historical documents, literature, music, art) to accomplish this, and students are encouraged to be creative in the ways they design their own hands-on projects. This discussion-based course is taught in English and is open to all students, whether they identify as bilingual/bicultural, or are simply interested in the course topic.
- 76-292 Introduction to Film Production
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
This course is an introduction to the process of filmmaking. Students will develop a personal cinematic language and create a short final film from the ideation, to the synopsis and shot list, the set then to the editing room. The course will introduce technical tools to create audio and visual forms that serve the content developed in a film treatment through filming assignments, planning and producing a short film, peer review and group work. The focus will be on understanding shots and coverage of a scene, the various aspects of the cinematic language, with an emphasis on the basic visual components such as space, movement, and rhythm - and how they are used to tell the story visually. Audio layering to create a meaningful soundscape and the art of Editing will be discussed extensively.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-293 Writing about Research in Your Discipline
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course introduces the characteristics and types of writing required of students at advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate levels while building sentence-level editing skills. Topics addressed include the role of writing in the academy, the writing process including editing and revision strategies, expectations for content associated with different genres, bibliographic styles and reference management software, and an introduction to the reporting of empirical research. Students will work through modules on sentence structures associated with academic language as well as workshop their own writing projects. This course is appropriate for students considering writing a senior thesis and/or applying to graduate school.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/courses/fall-2020-course-descriptions.pdf
- 76-295 Russian Cinema: From the Bolshevik Revolution to Putin's Russia
- Fall: 9 units
"Last night I was in the kingdom of shadows," said the writer Maxim Gorky in 1896 after seeing a film for the first time. "How terrifying to be there!" Early film inspired fear and fascination in its Russian audiences, and before long became a medium of bold aesthetic and philosophical experimentation. This seminar-style course surveys the development of Russian and Soviet film, paying equal attention to the formal evolution of the medium and the circumstanceshistorical, cultural, institutionalthat shaped it. We will examine Sergei Eisenstein's and Dziga Vertov's experiments with montage in light of the events of the Bolshevik Revolution and the directors' engagement with Marxism; Georgi Alexandrov's and the Vasiliev brothers' Socialist Realist production against the backdrop of Stalinist censorship; Andrei Tarkovsky's and Kira Muratova's Thaw-era films within the broader context of New Wave Cinema; and the works of contemporary directors, including Aleksei Balabanov, Alexander Sokurov, and Andrey Zvyagintsev, in connection with the shifting social and political landscape of post-Soviet Russia. Besides introducing students to the Russian and Soviet cinematic tradition, this course will hone their skills in close visual analysis. No prior knowledge of Russian language or culture is required. The course is conducted in English, but students will have the option to do work in Russian for three extra course units.
- 76-296 20th Century Russian Masterpieces
- Intermittent: 9 units
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian Empire underwent a series of dramatic changes in quick succession: industrial modernization, the unsuccessful 1905 rebellion, terrible losses in the First World War, finally culminating in the 1917 October Revolution. The literature and culture of the era were deeply impacted by these upheavals as artists and writers of the era attempted to capture and convey the world rapidly shifting around them. This course will acquaint students with canonical texts from 20th-century Russian literature and will also examine the highly specific context in which they were produced. From the fin-de-si and #232;cle aesthetics of a crumbling Russian Empire to the avant-garde experimentalism of the Russian Revolution and Civil War era, to the establishment of Socialist Realism and the implementation of a Totalitarian regime under Stalin, the course invites students to think about both the realities of life and artistic production in a rapidly transforming country as well as the ways in which these works bring contemporary readers to the inner lives of Soviet citizens.
- 76-299 19th Century Russian Masterpieces
- Intermittent: 9 units
In the 19th century, Russian writers produced some of the most beloved works of Western literature, among them Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. These novels continue to captivate audiences and inspire adaptations in theater, film, and television. This course will examine the fertile century that yielded such masterpieces. In addition to the works mentioned above, students will encounter texts by writers who may be less well known but are no less significant, including Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Chekhov, and Pavlova. We will consider the social and cultural circumstances in which these works were produced and reflect on the reasons these Russian masterpieces have appealed to audiences well beyond the Russian-speaking world.
- 76-300 Professional Seminar
- Fall: 3 units
This weekly, 3-unit seminar is designed to give professional and technical writing majors an overview of possible career and internship options and ways to pursue their professional interests. Each session will feature guest presenters who are professionals working in diverse communications-related fields such as web design, journalism, public relations, corporate and media relations, technical writing, medical communications, and working for non-profits. The visiting professionals talk about their own and related careers, show samples of their work, and answer student questions. The course is required for first-year MAPW students and is open to all English undergraduates, who are urged to participate in their sophomore or junior years to explore options for internships and careers.
- 76-301 Internship
- All Semesters
This course is designed to help you explore possible writing-related careers as you gain workplace experience and earn academic credit. You'll work on- or off-campus as an entry-level professional writer for 8-10 hours per week in a field of interest to you (public relations, journalism, advertising, magazine writing, non-profit, healthcare, etc.). You are responsible for finding an internship. Most of your class time for the course will be completed at your internship site - a minimum of 120 hours (8-10 per week) over the semester for 9 units of credit. As the academic component of the course, you'll keep a reflective journal and meet periodically with the internship coordinator to discuss your internship and related professional issues. You must register for the course before the add/drop deadline of the semester in which you want to do your internship. Before you can register, you must contact the internship instructor listed above to express your interest in the course and to be cleared for registration. Credit for the internship course cannot be retroactively awarded for past internships.
- 76-302 Communication Support Tutoring Practicum
- Fall
The Communication Support Practicum is designed to introduce students to communication scholarship and pedagogy as well as the methods and theories that inform them for the purpose of communication support and tutoring in CMU's Student Academic Success Center. Students will explore communication (written, oral, and visual) in multiple disciplines and genres with a focus on gaining knowledge and skills to respond to communicators and their texts. Lectures, discussion, and assignments will offer a chance to think critically about tutoring practices and the ideologies and values on which they are based as well as ways to challenge the bias inherent in them. There will be many occasions to reflect on and evaluate tutoring skills, observe others in tutoring situations, and practice a variety of methods that consider the different needs of communicators. Students will gain awareness of how various spaces, identities, technologies, and abilities inform textual production as well as how to create a meaningful response to meet the diverse needs.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/gcc/faqs/index.html
- 76-303 Independent Study in Creative Writing
- All Semesters
An Independent Study course is a course taken with faculty supervision that goes beyond the courses offered in a particular area of interest. It should not duplicate a course offered in the regular schedule of classes. A student wishing to take an independent study needs to locate a faculty member whose research interests are close to the area of proposed study and meet with the faculty member to discuss whether it is something the faculty member is interested in doing. The department requires that the student and instructor submit a written contract (available in the English Department) detailing the expectations (description of course of study, readings, how often the student/faculty member will meet) and requirements for the completed independent study project (number and amp; length of papers) and a time-line for completion of the work. You should think of this as developing the equivalent of a detailed course syllabus/schedule, and typically involves development of a bibliography of readings.
- 76-306 Editing and Publishing
- Fall and Spring
Note: Registration in this course is by permission only. In this course students will work closely with the editors of Carnegie Mellon University Press to learn many of the facets of producing books. These range from business management and marketing to the elements of editing, book design, and production.
- 76-307 Advanced Editing and Publishing
- Fall and Spring
Note: Registration in this course is by permission only. In this course students will work closely with the editors of Carnegie Mellon University Press to learn many of the facets of producing books. These range from business management and marketing to the elements of editing, book design, and production.
Prerequisite: 76-306
- 76-310 Advanced Studies in Film and Media
- Spring: 9 units
This course will focus on several key technical components of filmmaking and the ways they function within the film text, as well as the ways they can be read as an indication of the underlying ideology of a work. Individual units of the course will concentrate on performance, production design, photography, editing and music. Films will be drawn from a variety of national cinemas from around the world. A primary goal of the course will be the development of skills useful for filmmaking, film analysis and scholarship. Students will engage in focused projects designed to facilitate the pedagogical goals of each unit.
Prerequisite: 76-239
- 76-311 Independent Study in Humanities Analytics
- Intermittent
An Independent Study course is a course taken with faculty supervision that goes beyond the courses offered in a particular area of interest. It should not duplicate a course offered in the regular schedule of classes. A student wishing to take an independent study needs to locate a faculty member whose research interests are close to the area of proposed study and meet with the faculty member to discuss whether it is something the faculty member is interested in doing. The department requires that the student and instructor submit a written contract (available in the English Department) detailing the expectations (description of course of study, readings, how often the student/faculty member will meet) and requirements for the completed independent study project (number and amp; length of papers) and a time-line for completion of the work. You should think of this as developing the equivalent of a detailed course syllabus/schedule, and typically involves development of a bibliography of readings.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-312 Crime and Justice in American Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
Films dealing with criminal activities and criminal justice have always been popular at the box office. From the gangsters of the Thirties and the film noir of the Fifties to the more recent vigilante avenger films of Liam Neeson, the film industry has profited from films about crime and its consequences. How those subjects are portrayed, however, tells us a great deal about larger trends in American history and society. Every imaginable type of criminal activity has been depicted on screen, as have the legal ramifications of those acts. But these films raise profound questions. What is the nature of crime? What makes a criminal? Are there circumstances in which crime is justified? How do socioeconomic conditions affect the consequences? How fair and impartial is our justice system? Perhaps most importantly, how do depictions of crime and justice in popular media influence our answers to these questions? This class will utilize a variety of films to discuss the ways in which popular media portrays the sources of crime, the nature of criminals, the court and prison systems, and particular kinds of criminal acts. Films to be screened may include such titles as The Ox-Bow Incident, Out of the Past, 12 Angry Men, Young Mr. Lincoln, Brute Force, The Equalizer, Jack Reacher and Minority Report. By thoroughly discussing these films and related readings we will be able to trace the various changes in attitude towards crime and justice in America over the last century.
- 76-313 Creative Visual Storytelling in Film Production
- Intermittent: 9 units
Visual storytelling cuts to the heart of the filmmaking process, combining all elements of the craft to engage the viewer. Every picture is comprised of a story, visuals, and, sometimes, sounds. This class is about learning how to understand and control time-based images to better tell your story. We will learn essential skills for becoming a creative technological storyteller - how to think visually and aurally. Fundamental focus will be on understanding the basic visual components -using space, tone, line, shape, color, movement and rhythm- and how they are used to visually tell a story, define characters, communicate moods, emotions, thoughts and ideas. We often are not consciously aware of them within a film but are critical in establishing the relationship between story structure and visual structure. Through readings, film analysis, creative brainstorming, assignments and individual critiques this class will guide each student into translating their creative vision into a short final film.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-314 Data Stories
- Fall: 9 units
Every dataset has a story. In the age of big data, it is vital to understand the unlikely casts of algorithms, data miners, researchers, data janitors, pirates, data brokers, financiers, etc. whose activities shape culture. This course will feature a range of "farm to table" data stories, some going back hundreds of years, and introduce students to resources and strategies for contextual research. It will explore cases such as the London cholera epidemic, Google Books, Netflix, the Oxford English Dictionary, the Strava map, and the Queen Nefertiti scan alongside several pieces of art and fiction that capture aspects of data stories typically obscured elsewhere. Research methods introduced will include book history, media archeology, history of information, infrastructure studies, ethnography, narratology, and digital forensics. Students will read scholarly articles, novels, journalism, and popular non-fiction; they will test algorithms; and they will develop individualized long-form research and writing projects informed by computational methods in data studies, journalism, and art.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-317 Contemporary American Fiction
- Intermittent: 9 units
No one seems to know quite how to define contemporary American fiction. It's clear that fiction has changed since the 1960s and 70s, the heyday of postmodernism, but it's hard to pin down what characterizes the work that has come since. In this course, we will read a selection of American fiction from the 1980s to the present and try to get a sense of its main lines. In particular we'll look at the turn to "genre," the expansion to multicultural authors, and the return to realism. Also, we will consider how it relates to American society. Authors might include authors like Alison Bechdel, Jennifer Egan, Emily St. John Mandel, Weike Wang, and Colson Whitehead.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-318 Communicating in the Global Marketplace
- Intermittent: 9 units
Effective intercultural and global communication has become increasingly salient in today's hyper-connected world, simultaneously presenting us with challenges and rewards. A vivid thread that unspools once one begins to unravel the embroidery of intercultural and global communication in contemporaneous times is computer-mediated communication (CMC) and social media. With more than half of the world's population connected to the Internet, we are more connected than ever. But, despite how seamless the Internet may have made communication, the fact that language is rooted in culture complicates CMC, even if the language is English. The omnipresence of English leads people to assume that a common language implies a shared understanding of a given topic. But, speaking the same language does not mean we share the same cultural values, or that we even understand or are aware of other cultural values and beliefs. English may be the lingua franca in many organizations and professional settings, but the commingling of globalization and CMC raises some questions including "How can professional communicators contribute to shaping a workplace discourse that transcends national or regional borders to reach a global audience"? This course will address these questions by explaining the specific ways in which our backgrounds (from personal to social and even national) influence professional and technical communication; the impact of globalization on the workplace, especially in times of crisis; and the ways in which we can rely on general concepts and principles in order to communicate effectively in specific international settings and situations.
Prerequisites: 76-272 or 76-271 or 76-270
- 76-320 The Writer's Room: TV Writing
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will focus on writing dramatic serial television. The class will operate as a writers room. Students will develop a story document, pitch their show, and develop and write a pilot and episodes of an original television show. We will not write sci-fi, fantasy or anime. The mystery or thriller genres will be considered if the story operates within the lives of normal people doing extraordinary things, think The Americans or Homeland. During the first three weeks of the semester we will study pitch documents, pilot episode scripts and the pilot episodes from some of the most critically esteemed TV shows of the last few decades: Homeland, Nurse Jackie, Killing Eve, and The Bear. (Screenings will take place outside of class.) We will study the structure of a television script. We will study the assignments and duties of the various positions within a typical writer's room. Students will interview for staff positions with the showrunner (the instructor) and be assigned various job titles (co-executive producer, producer, supervising producer, executive story editor, story editor, writer). We will build our own show from concept to scripts. As a group we will write and edit the pilot script. Depending on class size we will break into writing teams and write and revise 3-4 more episodes of our show. The major graded project for the course will be the episodes that students write alone or in teams. If possible, we will have a public dramatic reading of an episode.
Prerequisite: 76-269
- 76-324 Topics in Rhetoric: Language and Place
- Intermittent: 9 units
TBD
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108)
Course Website: http://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/index.html
- 76-325 Intertextuality
- Intermittent: 9 units
What do we mean when we say that someone has "twisted" our words, or that our words have been "taken out of context"? Why is Martin Luther King Jr. best remembered for saying, "I have a dream," and not for saying, "War is the greatest plague that can affect humanity"? What are political "talking points" and how are they perpetuated? How does a claim (unfounded or not) become a fact? How does a fact become a myth? These are just some of the questions that we will consider. More specifically, this is a course in how meaning changes as texts created in one context and for specific purposes are repeated, cited, and used in other contexts and for other purposes, sometimes related and relevant, sometimes not. More technically, we'll be focusing on the rhetorical nature of intertextual discourse. Our goal will be to examine the ways that people of all kindsincluding politicians, journalists, and scientistsstrategically draw upon and transform the statements, arguments, and evidence of other people to promote their own viewpoints or purposes. We will begin by investigating scholarship that views language as an extended conversation in which people struggle to have their own voices heard, and other voices countered or even suppressed. Later, we will survey a number of studies that suggest how individuals and organizations recontextualize and reinterpret prior discourse for persuasive ends. More specifically, we will analyze how the micro-features of the language (for example, qualifications, evaluations, and attributions) are used to persuade audiences that certain assertions are (not) factual, that certain speakers are (not) authoritative, and that certain proposed actions are (un)desirable. Ultimately, you can conduct your own research on intertextual rhetoric on a topic of specific interest to your academic or professional goals.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-326 Contemporary Global Fiction
- Intermittent: 9 units
In this course, students will read, interpret, discuss and write about novels and short stories written in English in the past ten years by writers originally from Europe, Africa, South Asia, East Asia and the Caribbean. While these works represent the "large stories" like economic globalization, migration, and ecological change, they are crafted around the "small stories" of love, longing, friendship and family. We will talk about both kinds of narratives, tracing the entanglements of one in the other.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-327 Equity & Communication: Strategies for Institutional Change
- Spring: 9 units
Communication is always embedded in power relationships with unstated social rules that govern who is able to say what when. But communication also offers us a tool for rewriting oppressive social scripts. In this class, we will look both at inequities built into our communication and strategies for overturning these inequities. The focus will be on practical actions that you can take to improve your school, workplace, or extracurricular groups. Our readings will come from diverse sources and fields, including sociolinguistics, psychology, education, organizational communication, and writing studies. While our readings might occasionally depress (or enrage) you, the overall focus of the course will be optimistic, challenging you to imagine solutions to the problems we discuss.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-328 Introduction to Corpus Linguistics
- Intermittent: 9 units
This is a hands-on, project-based class that will help students build a methodological toolkit for computer-based textual analysis. That toolkit will include methods for the collection of data, its processing via off-the-shelf software and some simple code, as well as its analysis using a variety of statistical techniques. In doing so, the class offers students the opportunity to engage in scientifically oriented inquiry, giving priority to the use of corpus evidence to answer research questions. The first part of the term will be devoted to introducing fundamental concepts and taking a bird's eye view of the potential application of corpus methods in domains like academic writing, technical communication, and social media. From there, students will initiate projects of their own choosing and develop them over the course of the semester. The goal is to acquaint students with the strengths and limitations of computer- based textual analysis and to provide them with the necessary foundational skills to design projects, to apply appropriate quantitative methods, and to report their results clearly and ethically to a variety of audiences. This class requires neither an advanced knowledge of statistics nor any previous coding experience, just a curiosity about language and the ways in which identifying patterns in language can help us solve problems and understand our world.
- 76-329 Performing Race in Early Modern Drama
- Intermittent: 9 units
The earliest known use of the term "white" in reference to Europeans occurs in The Triumphs of Truth, a 1613 play by Shakespeare's contemporary, Thomas Middleton. In addition to suggesting an important connection between race and drama in 17th-century England, this simple historical note raises a range of questions that have a direct bearing on some of the most pressing issues of the 21st century: Where do ideas about race come from? By what processes do the distinctions of racial concepts emerge, evolve, calcify, and mutate? How does the conceptualization of race relate to media? How do racial representations bolster and conduct political power? In this course, we will broach these questions by taking a close look at the race-making function of drama in early modernity, a period when race was an inchoate, incipient concept, caught up with the emergence of colonialism, capitalism, and increasing interconnection between peoples, cultures, and worlds. As we think, read, and converse together, we will endeavor to come to terms with the problems and paradoxes of racial representation in the early modern theater, a forum that offered access to innovative, daring thinking about human equality and ethical responsibility, but was also a site for the perpetuation of hateful stereotypes and exploitative theories of white supremacy. In a wide-ranging survey of drama, historical documents, and contemporary criticism, we will work toward an understanding of how race-based concepts operated in the theater, and how the drama early of modernity continues to influence thinking about race in our own time. This course meets the Dietrich College Reflecting Gen Ed requirement.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-332 Writing about Research in Your Discipline
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course introduces the characteristics and types of writing required of students at advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate levels while building sentence-level editing skills. Topics addressed include the role of writing in the academy, the writing process including editing and revision strategies, expectations for content associated with different genres, bibliographic styles and reference management software, and an introduction to the reporting of empirical research. Students will work through modules on sentence structures associated with academic language as well as workshop their own writing projects. This course is appropriate for students considering writing a senior thesis and/or applying to graduate school.
Prerequisite: 76-101
Course Website: http://www.cmu.edu/hss/english/courses/courses.html
- 76-337 Intersectional Feminism
- Intermittent: 9 units
The concept of intersectionality first appeared in African-American feminist legal theory, but it rapidly spoke to other ideas and movements authored by other women positioned on the margins in the United States and beyond. Now widely disseminated as a feminist practice embraced by many identities, intersectional feminism acknowledges how interlocking power structures produce systematic oppression and discrimination to create distinctive gender identities in terms of such aspects as sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, religion, language (and accent), and neuro- and physical diversity. In this class, we will consider a wide variety of texts that mobilize this movement, including fiction, poetry, memoir, scholarly works, drama, popular media and films. We will consider voices from the "global south," non-Western countries that are speaking back to the economic and political centers of globalization. Pairing analysis with these texts with some examples of praxis, or political practice, we will think through and debate how critiques of power can move toward social change. Students will be encouraged to use these texts and a series of shorter writing assignments about texts to build toward a final project relevant to their own discipline. Readings might include Kimberl and #233; Crenshaw, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Roxane Gay, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Mona Eltahawy, Erika L. S and #225;nchez, Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Fatima Mernissi and Mari Matsuda, Fatima Mernissi, and Aiwah Ong.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-338 Internship Mini
- Intermittent
This course is designed to help you explore possible writing-related careers as you gain workplace experience and earn academic credit. You'll work on- or off-campus as an entry-level professional writer in a field of interest to you (public relations, journalism, advertising, magazine writing, non-profit, healthcare, etc.). You are responsible for finding an internship. Most of your class time for the course will be completed at your internship site. As the academic component of the course, you'll keep a reflective journal and meet periodically with the internship coordinator to discuss your internship and related professional issues. You must register for the course before the add/drop deadline of the semester in which you want to do your internship. Before you can register, you must contact the internship instructor listed above to express your interest in the course and to be cleared for registration. Credit for the internship course cannot be retroactively awarded for past internships.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-339 Topics in Film and Media
- Intermittent: 9 units
Topics very by semester and section. Please see course URL for more information about each section topic.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
Course Website: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lcl_SuUB9_DRCAE4L5spb2gJD27UpskfNdYQ8BMCAdM/edit?usp=sharing
- 76-341 The Age of Jane Austen
- Intermittent: 9 units
From Bridgerton (Netflix) to Sanditon (ITV), there has been a recent boom in Regency adaptations that practice "colorblind" or "color-conscious" casting while interrogating the period's gendered and racial dynamics. But how were race and gender, and their intersections, actually forged and navigated in the age of Austen? What can account for Austen's enduring appeal? Who were Austen's literary peers and influences? And who gets left out of Regency romance? This 300-level course will look at Regency-era literature in both a historical and a contemporary context. Through reading, viewing, and graded assignments including short essays and oral presentations, we will practice methods for analyzing the formal features of literary and visual texts, such as the structure of a novel, the rhythms of poetry, or the costuming of period drama. In doing so, we consider how do these texts respond to historical phenomena such as empire, the rights of women, and slavery and abolition, as well as how contemporary adaptations take up such questions. Examples of readings include Jonathan Swift's "The Lady's Dressing Room," Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Emma, and Soniah Kamal's Unmarriagable.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-342 Love: A Cultural History
- Intermittent: 9 units
This is a course about the cultural history of love. We will focus on romantic love, with an emphasis on how ideas about love have been a dynamic part of our social, political and economic world. Some of the questions to be addressed include: How, historically, did the idea of love become coupled with freedom? How did romantic love come to be considered the epitome of self-fulfillment and what are the problems with that idea? How has the idea of romantic love been mobilized on behalf of things like the state, the nation, capitalism or revolution? How do types of love function as a measure of belonging or deviance? How does the discourse of love enter different kinds of institutional arrangements, such as marriage or state citizenship? As a way to explore these questions, this course looks primarily to literature, including fiction, poetry, and drama, but also to philosophy, history, anthropology, sociology and law. Students will immerse themselves in an interdisciplinary range of material as they read, discuss and write about these representations. We will roam through cultural theory of affect, psychoanalytic notions of love, historical constructions of marriage, and feminist discussions of love and sexuality. Possible texts include works by William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Toni Morrison, Arundhati Roy and Ocean Vuong.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-343 Rise of the American Novel
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will survey American fiction from the beginning of the nation through the first half of the twentieth century. We will look at early fiction, like Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" and mid-1800s classics like Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, up to twentieth-century works like The Great Gatsby and perhaps some contemporary novels. Through the term, we will ask how the fiction represents the special character of American experience. Alongside readings, you will write several short papers and present some of your research to the class.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-345 Introduction to Document Design
- Intermittent: 3 units
TBD
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-347 Major Fiction
- Intermittent: 9 units
We read newspapers for news about our world. But we also read fictionnovels and storiesto tell us about how it feels to live in the world. Sometimes they are like our world, and sometimes very different. In this course we'll read fiction that offers realistic portraits of 19th century society, like Charles Dickens' Great Expectations or Anne Bronte's The Governess, alongside more fantastical portraits like "Rip van Winkle" or contemporary scifi. We will sample fiction from the 19th through the 21st century to trace the course of fiction from romance to realism through modernism to contemporary genre, like dypstopian masterpieces like Station Eleven or Severance. We will also consider about what they say about their culture and society.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106)
- 76-348 Adaptation: Fiction to Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
We're going to examine and explore how films and novels tell their stories. We'll look at the different literary devices novels use and how these techniques change when they are adapted for film. Novels and films will include: Brokeback Mountain, Emma, Clueless, The Virigin Suicides, Normal People, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. For the final project, students will work on their own film adaptarions.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-350 Critical Theories about Literature
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course studies the long-debated problem of how readers or spectators respond to texts (in print, performances, film, or painting) from ancient rhetoric and tragedy to contemporary mass culture.We will read in a range of critical theories, from thinkers like Aristotle, Plato, and Longinus to recent theorists in poststructuralism, gender studies, Marxism, and affect theory. How have such critics and theorists thought about the nature of the text and of representation and #8212;or the relation of authorship to reading, ideas, and affects? What techniques of analyzing literary texts have such theories stimulated? Two papers and vigorous in-class discussion will be required.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-353 Transnational Feminisms: Fiction and Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
How do controversial practices related to women become touchstones that draw women together across cultures or, conversely, push them into separate cultural and political spheres? This introductory-level course familiarizes students with the challenges transnational feminism has posed to Western notions of feminism. To explore these contestations, we will look at a series of controversies. We will read these controversies through novels, drama, short stories and films, with some secondary theoretical readings. This course will take six case studies concerning cultural practices that have generated global debates about the status of women and issues like consent, freedom, and equality. Beginning with several works about regional/Islamic practices of veiling, we will look specifically at the close connections made between womens practices and elements of tradition, including religion. With an eye toward historicizing feminist interventions, we will look at 19th century debates on sati, commonly called widow burning, in India, to see how certain issues became loci for global intervention during colonial periods and, later, for global feminist movements. Within the contemporary period, we will turn to cultural, economic and political practices like female genital cutting, transnational domestic labor, global sex trade, and transnational forced marriage. For each of these controversies, we will be reading a range of positions represented in different types of writing across genre, with a focus on literary and filmic depictions.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-354 Watchdog Journalism
- Spring: 9 units
The practice of journalism involves covering the news of the day. Investigative journalism uncovers it, digging through public records and data to expose corruption or correct social injustices. The process takes patience and persistence, as well as familiarity with right-to-know laws, to find that gold nugget of information that exposes secrets or becomes the missing piece to a larger puzzle. In this course, students will learn investigative techniques that make the powerful accountable, using government documents, financial filings and databases to spot undetected crime patterns, an unfair housing policy or perhaps questionable spending by a non-profit charity. Investigative journalism has a storied history of exposing wrongdoing and today many of the tools historically used to tell those stories are available to everyone. This course will help budding journalists, researchers and anyone else interested in addressing societal problems find those tools and learn how to use them. This course meets the Dietrich College Deciding Gen Ed requirement.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-357 (Im)Migration, Multilingualism, and Identities
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course introduces students to the linguistic and social aspects of immigration in today's global society. Immigration will be studied as a socio-political construct with an emphasis on the linguistic, socio-cultural, and political challenges and opportunities that migration creates for the individual and society. Throughout the course we will explore one key question: What challenges and opportunities do different aspects of migration posses for multilingual societies and individuals? A great deal of the course focuses on the linguistic challenges that migration creates for the individual and society, with a special emphasis on the development of bilingualism and the education of immigrant children. From a larger socio-political perspective, the course focuses on various case studies of immigrant populations throughout the world in order to obtain a better understanding of the characteristics, opportunities, and challenges faced by immigrant populations internationally.
- 76-358 Making the Documentary
- Fall: 9 units
Making The Documentary: This is a one-of-a-kind course where students working alongside an experienced film director will take part in a hands-on documentary project from concept to finished product. The course will explore the documentary filmmaking process from concept/development through to production and postproduction with the intention of completing a short documentary. The title of the doc will be, "Coffee, Capitalism and Consciousness". We will be exploring What role has coffee played in connecting people and places to capitalist markets and consumer cultures? What are the economic, social, and environmental consequences of these connections? How did espresso change from an "ethnic drink" to something served at McDonalds? Why do college students (and professors!) hang out in coffee shops? We will follow the spread of coffee and capitalism across the globe, with local interviews with how various people grow coffee (Ethiopia, Yemen, Indonesia, Brazil, and Costa Rica), and also where they drink coffee (Seattle, Tokyo, Seoul, New York, and Berlin). In the process, we will confront global problems linked to economic inequality, trade, gender relations, and environmental degradation. Students will be required to engage in concept development, researching, producing, and editing through to final distribution. Students will take part in organizing and ordering the footage, choosing screen selects, creating rough cuts, and fine cuts in order to find the heart of the documentary. Pick-up shoots, B-roll, archival material, music, and sound design will also be considered as needed.
Prerequisite: 76-292
- 76-362 Reading in Forms: Nonfiction
- Intermittent: 9 units
In this reading-intensive course we will analyze and discuss different types of narrative structure, narrative suspense, voice, metaphor, and point of view that make for effective non-fiction writing. We will also examine the difference between good writers and good work, the functions of objective distance from and intimate investment in a subject, as well as the philosophical questions spurred by non-fiction writing. What is the non-fiction writer's role, and how does it differ from that of the fiction writer? Where do the two genres overlap? What gives non-fiction writing integrity? What does the term "creative non-fiction" mean? How have the form and aims of non-fiction writing - from memoir to essays to long-form journalism - evolved for better and for worse? We'll be reading a selection of essays from a variety of writers, as well as full works from a few writers considered masters of the form.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-363 Reading in Forms: Poetry
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
Adrienne Rich famously declared, "Poetry is political." In this course, we will examine not just the way politics can find its way into poetry but also how poetry itself can be used as a powerful tool to confront dominant political ideology. We'll examine the history of poetry as a means for political protest and a challenge to established power through the areas of documentary poetics, occasional poems, spoken word, published books, and multimedia poetics, including video poems and online projects. We'll also read short essays that explore the relationship between art and political messaging, attend several events outside of the classroom, and do in-class writing exercises. In addition to a handful of shorter assignments, students will have the option to complete a final creative piece or to write a final essay for the class.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-364 Reading in Forms: Fiction
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
What does it mean to feel at home? In this course, we will read and discuss fiction, memoir, and other creative work that centers on the search for home. We'll expand the idea of home to include not only the desire for comfort in a particular place, but also for a feeling of home in one's body, family, or culture. Expect to read nine or ten books, to write a response paper for each class, and to do one in-class presentation, in which you will lead the discussion. Active participation in discussions is a major part of your course work.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-365 Beginning Poetry Workshop
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
In this workshop, we'll explore the building blocks of poetry, as participants develop their eye and ear as poetry readers, and practice different poetic techniques in their writing. Students will read the work of contemporary poets, attend poetry readings, respond to writing prompts, and read and respond to each other's work. Through our reading, discussions, and creative exercises, we'll examine the role of line, line break, shape, sound, silence, rhythm and form in poetry, with an eye toward how craft choices communicate on the page and how they reflect the world of the poet.
Prerequisites: (76-108 or 76-107 or 76-106 or 76-101 or 76-102) and 76-265 Min. grade B
- 76-367 Fact Into Film: Translating History into Cinema
- Intermittent: 9 units
From the very beginning, film has provided a window into the past. But how useful are the images we see through that window? For every person who reads a work of history, thousands will see a film on the same subject. But who will learn more? Can written history and filmed history perform the same tasks? Should we expect them to do so? How are these two historical forms related? How can they complement each other? This course will draw examples from across the history of film in order to examine how the medium of film impacts our understanding of facts and events, the ways that film transfers those facts to the screen, and how that process affects the creation of historical discourse. Films may include such titles as The Fall of the Roman Empire, The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Saving Private Ryan, World Trade Center, Enemy at the Gates, Lagaan and Hero.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-368 Role Playing Game Writing Workshop
- Fall: 12 units
Role playing games (RPGs) are a vibrant and viable popular medium for interactive storytelling. This workshop builds upon dramatic theory DNA existing in plays, TV and film. Gameplay is performance. The skills developed when creating any time-bound media transfer well to games but must be seen through a different lens - the lens of the player. To do so, we first examine and dissect both RPG story and game design (using pencil and paper examples) seeking an understanding of both game systems as well as narrative best practices. In class we focus our examination on the most popular existing intellectual property (The Lord of the Rings). Students who desire admittance to this class should be at least somewhat familiar with that world to succeed in the class. Each student works on a four-person team to create an original RPG campaign-style adventure for an already existing story world. The final product is a portfolio-quality set of dramatic scenes, epic tabletop encounters, and character sketches. This is not an RPG design course. Any level of writing experience is welcome, BUT experience playing RPGs and #8212; either tabletop or video game and #8212; is a must. Experience as a GM for an RPG is a big plus, and applicants who possess such experience should be sure to let the instructor know in advance.
Prerequisites: 76-269 Min. grade C or 76-260 Min. grade C
- 76-370 Independent Study in Literary and Cultural Studies
- All Semesters
An Independent Study course is a course taken with faculty supervision that goes beyond the courses offered in a particular area of interest. It should not duplicate a course offered in the regular schedule of classes. A student wishing to take an independent study needs to locate a faculty member whose research interests are close to the area of proposed study and meet with the faculty member to discuss whether it is something the faculty member is interested in doing. The department requires that the student and instructor submit a written contract (available in the English Department) detailing the expectations (description of course of study, readings, how often the student/faculty member will meet) and requirements for the completed independent study project (number and amp; length of papers) and a time-line for completion of the work. You should think of this as developing the equivalent of a detailed course syllabus/schedule, and typically involves development of a bibliography of readings.
- 76-372 News Writing
- Fall: 9 units
In this course, we will study and learn the fundamental skills of journalistic writing as well as discuss topics related to how different media outlets cover news. On the writing side, we will start with the basics - the importance of accuracy, clarity and fairness, writing for audience, striving for objectivity, judging newsworthiness, meeting deadlines. The core class work (and most of your grade) will be based on seven writing assignments due approximately every two weeks throughout the semester. Expect to do some writing each class period. We will learn how to write a story lead, how to structure a story and how to write different kinds of news stories, from crime news to features to editorials and commentary. We also will learn how to research a news story, conduct an interview and sort through mountains of information to discern what's important so we can write about it in a clear, concise manner.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-373 Argument
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
This course introduces the fundamentals of argumentation theory and offers guided practice in analyzing and producing arguments. Through analysis, we will learn what an argument is, how to identify one, and what the names and functions of a variety of argument features are. We will also explore the production of argument by pursuing the questions: What are my argumentative goals? How do I build a theory of my audience? What means of persuasion are available for me to achieve my goals? And how should I order the contents of my argument? To answer these questions, we will explore argument in a variety of genres including visuals, op-eds, presidential speeches, and congressional testimonies.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-374 Mediated Narrative
- Spring: 9 units
Futuristic Explorations and gt; Artificial Intelligence The Mediated Narrative: Futuristic Explorations course aims to explore the idea of the future, analyze its representations, and create a media project based on potential areas of human progress and evolution. Students will have to recreate and represent their own visions of the future through a media project. Essential to the research and development of the class are the concepts of humanity and empathy within socio-technical transformations in the world. Ideas such as: reality ahead of schedule; high tech, low life; neon and corporate dystopias; cyberpunk; post-humanism; sustainability; etc, will be analyzed and discussed. Concepts of civilization, the cityscape, the individual, the body and the mind will be examined as we see technology and society evolve. During the 2025 spring semester we will be focusing on the impact and development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on individuals and society. The idea is to map traditional futuristic themes and to find new ways to represent them based on the needs and contradictions of our present reality. We are offering the opportunity to travel into the future, build it, and represent it in creative and critical ways.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-376 Crafting Race in 19th-Century Britain
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course explores how the idea of race was developed, deployed, and reinforced through nineteenth-century British culture, from novels to museums to ballet. Students investigate how literature and art produced and replicated arguments about race that justified or fought against oppression. Alongside literary texts, students will also work with advertisements, paintings, filmic adaptation, and theatrical practice. We take an intersectional approach, thinking not only about race, but also the connections between gender, class, sexuality, and disability. What are the roots of problems we think of as modern, like whitewashing in media? How has racial thinking been passed down through time and across oceans? Ultimately, our investigation aims to provide insight to modern issues of race through a better understanding of cultural history. Note: we will have one field trip during class time (Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History)
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-380 Methods in Humanities Analytics
- Spring: 9 units
The computer-aided analysis of text has become increasingly important to a variety of fields and the humanities is no exception, whether in the form of corpus linguistics, stylometrics, "distant reading," or the digital humanities. In this course, we will build a methodological toolkit for computer-aided textual analysis. That toolkit will include methods for the collection data, its processing via off-the-shelf software and some simple code, as well as its analysis using a variety of statistical techniques. In doing so, the class offers students in the humanities the opportunity to put their expertise in qualitative analysis into conversation with more quantitative approaches, and those from more technically-oriented fields the opportunity to gain experience with the possibilities and pitfalls of working with language. The first part of the term will be devoted to introducing fundamental concepts and taking a bird's eye view of their potential application in domains like academic writing, technical communication, and social media. From there, students will initiate projects of their own choosing and develop them over the course of the semester. The goal is to acquaint students with the strengths and limitations of computer-aided textual analysis and to provide them with the necessary foundational skills to design projects, to apply appropriate quantitative methods, and to report their results clearly and ethically to a variety of audiences. This class requires neither an advanced knowledge of statistics nor any previous coding experience, just a curiosity about language and the ways in which identifying patterns in language can help us solve problems and understand our world.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-384 Race, Nation, and the Enemy
- Intermittent: 9 units
Conflicts over racial and national identity have long shaped American public discourse, from debates about immigration, naturalization, and birthright citizenship to struggles over racial disparities in civil rights. This course examines the discursive practices through which racial and national identities are often negatively constructed, with a focus on how public discourse frames enemies, national threats, and sacrifices made in the name of the nation to shape and mobilize political constituencies. By analyzing key moments in the history of American public discourse—including discourse regarding wars, immigration policy, racial segregation, civil rights movements, and the criminal prosecution of dissidents during crises—we'll explore how racial and national identity discourse has been pervasively shaped by demagoguery, or blaming societal problems on outside groups. Through primary sources and theoretical readings, students will engage with multiple disciplinary perspectives on identity formation. Assignments include regular responses to readings, a rhetorical analysis paper, and a longer research paper, offering students the tools to critically evaluate and contribute to discussions on race, nationality, and conflict in public discourse.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-385 Introduction to Discourse Analysis
- Intermittent: 9 units
"Discourse" is language: people talking or signing or writing. Discourse analysts ask and answer a variety of questions about how and why people do the things they do with language. We study the structure of written texts the semi-conscious rules people use to organize paragraphs, for example as well as the unconscious rules that organize oral discourse such as spontaneous stories and arguments. We study how people signal their intended audience-interpretations of what they say as foreground or background information, a casual remark or solemn promise, more of the same or change of topic. We look at how grammar is influenced by what people need to do with language, and how discourse affects grammar over time. We ask how children and other language learners learn how to make things happen with talk and writing. We ask how people learn what language is for, from exchanging information to writing poetry to perpetuating systems of belief. We analyze the choices speakers and writers make that show how they see themselves and how they relate to others. (Choices about how to address other people, for example, both create and reflect relationships of power and solidarity). We study how people define social processes like disease, aging, and disability as they talk about them, and how language is used to mirror and establish social relations in institutional settings like law courts and schools as well as in families and among friends. This course touches on a selection of these topics and gives students practice in analyzing the complex nuances of language. The course is meant for anyone whose future work is likely to involve critical and/or productive work with language: writers and other communication designers, critics who work with written or spoken texts, historians, actors, sociologists, and so on.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-386 Language & Culture
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is an introduction into the scholarship surrounding the nature of language and the question of how language shapes and is shaped by social, cultural and political contexts. We will begin by studying important literature in linguistics and language theory, both to introduce us to how scholars think about language and to give us a shared vocabulary to use for the rest of the semester. We will then move into case studies and theoretical works exploring the intersections of language use, individual and group identities, and the exercise of power, in its many forms. In particular, we will focus on the relationship between language and culture by asking, in what ways does language influence and constitute social change? How is social change reflected by changes in the way we use language? Over the course of the semester, you will work on applying the knowledge and theoretical tools you gain to your own analysis of a linguistic artifact that you choose.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-387 Writing in the Disciplines
- Intermittent: 6 units
This mini will introduce you to the theory and practice of writing instruction in contexts outside of English studies. We will learn about the distinction between Writing across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines and challenges to providing integrated, high quality writing instruction across the university. We will explore the implications of the wide variety of forms of academic writing for instruction in English classrooms, including high school and first-year writing classrooms. Assessments will include reading responses and a final paper reviewing research on writing in a specific writing context of your choosing. Students enrolled in the course for six units will be expected to do additional readings and give an oral presentation. Please note that in terms of time commitment, a 3-unit mini will require approximately six hours per week (three hours homework and three hours class meetings) and a 6-unit mini will require twelve hours per week.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-388 Coding for Humanists
- Fall: 9 units
This course provides students with the foundational knowledge and skills to develop and/or utilize computer-aided research tools for text analysis. Through a series of hands-on coding exercises, students will explore computation as a means to engage in new questions and expand their thinking about textual artifacts. This course is designed for students with no, or very little, coding experience. So, if you have already taken a programming course, this course is most likely not for you. Students who have taken 15-110 and/or 15-112 may not take this course. For the final project, you will develop a small research project involving a computational analysis of a corpus of texts. You will plan, design, and write a computer program that processes and analyzes a textual corpus of your choice. Students who are taking the course for 9-unit will write a brief project report (3-5 pages) that summarizes your final project. Graduate students in the MA in Rhetoric/PhD programs must register for 12-unit, and will complete a research paper (4,000-5,000 word).
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-389 Rhetorical Grammar
- Fall: 9 units
This is a course in fundamental grammatical structures of English and how these structures fit into the writer's toolkit. This means you will learn a lot about English-language grammar in this course en route to understanding a lot about English language writing. This course is designed for MA students in professional writing and undergraduates who want to improve their grammar, their writing, and their depth of understanding of how improvement in grammar impacts improvement in writing.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-390 Style
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
This course teaches you how to write clearly. Specifically, the principles you learn in this course will help you 1) to clearly represent actions and the characters responsible for them; 2) to make your paragraphs coherent and cohesive; 3) to write sentences that stress important information; 4) to cut unnecessary prose; and 5) to reshape lengthy sentences so as not to perplex your reader.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-391 Document & Information Design
- Fall: 9 units
This course provides students who have already learned the foundation of written communication with an opportunity to develop the ability to analyze and create visual-verbal synergy in printed documents. Students will be introduced to the basic concepts and vocabulary, as well as the practical issues of visual communication design through a series of hands-on projects in various rhetorical situations. Assigned readings will complement the projects in exploring document design from historical, theoretical, and technological perspectives. Class discussions and critiquing are an essential part of this course. Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator will be taught in class, and used to create the assigned projects.
Prerequisites: 76-390 or 76-271 or 76-270
- 76-392 Special Topics in Literature & Culture
- Intermittent: 9 units
Topics vary by section and semester. See course URL for more information.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
Course Website: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lcl_SuUB9_DRCAE4L5spb2gJD27UpskfNdYQ8BMCAdM/edit?usp=sharing
- 76-394 The Video Essay: Theory & Practice
- Intermittent: 9 units
Video essays—widely seen on YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms—have rapidly become a major form of media criticism and commentary; some even argue they're surpassing traditional prose criticism in cultural status and influence. This class explores the theory and practice of video essays as a mode of scholarly inquiry into film and media. We will study the roots of academic video essays—in, for instance, documentaries, found-footage experiments, video art, and the "essay film"—as well as debates on the role of video essays in film and media research and education. But our primary focus will be to develop a creative research practice by making video essays in a variety of emerging genres (e.g. supercut, epigraph, desktop documentary, deformative experiments). Students will take part in various forms of collaboration (e.g. workshops, joint projects) and will leave the course with a portfolio of work that includes a potentially publishable capstone video essay. If scheduling allows, we will welcome one or more award-winning video essayists for a masterclass and/or workshop. No experience with video editing is necessary to enroll in the course. Prereq: 76239 or by instructor permission
Prerequisite: 76-239
- 76-395 Science Writing
- Spring: 9 units
You'll learn how to write clear, well-organized, compelling articles about science, technology and health topics for a general audience. You'll learn how to carry out research on scientific topics using primary and secondary sources, how to conduct interviews, and how to organize that information in a logical fashion for presentation. For writing majors, the course will increase their understanding of scientific research and how to describe it accurately and in a compelling manner to a general audience. For science majors, this course will teach them how to craft fluid, powerful prose so that they can bring their disciplines to life. The course is not intended just for those who want to become science writers, but for anyone who may have the need to explain science, medicine, or technology to a general audience, whether it is an engineer describing a green building project at a public hearing or a computer programmer describing new software to a firm's marketing staff. Scientists and educators today are increasingly concerned about the public's lack of understanding about scientific principles and practices, and this course is one step toward remedying that deficit. You will get a chance to read several examples of high-quality science writing and interview researchers, but the primary emphasis will be on writing a series of articles, and rewriting them after they've been edited. Your assignments will range from profiles of scientists to explanations of how something works. In particular, this year's class will focus on how science and society interact, whether that means the way that science writers write about public health, technology, infectious disease or climate change. The class will be run partly as a writing workshop where students will be organized in teams where they will discuss ideas, as well as edit and critique each other's work in class, in a process similar to what journalists routinely go through.
Prerequisites: (76-101 or 76-106 or 76-102 or 76-107 or 76-108) and (76-372 or 76-270 or 76-271)
- 76-401 Hollywood vs. the World
- Intermittent: 9 units
For almost a century the American film industry has dominated popular media worldwide. Anywhere in the world, American stars, American films, and American modes of storytelling are never far away. Why and how was that dominance achieved, and how have other cultures and industries challenged it? Film and television account for billions of dollars of U.S. exports and provide one of the key sources of global "soft power" and cultural influence. Understanding how that dominance works is therefore crucial to the question of America's economic, political and cultural place in the world. This course will examine ways in which other national cinemas have fought, or are currently fighting, against the hegemony of American popular film culture, and the ways in which the American film industry has maintained its dominant position in world markets for nearly a century.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-407 Topics in Literary & Cultural Studies
- Intermittent: 9 units
Topics vary by semester.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-410 The Long Eighteenth Century
- Intermittent: 9 units
Angela Davis wrote that "freedom is a constant struggle": how do the freedom struggles of the long eighteenth century continue into the present? How were "modern" categories of race and gender forged and navigated in the long eighteenth century? In this course, we will study literature and culture between roughly 1660 and 1820, an era in which historical phenomena such as European empires, the Rights of Woman, and slavery and abolition coincided with changes in print and media culture to produce profound cultural changes that are still with us. Through reading, discussion, and graded assignments including short essays and oral presentations, we will examine the interanimating relationship of literature and history in moments of crisis. Examples of primary readings include Aphra Behn's Ooronoko, selections from Milton's Paradise Lost, Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, Mary Prince's The History of Mary Prince, and William Wordsworth's "To Toussaint L'Ouverture." Secondary readings will draw from a variety of critical traditions such as post- and de-colonial studies, Black studies, post-structuralism, and material culture studies.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-414 Decolonial Imaginaries
- Intermittent: 9 units
The strategy of decoloniality looks to undo the lingering effects of power's expression in empire, colonization and slavery. While this project of undoing has taken political and philosophical forms, cultural production has played a central role in retrieving hidden histories and reimagining possible futures. This course connects theories of decoloniality with works of literature, primarily, as well as some film and visual art that engage in such new imaginaries. The course will be organized in three units: the African diaspora, the postcolonial/global south, and critical refugee/border studies.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106)
- 76-415 Mediated Power and Propaganda
- Intermittent: 9 units
For most of us, the word "propaganda" triggers a familiar script. We tend to think of totalitarian regimes where the State controls information and prohibits the expression of dissenting views. We also tend to associate propaganda with certain rhetorical techniques - highly emotional words, deceptive representations, and glittering generalities that inhibit rational thought and manipulate public opinion. According to such popular views, propaganda is linked to the dissemination of false information and is antithetical to the norms of democratic society. Our class will challenge these assumptions. First, instead of confining propaganda to authoritarian governments, we will examine how propaganda functions within democratic society. Indeed, we will focus on domestic propaganda in America, especially political propaganda but also propaganda in advertising and public relations. Next, instead of focusing exclusively on deceptive rhetorical techniques, we will ask a more elemental question: What enables propaganda to circulate? Answering this question will force us to consider the routines and values of corporate media as well as the power relations that give some people special access to channels of mass communication. Certainly, we will also examine propaganda messages themselves, attending to manipulative tactics as well as rhetorical strategies used to induce uptake in the mainstream press. We begin our seminar by studying key theories of propaganda, looking at primary texts for various definitions and criticisms of the concept. We will then examine how powerful institutions, especially media organizations, manage the dissemination of propaganda in democracies. Finally, we will consider how to analyze propaganda, generating methodological prerequisites for scholarly study. Ultimately, students will have the opportunity to conduct their own research on propaganda as it relates to their academic and professional goals.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-416 Rhetorics of Race & Empire
- Intermittent: 9 units
The construction and enforcement of racial hierarchies has been a central phenomenon in empire-building around the world. This class takes as its main focus the relationship between imperialism and race, especially in, but not limited to, the United States. How has the U.S. justified imperial expansion around the world-military, economic, and cultural? How have its actions triggered the movements and migrations of populations, and how have those movements and displacements been explained? What cultural shifts around racial meanings have occurred, here and abroad, as a result of U.S. imperialism? How has the role of the U.S. in relation to the rest of the world, particularly peripheries and the global South, been narrated? We will take a special interest in the role of language in constructing and perpetuating racial meanings in the context of empire, and in the everyday communicative practices that both shape and have been shaped by imperial impulses. Students will learn to think critically about the presence of such discourses in everyday life, and produce a final paper or project analyzing a narrative of their own choosing in which race and empire intersect.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-423 Transnational Feminisms
- Intermittent: 9 units
How do controversial practices related to women become touchstones that draw women together across cultures or, conversely, push them into separate cultural and political spheres? This course introduces the challenges transnational feminism has posed to Western notions of feminism. To explore these contestations, we will look at a series of controversies that have generated global debates about the status of women and issues like consent, freedom, and equality. We will look specifically at the close connections made between women's practices and elements of tradition, including religion. We will be reading a range of positions represented in different types of writing across genre, including scholarly writing, legal cases, media debates, films and literature.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-424 Theories of Social Class
- Spring: 9 units
How do we define social class? And how do we define popular culture? And what is the relationship between the two? In this class we'll try to answer these questions by looking at the history of class identity in the US, the rise of staggering inequality in the 21st century, and what Newman calls the "labor theory of culture," juxtaposed against the "commodity theory of culture." Texts for the course will include: White Trash: The 400 Year Untold History of Class in America, Robert Reich's documentary Inequality for All, the Oscar winning film Parasite, Netflix's TV series The Maid as well as readings from Marx/Marxist influenced cultural theory.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-425 Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere
- Intermittent: 9 units
Ever since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century, there has been a growing presence for science and technology in the lives of everyday citizens. In some cases, these phenomena have sparked the public's imagination and their promise has stirred their confidence in a better future. In other cases, they have kindled fears and generated protests over the risks of new technologies and the threats of novel scientific ideas to prevailing social, cultural, economic, and political orders. This course examines the complex dynamics in the relationships between science, technology, and society by exploring modern public debates in which science, technology, and society play a primary role such as the AIDS crisis, global warming, nuclear power, and the debates over vaccine safety. With the help of analytical theories from sociology, rhetoric, and public policy, we will develop a general framework for thinking about argument and the dynamics of the relationship between science, technology and the public. In addition, we will look to these fields for tools to assess specific instances of public debate and to complicate and/or affirm the prevailing theories about their relationship.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-427 Topics in Rhetoric: Audience
- Intermittent: 9 units
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the nature and evolution of contemporary audiences and how they can be contextualized to cover audiences as both - consumers of knowledge and information products, as well as co-producers. This course traces the history of audiences by juxtaposing understandings from rhetoric, composition studies, media scholarship, social interactions, technical communication genres, focusing especially on emerging technologies like AI. Students in this class will learn to use several sources of data and information to analyze the audience/tasks/contexts for the design and development of information products, assess its effectiveness through user experience research, and reflect on ethical research practices for doing the same. The course provides in depth coverage of rhetoric as a historically rooted but evolving humanistic perspective covering circulation and (re-)production, performance and text, and delineating its connections to logic, aesthetics, politics, and ethics. This class does not require any background in rhetoric, digital studies, or multimodal composing.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-429 Introduction to Digital Humanities
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course is a "learn by doing" introduction to questions and methods in digital humanities, with special emphases on common tasks in digital history, digital literary studies, library science, and cultural analytics. Students will likely partner with a national humanities organization to tackle real-world humanities problems while developing core computational competencies such as those required for gathering data (text mining, APIs), transforming data (OCR, regular expressions, natural language processing, image magick), file management (shell commands), data visualization (matplotlib, arcGIS), and more. This course is for juniors and seniors.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-431 Gender Play in Early Modern Drama
- Intermittent: 9 units
The playhouses of early modern London offered access to an astonishing spectacle that would be difficult to find anywhere else in the city: men dressed as women, skillfully reproducing (but also exposing, interrogating, and refining) the significations that structure concepts of gender difference. In addition to this fundamental condition of performance and theatrical experience, the plots of the plays themselves regularly engaged with issues pertaining to gender and sexuality, an interest that runs through the raunchy satires performed by companies of adolescent boys, the innumerable comedies of cross-dressing and mistaken identity, and the equally numerous tragedies centered on problems of inequality and imbalances of power. This course will consider a wide range of drama from the period alongside a selection of readings in sexuality and gender theory, thus bringing early modern dramatists such as William Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton into conversation with contemporary thinkers such as Judith Butler and Sarah Ahmed. The body of core texts will include Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, The Roaring Girl, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tamer Tamed, The Island Princess, The Witch of Edmonton, The Silent Woman, Women Beware Women, and Galatea. Please note: First-year students are prohibited from registering for this course. Sophomore students must obtain instructor permission.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108)
- 76-434 Literature & Social Change in the 19th Century
- Intermittent: 9 units
From the French Revolution to the Victorian era, literature began to play an explosive role in the forces of political transition and the struggle for social justice. This course studies novels, poetry and prose in relation to both political and industrial revolutions during the rise of empire and capitalism and the road to climate change. We will study apocalyptic novels like Mary Shelley's The Last Man and novels of empire like Jane Eyre and its retelling in Wide Sargasso Sea; poetry about living in revolutionary times by Wordsworth and Phillis Wheatley Peters; and anti-slavery writing such as Ottobah Cugoano's "Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery." Secondary readings for graduate students will draw from a variety of critical traditions such as critical race studies, environmental studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-439 Seminar in Film and Media Studies
- Intermittent: 9 units
Topics vary by semester. Fall 2025: Novelistic Television: In this course we will look at television series defined by narrative complexity developed over the course of a season and beyond. We will watch whole seasons of such shows as The Sopranos, Mad Men, The Wire, and Slings and Arrows, which bear greater similarity to the novel than to traditional, episodic TV. We will trace the development of the novelistic form of television from the first wave of "quality television" series in the 1990s, in which HBO changed the way people conceived of the artistic possibilities of the medium, through the 2000s, when The Wire and Mad Men fully exploited the new form, and finally into the streaming era, when it has become common but less innovative. We will read media history and theory, and narrative theory to develop an understanding how and why the new form emerged. We will endeavor to understand these shows as expressions of and commentaries on the social and political conditions under which they were produced. We may read a novel or two for purposes formal comparison, and we will watch some episodes of more traditional TV series. Likely theorists include Raymond Williams, Linda Williams, Jason Mittell, Pierre Bourdieu, and Fredric Jameson.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-440 Postcolonial Theory: Diaspora and Transnationalism
- Intermittent: 9 units
Arjun Appadurai argues that one of the primary transformations in this period of globalization has been in the capacity for people to imagine themselves or their children will live and work in places other than where they were born. Although the novel has long been considered a national form, contemporary novels frequently represent transnational mobility, both in their plots and as global commodities. A significant body of contemporary fiction focuses on imaginative and physical movement across national borders. This global literature course combines literary and theoretical readings to examine the experiences of transnationalism and diaspora. Theories of transnationalism look at the interconnections that cut across nations. The concept of diaspora, a term first used to reference the movement of a people out of a homeland, has become a way to think about the identities of immigrants, migrant workers, and refugees. Readings for the course will be drawn from a diverse group of writers from around the globe. Literary readings might include works by Caryl Phillips, Jamaica Kincaid, Christina Garcia, Nadeem Aslam and Jhumpa Lahiri; theoretical readings might include works by Salman Rushdie, Paul Gilroy, Gloria Anzaldúa, Arjun Appadurai, Inderpal Grewal and Avtar Brah.
- 76-442 Black Lives in Pre-1900 Britain
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course engages with Black voices writing from, to, about, and against Pre-Modern Britain, from abolitionists to actors to royalty. We explore topics including racial philosophy, the transatlantic slave trade, revolution, abolition, imperialism, and popular culture, from both contemporary and modern sources. Our texts and conversations trace how the lives and experiences of individuals like Ignatius Sancho, Sarah Baartman, Ira Aldridge, and Alemayehu Tewodros presage those of a modern global Black diaspora. In this course, we will Identify how race and anti-blackness are crafted, and historically (and contemporaneously) affect both individuals and society, using theories like critical fabulation and evidence, including primary and secondary sources, to approach the historical experiences of a global Black diaspora, ethically and through multiple lenses. Students will compare and contrast methods of inquiry from multiple disciplines, including history, literary studies, performance studies, art history, and political science. We explore not only Black history and stories, but also how they might be told and the lessons about history and race that we might take away from our critical engagement with both.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-445 Milton
- Intermittent: 9 units
Although censored and reviled by many in his own day, John Milton (1608-1674), author of Paradise Lost among other powerful anti-monarchical writings of the English Revolution, has influenced writers as varied as William Blake, Mary Shelley, Thomas Jefferson, Friedrich Engels, C.S. Lewis, Malcolm X, and Philip Pullman. This course will investigate what has made Milton a writer at once so much imitated and beloved by his admirers and loathed and denigrated by detractors. The bulk of this course will center on a careful, challenging, and chronological reading of Milton's works, primarily Paradise Lost but also his great shorter poems including Lycidas, Paradise Regain'd, and Samson Agonistes, and selections of his voluminous prose (Areopagitica, Of Education, Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, Readie and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth). Studying Milton's development as a poet, controversialist, and pamphleteer, students will examine Milton's contexts (chiefly, literary, political, and theological) in order gain further insights into the complex relations between Milton's 17th-century world and his major poems and prose. Please note: Freshmen are prohibited from registering for this course. Sophomores must obtain instructor permission.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-446 Revenge Tragedy
- Intermittent: 9 units
Attendants to the early modern English theater seem to have had an almost insatiable appetite for revenge tragedy: a lurid, blood-soaked genre distinguished by plots involving insanity, skulls, ghosts, poisonings, stabbings, suicide, and other forms of unnatural death. This course will cover key examples of the genre, putting particular emphasis on the depiction and interrogation of justice, analyses of death, and playful engagement with theatricality. Our central curriculum will include the following plays: Thyestes (Seneca), The Spanish Tragedy (Kyd), Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare), Hamlet (Shakespeare), The Revenger's Tragedy (Middleton), and The Duchess of Malfi (Webster). We will also read a selection of critical essays and related literature from the period.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-107 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-106)
- 76-447 Public Humanities Workshop
- Intermittent: 9 units
NOTE: This is not a creative writing workshop. This course is not available to first-year and sophomore students. In this course students will be introduced to the history and theory behind the public humanities, as well as discussing the current state of public writing for scholars. The class will be centered on introducing practical methods and strategies for translating academic research into writing intended for a wide readership. Individual units will focus on pitching and collaborating with editors, writing quickly about current events as they intersect with your research interests, transforming academic research into longform narrative journalism, and preparing trade book proposals.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-448 Shakespeare on Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
The dramatic works of William Shakespeare have inspired an extraordinarily rich and varied cinematic legacy that began in the era of silent films and now boasts masterpieces by directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Roman Polanski, Peter Greenaway, and Orson Welles, not to mention history-making performances by icons including Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Olivier, Al Pacino, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ian McKellen (among many others). This course will consider a selection of key Shakespeare films alongside critical readings centered on questions of adaptation and performance. As we watch and read together, we will work toward a broader understanding of what Shakespearean drama means in a 21st century context, and how film has helped to shape the author's massive cultural impact.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-450 Law, Culture, and the Humanities
- Intermittent: 9 units
"I'm not a lawyer, but..." How many times have you heard this disclaimer, closely followed by a lay analysis of law? This course, an introduction to the cultural study of law for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students, can be seen as an introduction to what goes into the making of such a statement. Where do we get our ideas about law? What do we mean when we say "law"? What counts as law? How does culture influence law, and law, culture? And to what degree should historical context condition any answers we might be tempted to give? Students in the course will study works in a range of genres (novels, plays, poems, judicial opinions, pamphlets) and develop methods for investigating ways that law and culture have been made by one another from the 16th-century to the present. Readings will include influential theoretical accounts of law (Aristotle, Hobbes, Cover, Habermas, Bordieu, MacKinnon, Alexander), canonical texts in Law and Literature (Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, Melville's Billy Budd, Kafka's The Trial) and some "weird fiction" by the novelist/legal theorist China Mi and #233;ville. As a counterpoint to the fiercely anti-historical "law and economics" movement, however, the course will put special emphasis on rooting intersections of law and culture in rich historical context, considering both local and international legal contexts (sometimes in fairly technical detail) alongside so-called "ephemera" of culture. Students will tackle the especially fruitful "case" of Renaissance Britain before developing final research projects, whether on the Renaissance or another period of their choosing.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-454 Rise of the Blockbuster
- Intermittent: 9 units
The term "blockbuster" has been a part of the American film industry for over sixty years, but, like "pornography," it's extremely difficult to define from a critical standpoint. For most of the viewing public the "we know it when we see it" definition seems to suffice. In an academic sense, however, such vagueness is problematic. This course will explore the idea of the "blockbuster" over time and across cultural boundaries. What is the origin of the concept? What is the structural impact of the "blockbuster" on the film industry? How does the meaning of the term change from genre to genre? Is it a genre in and of itself? How does a "blockbuster" reinforce our cultural conceptions? How might the concept change in the future? What does all of this tell us about ourselves? This course will draw examples from across the history of film in order to develop a holistic understanding of what the term might encompass from a variety of perspectives. By thoroughly discussing a wide selection of texts we will be able to better understand the ways in which the "blockbuster" has influenced the film industry, how the concept has both manifested itself and changed over time, and how it has shaped our cultural perspectives. Please note: Freshmen are prohibited from registering for this course. Sophomores must obtain instructor permission.
Prerequisite: 76-101
- 76-456 Independent Study in Film & Media Studies
- All Semesters
TBA
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-460 Beginning Fiction Workshop
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
In this writing-intensive workshop students will be laser-focused on producing and polishing their own fiction. We'll complement our workshops with readings from masters of short fiction and novels, with an eye on sharpening our own facility with dialogue, structure, and voice. Each student must be prepared to constructively critique and deconstruct her/his peers' work, as well as actively contribute to class discussions about the elements of craft that undergird successful works of fiction. Each student will be expected to produce a portfolio of original writing (short exercises originating from thematic prompts and a substantial story) by the end of the semester.
Prerequisite: 76-260 Min. grade B
- 76-461 Refugee Stories: Literature, Art and Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
Contemporary literary, film and other visual culture have reimagined the experiences of transnational migration and asylum claims. These global works focus on recent and ongoing wars, state regulations, borders, detainment, and transnational labor. In this discussion-based, interdisciplinary course, students will study Anglophone and some translated global literature, documentary and feature film and photojournalism, art installations, and digital activist projects. We will ground our analysis using theoretical insight from Critical Refugee Studies, Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies. We will encounter a wide range of forms, aesthetics and themes that represent these experiences, including unexpected elements like humor, romance and horror. Possible readings might include Dina Nayeri, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Thi Bui, Isabel Allende, Valerie Luiselli, Mohsin Hamid, and Shailja Patel; art by Ai Weiwei, Marc Quinn, Christoph B and #252;chel, Banksy, Mona Hatoum and Reza (Deghati); and films/television by Remi Weekes, Sally El Hosaini, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Mohammed (Mo) Amer.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-462 Advanced Fiction Workshop
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
This course will give you experience reading and writing in two genres: fiction and creative nonfiction. The course is discussion based, and several classes per month will be devoted to generative, in-class writing exercises, which students will then work on as drafts to revise. Readings will include novels, stories, essays, and short journalistic pieces. Attendance and participation is mandatory. If you're interested in delving more deeply into the craft and art of these prose genres, and willing to put the time in to develop your own writing, this is a good class for you. I stress that a classroom is a community, and emphasis will be on establishing real connection between students. We will see how writing can help create and build on these connections between people, and serve as a tool for healing during a particularly rough time in our culture.
Prerequisites: (76-260 Min. grade B and 76-460 Min. grade B) or (76-261 Min. grade B and 76-460 Min. grade B)
- 76-464 Creative Nonfiction Workshop
- Intermittent: 9 units
Narrative Medicine looks at the intersection of writing and healing. How does narrative help heal the mind, and how are the mind and body inextricably linked? The couse will introduce you to several books and essays centered around the theme of wellness and illness and #8212;- and how these modes of being are represented and shaped by culture. You will write your own personal essays on these topics along with a final research paper. A great class for anyone interested in the power of story-telling in our own lives.
Prerequisites: 76-265 Min. grade B or 76-460 Min. grade B or 76-261 Min. grade B or 76-260 Min. grade B or 76-262 Min. grade B or 76-365 Min. grade B
- 76-465 Advanced Poetry Workshop
- Fall and Spring: 9 units
In this workshop, we'll investigate what's possible in poetry, as participants examine their relationship to the poetic practice both as readers and as writers. Through writing exercises, discussion, and readings, we will explore the diverse landscape of contemporary poetry, and experiment with form and technique. As we study different methods of making a poem, and different notions of what makes a poem, and what makes a poem great, participants will work to discover imaginative ways of approaching the line and the page.
Prerequisite: 76-365
- 76-467 Crime Fiction and Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will be concerned with hardboiled crime fiction in print and on screen. The hardboiled emerges in Ernest Hemingway a distinctive literary style, and about same becomes a formula for pulp crime fiction. The language and attitude of the hardboiled became associated with urban gangsters in films such as The Public Enemy. Newspaper crime coverage beginning in the 1920s becomes increasingly frank in both its language and photographic coverage of crime. These various elements will be the material for a new kind of literature represented Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, and especially Raymond Chandler, and for a cycle of films that owe much to their work, film noir. Chandler was responsible for invention of one of most enduring types in American fiction, the hardboiled detective. The course will focus on Chandler and the crime stories after him that make various uses of that type and the formula that has become associated with it. Throughout the course we will consider the social and political contexts in which these cultural forms developed, and what cultural work the hard-boiled performed. We will be especially interested such questions as the function of the misogyny typical of much of it, the different representations of race by white and black artists, the representation of police, whether the hardboiled is best understood as having a working-class affiliation, and the degree to which its various manifestations might be called realist. NOTE: Freshmen are prohibited from registering for this course. Sophomores must obtain instructor permission.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-468 Space and Mobilities
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course will investigate space and movement as social constructions. Space is something dynamically created that may be interpreted for the ways it creates meaning, while movement reproduces and constitutes power and institutions. This interdisciplinary course considers theories of space and movement as a field of study and in reference to literary and film texts. The course might include discussions of migrants and state borders, cultural constructions of transport, the poetics of space, and the dynamic mapping of the city through movement and sound. Readings might include Henri Lefebvre, Doreen Massey, Edward Soja, Gaston Bachelard, Wendy Brown, John Urry, Tim Cresswell, Marian Aguiar; literary texts might include Brian Friels Translations, Christina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban, W.G. Seabald's Austerlitz and Teju Cole's Open City. Please note: Freshmen are prohibited from registering for this course. Sophomores must obtain instructor permission. Students across disciplines are encouraged and may work on a final project related to their primary field.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-469 Screenwriting Workshop
- Spring: 9 units
This semester will begin with a review of the fundamentals of screenwriting, including character development, scene construction, dialogue, and story structure. Student work will include exercises that encourage writers to take creative risks with genre, tone, character, and structure. We will work on three major project in the c ourse. The first is a 5-minute film, the second is an adaptation from another genre/source, and the final project will be up to the student and #8212; either a full-length or a 15 minutes script.
Prerequisite: 76-269 Min. grade B
- 76-471 The Pittsburgh Review of Books
- Intermittent: 6 units
NOTE: This course requires instructor permission. Please see the course URL to fill out an application for the course. Students are invited to join the staff of The Pittsburgh Review of Books, a new initiative to produce a public humanities periodical that is based in the city but that looks out toward the wider world. Inspired by publications like The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Baffler, N+1, Aeon, and The New Inquiry, the PRB will be a Carnegie Mellon based publication featuring cultural and literary criticism, with a focus on issues of technology as they intersect with the humanities. The PRB is intended to be a new venue for intelligent writing and discourse by scholars writing for the general audience. Classes will be run as staff meetings and students will have the opportunity to not only gain editorial and writing experience, but to help set the tone for an important new publication.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
Course Website: https://bit.ly/PghReviewQuestionnaire
- 76-473 Rhetoric & the Construction of Race
- Intermittent: 9 units
In their seminal book on race, Michael Omi and Howard Winant write that race is "socially constructed and historically fluid." This course takes their assertion seriously by examining the role of communicative practices in constructing race, from discourses around the NFL national anthem protests to dominant discussions around transnational and transracial adoption. We'll look for common themes in the discourse around certain events and practices, asking why certain ideas or tropes are used and repeated, and what historical, social, cultural, and political associations inform these tropes that help them to perpetuate racial stereotypes in popular culture without overtly claiming racism. Students will practice thinking critically about everyday cultural narratives, and produce a final paper identifying the work one such set of narratives does to shape reality and create, reinforce, or perpetuate the construction of racial meanings.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-474 Software Documentation
- Spring: 9 units
This course teaches theory, techniques, and best practices for creating software documentation. We will learn to plan, architect, write, and publish audience-appropriate user assistance, while applying concepts and approaches like minimalism, topic-oriented authoring, single-source publishing, content reuse, and metadata. Students will complete homework assignments and larger projects to reinforce principles and provide experience in all phases of the software documentation lifecycle. Readings and class discussion will bridge theory and practice. A minimum of junior standing is required.
Prerequisites: 76-271 or 76-270
- 76-475 Law, Performance, and Identity
- Intermittent: 9 units
Although rhetoric and law have long been closely associated, the modern professionalization of law has often promoted the idea that legal discourse is not rhetorical but a rigorously defined technical discourse that can be applied free of social, cultural, or political considerations. This view of legal discourse is disputed by critics who point out the figurative aspects of legal language, the relevance of character, emotion, and narrative in legal communication, and the ways in which law protects social structures of power such as race, class, and gender privilege. The course broadly examines the fraught relationship between rhetoric and law by considering the ways in which a variety of legal discourses serve to construct and reinforce identities, with a particular focus on the ways in which legal systems are portrayed to reflect the ideals of democracy to suit particular foreign relations goals. We begin by studying the ways in which Cold War foreign policy goals influenced desegregation and civil rights discourse in the United States, then we turn to the ways in which the prosecutions of deposed authoritarian rulers in various regions of the globe have been orchestrated to persuade global audiences that emerging democracies observe the "rule of law" for purposes of garnering international support. Alongside primary sources of legal discourse, we will study a selection of interdisciplinary scholarship about the relationship between rhetoric and law. Students write a two-stage research paper on a topic of their choosing regarding the relationship between legal discourse and the construction of identity. Please note: Freshmen are prohibited from registering for this course. Sophomores must obtain instructor permission.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-476 Rhetoric of Science
- Fall: 9 units
This course explores questions about scientific argument and communication that are of interest to students in the sciences, rhetoric, and professional/technical writing. These include questions like: How are scientific arguments structured? How is scientific information and argument transformed when it moves from research papers for specialist audiences to publications for non-specialists? How does the social, historical, and cultural context of science shape the way it is communicated and/or argued? What contributions do visuals make to scientific argument and communication? To investigate these questions, we will be examining a wide variety of real-world communications in and about science as well as texts in rhetoric, history, and philosophy of science.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-479 Model Minorities? Race, Rhetoric, & Identity in Asian America
- Intermittent: 9 units
"Asian American" is a self-conscious political identity developed by pan-Asian ethnic groups in solidarity with one another in 1968. What does it mean now, 55 years later, to be Asian American? How do Asian Americans fit into the differentially racialized landscape of the U.S., and how, in turn, are Asian American identities and experiences shaped and expressed in culture? How does the political and activist history of Asian America inform social movements today? And how do rhetorical scholars engage Asian American communities, identifying both varied processes of racialization, and patterns of counterdiscourses in which Asian Americans speak against the mainstream images that have circumscribed their subjectivities? This course brings together Asian American studies and Asian American rhetoric with a focus on the study of culture, examining the currents of global and domestic power that have shaped Asian American experience, the movements and communities that have acted in solidarity among and against those forces, and the communicative practices that both shape and are shaped by Asian Americans. By the end of the course, students will be well versed in significant topics and theories in Asian American studies and Asian American rhetoric, and will produce a final paper analyzing a topic, issue, policy, movement, or historical/cultural artifact that speaks to, or illustrates a new nuance about, Asian America. This course is for juniors and seniors.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-481 Introduction to Multimedia Design
- Fall: 12 units
This class meets the increasing demand for professional/technical writers who understand multimedia and its communicative possibilities. It provides students with the opportunity to create both an explainer video and a more persuasive animation merging text, spoken voice, music, images, and video clips. Students will learn the basic concepts and vocabulary of motion graphics, practical issues surrounding designs that change over time, and digital storytelling through hands-on projects. Inspiration is drawn from popular Vox and Ted Ed explainer videos that have come to represent the genre. Students explore writing and recording their own narration and how to best utilize elements of time, motion, and sound to enhance their visual communication skills. Adobe After Effects will be taught to complete assignments and explore multimedia possibilities. Some Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Audition will also be taught to support specific tasks. Basic experience with Photoshop or Illustrator prior to taking this class is helpful, but not required. In-class discussions and critiques are essential components of the course.
Prerequisites: (76-271 or 76-270) and (51-261 or 51-262 or 76-391)
- 76-482 Rise of the Art Film
- Intermittent: 9 units
The years between 1945 and 1970 saw an explosion of filmmaking talent around the world. Directors such as Vittorio De Sica, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman and Satyajit Ray completely changed the way narratives looked on screen. Just as important, however, was the fact that American audiences used to the standards and storytelling strategies of the Hollywood studio system were suddenly presented with a variety of international cinemas which collectively came to be known as "art films." This class will examine a broad cross section of such films while also scrutinizing the impact of the "art film" on Hollywood narrative strategies, domestic distribution networks, film criticism and American culture.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-483 Research Methods in Technical & Professional Communication
- Fall: 9 units
This course provides you with practical, hands-on experience with designing, collecting, and analyzing research in Technical and Professional Communication. These same research methods are also applicable to Writing Studies and classroom research. We will go into depth on three main methods in this class: interviews, surveys, and think-aloud protocols. In addition, we will touch on focus groups, eye-tracking analysis, and collaborative analysis techniques. More specifically, in this class you will learn how to design well-worded questions that produce reliable information; critically reflect on and improve your interview technique; explore software designed to aid in open-ended analysis of qualitative data; design an A/B (or control/experimental) study; write a data-driven research report, and experiment with a range of data collection techniques. Students taking the course for 12-units will have additional readings that look at how these research methods have been applied in Technical and Professional Communication and Writing Studies.
Prerequisites: 76-270 or 76-271
- 76-484 Discourse Analysis
- Fall: 9 units
Discourse is a focus of study in most of the humanities and social sciences, and discourse analysis is practiced in one way or another by anthropologists, communications scholars, linguists, literary critics, and sociologists, as well as rhetoricians. Discourse analysts set out to answer a variety of questions about language, about writers and speakers, and about sociocultural processes that surround and give rise to discourse, but all approach their tasks by paying close and systematic attention to particular texts and their contexts. We are all familiar with the informal discourse analysis involved in paraphrasing the meanings of written texts and conversations, a skill we learn in writing and literature classes and in daily life. Here we ask and answer other questions about why people use language as they do, learning to move from a stretch of speech or writing or signing outward to the linguistic, cognitive, historical, social, psychological, and rhetorical reasons for its form and its function. As we look at resources for text-building we read analyses by others and practice analyses of our own, using as data texts suggested by the class as well the instructor. In the process, we discuss methodological issues involved in collecting texts and systematically describing their contexts (ethnographic participant-observation and other forms of naturalistic inquiry; transcription and "entextualization;" legal and ethical issues connected with collecting and using other people's voices) as well as methodological issues that arise in the process of interpreting texts (analytical heuristics; reflexivity; standards of evidence). The major text will be Johnstone, Barbara. 2008. An Introduction to Discourse Analysis. 2nd ed. (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers). Other reading will be made available as .pdf files.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-487 Information Architecture & Content Strategy
- Spring: 9 units
In the digital age, the vast amount of information available online can be overwhelming, and even individual websites often struggle to present their content in a user-friendly manner. In this course, students will immerse themselves in a semester-long real-world project with practical exercises designed to address this challenge. This course equips students with the skills necessary to develop user-centered information architecture and content strategy/design, enabling them to create user-friendly websites that align with user expectations and industry best practices. Throughout the course, students will adopt a user-centered approach, utilizing essential usability methods to gain insights into the information needs, behaviors, and preferences of users. They will develop the ability to identify and rectify usability issues on websites. Additionally, students will delve into the principles of online information design, encompassing topics such as information architecture, navigation, and effective labeling. In the required lab section of the course, students will gain hands-on experience with core web technologies, including HTML and CSS, to shape and style web content. They will also gain an understanding of JavaScript and APIs, which play a pivotal role in integrating data and services into websites.
Prerequisites: (76-272 or 76-270 or 76-102 or 76-101 or 76-271) and (51-262 or 76-382 or 76-391 or 51-261)
- 76-488 Information Architecture & Content Strategy Lab
- Spring: 3 units
Lab exercises for this course include the following: basic HTML, images, tables, animation, image maps, interactive forms, Web interfaces to databases, and basic Javascripting. All students must do the lab exercises. The exercises are designed so that those students who already know particular topics (e.g., basic HTML) do not need to attend the lab session. Students who would like guided practice in doing the lab exercises must attend the lab session. Lab sessions take place in a computer cluster.
Prerequisites: (76-270 or 76-379 or 76-271) and (76-383 or 76-391 or 76-382)
- 76-490 Digital Rhetorics
- Intermittent: 9 units
As most of the communication now takes place using digital technologies (such as Generative-AI, blockchain, AR and VR, and the Internet of Things), the nature of public speech has been fundamentally transformed in these environments. This course explores the connection between rhetoric, socio-political systems and digital media. In today's world, it is difficult to separate digital from human. Students in this class will examine a variety of digital media as they intersect with humans as well as with theories of rhetoric. Students will also have the opportunity to explore digital technology by actively participating in digital spaces and creating digital artifacts. The course provides in depth coverage of rhetoric as an historically rooted but evolving humanistic perspective covering argumentation and figuration, performance and text, and delineating its connections to logic, aesthetics, politics, and ethics.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-491 Rhetorical Analysis
- Intermittent: 9 units
Students in this course will learn various approaches to analyzing discourse artifacts from a rhetorical point of view. Early in the course, students will identify an artifact or artifacts they wish to analyze. From there, students will be encouraged to explore their own methods of analysis based on two required books for the course and reviews of literature. For the midterm, students will create an annotated bibliography of five specimens of criticism taken from a single journal. For the final project student will first present and then hand in a polished 15 page piece of criticism based on one or some combination of methods. The presentation and final paper count 50% of the grade, with the mid-term, class attendance, participation, and homework making up the final 25%.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-492 Rhetoric of Public Policy
- Intermittent: 9 units
This course explores a rhetorical approach to public policy which focuses on the interconnected role that data, values, beliefs, and argument play in the policy process. From this perspective we will examine the important public debate over the pros and cons of various forms of energy production including nuclear, natural gas, and solar. In these investigations, we will explore questions like "How do policy makers use rhetoric to shape public perspectives on energy production?" "How can rhetorical approaches to argument function as tools for policy analysis and development?" And "What role does technological expertise play in public debate?" To pursue these questions, we will be reading works in rhetorical theory and public policy and applying the concepts and methods in those works to exploring primary artifacts of public argument like records of public hearings, social media memes, handbooks designed by activists, and stories about energy production in the popular media.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-106 and 76-107) or (76-106 and 76-108) or (76-108 and 76-107)
- 76-493 Science Fictions/Speculative Futures: Utopian/Dystopian Visions in Film & Media
- Intermittent: 9 units
Focusing on contemporary screen media, this class will investigate how film, television, and digital media envision speculative futures. The course weaves together two forms of critical/creative practice: 1) Curating film festivals - For this component of the class, we will focus on topics such as film festivals and public culture, the geopolitics of programming, the significance of location, the work of curation, various types of festivals (e.g., activist, identity-based, industry-adjacent), as well as practical matters of PR, community partnerships, fundraising, and scheduling. Guest speakers will include programmers from the Pittsburgh area, as well as from national and international festivals like Sundance. How are film festivals rooted in older ritual forms of gathering? What is the sociocultural purpose of a festival? What kinds of events can they be? What does it mean to collaborate on a program of films that resonate with one another, and to gather people together to watch them? How do festivals both serve pre-existing audiences and create them? 2) Analysis of speculative fiction in film - For this part of the class, students will consider what it means to imagine possible futures within a dystopian present. How do conventional SF tropes draw from histories of colonial conquest, migration, and racialization? How have artists pushed the boundaries of sound and moving image to capture speculative visions of environmental collapse, multiple timelines, labor, and artificial intelligence? Assignments may include weekly responses to screenings and readings, a mood reel/pitch deck for a speculative fiction film (or other screen media), and a critical analysis that can take written or audiovisual form (i.e., a video essay). The course will culminate in a collaboratively created concept for a Pittsburgh-based, speculative film and media festival (i.e., proposal, potential partners, program, schedule of events).
Prerequisite: 76-239
- 76-494 Healthcare Communications
- Fall: 9 units
Healthcare communications is designed for students with an interest in how medical and health care information is constructed and transferred between medical experts, health care providers, educators, researchers, patients and family members who are often not experts but need a thorough understanding of the information to make important health decisions. Throughout the course, we will explore the interactions of current theory and practice in medical communication and the role of writing in the transfer and adoption of new therapies and promising medical research. We will also study how the web and social media alter the way information is constructed, distributed, and consumed. We will examine the ways medical issues can be presented in communication genres (including entertainment genres) and discuss how communication skills and perceptions about audience can influence clinical research and patient care. Additionally, we will explore clinical trials, grant writing, and press releases, and will feature guest speakers from these fields will discuss their experiences.
Prerequisites: 76-270 or 76-271 or 76-395
- 76-495 Other People's Words: The History, Theory, and Practice of Interviews
- Intermittent: 9 units
In literary studies, we usually draw our research from books and articles, or sometimes from documents in archives. But one other way to find out information is from interviews. Historians, anthropologists, and journalists use interviews, albeit in different ways. How might we apply their methods to literary study? This course will look at different modes of interviewing. You will also conduct various kinds of interviews yourselves. Thus the course will be a mix between a criticism course and a workshop. Through the semester you will be responsible for conducting and editing one long-form interview with a person about art, literature, or another field. In addition, you will develop a project conducting multiple interviews on a topic. Lastly, you will build a portrait or report drawn from one of those projects.
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-107 and 76-108)
- 76-496 Research Methods in Rhetoric & Writing Studies
- Intermittent: 9 units
NOTE: This course is only available for seniors with special permission. This course is a survey introduction to historical, empirical, text-based, and qualitative methods of inquiry used in the fields of rhetorical and writing studies. We will read broadly to understand the philosophical questions, research traditions, practical applications, and innovative directions that shape the field, exposing students to a range of methods and methodologies. Studies of rhetoric, writing, and literacy have evolved tremendously, and we will examine approaches for how to trace, analyze, and critique the use of meaning making in a variety of cultural, political, workplace, technological, and pedagogical contexts. By the end of the course, students will develop a sense of how to put together an effective research project on their own and design and articulate the research methods and methodologies appropriate to that study. Throughout, we will ask a fundamental question: How do rhetoric, writing, and literacy work and for what consequences?
Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or (76-107 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-106) or (76-108 and 76-107)
Faculty
MARIAN AGUIAR, Associate Professor of English – Ph.D., University of Massachusetts;
JANE BERNSTEIN, Professor of English – M.F.A., Columbia University;
DAVID BROWN, Associate Teaching Professor of English, Associate Director of First-Year Writing for Research and Assessment – Ph.D., Lancaster University;
DOUG COULSON, Associate Professor of English – Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin;
JAMES DANIELS, Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing – M.F.A., Bowling Green State University;
SHARON DILWORTH, Associate Professor of English – M.F.A., University of Michigan;
LINDA FLOWER, Professor Emerita of English – Ph.D., Rutgers University;
SUSAN HAGAN, Assistant Teaching Professor, Liberal & Social Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University;
PAUL HOPPER, Paul Mellon Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Humanities, Rhetoric and Linguistics – Ph.D., University of Texas;
SARAH HAE-IN IDZIK, Assistant Professor of English – Ph.D., Northwestern University;
SUGURU ISHIZAKI, Professor of English, Director of Undergraduate Professional & Technical Writing Programs and Graduate Professional Writing Program (MAPW) – Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
BARBARA JOHNSTONE, Professor Emerita of English and Linguistics – Ph.D., University of Michigan;
DAVID S. KAUFER, Mellon Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English – Ph.D., University of Wisconsin;
ALAN KENNEDY, Professor Emeritus of English – Ph.D., University of Edinburgh;
JON KLANCHER, Professor Emeritus of English – Ph.D., University of California at Los Angeles;
PEGGY KNAPP, Professor Emerita of English – Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh;
STEPHANIE LARSON, Assistant Professor of English and Director Undergraduate Studies – Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison;
ATESEDE MAKONNEN, Assistant Professor of English – Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University;
JANE MCCAFFERTY, Professor of English – M.F.A., University of Pittsburgh;
TOM MITCHELL, Assistant Teaching Professor, Liberal & Social Sciences; Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University;
CHRISTINE NEUWIRTH, Professor Emerita of English and Human Computer Interaction – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University;
KATHY M. NEWMAN, Associate Professor of English and Director of Graduate Studies – Ph.D., Yale University;
JOHN J. ODDO, Associate Professor of English – Ph.D., Kent State University;
SILVIA PESSOA, Associate Teaching Professor, Liberal & Social Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University;
NUPOOR RANADE, Assistant Professor of English – Ph.D., North Carolina State University;
CAMILLE RANKINE, Assistant Professor of English – M.F.A., Columbia University;
DUDLEY REYNOLDS, Teaching Professor, Liberal & Social Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar – Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington;
ANDREEA DECIU RITIVOI, William S. Dietrich Professor of English – Ph.D., University of Minnesota;
KAREN SCHNAKENBERG, Teaching Professor Emerita of English – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University;
LAUREN SHAPIRO, Associate Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing Program – M.F.A., Iowa Writers' Workshop;
DAVID R. SHUMWAY, Professor of English – Ph.D., Indiana University;
KRISTINA STRAUB, Professor Emerita of English – Ph.D., Emory University;
CHRISTOPHER WARREN, Professor of English and Department Head with a Courtesy Appointment in History – D. Phil., University of Oxford;
MARIAM WASSIF, Assistant Professor of English – Ph.D., Cornell University;
DANIELLE WETZEL, Teaching Professor and Director of Writing & Communication Program – Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University;
JEFFREY WILLIAMS, Professor of English – Ph.D., Stony Brook University;
STEPHEN WITTEK, Associate Professor of English and Director of Literary and Cultural Studies Program – Ph.D., McGill University;
JOANNA WOLFE, Teaching Professor of English – Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin;
JAMES WYNN, Associate Professor of English, Director of Rhetoric Program – Ph.D., University of Maryland;
Special Faculty
MARIO CASTAGNARO, Special Faculty, Professional & Technical Writing
EMMA FRIES, Director, Arts Greenhouse
ROCHEL GASSON, Special Faculty, Writing & Communication
ANDREW GORDON, Special Faculty, Writing & Communication
ALAN HOUSER, Special Faculty, Professional & Technical Writing
KORRYN MOZISEK, Special Faculty, English
KAT MYERS, Special Faculty, Writing & Communication
ROBYN ROWLEY, Special Faculty, Writing & Communication
JULIA SALEHZADEH, Special Faculty, Writing & Communication
ED SIMON, Special Faculty, English
BRIAN STASZEL, Special Faculty, Professional & Technical Writing
ISABELLE STROLLO, Special Faculty, Film & Visual Media
ANTHONY SWOFFORD, Special Faculty, Creative Writing
CHAD SZALKOWSKI-FERENCE, Special Faculty, Writing & Communication
STEVE TWEDT, Special Faculty, Professional & Technical Writing
RALPH VITUCCIO, Special Faculty, Film & Visual Media
Lecturer
JANINE CARLOCK, Lecturer, Writing & Communication
ANDREA COMISKEY, Lecturer, Writing & Communication
BARBARA GEORGE, Senior Lecturer, Writing & Communication
JEFFREY HINKELMAN, Senior Lecturer, Director of the Film & Visual Media Program, Director of Pre-College Program in Writing & Culture
ALAN KOHLER, Senior Lecturer, Writing & Communication
PETER ZARAGOZA MAYSHLE, Senior Lecturer, Writing & Communication
LAURA MCCANN, Lecturer, Writing & Communication
PAUL MICHIELS, Lecturer, Writing & Communication
COURTNEY NOVOSAT, Senior Lecturer, Writing & Communication
JULIE PAL-AGRAWAL, Lecturer, Writing & Communication
SETH STRICKLAND, Lecturer, Writing & Communication
REBECCA WIGGINTON, Senior Lecturer, Writing & Communication
HEIDI WRIGHT, Senior Lecturer, Writing & Communication; Course Lead, ENG 76-100
JUNGWAN YOON, Senior Lecturer, Writing & Communication
