Undergraduate Courses - Fall 2023
This list includes courses with a special emphasis. Go to the online LSU catalog for general course descriptions not listed here. Refer to the online Schedule Booklet for course times, classrooms, and updates.
ENGL 2000– Section 2 (English Composition)
Christina Armistead
Cultural Exchanges
Includes a Service-Learning Component. This section of English 2000 will ask you to think globally. You will research and analyze issues relevant to countries outside the U.S. to deepen your understanding of the world outside America. To help you do this effectively, you will participate in a service-learning partnership that asks you to engage one-on-one with an international student. Through one-hour meetings each week, you will help your partner improve his/her spoken English and you will sharpen your ability to engage with and understand cultural perspectives beyond your own.
ENGL 2000 - Sections 4, 27, and 30 (English Composition)
Corrie Kiesel
Understanding Home
Includes a Service-Learning Component. We will consider the concept of “home” from multiple perspectives as we connect research and writing related to students’ areas of interest to issues we observe in the community. This course counts toward the LSU Engaged Citizen Program.
ENGL 2000 - Sections 9 and 17 (English Composition)
Nolde Alexius
Our Built Environment
This course takes as fundamental that today’s college students are essential to building environments that are just, accessible, functional, and beautiful, and that societal problems are the result of human made environments, both physical and conceptual. Your academic disciplines hold the potential to address these problems. You will consider how societal problems such as racism, gender inequality, environmental pollution, health risks, and others exist in your field. From there you will choose an area of research that interests you and explore it.
ENGL 2000 - Sections 14 and 22 (English Composition)
Sharon Andrews
Writing for Community Action and Advocacy
Includes a Service-Learning Component. This is a special emphasis course with a focus on the use of language, especially written language, as a tool for empowerment within the community. Students will be challenged to think about their role in the community and the use of writing to inspire and affect change. This course includes a service-learning component providing the opportunity to learn first-hand about significant issues important to the community.
ENGL 2004 - Section 1
Matalin Carville Joel
Introduction to Creative Nonficion
From newspapers to YouTube, from Instagram to newsletters, from podcasts to documentaries: these days we are innudated with stories of what's "real." But how does one get creative while keeping it real? How do writers balance facts with entertaintment? In this course we'll explore the long history of creative nonfiction (including memoir, travel writing, reportage, true crime, etc.) in order to figure out how to get real by being creative. You'll get to tell your stories, your way, while learning about the long tradition of writers who have done the same.
ENGL 2005 - Section 1
Jennifer S. Davis
Introduction to Short Story Writing
Do you love to read? Have you always wanted to try to write your own stories? Or, have you been writing stories for as long as you can remember and want to take them to the next level? Wherever you are in your writing journey, if you are interested in stories and how they work and how to write your own, this is the class for you! We will spend the first half of the semester reading and discussing short stories, writing short assignments we share and discuss in groups, and learning the elements of fiction. The remainder of the semester will be devoted to workshopping with the entire class. The only prerequisite: an interest in reading fiction and a desire to write your own stories.
ENGL 2005 - Section 2
Randolph Thomas
Introduction to Short Story Writing
This workshop focuses on the craft of fiction writing. In particular, we will focus on the medium that we call short story and explore its essential elements, such as structure, character, plot, setting, and language. Students will also hone their editing skills through discussion and analysis of each other’s stories. Students are expected to write between two to three short stories throughout the semester, depending on class size and schedule. No previous writing experience is required for this course.
ENGL 2005 - Section 3
Taylor Denton
Introduction to Short Story Writing
Have you written short stories for a long time? Have you jotted ideas on scratch paper, in old notebooks, or on napkins? Have you never written a short story but wanted to try? Then this course is for you. Together we will study the elements of fiction: point of view, characterization, setting, dialogue, and plot. We will begin to discover the stories that inspire us and put our passions and obsessions on paper by discussing a variety of published short stories and writing some of our own.
ENGL 2005 - Section 4
Nuha Fariha
Introduction to Short Story Writing
What does it mean to come home when home no longer exists? In this course, we will examine writing from immigrant authors and discuss how place and setting work within a short story. Authors include Teju Cole, NoViolet Bulawayo, Ilya Kaminsky, and Fatimah Asghar. Projects include a daily journal and 2 short stories.
ENGL 2025- Section 1 (Fiction)
Brodrick Hampton
Heroes in Classic and Modern Media
A survey of “the hero” throughout the history of literature and media—from Gilgamesh to Superman to HALO’s Master Chief. Topics include classic and modern definitions of the hero in relation to current-day, real-world concepts of heroism; the heroic journey; common themes across stories and genres; and the psychological, social, and moral context surrounding our depictions of heroes…and how we respond to those depictions!
ENGL 2007 - Section 1
Kayla Jackson
Introduction to Poetry Writing
This course will focus on the ways poetry and language work to elicit emotion and reflection. In this course, students will learn to read, interpret, and write about poetry with elegance and in their unique style. As a class, we will explore various poetic forms, identifying specific "moves" that writers embed into their works. We will consider common poetic elements—tone, meter, structure, figurative language, perspective, etc. —which contribute to the meaning of a poem. While this course is rooted in explication and conversation, students should be prepared to participate in weekly writing and editing, which will show their ability to effectively borrow the craft techniques we study.
ENGL 2007 - Section 2
Lara Glenum
Introduction to Poetry Writing
In this workshop, we will investigate “what makes a poem.” Through regular generative exercises, students will explore many modes of poem-making, aiming to discover which are most fruitful for them. In addition, students will learn how to productively give and receive feedback in a workshop setting. We will be reading as much as we write, in a communal study ofcontemporary poetics. By critically engaging a wide variety of poems, we will seek to locate what we love in the poetry of others, in order to emulate those things in our own work. Readings will include poets such as Solmaz Sharif, Nicole Sealey, CD Wright, Terrance Hayes, CA Conrad, Mary Ruefle, and others. Throughout, students will work towards developing their own personal and sustainable practice of writing and reading poetry that can continue well after the workshop’s end.
ENGL 2008 - Section 1
Femi Euba
Introduction to Writing Drama
This is a fun workshop that equips students with the fundamentals and skills for writing good drama for the stage. You will generate two oneacts through organic stimulation of the imaginative and creative potential and the examination of selected established works. All submissions will be read and critiqued in class, in readiness for possible future workshops, there will be staged readings, and/or competitions. No purchased texts or previous playwriting experience required.
ENGL 2009 - Section 1
Mari Kornhauser
Beginning Screenwriting Workshop
Story tellers! Come and learn the ins and outs of creating a feature film script by writing a series of short scripts and the first act of a feature (with the rest of the script outlined). You’ll watch films and tv shows of your choice to study, culminating in a short visual paper/PowerPoint. Other forms of writing, such as collaborating with writing partners, writing for web-series and television, may be discussed and/or practiced. Plus, you will workshop each other’s work. MOST OF ALL, IT WILL BE FUN!
ENGL 2009 - Section 2
Jason Buch
Beginning Screenwriting Workshop
Want to write a movie? TV Pilot? Learn the form and structure of Screenwriting to bring your ideas to life, while reading, watching, and discussing current films and television programs. Workshop your scripts to get friendly and helpful feedback from your fellow students. You will write your own short script and begin work on a feature film script or television pilot.
ENGL 2025 - Section 2 (Fiction)
Nolde Alexius
LSU Fiction
Communication-Intensive Learning. English 2025 examines a 60-year span of fiction writers who were students, editors, and faculty at Louisiana State University starting with 3-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Robert Penn Warren. We will read these writers’ fiction in its various forms: short stories, novels, and novellas. You will learn to think critically about the fiction you read and write one original essay of literary analysis.
ENGL 2123 - Section 1-5 (Studies in Literary Tradition and Themes)
Brannon Costello
Comics and Graphic Novels
This general education course will offer students a critical introduction to the medium of graphic narrative (comics, graphic novels, and so on) as a form of literature. No previous experience reading graphic narratives is required.
ENGL 2123 - Section 7 (Studies in Literary Traditions and Themes)
Alison Grifa
Food, Hunger, and Dominion
We are what we eat! Through fiction, poetry, film, and drama, this course examines how our food traditions have influenced our communities, cultures, and civilizations around the world from the Renaissance to the present. Considering recipes of delight and disaster, we’ll discuss food in the context of celebration, security, resistance, and the macabre. How do these texts relate to us even though our experiences might seem far removed from places like Ireland, Morocco, Uruguay, Ghana, and the post-apocalyptic U.S.? What are our common folklores, fears, and dysfunctions? Authors may include: Swift, The Brothers Grimm, Lahiri, Truong, Esquivel, McCann, Collins, and others.
ENGL 2123 - Section 8 (Studies in Literary Traditions and Themes)
Talon Shoemake
Swift and Shakespeare-Voices of a Generation
I have often heard it said that “Taylor Swift could write Romeo and Juliet, but William Shakespeare could not write ‘Enchanted.’” This course's efforts will be centered on examining eight of Shakespeare’s plays alongside a smattering of Swift’s songs in an attempt to find similarities, bridging the gap between high and popular culture and four centuries of time.
ENGL 2231 - Section 2 (Reading Film)
Jason Christian
Global Crime Cinema
This course introduces students to the language of film analysis and gives them tools to write critically about formal choices and themes represented on screen. The crime genre offers a unique window into society’s attitudes vis-à-vis social, political, and economic realities, particularly wrestling with notions of justice. Throughout the semester, students will watch around a dozen crime films from around the globe that span nearly a century.
ENGL 2423 - Section 1 (Introduction to Folklore)
Corrie Kiesel
Introduction to Folklore
Folklore genres of the world; sources of folklore; literary, psychological, sociological, anthropological and historical approaches to folk material; relationships between folklore and written literature.
ENGL 2593 - Section 1
Seohye Kwon
Gender & Literature
This course examines the representations of gender in literature and the globalized world with a focus on masculinities and their relationships to femininities.
ENGL 2593 - Section 2 (Gender & Literature)
June Pulliam
Images of Women (and Men) in Horror Fiction and Film
Margaret Atwood famously said that men feel threatened by women because they “are afraid women will laugh at them,” while women feel threatened by men because they are afraid of “being killed” by them. In horror, women are monstrous because they have female bodies that can bleed and give life, and they can laugh at men for desiring them, while men are monstrous because of their reactions to women’s bodies. In English 2593, we will explore the connection between gender and monstrosity by reading and viewing multiple works.
ENGL 2674 - Section 1
Angeletta Gourdine
Introduction to African American Literature
Major figures and popular texts of black American literature, including writers of fiction, poetry, drama and essays; influence of genre on the articulation of common political and social themes.
ENGL 2716 - Section 1
Irina Shport
Language Diversity, Society and Power
Also offered as LING 2716. Social construction of language ideologies and issues of power as they relate to language variation and use. Examination of why language variation exists and how dialect intersects with race, gender, and social class, with particular focus on political and social identities. Discussion focuses on how dialects and “Standard English” contribute to persistent economic and civic inequalities in contemporary American society.
ENGL 3020 - Section 1
Kevin Cope
British Literature I: The Middle Ages, Renaissance, and 18th Century
This course introduces students to both renowned and undervalued texts across the first millennium of British literary history, from the era of "Beowulf" to the Enlightenment. Masterpieces will mesh with genial oddities as students gain a knowledge of the full sweep of early literary efforts.
ENGL 3304 - Section 1 (Special Topics in Writing and Research)
Jonathan Osborne
The Sonic Experience: Writing with Sound
This course considers the role of sound in how we experience and do writing. Through readings in sound studies and sound-based assignments, students will gain a deeper perspective on the rhetorical nature of sound and how the sense influences writing.
ENGL 3401 - Section 1
Carolyn Ware
The Study of Folklore
Also offered as ANTH 3401. History of the study of folklore; methods of collection, interpretation and analysis of folklore materials; myth, folktale, legend, folk song, ballads, folk humor, festival and folk speech; psychological, contextual and structural analysis of oral literature; specific reference to the heritage of Louisiana and the South.
ENGL 3550 - Section 1 (Readings in Diverse Perspectives)
Michael Bibler
LGBTQ+ Literature
This course explores a diverse collection--what we might even call a tradition--of fiction, poetry, and drama written by, for, and about people we would generally identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirit, and queer. Focusing mainly on 20th and 21st century works, we will examine representations of queer identities, desires, love, politics, trauma, and triumph as a way to map our own relation to both our queer forebears in the past and our queer futures.
ENGL 4000 - Section 1 (Creative Writing Capstone)
Ariel Francisco Henriquez
The Writing Life Beyond Graduation
In this multi-genre course, we will explore the writing life beyond your graduation through readings, research, and interviews and panels with established writers in various genres, editors, publishers, and alumni. The goal of this course is to consider, explore, and prepare the possibilities of your writing lives beyond your undergraduate education. We will also reflect on our own work and investigate holistic approaches to revision, rewriting, and looking at our work as a whole.
ENGL 4001 - Section 1
Joshua Wheeler
Intermediate Creative Nonfiction Workshop
Prerequisite: ENGL 2004. What does it mean to use your imagination and how can you express, in language, the experience of imagining? What is consciousness and how do we try to communicate the experience of our own consciousness to someone else? Creative writing has long been about sharing the fruits of one's imagination. But the essay genre, in particular, has a long history of exploring the experience of imagination itself, and, more broadly, the singularly human experience of consciousness. In this class we'll look at all the ways the essay genre lends itself to artful expression of unwieldy human consciousness. We'll read widely in the essay genre and you'll write and workshop several beautifully messy essays of your own.
ENGL 4005 - Section 1 (Intermediate Fiction Writing Workshop)
Maurice Ruffin
Advanced Short Story Writing Workshop
Prerequisite: ENGL 2005. This class is for students who love books, movies, anime, and tv shows—in other words: stories! Some reading will be required, but the focus will be on the production of fiction stories. All genres are encouraged. Above all this class is about the joy of writing. Students are invited to share their creativity and to learn from their very talented peers. Time will also be spent learning about revision and publication of stories. Bring your best tales!
ENGL 4007 - Section 1
Ariel Francisco
Intermediate Poetry Workshop
Prerequisite: ENGL 2007. In what ways is poetry a performance, even if it is never read aloud? And when it is read aloud, how does poetry uniquely capture something about the complex and beautiful ways in which we communicate as humans? In this course we'll read and write poems on the page, and then we'll listen to and speak poems from the stage, in order to make sense of how this ancient art form is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between the spoken and written word.
ENGL 4009 - Section 1
Jason Buch
Intermediate Screenwriting Workshop
Prerequisite: ENGL 2009. This course is an intermediate workshop for students who are familiar with the craft and art of Screenwriting intended to help students continue development of a feature film script or television pilot. Bring your work-in-progress or begin a new script, with a goal of completing the work by the end of the semester. In addition, we will discuss and analyze screenplays from successful films and television shows.
ENGL 4015 - Section 1 (Forms of Creative Writing)
Mari Kornhuaser
Genre Bending
Prerequisite: ENGL 2004 or 2005. Students will cross two or three genres - e.g., horror/love story/social commentary (think Get Out) or Dystopian/social commentary/Thriller (think Mad Max series) in either poetry, fiction or scripts. Two different stories 10-20 pages each will be written and workshopped, no re-writes. Two PowerPoint presentations/pitches will be given regarding the chosen genre bending of your stories so we get a sense of tone and genres. Course designed to be a fun workshop environment.
ENGL 4023 - Section 1 (Studies in Life Writing)
Joseph Kronick
Confession & Autobiography
We will study confession and autobiography, beginning with Augustine and Rousseau. We will examine the dynamics of confession: why does Augustine confess if God knows everything? What is the significance of Rousseau's declaration that he is like no other human being? We will explore the paradoxes inherent in the representation of life. Other readings will include Henry David Thoreau, Zora Neale Hurston, Primo Levi, and Vladimir Nabokov.
ENGL 4040 - Section 1 (Studies in the Age of Elizabeth)
Emily King
Gender, Sexuality, and Power in Renaissance Drama
Attending to the intersection of gender, sexuality, and power, this advanced course introduces students to Renaissance drama beyond Shakespeare. Students can expect a teaching activity, two formal essays, shorter writing assignments, a midterm, and a final exam.
ENGL 4050 - Section 1
Kevin Cope
Studies in the Restoration and 18th Century
This course introduces the most applauded as well as some of the unusual and overlooked writings of the "long" British Enlightenment. Students will enjoy the full range of genres, whether satire, fiction, celebratory verse, or essays. The course will include occasional glimpses of the plastic and musical arts. Students will learn about the period that created modernity.
ENGL 4060 - Section 1 (Studies in Romantic Movement)
Christopher Rovee
Homesickness and Romantic Literature
What is the longing we call "homesickness" and how did this desire for a lost place enter into our secular literature around 1800? This course surveys the writing of British Romanticism with attention to this distinctive modern feeling.
ENGL 4148 - Section 1
William Demastes
Studies in Shakespeare
Attention to poetry and plays, literary and cultural significance; topics such as “The Comedies and Histories,” “The Tragedies,” “Shakespeare and Film,” “Shakespeare and Gender.”
ENGL 4300 - Section 1 (Studies in Rhetorical Theory)
Jonathan Osborne
Political Rhetoric in Theory and Practice
Students in this course will study political rhetoric in its ancient and modern forms, learning about the history and theory of the art of persuasion in political spaces. Focusing on politics within the United States, we will read and listen to a wide range of speeches from political actors – politicians, community organizers, concerning citizens, etc. We will inquire about differences in the use of rhetoric by rhetors from different political parties, how identity (race, gender, etc.) informs rhetoric, and the impact of modern influences on political rhetoric, such as social media and the Trump presidency.
ENGL 4550 - Section 1 (Studies in Diverse Perspectives)
Jacob Berman
City Fictions
This class will focus on fiction written about iconic American cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans and others. We will investigate the ways that fiction orients both humans and places through close attention to forms of fictional mapping and memory preservation. How do these fictions bring to light marginal communities, spaces and experiences? How do they subvert official narratives about the places they investigate?
ENGL 4680 - Section 1 (Studies in Post-colonial Literature and Culture)
Saumya Lal
Emotions and Postcolonial Literature
Why do emotions matter? How are emotions – such as anger, shame, disgust, fear, empathy, happiness – shaped by our moral and socio-political values? Conversely, how do emotions shape our values? How do cultural contexts influence the experience and expression of emotions? How can the representations of emotions in postcolonial literature enhance our understanding of the ethics and politics of emotions? How, and to what end, does postcolonial literature evoke and maneuver readers’ emotions? Authors may include Akwaeke Emezi, Arundhati Roy, Carly Phillips, Kazuo Ishiguro, Leila Aboulela, and Teju Cole.