English Department

This course introduces students to the critical tools and methods of literary study, including close reading and argumentative writing. Students will learn about the history of genres (e.g. poetry, drama, and the novel) and forms of literature (e.g. tragedy, realism). Texts may include the earliest writing in English to more recent works in various media. Credit will be granted for only one of ENGL 100, ENGL 110 or ENGL 111/112. Restricted to students in the Humanities Colloquium. Six credits.

This course provides students with the key skills needed to succeed at university. You will learn how to write argumentatively; how to build a question or problem from a close-reading of a literary work; how to develop that argument by presenting and analyzing evidence; how to engage in scholarly debate; how to do university-level research. Credit will be granted for only one of ENGL 111, 100 or 110. Three credits.

This course builds on the skills acquired in first year English. We will broaden our understanding of what literature is and how it works. We will develop our abilities to see how different approaches to texts allow us to understand their formal, gendered, historical, political, psychological, racial and sociological impacts. We will expand our practical skills by: enlarging our critical vocabularies; sharpening our argumentative writing abilities; and increasing our proficiency with sources and databases. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

Horror is closely connected to science fiction and fantasy. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the founding text of science fiction, but its central monster belongs generically to horror. In this course, we will discuss horror’s evolution, the reasons some people love scary stories while others avoid them, and how horror functions as a genre. The course will contain texts that some students may find disturbing, including violence. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

This course will require students to write fiction, poetry, and personal essays on the topics of Nature, ecology, conservation, and climate change. Students will be required to conduct research in these areas and apply it to their personal views and convictions. Students will conduct individual and collective in-class editing of their submitted written work on a weekly basis. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

Using the landmark publication of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a starting point, this course provides a critical survey of children’s literature in Britain, America, and Canada. Students will examine different types of media that may include novels, picture books, graphic novels, comics, and digital content. Credit will be granted for only one of ENGL 233 or ENGL 234. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

Children’s film and television are highly lucrative and competitive fields. This course will survey landmarks in children’s media across the world, looking at questions of adaptation, suitability, merchandising-driven story, and franchising. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

A prominent literary critic claimed recently that America is defined by its commitments to cultural democracy, political rights, community responsibility, social justice, an equality of opportunity, and individual freedom. In this survey, we are going to examine how the literature of America written during this period of national reconciliation grapples with turning these ideals into reality. Three credits.

This course introduces students to some of the central texts and debates in two connected fields: environmental literature, a longstanding, rich facet of the literary field sometimes also identified as “ecofiction,” and climate fiction (cli-fi), a recent, currently booming sub-section of environmental literature. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111/112 or equivalent. Three credits.

This course examines a figure who haunts modern culture from the nineteenth century to the present—the detective. Ranging from Poe’s important nineteenth-century detective stories, to Sherlock Holmes, to present-day fiction and film, course discussions will consider why the detective develops as a cultural phenomenon in this period, how the figure of the detective changes over time, and what cultural problems detective fiction addresses. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

This course will introduce students to recent formal and generic developments in the American novel and situate these trends within the history of the novel as a literary form. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

This course will examine Hollywood film from its origins to the present, focusing on the period that has come to be known as the era of “classical Hollywood cinema” (1927-1960). The course will provide an introduction to film history and to the analysis of film. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

Students are introduced to the techniques of writing creatively in the genres of poetry, short stories, drama, etc. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

How does literature address (in)justice, particularly injustices that are global in scale? From the movement for the abolition of slavery to anti-colonial resistance and contemporary refugee narratives, literature has long been a means of advancing claims for justice and fostering understanding across global divides. The course will focus mostly on 20th and 21st century works and topics like colonialism, conflict and displacement, genocide and the climate crisis. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111/112 or equivalent. Three credits.

This course is a companion to ENGL 215. We will examine how literary forms and genres develop and change over time and in relation to specific historical events and conditions. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

This course will introduce Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, but it does more than that. The generic and formal diversity of Chaucer’s collection allows for discussion of medieval literary form and content, while also introducing significant aspects of medieval culture (the problem of “courtly love,” medical theory and political life). Further, the course allows discussion of manuscript tradition and theories of influence. Credit will be granted for only one of ENGL 290 or ENGL 390. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or 111 or equivalent. Three credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is The Bible as Literature – The Hebrew Bible. This course introduces students to the Bible as a great work of literature. We will focus on careful readings of selections from the Hebrew Scriptures (also referred to as the Old Testament). At the same time, we will examine various methods of Biblical criticism, typology, and the history of the Bible. We will read several of the most influential stories, identifying their literary styles, their linguistic and theological concerns, and their influence on society. Cross-listed as CATH 298. Three credits.

This course will consider how fashion and fetishism are intrinsic to the literature and culture of modern societies in the nineteenth- and twentieth centuries. Class discussions will consider: the ways in which fiction and poetry mutate as the dynamics of fashion become important for the literary culture this period; the relationship between fashion and fetishism; the role of gender in the dynamics of fashion and fetishism; the importance of fashion for twentieth-century visual art. Prerequisite: 9 credits ENGL. Three credits.

Students will be expected to choose one genre through which they will continue to explore and develop the basic elements of creative writing in ENGL 231. Prerequisite: ENGL 100, 111 or equivalent; three credits creative writing (ENGL 267 or equivalent). Three credits.

What kinds of social creatures are people? What causes our social lives to fall into patterns, shapes, and configurations? How do these forms define our social worlds? In this class we will look at American novels written at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century as resources for understanding the complexity of modern social life. Prerequisite: 9 credits ENGL. Three credits.

What is performance and why/how do we study it? In this class, students explore how performance impacts all of our identities. Considering that Nova Scotia was the site of the first documented performance in what we now call Canada, this course investigates theatre as history-making and nation-building acts. Introducing students to theatrical forms such as vaudeville, minstrelsy, and verbatim theatre, this course simultaneously considers how theatre influences social justice issues of race, culture, and gender. Credit will be granted for only one of ENGL 338 or ENGL 366. Prerequisite: 9 credits ENGL. Three credits.

This course introduces students to the classical texts of and contemporary developments in cultural theory. The course will practically apply these theories through the study of popular culture. Students will learn the basics of cultural analysis and familiarize themselves with what theorists have come to understand as the “critique of everyday life.” Credit will be granted for only one of ENGL 339 or ENGL 318. Prerequisite: 9 credits ENGL. Three credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Adaptation: Literature, Media, and Social Justice. See ENGL 491 for course information. Prerequisites: Third year standing and 15 credits ENGL. Three credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Digital Shakespeare. See ENGL 492 for course information. Prerequisites: Third year standing and 15 credits ENGL. Three credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Second Lives, Second Chances. The history of film, TV, and literature is filled with examples of works in which characters are afforded the opportunity to have a second life or a second chance. This course examines our investments in these types of narratives across different media. Prerequisites: 9 credits ENGL. Three credits. Notes: Normally students enrolling in an honours seminar will have third-year standing and have taken a minimum of 15 credits in English. Priority will be given to honours and advanced major students in English.

Honours students write a thesis under the supervision of a faculty thesis director. Students must meet the thesis director in March of the junior year to prepare a topic. Honours students must register for the thesis as a six-credit course in their senior year. The thesis must be submitted no later than March 31 of the senior year. See chapter 4. Six credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Adaptation: Literature, Media, and Social Justice. “Adaptations are everywhere today,” Linda Hutcheon exclaims in A Theory of Adaptation. We see adaptations on the page, stage, and screen as well as in theme parks and video games. Why is adaptation so popular? How are artists using adaptation to promote social justice? This course uses adaptation theory to examine how popular stories are retold and what these adaptations say about our culture. Works to be discussed may include adaptations of Shakespeare, the Bible, Indigenous culture, and fairytales. Prerequisites: Third year standing and 15 credits ENGL. Three credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Digital Shakespeare. This course explores how we interact with literature in the digital age. Topics covered will include online texts and e-reading; how algorithms affect the reception of texts; close and distant readings; and how databases and digital projects create arguments. Materials covered may include the nature of machine “reading” and how digital literary projects are designed, funded, maintained, and deprecated. This course applies digital humanities practices to literary, popular, and scholarly texts to help students become better critical thinkers able to read and interact with our increasingly digital culture. Prerequisites: Third year standing and 15 credits ENGL. Three credits.

Advanced major students write a thesis as part of the senior seminar. See chapter 4. No credit.