English

Return to: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences  

The Department of English offers a broad range of courses in English, American and Anglophone literature of all periods and genres, and in related areas such as creative and expository writing, literature and visual arts, ethnic literature and cultural studies, history of the English language and of literary criticism, and literary and cultural theory. Instructors assign extensive reading and writing in order to help students become perceptive readers, critical thinkers and strong writers. Class sizes are kept at 19 to enable full discussion in literature classes and at 12 in creative writing workshops.

Taper Hall of Humanities 404
(213) 740-2808
Email: english@dornsife.usc.edu
dornsife.usc.edu/engl
 

Chair: David St. John, MFA

Faculty

University Professor and Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature and Professor of English, Art History and History: Leo Braudy, PhD

University Professor of English, American Studies & Ethnicity, and Comparative Literature and Aerol Arnold Chair of English: Viet Thanh Nguyen*, PhD

University Professor of English and Comparative Literature: David St. John, MFA

USC Associates Chair in Humanities and Professor of English, American Studies & Ethnicity and Comparative Literature: John Carlos Rowe, PhD

Distinguished Professors of English: Aimee Bender, MFA; Percival Everett, AM

Provost Professor of Art History and English: Kate Flint, PhD (Art History)

Provost Professor of Humanities and Arts: Enrique T. Martinez Celaya, MFA

Dean’s Professor of English and Professor of Theatre: Bruce Smith, PhD

Gender Studies Professor in Media and Gender and Professor of English, Comparative Literature and Gender Studies: Joseph A. Boone, PhD

Florence R. Scott Professor of English and Professor of English and Comparative Literature: Tania Modleski, PhD

Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture: Dana Gioia, MBA

Writers in Residence: Geoffrey Dyer, BA; Robin Coste Lewis, PhD

Professors: Joseph A. Dane, PhD; Lawrence D. Green, PhD; Mark Irwin, PhD; Susan McCabe, PhD; Edwin McCann*, PhD (Philosophy); Carol Muske-Dukes*, MFA; Maggie Nelson, PhD; David Rollo*, PhD; David Román*, PhD; Margaret E. Russett, PhD; Hilary M. Schor, PhD; Andrew Stott, PhD; Daniel Tiffany, PhD; David Treuer, PhD; Marianne Wiggins

Associate Professors: Emily Anderson*, PhD; Marjorie Becker, PhD (History); Alice Gambrell*, PhD; Devin Griffiths, PhD; Thomas Gustafson*, PhD; William R. Handley, PhD; Heather James, PhD*; Dana Johnson, MFA; Anthony Kemp, PhD; Rebecca Lemon, PhD; Danzy Senna, MFA; Karen L. Tongson, PhD

Assistant Professors: Melissa Daniels-Rauterkus, PhD; Anna Journey, PhD; Zakiyyah Iman Jackson, PhD; Elda María Román, PhD

Professor of the Practice of English: Brighde Mullins, MFA

Professors (Teaching): Christopher Freeman, PhD; Thea Tomaini, PhD

Associate Professors (Teaching): Mary (Molly) A. Bendall, MA; Richard Berg, PhD; Susan Segal, MFA

Assistant Professors of the Practice: M.G. Lord, MFA; David Ulin, BA

Assistant Professor (Teaching): Beatrice Sanford Russell, PhD

Professor Emeritus of English and Aerol Arnold Professor Emeritus of English: James R. Kincaid, PhD

Leo S. Bing Professor Emeritus: Jay Martin, PhD

Leo S. Bing Professor Emeritus of English and American Literature: Paul K. Alkon, PhD

Florence R. Scott Professor of English Emerita: Marjorie Perloff, PhD

Distinguished Emerita Professor: Virginia J. Tufte*, PhD

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English and Writer in Residence Emeritus: T. Coraghessan Boyle, PhD

Emeritus Professors: Charles B. Berryman, PhD; Donald C. Freeman, PhD; Max F. Schulz, PhD

Emeritus Associate Professors: William H. Brown, PhD; David Eggenschwiler, PhD; Stephen C. Moore, PhD

*Recipient of university-wide or college teaching award.

Undergraduate Degrees

Advisement

All students meet with a faculty adviser before registering for courses each semester. Faculty advisers help students shape their majors according to their evolving interests and the requirements of the majors. Students should consult the director of undergraduate studies and the undergraduate staff adviser about departmental clearances and course substitutions.

Double Majors

The department strongly encourages majoring in both English and in another department in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences or in another school of the university.

English Honors Program

Candidates for the BA in English can receive a designation on their transcripts of departmental honors by successfully completing a senior honors thesis while enrolled in ENGL 496 , and having a 3.5 final GPA. ENGL 491 Senior Seminar in Literary Studies  is a prerequisite for ENGL 496 . Students with a minimum GPA of 3.0 overall and 3.5 in English courses can apply for ENGL 496 ; application is due at the start of fall semester of senior year. For additional information, contact a departmental adviser or the director of undergraduate studies.

Teaching Credential Requirements

Credential requirements in California and elsewhere are complex and changeable. Students interested in preparing for public school teaching should contact the Credentials Office, Rossier School of Education (or refer to this catalogue page ), and the undergraduate adviser in the English department for up-to-date information. The English department usually offers courses that satisfy most, if not all, of these requirements.

Graduate Degrees

Admission Requirements

Requirements for admission to study in the department of English include: GRE scores that are satisfactory to the department on both the verbal portion of the General Test and the literature Subject Test of the Graduate Record Examinations; evidence of competence in writing English and interpreting English literature, as demonstrated by two samples of written work by the applicant on literary subjects; a satisfactory written statement by the applicant of aims and interests in graduate work; letters of recommendation from at least three college instructors (English instructors preferred); and grades satisfactory to the department earned by the applicant at other institutions.

Degree Requirements

These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to The Graduate School  section of this catalogue for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.

Common Requirements

Transfer of Credit

A Transfer Credit Statement is prepared by the Degree Progress Department for students admitted to full graduate standing. The application of any available transfer credit is contingent on successful completion of the screening procedure and is determined by the director of graduate studies no later than the end of the second year according to the following guidelines: credit will only be allowed for courses (1) from accredited graduate schools; (2) of grade B (3.0 on a four-point scale) or better; (3) constituting a fair and reasonable equivalent to current USC course work at the graduate level and fitting into the program for the degree; and (4) approved by the Graduate School. Graduate transfer credit will not be granted for life experience, credit by examination, non-credit extension courses, correspondence courses or thesis course supervision.

The maximum number of transfer credits that may be applied toward the Master of Arts degree is 4 units. The maximum number of transfer credits that may be applied toward the PhD degree is 12 units. The Graduate School stipulates that transfer units must have been completed within 10 years of admission for the doctoral program to be applied toward the degree.

Experience in Teaching

This requirement may be fulfilled by one or more years’ service as an assistant lecturer in the Writing Program or equivalent experience as determined by the director of the Graduate Studies Program.

Graduate Activity and Support

The English Department is committed to the development of its graduate students as professionals. To this end, the department provides a number of opportunities for professional activity. In addition, the Association of English Graduate Students (AEGS) hosts a variety of lectures, discussions and forums throughout the year. To support the student’s professional activities outside of USC, the department also provides some funding for travel to conferences and professional meetings, along with a full range of placement, advising and support activities. Graduate creative writing students will host lectures, discussions and forums in poetry and fiction studies.

Programs

Bachelor’s Degree

• •  English (BA)
• •  Narrative Studies (BA)

Minor

• •  Cultural Studies Minor
• •  Early Modern Studies Interdisciplinary Minor
• •  English Minor

Interdisciplinary Minors

• •  Narrative Structure Interdisciplinary Minor

Master’s Degree

• •  English (MA)
• •  Literary Editing and Publishing (MA)

Doctoral Degree

• •  English and American Literature (PhD)
• •  Literature and Creative Writing (PhD)

Courses

English

• •  ENGL 105x Creative Writing for Non-Majors
• •  ENGL 170g The Monster and the Detective
• •  ENGL 172g The Art of Poetry
• •  ENGL 174g Reading the Heart: Emotional Intelligence and the Humanities
• •  ENGL 176g Los Angeles: the City, the Novel, the Movie
• •  ENGL 230g Shakespeare and His Times
• •  ENGL 250gm The African Diaspora
• •  ENGL 261g English Literature to 1800
• •  ENGL 262g English Literature since 1800
• •  ENGL 263g American Literature
• •  ENGL 280g Introduction to Narrative Medicine
• •  ENGL 285m African American Popular Culture
• •  ENGL 290 Cultural Studies: Theories and Methods
• •  ENGL 298g Introduction to the Genre of Fiction
• •  ENGL 299g Introduction to the Genre of Poetry
• •  ENGL 300 Advanced Expository Writing
• •  ENGL 301 The Rhetoric of Written Composition
• •  ENGL 302 Writing Narrative
• •  ENGL 303 Introduction to Fiction Writing
• •  ENGL 304 Introduction to Poetry Writing
• •  ENGL 305 Introduction to Nonfiction Writing
• •  ENGL 309 The English Language
• •  ENGL 310 Editing for Writers
• •  ENGL 311 History and Grammar of Modern English
• •  ENGL 312 Analysis of Written Persuasion
• •  ENGL 341 Women in English Literature before 1800
• •  ENGL 342g Women in English and American Literature after 1800
• •  ENGL 343m Images of Women in Contemporary Culture
• •  ENGL 344gm Sexual/Textual Diversity
• •  ENGL 350g Literature of California
• •  ENGL 351 Periods and Genres in American Literature
• •  ENGL 352g Bookpacking
• •  ENGL 355g Anglo-American Law and Literature
• •  ENGL 360 Modern Poetry
• •  ENGL 361g Contemporary Prose
• •  ENGL 362 Contemporary Poetry
• •  ENGL 363 Contemporary Drama
• •  ENGL 363g Contemporary Drama
• •  ENGL 364 The Modern Novel
• •  ENGL 371g Literary Genres and Film
• •  ENGL 372 Literature and Related Arts
• •  ENGL 373g Literature and Society
• •  ENGL 374m Literature, Nationality and Otherness
• •  ENGL 375 Science Fiction
• •  ENGL 376g Comics and Graphic Novels
• •  ENGL 379 History of Literary Criticism
• •  ENGL 380 Modern Literary Criticism: Theory and Practice
• •  ENGL 381 Narrative Forms in Literature and Film
• •  ENGL 390 Special Problems
• •  ENGL 392 Visual and Popular Culture
• •  ENGL 395 Junior Honors Seminar
• •  ENGL 402 Narrative Composition
• •  ENGL 404 The Writer in the Community
• •  ENGL 405 Fiction Writing
• •  ENGL 406 Poetry Writing
• •  ENGL 407 Advanced Fiction Writing
• •  ENGL 408 Advanced Poetry Writing
• •  ENGL 420 English Literature of the Middle Ages (1100–1500)
• •  ENGL 421 English Literature of the 16th Century
• •  ENGL 422 English Literature of the 17th Century
• •  ENGL 423 English Literature of the 18th Century (1660–1780)
• •  ENGL 424 English Literature of the Romantic Age (1780–1832)
• •  ENGL 425 English Literature of the Victorian Age (1832–1890)
• •  ENGL 426 Modern English Literature (1890–1945)
• •  ENGL 430 Shakespeare
• •  ENGL 440 American Literature to 1865
• •  ENGL 441 American Literature, 1865 to 1920
• •  ENGL 442 American Literature, 1920 to the Present
• •  ENGL 444m Native American Literature
• •  ENGL 445m The Literatures of America: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
• •  ENGL 446 African-American Poetry and Drama
• •  ENGL 447m African-American Narrative
• •  ENGL 448m Chicano and Latino Literature
• •  ENGL 449m Asian American Literature
• •  ENGL 454 Aesthetic Philosophy and Theory
• •  ENGL 461 English Drama to 1800
• •  ENGL 462 British and American Drama 1800–1950
• •  ENGL 465 The English Novel to 1800
• •  ENGL 466 The 19th Century English Novel
• •  ENGL 475 Politics and the Novel
• •  ENGL 490x Directed Research
• •  ENGL 491 Senior Seminar in Literary Studies
• •  ENGL 492 Narrative Studies Capstone Seminar
• •  ENGL 495 Senior Honors Seminar
• •  ENGL 496 Senior Honors Thesis
• •  ENGL 497 Senior Seminar in Early Modern Studies
• •  ENGL 499 Special Topics
• •  ENGL 501 History of Literary and Cultural Theory
• •  ENGL 502 Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory
• •  ENGL 503 Theories of History, Ideology and Politics
• •  ENGL 504 Theories of Race, Class, and Gender
• •  ENGL 507 Rhetoric and Language
• •  ENGL 508 History, Theories and Practice of Cultural Studies
• •  ENGL 510 Medieval English Literatures and Cultures
• •  ENGL 520 Renaissance English Literatures and Cultures
• •  ENGL 530 Restoration and 18th Century British Literatures and Cultures
• •  ENGL 535 Literatures and Cultures of the Romantic Period
• •  ENGL 536 Literatures and Cultures of the Victorian Period
• •  ENGL 540 19th Century British Literatures and Cultures
• •  ENGL 550 20th Century British Literatures and Cultures