English Course Requirements
All course requirements are in addition
to the 60 credit hours Batvia University General Education Requirements.
Survey of American and British
Choose one Survey of American Literature
course and 1 Survey of British Literature course
Introduction to Shakespeare:
Shakespeare Elective: Choose 1 other Shakespeare course.
Choose 1 of the following:
The works of Milton
The works of Chaucer
The works of Dante
Poetry Choose one poetry
course from any period.
Choose one of the following:
History and Literature
Politics and Literature
Literature and the Environment
Choose any 5 more Literature courses.
Select an additional 24 credits from any
course in any discipline you desire to bring your total to 60 credits.
Literature and the Environment
(Lit 302) Addresses both transcendental and artistic environmental literary themes. Includes the works of Thoreau, Dickens,
Muir, and others, along with their impact on environmental reform. Also covers poetry dealing with nature and modern song
lyrics paying tribute to nature and addressing environmental issues.
An Introduction to Shakespeare
(Lit 201) Briefly introduces students to the works of Shakespeare, including his comedies, tragedies, histories and sonnets.
Also includes a biographical study of Shakespeare and his Globe Theatre, a historical and political study of Elizabethan England,
and a linguistic analysis of Elizabethan English to aid the student in understanding and enjoying Shakespeare’s works.
The Comedies of Shakespeare
(Lit 303) Compares and contrasts various Shakespearean comedies, including The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Much Ado about Nothing, and the various types of humor used in each.
The Tragedies of Shakespeare
(Lit 304) Compares and contrasts Shakespeare’s major tragedies, including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Mac Beth, Othello,
and Julius Caesar. Discusses the various elements of drama, the fatal flaws of each protagonist, and the political, social,
and religious insights made in each play. Students view at least one live or recorded performance of each play in the original
The Works of Poe (Lit 308)
Explores Poe’s works of mystery and terror, as well as their transcendental and enduring contributions to how short
stories are written. These works are compared and contrasted with short stories prior to Poe. Also focuses on Poe’s
poetry and his pricelessly eccentric biography.
Horror and Evil in Literature
(Lit 310) This course discusses the use evil and terror in the works of prominent writers in the context of their day and
age. Authors include Poe, Shakespeare, Stoker, Mary Shelley, Irving, Hawthorne, Dante, etc.
The Evolution of Fantasy (Lit
312) This offering focuses on the fantasy genre’s history, beginning with Beowulf and Lewis Carroll and Arthurian Legend
and progressing from Tolkien’s towering Lord of the Rings Trilogy to modern Fantasy masters such as Robert Jordan and
Terry Goodkind. Also includes the impact of fantasy literature on role-playing games.
Politics and Literature (Lit
315) This course examines authors and works that have been politically critical and/or instrumental in political reform, including
those of Machiavelli, Thoreau, Muir, Paine, Locke, Dickens, Carroll, Nursery Rhymes, Chaucer, Shakespeare, etc.
The Bible as Literature (Lit
321) Explores the literary motifs in the bible, as well as the poetry, imagery and symbolism used by various prophets.