Undergraduate Programs

Literature
A variety of options are available to undergraduates wishing to devote their major electives to further work in literary studies. Usually organized by some combination of genre, theme, historical period, or national, cultural, and ethnic focus, the English Department’s upper-division literature courses are numerous and are offered regularly.

Many students take upper-division literature courses because of an interest aroused in one of their ILP courses. Creative writing and rhetoric and composition students often take advanced literature courses to get a sense of the history of their own practice or to see what contemporary writers are doing, or perhaps both. Students with an interest in literary theory or cultural studies take courses which foreground these concerns in the selection and discussion of texts. And virtually all students take at least one course dealing in some way with contemporary literature, whether written in England, Hawai‘i, the continental U.S., New Zealand, Ghana, Canada, India, Samoa, or any other place where English serves as one of the languages of literature.

For more information on opportunities for literary studies, contact your advisor or the Director of Undergraduate Studies; watch the bulletin boards near the fourth floor elevator, as well, and remember that the Department publishes descriptions of all its upper-division courses, available before the Schedule of Classes comes out, in KUY 402, outside KUY 429, and on its web site <http://www.english.hawaii.edu/courses/courses>.

Creative Writing
Undergraduate students have various opportunities to study or to specialize in creative writing. Those majoring/minoring in English may take their elective credits in creative writing courses which cover fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and writing in special genres. Students who are not English majors may also take any of the creative writing courses, provided that they meet the prerequisites (usually ENG 313). All students choosing 400-level creative writing courses should have been encouraged to continue by their ENG 313 instructors. UHM is one of only a handful of schools nationwide that offer not only the MA or MFA in Creative Writing, but also the PhD.

Creative Writing Courses
ENG 313: Types of Creative Writing. This workshop introduces students to the genres of fiction and poetry. One half of the semester is devoted to writing poetry, the other to writing fiction. ENG 313 is prerequisite for all other courses in creative writing. Prerequisite: ENG 100 or 101 and one ENG 250-57 course.

ENG 410: Form and Theory of Poetry. This course provides a foundation in contemporary theories and techniques of poetry through reading the poems, essays, and commentaries of poets. Workshop assignments may be part of the course. Prerequisite: ENG 313 or consent.
ENG 411: Poetry Workshop. This course in advanced poetry writing puts into practice theories and techniques learned in ENG 410. Prerequisite: ENG 410 or consent. The course may be repeated once for credit.

ENG 412: Nonfiction Workshop. Writing nonfiction prose using the techniques of narrative literature found in "new journalism," essays, literary articles, biography, and in "non-fiction" novels. Prerequisite: ENG 313, 306, or consent. This course may be repeated once for credit.

ENG 413: Form and Theory of Fiction. This course offers students wishing to write fiction at a more advanced level a foundation in contemporary theories and techniques. Reading models and commentaries as well as workshop assignments. Prerequisite: ENG 313 or consent.

ENG 414: Fiction Workshop. This course offers further opportunities to write and refine fiction and to apply what has been learned in ENG 413. Prerequisite: ENG 413 or consent. This course may be repeated once for credit.

ENG 416: Studies in Creative Writing. This is a special topics course on writing in particular genres (nature, travel writing), or writing in forms related to other arts such as dance, the visual arts, video, etc. Prerequisite: ENG 313 or 306, one 400-level writing course, or consent.

The Visiting Creative Writer. The Creative Writing Program frequently hosts a visiting poet or prose writer so that students may work with a writer not on the regular faculty. Visiting writers have included Ron Carlson, Eric Chock, Alison Deming, Galway Kinnell, Maxine Hong Kingston, Michael Ondaatje, Walter Pavlich, Lynne Sharon Schwartz, Cathy Song, Robert Stone, Robert Sullivan, Edgar Torres, Eleanor Wilner, and Lois Ann Yamanaka.

Rhetoric and Composition
A growing area of specialization at both the undergraduate and graduate levels nationally, rhetoric and composition offers students an opportunity to study language and textual practices within and beyond the academy. The undergraduate major is a good place to start thinking about and working with the theories and practices of reading and writing. If you have an interest in the writing process, the teaching of English, law, advertising, or technical and business writing, then specializing in rhetoric and composition may be a good option for you.

Rhetoric and composition share an interest in forms of communication in personal, academic, and social contexts. Rhetoric historically is defined as the art of persuasion. Currently, the study of rhetoric involves the production and analysis of argumentation in print and electronic media and verbal and visual forms. Sites of study may include civic, political, and legal discourse, advertisements, and hypertexts, among others. Composition studies the theories and practices associated with the writing process and with the teaching of writing. As an interdisciplinary field of inquiry, it draws upon research and methodologies from linguistics, education, women's studies, cultural studies, and anthropology. Sites of study may include social and cultural dimensions of writing, writing in the academy, community writing projects, and literacy.

Rhetoric and Composition Courses
ENG 300: The Rhetorical Tradition. A course that surveys major concepts and thinkers in the history of rhetoric from ancient Greece and Rome to the present. Prerequisite: two ENG 250-57 courses, the second of which may be taken concurrently.

ENG 302: Introduction to the English Language. A course that considers not only the recent history of the language but also issues of language diversity, standards, and multiculturalism. Prerequisite: two ENG 250-57 courses, the second of which may be taken concurrently.

ENG 306: Argument I. A prerequisite for several of the 400-level writing courses, and a good place to begin focusing your writing talents on challenging assignments and projects. Prerequisite: one ENG 250-57 course.

ENG 307: Rhetoric, Composition and Computers. A course in various forms of on-line communication that also explores rhetorical strategies appropriate to these new media and their social implications. Prerequisite: one ENG 250-57 course.

ENG 311: Autobiographical Writing. This course gives serious writing students the opportunity to work within a major literary form, the autobiographical essay. Writing in and out of class is based on the student’s own experience, and readings are drawn from autobiographical texts that offer a variety of approaches to writing about one’s self. Prerequisite: ENG 100 and one ENG 250-57 course.

ENG 402: History of the English Language. A course in the early and later development of the English language to about 1800, with particular emphasis on the analysis of literary texts. Prerequisite: two ENG 250-57 courses.

ENG 403: Modern English Grammar. An excellent introduction to grammatical analysis and issues of teaching and style for English and Education majors. Prerequisite: two ENG 250-57 courses.

ENG 404: English in Hawai‘i. This course studies the English-speaking culture of Hawai‘i from the viewpoint of the state’s multilingual history and culture. Prerequisite: two ENG 250-57 courses.

ENG 405: Teaching Composition. A course that combines the study of methods and issues in the teaching of writing with teaching or tutoring assignments outside of the classroom. Prerequisite: two ENG 250-57 courses.

ENG 406: Argumentative Writing II. A course designed to concentrate on principles of argument and persuasion, and a good introduction to advanced work in rhetorical principles. Prerequisite: ENG 306 or consent.

ENG 407: Writing for Electronic Media. A lecture/lab course in computer mediated communication, including on-line technical writing, courseware developments, hypertext fiction, etc. Prerequisite: two ENG 250-57 courses, ENG 307.

ENG 408: Professional Editing. A course of practice in the professional editing of a variety of texts, and supplemented by readings and discussions on the science and art of editing. Prerequisite: ENG 306 or consent.

ENG 409: Studies in Composition/Rhetoric/Language. The content of this course varies by semester. See the Department’s course descriptions for specific information. Prerequisite: ENG 320 and two other 300-level ENG courses.

The Director of Composition (KUY 711) can provide more information on the rhetoric and composition emphasis, including the faculty working in the emphasis, future work in the graduate program, and publishing opportunities.

The Honors Program in English
The Honors Program in English, which is jointly sponsored by the Department of English and the University Honors Program, offers a valuable educational experience for qualified students who wish to enhance their undergraduate education. One should enter the Honors Program at the end of the second year or beginning of the third; a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 is usually recommended. Students enrolled in the program have the opportunity to investigate a topic of genuine interest to them and to work closely with a member of the faculty in researching and writing a senior Honors Thesis. Students may also supplement or substitute English major course requirements with appropriate Honors tutorial classes. After meeting the Departmental and University Honors requirements, students may earn the B.A. degree with Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors.

Honors Courses
The Honors Program consists of one interdisciplinary seminar (HON 491), which may include students from various majors, and a class on research methods (HON 495) taken from the University Honors Program. In addition to these, the English Department offers two of its own Honors Tutorials every semester, and students generally take one or more of them before graduation.

The junior-level English tutorials, ENG 393 and 394, serve as "bridge" courses for incoming Honors students. Introductions to a genre or to theoretical/historical contexts for literary interpretation, ENG 393 or 394 may substitute for the major’s Introduction to English Studies requirement (ENG 320). Recent junior-level English Honors Tutorials include, Critical Approaches to Science Fiction, Drama into Film, and American Poet-Critics.

Students may also take one or more sections of ENG 491 and ENG 492 for their senior-level English Tutorials. Recent sections include Women’s Autobiographical Narratives, Asian Diasporic Literatures in English, and Regionalism and the Idea of a "Local" Literature. English Honors Tutorials are repeatable for credit and may be used as English electives or, if appropriate, as substitutes for major requirements.

With the permission of the Honors Director or the instructor, non-Honors students may enroll in English Honors tutorials on a case-by-case basis.

The Honors Thesis
During the senior year, Honors students work on an extended research or creative project in consultation with a thesis advisor. The thesis may be based in any area of the Department’s programs: literary studies, cultural studies, composition and rhetoric, creative writing, etc. The thesis length varies according to the project but is ordinarily 40-70 pages. Students begin their research in the first semester of HON 495, in which they explore various approaches to their topics, engage in research, prepare a bibliography, and outline their thesis. The actual writing of the thesis usually takes two semesters, for which students receive three credits (HON 496) per semester.
When the thesis is complete except for minor revisions, the student then participates in a Thesis Discussion with three or four members of the faculty. The Thesis Discussion allows time to incorporate suggests and to do final editing before the bound version is submitted to the University Honors Program. In addition, it creates the opportunity for students to articulate the challenges of the project, to receive thoughtful responses, and finally to recognize what they have accomplished over the course of a year’s independent study.

Honors Advising
Through individual advising, English Honors students are encouraged to take advantage of a wide range of academic opportunities and programs. The Honors Director and faculty advisor work closely with each student to plan a program that best serves her or his particular interests and to offer pertinent information on professional and graduate school requirements, application procedures, and scholarships.

To learn more about the Honors Program, please speak with the Director of the Honors Program in English; office and phone numbers and office hours are available in KUY 402.