What we offer in ENLI
The department of English and Linguistics offers a wide array of popular lower- and upper-level classes each semester. Within the General Education curriculum, themed sections of ENGL 202 (examples: Writing About Technology, Sports, the Self, the Moon, Multiethnic Literature) offer students from across campus a way to improve their writing skills and earn Humanities credit; LING 101 (Introduction to Linguistics) benefits students in psychology, language studies, neuroscience and more while offering either Humanities or Social Science credit; and our 200-level literature classes (examples: Global Issues in Literature, Queer Literature, Fictions of Disability, Black Sci Fi and Fantasy, Fairy Tales as Literature) offer a chance to encounter amazing texts while earning credit for the Arts and Literature requirement.
On the upper level, the department offers English classes across time periods, genres, and English-speaking geographies, as well as Creative Writing workshops and classes in Writing Studies. In Linguistics, students may study the building blocks of language or its discourses and functions in the world. Courses on the 300-level may appeal to a diverse audience but do require a more sophisticated study of texts or subject matter and more advanced writing. Courses on the 400-level offer a Speaking Intensive seminar experience in which students study a topic or theme in depth, frequently take charge of class discussions, and produce a major paper or project.
The searchable Course Schedule released each semester is the best guide to current and upcoming classes, but the course descriptions in the University’s catalog may also be useful:
Info on New, Special Topics (non-catalog), and Other Courses
Offered each Spring semester, this one-credit course will help English and Linguistics majors use the knowledge and skills they have acquired in college to develop robust professional identities and identify relevant career opportunities across diverse fields, including writing and publishing, marketing and communication, and law and business. This class fulfills the “After Mary Washington” requirement for graduation and is Digital Intensive.
The University of Mary Washington prides itself on its spirit of service. While COAR and various organizations offer lots of ways to serve both near and far, ENLI also encourages students to think about using their specific skills through this unique service learning opportunity. ENGL 399, Community Service Learning, asks students to step outside the bounds of the typical ENLI classroom by working with a Fredericksburg-area organization, ideally in the areas of written and oral literacy. These organizations call on majors to actively use such tools of the discipline as editing, proofreading, literacy, close reading, and speech, in order to provide after-school, GED, or ESOL tutoring, as well as offer assistance with communication skills and oral interpretation of various kinds. ENGL 399 is a one-credit course repeatable up to three times for credit in the major. The course requires a minimum of 20 hours of service per semester (not including any necessary training) and will be formalized in a standard contract. English 399 earns “Beyond the Classroom” credit toward graduation.
For more information, contact the chair of ENLI, Dr. Levin (jlevin@umw.edu).