English majors at Xavier study a wide variety of literature by men and women from various periods in Britain, the United States and the rest of the world.

ENGL 408: Dante and the Modern Reader

Dante's other world is our world—our loves, passions, ambitions, delusions, and unexpected reunions. In great economy of language, he shows us who we are.

ENGL 307: Writing, Editing & Publishing Internship

Write killer copy. Proofread like a pro. Build that resume. Create your portfolio. Today, internships have become indispensable career launchers. This course gives you real-world experience, from working with editors, authors, and graphic designers to mastering WordPress and InDesign. Prep yourself now for post-commencement publishing success.

ENGL 368: British Women Writers

When it comes to British literature, we’ve all sampled heavy-hitters like Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, and Dickens. But what about women authors such as Virginia Woolf, Angela Carter, and Katherine Philips? In this course, you’ll discover British women writers from a variety of time periods, including poets, novelists, and playwrights. Together, we’ll explore the works of less familiar figures, such as Aphra Behn; you’ll also gain new insights on more familiar figures, such as Mary Shelley. So make room, dudes. (Writers, that is: Xavier men welcome!)

ENGL 414/614: Tolkien and His Medieval Sources

Gold rings? Quests? Dragons? Medieval literature had all of these covered centuries before J.R.R. Tolkien employed them in his fiction. In this class, students explore a selection of Tolkien’s longer works (including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), shorter fiction, and medieval scholarship—all against the backdrop of those medieval works (translated from Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, and Old Norse) from which he borrowed key themes, characters, and plot points.