Department of English

Spring 2027 205 Courses

ENGL 205: Science & Nature Writing

Instructor: Lisa Ottum

Attributes / Flags: Environ Science/Studies Elect, Lit and Moral Imagination, Peace & Justice Studies Minor, 100 Percent Online No Set Meet (Sec 10A), ADC Accelerated Deg Completion (Sec 10A), APEX Adult Day/Evening (Sec 10A), Undergraduate Half Term Course (Sec 10A)

  • Section 2 (CRN: 11007): TR 01:00 PM - 02:15 PM (In-Person)

  • Section 10A (CRN: 11013): No Set Meeting Times (Online (OL)

Think about the last medical breakthrough or environmental dilemma you heard about. Chances are, you learned of this thing not from a scientist directly, but from a journalist or other content creator. Writers bring emerging discoveries out of the lab and into public discourse. By assembling "facts" into stories, science and nature writers not only help us to make sense of the world; they also inevitably shape people’s perception of the things they describe. This section of ENGL 205 focuses on contemporary nonfiction science and nature writing.

ENGL 205: Health, Activism, & Community

Instructor: Keturah Nix

Attributes / Flags: Lit and Moral Imagination, Medical & Health Humanities Minor, MHH - Critical Health Studies, MHH - Narrative & Artistic Exp

  • Section 3 (CRN: 11006): MWF 09:00 AM - 09:50 AM (In-Person)

  • Section 4 (CRN: 11015): MWF 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM (In-Person)

In "Health, Activism, Community," the primary question guiding our studies is: How does activism make us healthier as a community? We will assess health through multiple lenses to develop a holistic framework for how we function with self and society. We will examine how injustices of any kind pose harmful threats to the well-being of people and communities. When we broaden our understanding of health to see injustice as an inhibitor to our well-being, we are then able to come alongside other communities as advocates and agents of change.

ENGL 205: Melodrama & Telenovelas

Instructor: Megan Nieto

Attributes / Flags: Lit and Moral Imagination

  • Section 5 (CRN: 11008): TR 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM (In-Person)

  • Section 9 (CRN: 11012): TR 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM (In-Person)

In this course, we will read contemporary Latine literature through the lens of the telenovela—traditionally a Spanish language serial drama or soap opera—and watch a telenovela to examine ethical issues concerning race/ethnicity, gender and sexuality, class, nation, migration, language, and violence. We will explore representations of "the sensational" and humor in Latine literature and English-language telenovelas as a means of social and ethical critique.

ENGL 205: Transformations

Instructor: Rebecca Todd

Attributes / Flags: Lit and Moral Imagination

  • Section 6 (CRN: 11009): MWF 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM (In-Person)

  • Section 7 (CRN: 11010): MWF 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM (In-Person)

Engl 205 in general explores how literature wrestles with big questions about right and wrong, personal values, and the way people make sense of the world around them. In this particular section, we’ll focus on ‘transformations’—powerful retellings and re-imaginings in both realistic and fantastical fiction and poetry. We’ll examine how characters (and authors, and readers) respond when their beliefs are challenged or their worlds are turned upside down.

ENGL 205: You, Me, Us, and Them

Instructor: James Cummings

Attributes / Flags: Lit and Moral Imagination, Medical & Health Humanities Minor, MHH - Critical Health Studies, MHH - Narrative & Artistic Exp

  • Section 8 (CRN: 11011): MWF 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM (In-Person)

  • Section 13 (CRN: 11017): MWF 01:00 PM - 01:50 PM (In-Person)

How well do we understand other people—or even ourselves? We routinely organize our understanding of the world through familiar categories: good and bad, right and wrong, normal and strange, innocent and guilty, us and them. But what happens when we examine those categories more closely, and when another person’s experience complicates what we thought we understood? You, Me, Us, and Them explores how literature can challenge and deepen our understanding of ourselves, other people, and the communities we share.

ENGL 205: Disability & Literature

Instructor: Bethany Lam

Attributes / Flags: Lit and Moral Imagination, Medical & Health Humanities Minor, MHH - Critical Health Studies, MHH - Narrative & Artistic Exp

  • Section 11 (CRN: 11016): MWF 02:00 PM - 02:50 PM (In-Person)

  • Section 24 (CRN: 14082): MWF 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM (In-Person)

How does literature perceive and grapple with disability? To answer that question, this course explores intersections between disability and American literature, using novels, essays, and other texts from the past 150 years. Our study is divided into three units: disability in medicine and society, disability and spectacle, and disability representation. The day-to-day workload is generally around 40 pages (2-3 hours) of reading per class period, plus a short quiz in each class and a weekly discussion board post. Evaluation will consist of quizzes, midterm and final exams, and written assignments.

ENGL 205: Teachers & Students (Honors)

Instructor: Graley Herren

Attributes / Flags: Honors, Lit and Moral Imagination

  • Section 11H (CRN: 11014): MWF 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM (In-Person)

  • Section 15H (CRN: 11018): MWF 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM (In-Person)

This honors version of Literature & the Moral Imagination will be organized around the topic of "Teachers & Students." We will study literature on the topic from multiple perspectives and genres. Course assignments will include class discussion, online posts, and essays. This class is open to anyone enrolled in one of Xavier’s honors programs.

ENGL 205: Hip Hop at 50

Instructor: Yalie Kamara

Attributes / Flags: Solidarity & Kinship Flag, Lit and Moral Imagination

  • Section 17 (CRN: 11020): MWF 09:00 AM - 09:50 AM (In-Person)

This course will use aspects of hip-hop culture as the literary lens through which to interrogate contemporary and historical societal issues. This will be achieved through the examination of the texts under study, which may include, but are not limited to: critical essays, film, the literary arts (novel excerpts, short stories, and poetry), performance and visual arts, and music.

ENGL 205: Between Worlds

Instructor: Stephen Yandell

Attributes / Flags: Lit and Moral Imagination

  • Section 19 (CRN: 11022): MWF 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM (In-Person)

Being a university student often means navigating multiple middle spaces ("I don’t quite fit in here, but I also don’t completely fit in over here"). This semester our literary texts will explore a breadth of "liminal" spaces (from Lat. limen, meaning threshold or doorstep). We will ask what it means to navigate liminal identities, exist between traditional genres, and explore the possibilities of "in-betweenness."

ENGL 205: Flourishing: Literature and the Moral Imagination

Instructor: Sheena Steckl

Attributes / Flags: Lit and Moral Imagination, Peace & Justice Studies Minor, Service Learning

  • Section 26 (CRN: 11004): TR 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM (In-Person / Campus Farm)

Flourishing invites students to explore how we can flourish as individuals, as well as how we can contribute to thriving communities and protect a verdant planet. This is a community-engaged learning course, which means we will be actively practicing what it means to be a member of a community by working on the campus farm during class time each week. We seek to embody Xavier’s Jesuit value of practicing service rooted in justice and love.

ENGL 205: Fear, Madness, Horror

Instructor: Jeffrey Gerding

Attributes / Flags: Lit and Moral Imagination

  • Section 27 (CRN: 15758): TR 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM (In-Person)

Course description coming soon.