Literary Media and Cultures

Do you daydream about conceptual conundrums, characters, dialogue, points of view, and worldbuilding? While you may not participate in fandoms or cosplay, the Literary Media and Cultures track is for you if you find yourself thinking about the reception of every story you hear, read, or binge watch. Study storytelling found in ancient manuscripts, songs and musical scores, theatrical performances, books of all kinds, illustrations, photographs, films, radio and television shows, and digital media. You’ll learn how narratives adapt and change, assist us as we navigate the human condition, build communities, and improve the world.

Skills:

This track invites you to engage with the cultures and contexts that use and transform stories. It expands the kinds of texts you study and your critical thinking and writing skills. Studying in this track hones the crucial skills of communication, adaptability, problem solving, creativity, and attention to detail. These highly useful skills prepare you to lead out in graduate and professional schools, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations that involve marketing and media communications, education and research, business management and consulting, health care and finance, and entrepreneurship. Graduates from this track will be prepared to share stories with a variety of audiences across a range of media, and to better understand why storytelling provides insight into the human experience.

Coursework:

5 classes/15 credits. These may be taken in any order, but students are encouraged to take the capstone during their senior year.

• Introductory Approaches to Media and Popular Literatures (choose one)
  
  • ENGL 322: Rhetorical Foundations
  • ENGL 345: Literature and Film
  • ENGL 391: Introduction to Folklore
  • ENGL 340: Book and Publishing History
• Pre-1800 Media and Popular Literatures/Folklore (choose one)
  
  • ENGL 331R: Media and Popular Literatures before 1800
  • ENGL 356: Myth, Legend, and Folktale
• Post-1800 Media and Popular Literatures/Folklore (choose one)
  
  • ENGL 332R: Media and Popular Literatures after 1800
  • ENGL 392: American Folklore
• Digital and Visual Rhetoric or Literacies (choose one)
  
  • ENGL 325: Visual Communication
  • ENGL 326: Digital Communication
  • ENGL 327R: Studies in Rhetoric
  • ENGL 335: Professional Speaking
  • ENGL 344R: Digital and Visual Literacies
• Capstone (choose one)
  
  • ENGL 494: Professional Writing and Rhetoric Senior Seminar
  • ENGL 495: The Senior Course