Writing

The English department offers a full range of courses in the writing of poetry, fiction, drama and various forms of nonfiction in addition to advanced courses in expository writing.

An English major with a special interest in writing may complete a major in English literature with a concentration in creative writing. Alternatively, a student may count up to 9 units of upper-division writing courses toward the English major.

The department also offers a minor in writing; this minor can be combined with any major, including the English major. In the latter case, students are advised to take English and American literature courses (designated L14 E Lit) exclusively for the English major and writing courses (designated L13 Writing) exclusively for the writing minor.

Except where noted, students are expected to receive a grade of C or better in each course.

Chair

Abram Van Engen
PhD, Northwestern University

Endowed Professors

Gerald L. Early
Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters
PhD, Cornell University

Vincent Sherry
Howard Nemerov Professor in the Humanities
PhD, University of Toronto

Professors

Mary Jo Bang
MFA, Columbia University

Joseph Loewenstein
PhD, Yale University

William J. Maxwell
PhD, Duke University

Anca Parvulescu
PhD, University of Minnesota

Carl Phillips
MA, Boston University

Wolfram Schmidgen
PhD, University of Chicago

Rafia Zafar
PhD, Harvard University

Associate Professors

Guinn Batten
PhD, Duke University

J. Dillon Brown
PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Danielle Dutton
PhD, University of Denver

William McKelvy
PhD, University of Virginia

Edward McPherson
MFA, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities

Melanie Micir
PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Jessica Rosenfeld
PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Julia Walker
PhD, Duke University

Assistant Professors

Ama Bemma Adwetewa-Badu
PhD, Cornell University

G'Ra Asim
MFA, Columbia University

Chris Eng
PhD, City University of New York

Gabi Kirilloff
PhD, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Sarah Weston
PhD, Yale University

Teaching Professors

Jennifer Arch
PhD, Washington University

Amy Pawl
PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Senior Lecturers

Bethany Daniels
MA, University of Missouri–St. Louis

Erin Finneran
PhD, Washington University

Phil Maciak
PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Heather McPherson
MFA, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Stephanie Pippin
MFA, Washington University

Martin Riker
PhD, University of Denver

Writers-in-Residence

Kathryn Davis
BA, Goddard University

Kathleen Finneran
BA, Washington University

Niki Herd
PhD, University of Houston

Marshall Klimasewiski
MFA, Bowling Green State University

Director of Creative Writing Program

David Schuman
MFA, Washington University

Professors Emeriti

Miriam Bailin
PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Wayne Fields
Lynne Cooper Harvey Chair Emeritus in English
PhD, University of Chicago

David Lawton
FAAH, PhD, University of York

Naomi Lebowitz
PhD, Washington University

Robert Milder
PhD, Harvard University

Vivian Pollak
PhD, Brandeis University

Carter C. Revard
PhD, Yale University

Richard Ruland
PhD, University of Michigan

Daniel Shea
PhD, Stanford University

Gary Wihl
PhD, Yale University

Steven Zwicker
PhD, Brown University

Although the English department does not offer a writing major, the department does offer the option of completing an English major with a creative writing concentration. To complete the major, students must take five creative writing courses, including at least three upper-division courses. Students will specialize in one particular genre — poetry, fiction or creative nonfiction — and ultimately take a three-course sequence in that genre (i.e., 200-, 300- and 400-level courses); students will also take at least one course outside of the chosen genre. The concentration will not change the requirements of the English major and thus requires 6 additional credit units as compared with the regular English major.

Students interested in majoring in English literature with a concentration in creative writing should visit the English page of this Bulletin for additional information.

The Minor in Writing

The writing minor is fulfilled by completing 15 units of writing courses, no more than 6 units of which can be taken at the 200 level. At least one of the five courses selected must be Writing 311 Exposition or Writing 312 Argumentation.

With department approval, up to 6 units of journalism courses in writing or editing offered by the School of Continuing & Professional Studies can be counted toward the minor. An off-campus internship (Writing 298 Journalism: Communications Internship) oriented toward writing may also be counted toward the minor. Regardless of level, at least 9 units counted toward the minor must be completed in regular courses home-based in writing.

For undergraduate scholars in the Howard Nemerov Program, two semesters of the 200-level Nemerov seminar (GeSt 211 Howard Nemerov Seminar I) may count as 3 units of 200-level work toward the writing minor. Two semesters of the 300-level Nemerov seminar may count as 3 units of 300-level work toward the writing minor. A maximum of 6 Howard Nemerov units may count toward the writing minor.

Students who wish to take a writing minor in addition to an English major are advised to take English and American literature courses (L14 E Lit) exclusively for the major and writing courses (L13) exclusively for the minor. (Please note: 100-level L13 classes do not normally count toward the writing minor.) Students who wish to combine writing with their English major are encouraged to consider an English major with a concentration in creative writing.

Courses listed on this page include L13 Writing and L59 CWP (College Writing Program). Please note: L59 courses and 100-level L13 courses do not normally count toward the writing minor.

Writing

Visit online course listings to view semester offerings for L13 Writing.

L13 Writing 103 College Writing: Writing, Literature, and Justice

This course seeks to develop the advanced reading, writing, and research skills that students need in a university setting. It uses classical texts of the western tradition to investigate the question of justice and to develop arguable claims through the careful analysis of evidence. The act of crafting arguments, we will assume, is implicated in the question of justice because arguments depend on an ethics of persuasion. We will learn how to practice such an ethics as we improve our ability to understand and utilize four crucial aspects of academic writing: evidence, analysis, argument, and research. Mastering these aspects will make us proficient in the difficult art of judgment. It will allow us to make sense of some of the most powerful literary statements about justice, from Sophocles to Shakespeare to Toni Morrison. Note: This course satisfies the first-year writing requirement for all divisions.
Same as L59 CWP 115

Credit 3 units.

Writing

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