Special problems. 1-6 cr.

This course examines the history of incarceration practices in the United States through poetry, fiction, and nonfiction prose. We will also consider the perspectives of several academic disciplines; these may include anthropology, history, journalism, legal studies, psychology, and sociology. This course satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Engl majors.

The Integrative Experience at UMass Amherst is a required upper-division course that asks students to reflect on and integrate their learning, from their major to their General Education courses to their extracurricular experiences; to further practice key Gen Ed objectives, such as oral communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary perspective-taking; and to begin to apply what they've learned at UMass to new situations, challenging questions, and real world problems. This course is a writing-intensive version of the IE, designed specifically for BA-English majors.

This course helps English majors find their way to the post-graduate life they want. Students practice important job search skills, learn to articulate the worth of their major, and leave the course with a better sense of their vocational direction. In addition to receiving individualized guidance in creating cover letters and resumes of immediate use, students work on multiple other assignments: attendance at career events, interviews with professionals from fields of interest, a professional presentation, a short paper researching professions, and participation in a mock interview.

An introduction to writing studies designed for students who may want to teach K-16, the course offers a variety of approaches to understanding writing production and literacy. Focusing on how writing changes in response to cultural, technical, and social shifts, the course examines the impact of such changes on teaching writing.

Topics vary. Some restrictions and prerequisites may apply.

A seminar in writing short stories and other fiction for advanced creative writing students. Students read in contemporary fiction and in craft topics; write regularly and discuss one another's writing.

Advanced study of Shakespeare within the frame of specific topics which will vary from semester to semester.

This is a stand-alone independent study designed by the student and faculty sponsor that involves frequent interaction between instructor and student. Qualitative and quantitative enrichment must be evident on the proposed contract before consent is given to undertake the study.