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English

All English majors visit the English Majors Packet

The Writing Center (WritingCenter@csi.cuny.edu) is now offering both online and in-person tutoring.

For full details, including schedules, click on this link: Writing Center Tutoring.


Hear our student success stories! 

Assistant Professor Sohomjit Ray

ENL 290: Introduction to Literary Studies

This course introduces four major literary genres (lyric poetry, drama, short story, novel), as well as the basic concepts and terminology used in literary analysis. We will look closely at the use of plot and narrative technique, characterization and dialogue, and form and style in texts drawn from various time periods and regions. Thematically, the readings will focus on myth, memory, and the uncanny. Most texts provided on Blackboard.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: TTH 4:40 – 6:20

Prof Sohom Ray

Associate Professor Simon Reader

ENL 290: Introduction to Literary Studies

Wherever we find poems, plays, or stories, we also find people who like to study and judge them. This course offers skills for how to do so. Serving as a foundation for other courses in the English department, the content of this course includes an array of literary media from the ancient world to the present (multiple poems, short fiction, and a play are on deck) as well as vocabulary and techniques for writing about such literature convincingly.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: M 6:30 – 9:30

Prof Simon Reader

Associate Professor Simon Reader

ENL 300: British and American Literary Traditions

This course surveys British literature from the medieval period to the early nineteenth century. Covering about a thousand years of literary history will be no easy task, but strong recurrent themes will sustain our reading from week to week: obedience and rebellion, the role of men and women in society, romantic love, magic, the supernatural, and evil.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: MW 2:30 – 4:25

Prof Simon Reader

Professor Janet Ng Dudley

ENL 310: World Literature in Contexts

Sincerity and Authenticity
We’ll explore the idea of self and self-identity in different cultures and in different historical periods. We examine how different societies understand what it means to be a genuine person or a good person. We ask how these societies deal with contradictions between individual desires, aspirations, and social expectations. We also explore if there is a true self within us to which we can be completely faithful. And if so, should we be?

This class is HYBRID-ASYNCH
and meets on: TH 12:20 – 2:15

Prof Janet Dudley

Professor Christopher Miller

ENL 323: Coming of Age Narratives
 

What does it mean to be “of age”? In legal or social terms, it means reaching an age at which a person assumes certain rights, privileges, and responsibilities. The idea of “coming of age,” however, represents a longer evolution rather than particular milestones. We will be studying the ways that a diverse range of authors make sense of that process through narrative fiction.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: MW 4:40 - 6:20

Prof Christopher Miller

CSI Dolphin

ENL 338: Epic and Romance
 

This course traces the development of the narrative poems that became known as epics and romances, from ancient times to the Renaissance. We will read selections of medieval works, including Dante’s Inferno. The main theme of the course is how competing values—especially values relating to war and love—are put into play, and how they help determine which stories get told and how they are told. There will also be special emphasis on female characters: ladies, queens, and sorceresses.

This class is HYBRID-ASYNCH
and meets on: T 12:20 – 2:15

Prof Steven Monte

Professor Timothy Gray

ENL 347: Major Twentieth Century Novelists

In this class we will look at four influential works of fiction from different eras and different areas of the globe: Ireland, the Czech Republic, Nigeria, and New Zealand. Discussion about form (story versus novel) will supplement our discussion about content. We will also explore the relationship between abstract thought and physical space, especially where colonialism is involved. We will read James Joyce’s Dubliners (1914), Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Other Stories, Chinua Achebe’s No Longer at Ease (1960), and Keri Hulme’s The Bone People (1986).

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: T 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Timothy Gray

CSI Dolphin

ENL 353: Contemporary Poetry
 

This is a course on English-language poetry of the last 20 years or so—American, Canadian, Australian, British, Irish, and more. In a way, it is a course on twenty-first-century poetry in English. We will be reading many poets in small selections, but every student will be encouraged to explore more intensely one poet or one group of related poets. Everyone will give a presentation on a poet or poets of their interest, and everyone will write a review of a contemporary poetry book

This class is HYBRID-ASYNCH
and meets on: T 10:10 – 12:05

Prof Steven Monte

Associate Professor Lee Papa

ENL 355: Modern European Drama
 

We will concentrate on modern plays from the British Isles, looking at works by writers from the UK and Ireland. From Harold Pinter to Caryl Churchill to Natasha Gordon, from Samuel Beckett to Martin McDonagh to Marina Carr, we’ll look at an array of styles and backgrounds, concentrating on the theatrical, the historical, and the political aspects of the plays. And I promise that some of them will even be fun and funny.

This class is IN PERSON
and meets on: TH 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Lee Papa

Professor Katharine Goodland

ENL 361: The Early Shakespeare
 

Queer Shakespeare
In this course we will explore all things queer in Shakespeare, from the fool in King Lear to the cross-dressed boys who played the female characters on stage during Shakespeare's time. We will explore queerness in the most expansive definition of the word, looking at its etymological origin, what it meant during Shakespeare's time.

This class is ONLINE-SYNCH
and meets on: M 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Katharine Goodland

Associate Professor Maria Bellamy

ENL 377: The African American Literary Tradition

This course will focus on two novels about slavery by two of the most influential and award-winning writers of this century: Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novel The Underground Railroad and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ first venture into fiction, The Water. Both novels use fantastic means to tell the story of slavery and resistance and speak to our contemporary moment in startling ways.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: MW 12:20 – 2:15

Prof Maria Bellamy

Associate Professor Alyson Bardsley

ENL 399: Themes in Literature
 

Ecofeminism in Literature and Culture
Before global heating and the climate crisis were front page news, feminists of various backgrounds, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color feminists, Anglo-American feminists, and feminists of the Global South, disabled feminists, and queer feminists, were questioning the exploitation and destruction they observed. This class digs deep into their brilliant observations.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: TTH 10:10 – 12:05

Prof Alyson Bardsley

CSI Dolphin

EWR 267: Craft of Creative Writing
 

Craft of Creative Writing introduces students to the literary conventions of creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and playwriting. The course will explore the elements that set the genres apart, the elements they share, and the relationship between reading and writing. Texts will be taken from the four major genres and used as models for students' creative writing. For English majors and minors, this is designated as a writing course.

This class is HYBRID-ASYNCH
and meets on: W 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Tyehimba Jess

Lewis Dimmick

EWR 267: Craft of Creative Writing
 

In EWR 267 in Spring 2024 we’ll practice short forms, like flash fiction, sometimes called sudden fiction or microfiction, lyric poetry, creative nonfiction of no more than 750 words (as modeled by the excellent online magazine BREVITY) and flash drama. This will be a dialogue-based class where student voices are centered in the experience and where students contribute to decision-making and curriculum-building.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: TTH 4:40 – 6:20

Prof Lewis Dimmick

Professor Frederick Kaufman

EWR 277: Introduction to Journalism
 

Introduction to Journalism will present students will the concept of newsworthiness while emphasizing the basic elements of journalistic writing and media analysis, including hard news, soft news, objective reporting, working with sources, profiles, spot event coverage, opinion writing, and photojournalism. Special emphasis will be placed on the language, vocabulary, and structural requirements of successful heds, deks, and ledes. Throughout the semester we will focus on newsroom issues such as the manifold legal and ethical issues that surround reportage.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: T 6:30 – 9:50

Prof Frederick Kaufman

Lecturer Melanie McNulty

EWR 308: Theories of Composition
 

ENL 308 is an exciting exploration of the intricacies of teaching writing. Not just teaching writing but understanding the profound impact of writing on our world. Together, we'll uncover major themes within writing studies: personal writing, the empowerment of multicultural learners, the exciting world of multimodal composition, and the groundbreaking frontier of AI in writing and writing instruction. We'll bridge theory with practice, ensuring that you can connect the dots between the classroom and the real world.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: MW 10:10 – 12:05

Prof Melanie McNulty

Professor Frederick Kaufman

EWR 370: Craft of Creative Nonfiction Writing

We will read samples of different genres of creative non-fiction and produce four stories of different type and length. We will discuss the reading and edit student work in class. Students will pay close attention to researching, reporting, structuring, and writing these stories. We will focus on the structures that comprise narrative, including character (as opposed to source), voice and dialogue (as opposed to quote), approaches to scene and setting, historical and contemporary research, reporting strategies and tactics.

This class is ONLINE-SYNCH
and meets on: TTH 12:20 – 2:15

Prof Frederick Kaufman

CSI Dolphin

EWR 371: Craft of Fiction Writing
 

The course explores the literary conventions that distinguish fiction as a genre. By considering models for their own creative writing, students will learn how to employ basic narrative techniques in creating their own short fiction, the focus of which may include but not be limited to: image, voice, character, setting, and plot. For English majors and minors, this is designated as a writing course.

This class is ONLINE-SYNCH
and meets on: T 6:30 – 9:50

Prof D. Sharp

Associate Professor Lee Papa

EWR 373: Craft of Playwriting
 

This class will serve as both an introduction to the writing of dramatic scripts, as well as a place to develop short plays. We will approach plays as a performed medium, and we will build our skills with various exercises and readings. The class will be writing intensive, both in class and out. Playwriting, like other genres, has its own demands, and we will explore how writers can use the space of the stage and the word on the page to create compelling drama.

This class is IN-PERSON
and meets on: WM 2:30 – 4:25

Prof Lee Papa

Professor Cate Marvin

EWR 432: Poetry Workshop
 

This is an advanced poetry workshop in which we will explore and experiment with traditional and invented forms. We will back at the traditions that brought us to where American poetry is today and consider how poems of the moment talk back at the past. The poems we read and discuss will be vibrant, ingeniously structured, and thrilling, as will the poems we write.

This class is HYBRID-SYNCH
and meets on: MW 12:20 – 2:15

Prof Cate Marvin


English Department Overview

Welcome to the English Department at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York! English is one of the largest and most diverse departments at the College, and also houses the Writing Program, the Writing Center, and the Speech Laboratory. English faculty members contribute to interdisciplinary programs such as American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and they teach courses on a wide variety of topics - from Coming of Age Narratives, Journalism, and Shakespeare, to syntactic theory, phonetics, sociolinguistics, and more.

The Writing Center

Basic Services and Goals

The Writing Center, under the direction of the English Department, assists students in improving their reading and writing skills in all subject areas. Our tutors do this by providing students with meaningful feedback and engaging them in discussion aimed at helping the students fulfill their potential through a better understanding of course requirements, assignments and readings.

Primary Modes of Tutoring

To meet these goals, we offer two primary modes of tutoring.

  • Online sessions are conducted via appointment only.
  • During in-person hours, students will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you wish to schedule an online appointment, please submit your request to WritingCenter@csi.cuny.edu.
If you prefer to see someone in person, come join us in 2S-216 during our scheduled drop-in hours.

If you have questions or require further information, feel free to call us @ 718.982.3635.


For Students Whose First Language is not English (ESL Students)

The English Department offers writing courses that are tailored especially for students whose first language is not English.  For more information about our ESL courses please click here.

English / Modern Languages Building
Building 2S, Room 218
Willowbrook Campus

Department Contact

Lee Papa

Chair and Associate Professor

Email Lee Papa

Fredricka Grasso

Administrative Assistant

2S-218
Email Fredricka Grasso

Kathleen Passantino

Office Assistant

2S-218
Email Kathleen Passantino

#BlackLivesMatterIn 2020, we found ourselves in the midst of intertwined crises. The Covid-19 pandemic forced us into lockdown. While some of us were inconvenienced by directives to stay at home, Black, Brown, immigrant, working-class, and poor communities, lacking access to health care and social and economic safety nets, were ravaged by the novel coronavirus. As many CUNY students, faculty, and staff struggled to adjust to remote learning and remote work, New York State and CUNY leadership chose to lean into their austerity policies, once again subjecting the university to deep budget cuts. Their persistent refusal to invest in CUNY, the “engine of economic mobility,” has especially burdened our minoritized students, who have to contend with rising tuition fees and course caps, shrinking library and academic support services, and campuses in disrepair.

The nation was also shaken by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Walter Wallace, Jr. and the shooting of Jacob Blake. As Mr. Floyd was being brutalized, he repeatedly uttered, “I can’t breathe.” His words painfully echoed the last words of Eric Garner, who died six years ago from an illegal chokehold in Stapleton, Staten Island. Even while Mr. Garner’s murder inspired national outrage, we have yet to witness substantial police reform. We keep saying the names of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Stephon Clark, Atatiana Jefferson, and many others as our demands for justice and reform remain unheard. We think also of the countless Black Americans targeted by racist policing and police violence whose names we do not know.

As the horrifying assault on the Capitol in early January made clear, the troubling issues of 2020 have not miraculously vanished at the dawn of a new year. To confront and undo the racist, unjust policies and practices that shape our systems of education, health care, employment, housing, and policing, we need to dedicate ourselves to consistent action and engage in critical self-reflection. Through teaching, research, and community work, the faculty of the English Department of the College of Staten Island demonstrate how the humanities can be a tool for social transformation. The study of literature and language and the practices of reading and writing can deepen our understanding of the gaps between our ideals and our realities, can enable us to imagine and create alternatives to inequitable and violent systems. But we also recognize that the humanities and higher education must undergo transformation in order to become more racially just. The English Department recommits itself to an antiracist curriculum and antiracist pedagogies as we continue the hard work ahead.

19 January 2021