Our Mission
The Department of English & Modern Languages encourages intellectual curiosity, social consciousness, and cultural accountability through the study of language and literature. The Department engages a broad range of literary and linguistic study to promote an appreciation of diverse human communication.
Within the department, there is a dedicated focus to the philosophy of "writing across the curriculum" through intentional interdisciplinary engagement throughout the department curriculum.
Further, the Department of English & Modern Languages is responsible for administering general education courses in Composition, Literature, and Modern Languages. As a service department for the College, it assists students with mastery of communication skills and provides activities that contribute to a comprehensive liberal arts education. As a unit offering courses leading to a major in the discipline, the Department of English prepares students for advanced study in literature, linguistics, law, education, and other related fields.
Student Learning Outcomes
Comprehensive assessment ensuring mastery of critical skills through rigorous evaluation methods.
Students will demonstrate familiarity with the terminology and basic findings of linguistic analysis—student comprehensive exams.
Students will evaluate, analyze, and synthesize the content (major works, moments, figures) found in African American, American, and British Literatures—student comprehensive exams.
Students will demonstrate the ability to generate original academic thought, conduct sustained research, exhibit critical thinking skills, and analyze and synthesize texts.—senior thesis.
Students will demonstrate proficiency in standard English communication and the ability to produce organized academic writing.—senior thesis.
The Senior Comprehensive Exams and the Senior Thesis are the assessment tools for the department’s student learning outcomes.
The Curriculum
The Department of English and Modern Languages at Tougaloo College offers students a rigorous curriculum that embraces both literary and linguistic study, research, and cultural enrichment. Our majors enroll in 52 hours beyond the general education requirements.
Featured Courses
English Minor
The English minor consists of twenty-one (21) credit hours. The Department has designated the courses for fifteen (15) of those hours, and the student will select the remaining six (6) hours from an approved list of electives.
Course Descriptions
Explore our comprehensive course offerings in English and French, designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of language, literature, and cultural studies through rigorous academic instruction.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS: ENGLISH
This is a three-credit, college-level English course that counts towards graduation hours. A student with an ACT score below 19 will be placed in ENG 100. This course prepares students to succeed in ENG 101 and ENG 102 by guiding them in refining their writing process, engaging in critical reading, thinking, and writing, and producing personal and text-based essays. The purpose of this course is to effectively prepare students for the rigors of college-level writing and introduce them to college expectations for writing and research. ENG 100 has both a classroom and workshop component. Students must also complete ENG 101 and ENG 102 in order to satisfy the General Education requirement. Students must pass ENG 100 before advancing to ENG 101.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course offers a study in oral and written expression. In English 101, students review grammar, mechanics, and paragraph development and engage in vocabulary building. A grade of "C" is required for passing this course and advancing to ENG 102. ENG 101 cannot be taken simultaneously with ENG 102. Offered each semester.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course offers a study in oral and written expression. During English 102, students write multi-paragraph essays and document papers based on research. A grade of "C" is required for passing this course. Prerequisite: ENG 101 or ENG 103. Offered each semester.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This honors course is designed to allow eligible students to fulfill freshman English requirements on an honors level. Attention is given to the development of linguistic proficiency and mastery of expository and critical writing through problem-centered and interdisciplinary techniques.
CREDIT: FOUR SEMESTER HOURS EACH.
This honors course is designed to allow eligible students to fulfill freshman English requirements on an honors level. Attention is given to the development of linguistic proficiency and mastery of expository and critical writing through problem-centered and interdisciplinary techniques. Prerequisite: ENG 103.
CREDIT: FOUR SEMESTER HOURS EACH.
The course presents an extensive study of prefixes, roots, and suffixes from different languages with a view toward strengthening and expanding the student's operational English vocabulary. Foreign language roots to be used will be from Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, Anglo-Saxon, etc.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course introduces students to four major genres: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and drama. The focus is on learning and applying literary devices to original work, reading established writers in terms of learning from their craft, developing, editing, and revising skills, and developing workshop skills: giving suggestions to peers as well as applying suggestions for revision of one's own work. Students are encouraged to experiment with styles, practice pastiches, and ultimately develop one's own individual voice. Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course is an introduction to a broad historical and multi-cultural range of ideas and experiences through the critical reading of a substantial body of literary works. Writing about the works studied is emphasized. Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104. Required of all students. Offered each semester.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
In this course, students read, explore, and discuss works written by authors from various cultural backgrounds and geographical spaces. These works are to be considered "world literature" based on their representation of the world beyond America's most familiar environments, borders, and perspectives. This course observes how cultures collide through language, experience, context, etc. and how these collisions shape the literature. The readings span from the ancient world into the late twentieth century connecting to one another through various themes and narrative illustrations. Covering a wide variety of literary works – poems, short stories, and novels – class discussions will question and address notions of journey, nationhood, identity, globalization, love, and other troubles. All readings are in English.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course is an introduction to the scholarly methods and practices necessary for undergraduate and graduate study and an academic career in English. Required of all English majors. Prerequisite: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, and ENG 201 or 205 as either prerequisite or co-requisite. Offered each year.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course examines the literature of African Americans in its historical and aesthetic context and expose students to works from oral tradition to the Harlem Renaissance era. Writers studied include Wheatley, Equiano, Chestnut, Hughes, McKay, and more. Required of all English majors. Co-requisites: ENG 201, 210. Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course examines the literature of African Americans in its historical and aesthetic context and expose students to works spanning from Realism to the Postmodernist era. Required of all English majors. Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, ENG 210, and ENG 211.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course offers an introduction to the early British literary canon, extending from the late medieval period through the eighteenth century. Readings include but are not limited to Chaucer, More, Sidney, Shakespeare, Milton, Behn, and Swift. Required of all English majors.
Prerequisites: ENG 101, 102 (or 103, 104), ENG 201 or 205, and 210
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course surveys works of British Literature from the Romantic period to the modernist novel. It considers literary texts in relation to major historical developments such as the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the rise of Imperialism, new print and transportation technologies, rapidly increasing literacy rates, and the emergence of mass culture. Required of all English majors.
Co-requisites: ENG 201 (or 205). Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, ENG 210, ENG 224
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course studies American folklore and explores the theoretical concepts underlying the field. Texts exhibit the collection of American folklore, the contrast between oral and written genres, and the use of folklore and folk life in literary works.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course focuses on the sounds of American English, and the ways those sounds can be represented in writing. The course will cover the nature of consonants and vowels, how different sounds are produced, and how we perceive speech sounds. Required of all English majors.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104 and ENG 201 or 205
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course provides individualized tutoring and instruction for juniors and seniors who have failed the English/Writing Proficiency Examination one or more times. Students enrolled in the course will be required to pass all parts of the English/Writing Proficiency Examination at the specified level of competency.
Prerequisites: junior or senior standing and completion of ENG 101-102 or 103-104
CREDIT: NONE
Students study the history and aesthetics of fiction writing by reading the different forms of classic and contemporary authors. Students will write original pastiches of each form, practicing style, structure, narration, scene, dialogue, and voice.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, and ENG 200, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
Students study the history and aesthetics of poetry writing by reading the different forms of classic and contemporary poets. Students will write original pastiches of each form, practicing structure, meter, rhythm, rhyme, style, and voice.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104 and ENG 200, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
Students study the history and aesthetics of non-fiction writing by reading the different forms of classic and contemporary authors. Students will write original pastiches of each form, practicing style, structure, narration, scene, dialogue, and voice.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104 and ENG 200, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
Students study the aesthetics of dramatic writing, dramatic technique, and the history of dramatic forms such as tragedy, comedy, and the screenplay, as developed by classic and contemporary writers. Students will read different forms of dramatic writing while authoring original exercises in each of the forms studied.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, and ENG 200, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course offers the opportunity to study selected topics at an intermediate and advanced level. Special topics will vary from semester to semester. Special topics courses must possess different titles/topics to count separately for credit.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, and ENG 201 or 205
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course offers an in-depth study of the life, times, and works of Richard Wright and his influence on other authors.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, and ENG 210
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course provides an overview of grammatical terms and concepts as well as an in-depth analysis of their functions. It is designed to improve students' writing and use of clear, professional English in addition to improving reading comprehension and understanding of instructor feedback on written assignments. Topics include parts of speech, inflectional endings, sentence structure, punctuation, and more. Required of all English majors.
Prerequisites: ENG 101‑102 or 103‑104 and ENG 201 or 205
CREDIT: FOUR SEMESTER HOURS
This course examines the literature produced in pre-colonial, colonial, and post-revolutionary America from the period of early exploration and colonization through the Civil War (1600-1865). This course also engages texts produced by America's indigenous populations that predate European exploration. Required of all English majors.
Prerequisites: ENG 101, 102 (or 103, 104), ENG 201 (or 205), and ENG 210
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course examines the literature produced in America from post-Civil War through the Postmodernist era (1865-present day). Required of all English majors.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, ENG 210, and ENG 330
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course focuses specifically on writings from across the African Diaspora including (but not limited to) the Caribbean, Australia, and continental Africa. All readings will be in English.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course studies mythology and readings such as Joseph Campbell and Edith Hamilton to introduce the world of Greek and Roman mythology. Readings from several Greek playwrights display how classical mythology appears in literary works. Class discussions cover how mythology is not merely an ancient, outmoded concept, but one with operates in society.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course is designed to provide students with essential skills for teaching language arts in junior/senior high schools. Specific instructions will be provided on creating lesson plans for English and English related subjects, teaching the eight parts of speech as a unit of study, using kinds of sentences effectively, developing phrases and clauses that are meaningful and provide sentence variety, using internal and external punctuation correctly, and writing the three-part essay. Additionally, this course will examine innovative methods for teaching language arts and will provide some viable alternatives for the language arts teacher. This course is required for junior and senior level English/Secondary Education majors and will be offered each year.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or ENG 103-104
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course focuses on a selection of Shakespeare's major plays representative of the various periods of his work in relationship to their own age and for their significance to the present.
Prerequisites: ENG 101, 102 (or 103, 104) and ENG 201 (or 205)
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
Advanced students study only each other's work through the workshop method. Each class period is dedicated to the discussion and analysis of original student short stories in terms of craft. Students are required to participate in the peer review as well as revise their own stories after they have been work-shopped.
Prerequisites: ENG 200, ENG 301, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
Advanced students study only each other's work through the workshop method. Each class period is dedicated to the discussion and analysis of original student poems in terms of craft. Students are required to participate in the peer review as well as revise their own poems after they have been work-shopped.
Prerequisites: ENG 200, ENG 302, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
Advanced students study only each other's work through the workshop method. Each class period is dedicated to the discussion and analysis of original student non-fiction in terms of craft. Students are required to participate in the peer review as well as revise their own pieces after they have been work-shopped.
Prerequisites: ENG 200, ENG 303, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This workshop course is used to analyze student work in terms of craft. Advanced students study techniques of structure and dialogue in dramatic writing. Students are required to participate in peer review as well as revise their own written work after it had been work-shopped, and author an original one-act play.
Prerequisites: ENG 200, ENG 304, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
These courses, developed by individual faculty members, offer advanced students the opportunity to delve deeply into a particular genre, technique, or subject matter, such as Novel Writing, Memoir Writing, Spoken Word and Performance, Dialogue and Scene, Exposition, Rhythm and Meter, etc.
Prerequisites: ENG 200, at least one 300 level Forms Course, or by permission of instructor
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS EACH
This upper level course examines the works of a particular American author and selected criticism about that author. The author will vary from semester to semester.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, and ENG 210
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This specialized course explores the rise and development of the English novel from the 18th Century to the present.
Prerequisite: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, ENG 210, ENG 224 and 225
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the major critical methods and theories, especially those of modern times, embodying both readings in the major critics and practical criticism. Required of English majors who select OPTION A.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, ENG 210, ENG 211, ENG 212, ENG 224, ENG 225, ENG 330, and ENG 332
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course provides a description of the English language and its major attributes through its development from Indo-European to modern English.
Prerequisite: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, ENG 210, ENG 250, and ENG 322
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This is a structural approach to modern English grammar through phonology, morphology, syntax and transformations. Required of English majors who select OPTION C.
Prerequisites: ENG 101-102 or 103-104, ENG 201 or 205, ENG 210, ENG 250, ENG 322, and ENG 435
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This Individual research course covers topics from the entire range of literary studies according to the needs and interests of the student. Working with a faculty advisor, the student will read and discuss the works chosen for independent study and prepare a substantial paper. May be taken once for credit with permission of the Department Chair.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS
This course is required of all senior English majors and offered in the fall semester, for seniors only. In this course, students conduct scholarly inquiry and research at an advanced level as they begin to write their senior thesis. Required of all English majors.
Senior Status
CREDIT: ONE SEMESTER HOUR
This course is the second component of the Senior Seminar series and is required of all senior English majors. ENG 441 is offered in the spring semester. In this course, students will complete and defend their senior thesis projects. Required of all English majors.
Prerequisites: ENG 440
CREDIT: TWO SEMESTER HOURS
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS: FRENCH
This course is designed to teach the basic elements of French and the basic skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking using a vocabulary that reflects everyday life. Emphasis in this course is on basic conversational skills; therefore, classroom attendance is compulsory. Cultural lectures by the professor and native language speakers will introduce the students to France and the Francophone world. Students continue to write and perform skits and plays in this course using the video camera to document their progress. Three hours of lecture and one hour of language/computer lab per week.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course is a continuation of French 101 with continued emphasis upon reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills with an intensified emphasis on oral and written exercises within a French-speaking environment. Students continue to write and perform skits and plays in this course using the video camera to document their progress. Three hours of lecture and one hour of language lab per week. Prerequisite: FRE 101.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course is a continuation of FRE 102 with continued emphasis on and communication skills using everyday situations for intensified oral and written exercises. Students write and perform several skits and plays in this course using the video camera to document their progress. Three hours of lecture and one hour of language/computer lab per week. Pre-requisite: FRE 102.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course is a continuation of French 201 with a continued study of grammar and an intensified emphasis on speaking, reading and writing. Students continue to write and perform skits and plays in this course using the video camera to document their progress. Three hours of lecture and one hour of language/computer lab per week. Pre-requisite: FRE 201.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
This course is designed to give each student an opportunity to learn specialized vocabulary that deals with his/her major. Each semester, there are units that may include, but are not limited to, business French, every day manners in business and daily life, phonetics for music majors, and teaching French in the elementary classroom. This course also addresses topics for the International Studies Emphasis and Elementary Education Emphasis. Since topics will vary each semester, students may repeat course once for credit. This course will be conducted in French and English. Three hours of lecture and one-hour language/computer lab per week. Prerequisite: FRE 202 or permission of instructor.
CREDIT: THREE SEMESTER HOURS.
Department Life
Capturing moments of learning, growth, and academic achievement in our vibrant English and Modern Languages community.
Meet Our Faculty
Our distinguished faculty members bring passion, expertise, and dedication to every classroom. Get to know the scholars and educators who will guide your academic journey in English and Modern Languages.
Miranda Freeman, Ph.D.
Dean of Humanities
(601) 977-4483
W. Miranda Freeman, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at Tougaloo College where she also serves as Dean of the Division of Humanities. In addition to her study of the Black Arts era, Dr. Freeman’s other research interest include post-colonialism and Afro-Atlantic women’s literature. She has enhanced this interest through travel to and research in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Salvador, Bahia Brazil and Accra, Ghana. Dr. Freeman is a Mellon Faculty Doctoral Fellowship recipient, a William Winter Scholar, and the 2012 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Most recently, Dr. Freeman taught a course in Caribbean Literature in Jamaica for the University of Southern Mississippi’s Study Abroad Program.
Education
Kedra James, Ph.D
Department Chair & Associate Professor
(601) 977-7918
Dr. Kedra L. James began teaching in the Tougaloo Department of English and Modern Languages in August of 2016. Her research interests include basic and developmental writing, technology and writing, and African American English and the African American rhetorical tradition. She has presented her research at regional and national conferences in her field, such as the Thomas R. Watson Conference, Rhetoric Society of America (RSA) Conference, College Language Association (CLA) Conference, and the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). She also presented her research on first-year writing programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities at the Writing Research across Borders Conference in Paris, France. At Tougaloo, she serves as a UNCF/Mellon Mentor and the faculty advisor for the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society. She was recognized as a HEADWAE faculty honoree (2018) and received a Dr. Ernestine Holloway Excellence in Education Award (2019) and a Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher Award (2020).
Education
Thomas D. Lewis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English
(601) 977-7761
Thomas D. Lewis, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of English at Tougaloo College. Dr. Lewis is committed to engaging the tools of academia in the pursuit of linguistic and social justice. His research and teaching focuses on exploring the roles of linguistic ideologies, or beliefs about language, in shaping language use in minoritized communities in the United States. Most recently, he has worked with the Latinx community in Post-Katrina New Orleans, showing that both large scale language choice and small scale vowel realizations are shaped by linguistic ideologies that position Spanish speakers as "dangerous" or "threatening." Dr. Lewis' research shows that beliefs about languages, dialects, and accents represent beliefs about speakers, and are often used as tools to reflect and reproduce unequal power hierarchies in society. Challenging these ideologies contributes to the pursuit of justice for speakers of marginalized linguistic codes.
Education
Shelia Bonner
Assistant Professor of English
(601) 977-7894
Daniel Bekoe
Instructor of French
(601) 977-7897