Organization of the ETS Curriculum
Because the ETS curriculum stresses how we read as much as what we read, it is structured around different critical approaches to texts. That is, rather than mandating that specific authors, titles, or historical periods be covered every semester, our curriculum is flexible enough to highlight and reflect the diversity of our field and to present our students with a wide array of choices. Focusing on a broad range of cultural productions in English, the ETS curriculum highlights the relationships among (1) historical dimensions of reading in the past and present, (2) critical theories that supply strategies of interpretation and analysis, and (3) political questions that reading inevitably addresses. Creative writing courses invite students to develop their skills as writers of fiction and poetry, and to think critically about their craft. All ETS courses emphasize strong connections between reading, interpretation, and writing so that you can articulate your insights effectively. You will notice that most upper division ETS courses have two titles: a broad generic title (such as “Literary Periods” or “Theorizing Representation”) that marks out a specific set of interpretive questions and critical approaches, and a subtitle (such as “Renaissance Poetry” or “American Consumer Culture”) that identifies the specific topic or textual material selected by the professor for emphasis in that particular semester. Full descriptions of the courses offered each semester are available under the Courses menu of this website.