Spring 2027 Course Descriptions - CSUN English Graduate Program
Below are course descriptions submitted by instructors for Spring 2027 graduate courses and certain 400-level English classes likely to be of interest to grad students. More descriptions will be added as they are received by the Graduate Adviser.
ENGL 507: Introduction to Graduate Studies -- Kleinman¶
English 507 introduces students to graduate-level research and writing skills across the three options in the English MA program: Literature, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric and Composition.
ENGL 525CBS: Comic Book Superheroes -- Hatfield¶
Intensive study of the superhero genre in US comic books from the mid-1930s onward, with attention to its enduring controversies. We will survey the genre’s history during the first third of the course, then concentrate on recent examples of academic superhero criticism and theory. Expect discussion of form, aesthetics, seriality, politics, gender, sexuality, race, disability, and fandom. Scholars studied may include, for example, Umberto Eco, Ramzi Fawaz, Samantha Langsdale, Anna Peppard, Darieck Scott, and Daniel Stein. Students will share reading responses during most weeks, take turns leading discussion, brainstorm a superhero of their own, and write a final seminar paper engaging with the critical literature.
DH 480: Digital Humanities Studies and Projects -- Kleinman¶
This will be a hands-on research course where you will work on two major Digital Humanities projects: The New Variorum Shakespeare Project and the Lexos a text analysis tool. The New Variorum Shakespeare project began in the nineteenth century as an attempt to document every prior edition of Shakespeare’s plays while producing new editions. Since 2019, the project has expanded into digital publication (led by a graduate of our MA program here at CSUN). As part of the project, you will transcribe editions of Shakespeare's plays from a variety of periods and explore how they can be compared digitally using Lexos. You will make lasting contributions to one or both projects and will receive credit for your contributions on the project websites. The course is a chance to participate actual scholarly research as opposed to the traditional course assignments for a grade. You will gain valuable experience in digital humanities methodologies and collaborative research practices.
The course is scheduled on Tuesdays at 2:30. However, it will be structured in a hybrid format, combining in-person and online components to facilitate both hands-on work on campus and individual work and discussion outside of scheduled class times.
DH 480 is available as a substitute for the Language Requirement or the Seminar in Textual or Cultural Studies, as well as for a graduate Elective. In some circumstances, it may substitute for a Literature requirement (consult the Graduate Adviser).