The mission of the English department is to provide opportunities to explore, understand, appreciate, and effectively use the English language through reading, writing, and research.

Abram, k

MFA, New York University

BA, Carleton College

k teaches Creative Writing, College Composition, and Advanced Composition. She leads the Creative Writing Club and is the Editor of The Thunderbird Review.

Brandt, Celeste
MA, College of St. Scholastica
MA, University of Minnesota-Duluth
BA, College of Saint Scholastica

Ms. Brandt helps students discover the power of communicating their ideas and research with the public through her Advanced Composition courses.

Lubovich, Maglina
PhD, State University New York – Buffalo
MA, University of St. Thomas
BA, College of St. Scholastica

Dr. Lubovich teaches Writing for Professionals, chairs the Women’s and Gender Studies department, and introduces students to the transformative power of literature. Her academic work focuses on women’s literature.

Newcomb, Rain
MA, Western Carolina University
BA, Guilford College

Rain teaches developmental writing and College Composition, as well as Native writers (children, YA, and adult). She also teaches Comics and Graphic Novels and Film as Art.

Wills, Kyle
MFA, Columbia University – City of New York
BA, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale

Mr. Wills teaches developmental writing and College Composition. He mentors CITS faculty and plays many instruments.

The English Department produces two major publications each spring.

The Thunderbird Review, our community literary and arts anthology, has been encouraging writers and artists throughout the area to create and share their best work since 2011. Read more about submissions here.

Students interested in editing the Thunderbird Review should join FDLTCC’s Creative Writing Club!

Animikii Mazina’iganan: Thunderbird Press publishes one book each year. Read more about the press here.

Every April, the English Department helps coordinate Fine Arts Week, a celebration of the artistic spirit at FDLTCC.

FDLTCC’s English Department hosts regional and national writers every year. Follow FDLTCC’s Facebook page to learn about upcoming guests and public events.

ENGL 0094 2 credits 

Composition Preparation

College Prep Writing is designed to support students who need help with college-level writing. The course focuses on the fundamental elements of academic and professional writing. It provides qualified students with an opportunity to improve writing skills while acclimating to the challenges of college-level coursework. 

ENGL 1101* 3 credits 

College Composition 

College Composition is a first semester freshman composition course which focuses on college-level writing. This course immediately addresses an essential academic skill, the ability to communicate ideas in written form. This course will provide you with academic skills and intellectual habits you will need throughout your academic career.

ENGL 1102* 3 credits 

Advanced College Composition 

Advanced Composition is a second semester freshman composition course that focuses on writing effective arguments and academic papers. Emphasis will be placed on the in-depth research paper, with attention paid to both MLA and APA styles.

ENGL 1120* 3 credits 

Writing for Professionals 

This course teaches the fundamentals of writing and communicating professionally, especially in our digital age. Students will learn how to write clear, concise, and persuasive workplace documents with special attention paid to the audience, tone, style, and purpose of any given message. 

Students will practice drafting, writing, and editing a variety of assignments, including emails, letters, blogs, newsletters, webpages, résumés, formal business letters, proposals, short reports, and presentations. This course fulfills the second semester English requirement.

Many of these electives count in more than one goal area or are required for specific programs. Check with your advisor for more information!

ENGL 1110* 3 credits 

Introduction to Literature 

In this introductory survey course, students will read, discuss and write critically about a variety of literary texts: essays, memoir, poetry, short stories, novels and/or plays. Students will study literature that encompasses a broad range of historical periods, as well as cultures of origin.

ENGL 1130* 3 credits 

Creative Writing 

Creative Writing focuses on learning and practicing techniques to help the beginning and intermediate writer create poetry, fiction, memoirs, sketches, and essays. The writer will develop a selected number of pieces to polish and “publish” as final projects. Attention is given to the development of critical judgment and individual interest.

ENGL 2005 3 credits 

American Indian Literature 

In this class, you will sample foundational works from the American Indian Literary Renaissance and explore contemporary Native writers as they revise and redefine modes of literary expression. Readings will include novels, short stories, poetry, graphic novels, non-fiction, and other genre-defying works that address Native life, identity, and sovereignty. Special emphasis will be placed on Anishinaabeg writers and theorists. 

ENGL 2010* 3 credits 

Writing the Short Story 

Writing the Short Story is the study of the short story as a specific artistic genre with attention given to fictional elements that enable each story to achieve its purpose. Students will explore this genre as readers and writers, reading short stories by a diverse group of writers and composing and revising their own original creative work throughout the semester. Students will also be encouraged to submit their work to The Thunderbird Review.
 

ENGL 2015* 3 credits 

The Novel 

This course studies the novel as a literary form, tracing the development of the form to the present. Students learn to think about character, plot, point of view, structure, irony and narrative technique, and become more attentive and appreciate readers.
 

ENGL 2016 3 credits 

Comics and Graphic Novels 

This course will explore the murky origins of sequential art, examine how American’s most reviled art form turned into celebrated movies and tv series, and delve into the contemporary explosion of graphic novels. From single panel cartoons to book-length works, you will read a variety of genres as you examine how words and images create a unique form of expression. Works by Native writers and cartoonists will be included.

ENGL 2021* 3 credits 

Writing Poetry 

Writing Poetry focuses on reading and writing poetry in its many styles and forms. Students will read and analyze work written by a culturally diverse group of poets. Using these readings and instruction in contemporary aesthetics as inspiration, students will create their own work to share, revise, and polish. Students will also be encouraged to submit original work to The Thunderbird Review.

ENGL/AMIN 2200* 3 credits 

American Indian Children’s Literature 

Children’s literature is an essential component when we teach literacy. American Indian children’s literature will be emphasized in this course to allow students to become familiar with the opportunity to incorporate American Indian literature with the state standards for elementary education. The quality of literature with an emphasis on American Indian literature will provide students with instructional materials for literacy education, and content areas that will stress the oral and written Anishinaabeg ways also. This course is designed to help students acquire knowledge of the different genres of children’s literature and develop the ability to evaluate, select and have the opportunity to teach children’s literature in an elementary classroom with an emphasis on multicultural literature specific to the Anishinaabeg. Apply five hours of interactive experience in an elementary classroom.

ENGL 2205 3 credits 

Indigenous YA Literature 

With complex characters, powerful themes, and engaging plots, Young Adult literature is not just for 12-18 year olds. Indigenous authors are creating YA texts in every genre, from romance to speculative fiction. This class will read and discuss texts written by Indigenous authors from across the globe, studying how these writers create Indigenous representation and promote sovereignty through culturally grounded stories that speak to universal human concerns.

ENGL 2030* 3 credits 

Film as Art 

The nature and possibilities of film as an art are examined in this course so that the viewer may gain a better understanding and appreciation of how the art works. Emphasis is centered on the relationship between the techniques of film making and their creative application. Also emphasized are the affinities film shares with literature. In addition, the student will investigate the history of cinemas, become acquainted with contemporary filmmakers, and will be exposed to critical approaches to film viewing. Designed to create intelligent and critical film viewers, the course incorporates film and textual materials.

ENGL 2045 3 credits 

Literature by Women 

This course offers a social, historical, and political examination of literature written by women through the centuries in a variety of genres (novels, short stories, poetry, essays and memoirs). What role, if any, does an author’s gender play in the production of a text and in our interpretation of it? Is there really a distinct manner of writing that is specific to women? How have women writers been understood and valued (or not) through time? While we will look for common themes among the work assigned, we will also uncover the vast diversity of human experience present in women’s literature. Through the process, students will develop their critical reading, thinking, and writing skills and use them to analyze literary texts.

ENGL 2055 3 credits 

African American Literature 

This course is designed to acquaint students with literature written by African Americans. The course material will be presented chronologically, focusing on specific literary movements and the themes prevalent in the literature. The course will help students become familiar with the characteristics of the various genres presented and build skills in literary analysis. Students will be able to discuss the goals of the writers, the influences on their work, and the literary quality of those works.