We believe story has the power to change the world. We read deeply, listen hard, get curious, go explore, and craft stories that shape our souls and endeavor to change the world.
Student in English and Journalism:
- BEGIN with a foundation in professional writing, literature, creative writing, or reporting.
- ADVANCE to deeper study with an array of specialty courses from World Literature to Sports Reporting to Writing for Social Change.
- CONNECT career to calling.
- PRACTICE with experiential learing in on-site internships and producing the Clarion newspaper and Coeval arts and literary magazine.
- EXPLORE the world through courses in Guatemala, India, Belize, and beyond.
- FORGE paths to the future with capstone projects and presentations.
- CELEBRATE accomplishments with a community of mentors and colleagues.
Our graduates work in law, literary publishing, newspapers, technical writing, nonprofit and ministry public relations, broadcast journalism, teaching, arts advocacy, and more.
ENJ 100 • How Stories Change the World: How to Read & Why 4 Credits
Introductory exploration of great stories (both poetry and prose) and their power to illumintate the human experience, connect with readers' minds and hearts, and portray great ideas, hopes, joys, and sorrows. Students gain experience interpreting literature with greater comprehension and pleasure.
Offered: Fall or Spring.
ENJ 101 • British Literature I 4 Credits
Literary works from the British Isles beginning with Old English works and ending with works from the 18th century, with much attention on placing works studied in relationship to one another and to their cultural contexts. Authors may include the Beowulf poet, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Aphra Behn, and Pope.
Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 102 • British Literature II 4 Credits
Major writers and works from the Romantic, Victorian, and early 20th century periods. Historical and intellectual background. Writers include: Blake, Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Arnold, Hopkins, Joyce, Conrad, and Yeats.
Offered: Spring.
ENJ 103 • Topics in American Literature 4 Credits
Major American authors studied in their historical and cultural contexts from the colonial era to the present.
Offered: Fall or Spring.
ENJ 104 • Successful Writing 3 Credits
Development of skills necessary for expressing oneself competently through writing. Emphasis on the writing process, critical thinking, sensitivity to audience, core documentation skills and responsibilities, and revision (with peer and instructor feedback).
Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 110A • Introduction to Creative Writing 4 Credits
Exploration of the creative act, addressing writing as a means for discovering the created world and ourselves as created beings within it. Emphasis on writing original work in three major genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.
Offered: Fall, Spring.
ENJ 120 • Reporting 4 Credits
Introduction to fundamentals of reporting and writing for the news media, emphasizing print journalism. Covers news values, news judgment, the structure of news stories, information gathering, research techniques, and Associated Press style. Students learn to write quickly, accurately, and concisely on deadline.
Offered: Fall, Spring.
ENJ 121 • Digital Storytelling 4 Credits
Experimentation in advanced forms of storytelling in multiple media - including images, audio/video and graphics - to build a more diverse set of storytelling tools, and understanding when and how to use them, especially on a storytelling team.
Prerequisites: ENJ 110A or ENJ 120. Offered: Spring.
ENJ 200L • Story in Modern America 4 Credits
Explores forms, purposes, and functions of American story and how they have evolved. Students examine their roles and responsibilities as truth-seekers by reading, viewing, and creating texts - from short story to graphic novel, from film to podcast - that challenge and confirm assumptions about story in modern American culture.
Prerequisites: GES 130 and GES 160 or GES 244. Offered: Fall.
ENJ 201 • Literature on Location: Minnesota Authors 4 Credits
Explore Minnesota and the storytellers who have shaped its past and its present, and will shape its future. Learn how place matters in literature and how contexts matter in reading and writing. Read and experience Minnesota writers from Fitzgerald to Erdich in the landscapes of prairie, lakes, rivers, and cities.
Offered: January, odd # years.
ENJ 202 • Juvenile Literature 4 Credits
An exploration of a wide range of books written for children and teens in grades 5-9, as well as resources for effectively finding, reading, and interacting with them. Major topics of discussion include censorship, diversity, representation, and literary merit.
Offered: Spring, even # years.
ENJ 203U • World Literature 4 Credits
Focused study of literature from a non-western region of the world, examining social and historical contexts.
Prerequisites: GES 130 (may be taken concurrently) or GES 244 (may be taken concurrently). Offered: Spring.
ENJ 204L • Modern Mythmakers 4 Credits
Consideration of how writers and filmmakers appropriate mythic structures and archetypes to create meaningful narratives of human experience. Modern mythmakers may include: J.R.R. Tolkien, George Lucas, Toni Morrison, C.S. Lewis, and others.
Prerequisites: GES 130 and GES 160 (may be taken concurrently) or GES 244 (may be taken concurrently). Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 210A • Prose Studio 4 Credits
A workshop for exploring and sharpening prose style utilized in blogs, personal essays, technical writing, and op-ed writing. Includes reading and writing in a variety of prose forms, voices, and topics to assist students in developing persuasive, precise, and personal writing styles.
Prerequisites: GES 130 and GES 160 or GES 244. Offered: Spring.
ENJ 211 • Methods of Tutoring Writing 1 Credit
Introduction to the practical applications of writing theory, with a focus on tutoring student writers. Course readings with supervision will guide reflection on the student’s work as a Writing Center tutor.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Offered: Fall, Spring. Special Notes: Required of all first-time Writing Center tutors.
ENJ 220 • Principles of Editing 4 Credits
Editing of copy for publication in newspapers, magazines, and online media. Exposure to the book publishing process. Includes working with the Associated Press and Chicago Style manuals.
Offered: Fall.
ENJ 221 • Feature Writing 4 Credits
Analyzing, writing, and marketing feature stories of various types—service articles, profiles, human-interest pieces, and in-depth issue articles—for possible publication online or in print.
Prerequisites: ENJ 120. Offered: Spring 2026.
ENJ 250 • Working With Words 4 Credits
Strategically explore and prepare for future career options. Three learning modules introduce students to (1) finding out possible career paths by reflecting on individual strengths, (2) creating personal branding with social media, and (3) putting together cover letters, resumes, and portfolios for work or graduate study.
Prerequisites: ENJ 200L. Offered: Spring.
ENJ 300 • Shakespeare: The Art of the Dramatist 4 Credits
Major plays in Shakespeare’s distinct periods and genres: history, comedy, tragedy, and romance. Both literary and theatrical aspects are examined, with attention to historical context. Emphasis on performance.
Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 305G • Truth-Telling: The Stories of Resistance 4 Credits
Literature, film, and stories that reveal truths regarding systems of oppression. Explores the struggle for justice through the narratives and the imaginative response of the oppressed. Literary historical foci include the Holocaust, the experience of Native Americans, African Americans, women, and the oppressed in Minnesota.
Prerequisites: GES 130; GES 160; Contemporary Western Life and Thought (L) course; World Cultures (U) course] or [GES 244; World Cultures (U) course]. Offered: Fall.
ENJ 307 • Monsters and the Monstrous 4 Credits
Monsters and the monstrous in literature, and their appeal to historical and literary imaginations. Selected works from classical to contemporary, approached primarily through genre and myth criticism. Probable works include: Perseus and Medusa, St. George and the Dragon, Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and I Am Legend.
Prerequisites: ENJ 100. Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 308 • Three Books that Changed Me 4 Credits
Develop practices of receptive reading and productive re-reading through in-depth exploration of three contemporary novels, research from various academic disciplines, and close examination of one's own reading experiences.
Prerequisites: ENJ 100. Offered: Fall 2023.
ENJ 310 • Ways of Reading 4 Credits
Theory offers us a deeper way to engage with texts. Students interact with texts through a succession of perspectives and apply concepts and techniques for engaging with literature and culture in more perceptive and satisfying ways.
Prerequisites: ENJ 100. Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 311 • Writing for Social Change 4 Credits
An exploration of persuasive writing through essays, blogs, and opinion pieces in which students use their writing skills to engage in public discourse of important issues in the hope of initiating social change.
Prerequisites: ENJ 120 or ENJ 210A. Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 312AZ • Travel Writing 4 Credits
Art and craft of travel writing studied and practiced while traveling. Focus on reading travel writing from the past and present, and writing about one’s own travel experience as it happens. May also include reading literature and other books related to the place of travel.
Offered: January, odd # years.
ENJ 314A • Fiction Writing 4 Credits
Practice in modern narrative techniques. Emphasis on writing and peer criticism of short fiction.
Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 315A • Poetry Writing 4 Credits
Metrics, imagery, and other techniques of versification, with practice in writing in a wide variety of genres.
Offered: January, even # years, Spring, even # years.
ENJ 317 • Publishing & Being Published 4 Credits
Connect with local literary publishing houses to learn about the editorial processes of professional publishing. Obtain hands-on experience by participating in all aspects of publishing Bethel's literary arts journal, Coeval: from reviewing submissions and selecting content to editing and designing. Students will also submit their own creative work for publication.
Prerequisites: ENJ 110A. Offered: Spring.
ENJ 321GZ • Media and Communication in Developing Countries 4 Credits
An examination of the socioeconomic, technological, and political factors that have influenced the development of communication systems in developing countries, with special emphasis on the role of Christian journalists. Includes comparative analysis of western media systems and those of developing nations.
Prerequisites: [GES 130; GES 160; Contemporary Western Life and Thought (L) course; World Cultures (U) course] or [GES 244; World Cultures (U) course]; Junior or senior standing. Offered: January, even # years.
ENJ 323 • Sports Reporting 4 Credits
Develop skills in reporting, writing and multimedia storytelling, gain exposure to award-willing sports reporting and sports reporters in multiple media and learn to think critically about sports media, as a journalist, fan, consumer, teammate, ethicist, and Christian.
Prerequisites: ENJ 120. Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 324 • Arts & Culture Reporting 4 Credits
Develop skills in reporting, writing and multimedia storytelling, gain exposure to award-winning arts and culture reporting and reporters in multiple media and learn to think critically about arts and culture media, as a journalist, fan, producer, consumer, ethicist, and Christian.
Prerequisites: ENJ 120 and ENJ 121. Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 325 • Topics in Journalism 4 Credits
Study of a specialized topic of relevance to the practicing journalist with emphasis on the impact of journalism within a specific cultural context and the unique role of the Christian journalist.
Prerequisites: ENJ 120. Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 330 • Topics in Literary Studies 4 Credits
Close study in a specific topic or genre of literature. Emphasis on applying the skills of literature study to a closely-focused topic.
Prerequisites: ENJ 100. Offered: Occasionally.
ENJ 400 • StoryForge I 2 Credits
Prepare for StoryForge II and the future by reflecting on strengths and gaps, casting a vision, and developing a project or internship proposal. Hear from speakers and read texts that will help build one's faith in God and self-confidence as one thinks about life after college.
Prerequisites: major or minor in the department of English and Journalism and Junior standing. Offered: Spring. Special Notes: This course can be repeated for credit.
ENJ 498 • Internship in Writing 3-4 Credits
Placement in an off-campus writing position. Must be planned well in advance of placement in consultation with advisor.
Prerequisites: Major or minor in English and Journalism department and Completion of 10 credit hours in english and journalism. Offered: By arrangement.
ENJ 499 • StoryForge II 4 Credits
Launch from work in StoryForge I to complete a capstone project that implements and showcases skills gained throughout one's education in and outside the classroom. As crucible and scaffold, a structure for vibrant, responsive, sustainable independent work to bridge students to career, graduate school, or freelance work is modeled.
Prerequisites: ENJ 400 and a major in the department of English and Journalism. Offered: Fall. Special Notes: This course can be repeated for credit.