Mar 28, 2024  
2013-2014 College of Liberal Arts Catalog 
    
2013-2014 College of Liberal Arts Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

English Major


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Requirements for the Major (44 credits)


The introductory sequence must be taken before any upper-level courses.

Within the courses selected to meet major requirements, students should include:

  1. 16 upper-level credits
  2. Two courses before 1800 (at least 50% of content before 1800)

English majors may include up to 8 credits of courses taken in another department or off-campus (not including transfer courses) on the following basis:

  • 4 upper-level credits in writing may be substituted for upper-level literature credits;
  • 8 credits from a study abroad program may count towad the major as upper-level credits with advisor/departmental approval;
  • 4 credits from a literature department other than English may count toward the major with the department’s approval if the student demonstrates its relevance to his or her course of study;
  • Four credits of independent study/Honors thesis work may be counted as upper-level credit toward the major.

III. A Concentration (at least 10 credits)


The focus of the concentration–made up of three interrelated courses–should be chosen from the list of options below, though students may design alternatives. The focus, as well as the specific courses to fill the concentration, should be selected in consultation with the adviser. Students must present a one-page proposal for the concentration to their adviser. Concentrations must be approved by the end of the junior year. One extra-departmental course may be counted in any concentration. Majors might consider the ways in which an interdisciplinary concentration could be a bridge between the major and a minor. Two courses must be at the upper level.

Possible concentrations:

  • A genre (three courses focusing on a specific literary genre such as narrative, poetry or drama)
  • A period (three courses focusing on a particular period, such as Medieval, Renaissance, the Long 18th century, 19th century, Modernism or Contemporary)
  • Literary theory (three courses focusing on in-depth reading in theory or application of theory)
  • Postcolonial and Anglophone literature (three courses focusing on literatures in relation to competing notions of colonialism, nationalism, and postcolonial cultures)
  • A literary tradition defined by a particular group identity [such as African American, Asian American, Latino/a, Native American, LGBT, disability, women]
  • Critical Race Studies (three courses focusing on literatures and/or theory that thematizes or interrogates concepts of race and ethnicity)
  • Disability Studies (three courses focusing on literatures and/or theory that thematizes or interrogates concepts of ability/disability)
  • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (three courses focusing feminist theory and/or on the study of literatures that thematizes and interrogates notions of gender and sexuality.
  • Language and rhetoric/Writing studies (Focus on the history of the language/rhetoric, linguistics, literacy studies, writing center  theory, or philosophy of language);
  • Interdisciplinary  (Possible topics include Interart, Environmental studies, Religion and Literature, Philosophy and Literature, History and Literature)

V. Capstone (4 credits)


Normally taken in the senior year, and must be taken in the department and may not be replaced by any course taken outside the department or by independent study.

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