English, B.A.

FACULTY:
Thomas Prendergast, Chair
Katharine Beutner
Jennifer Hayward
Christopher Kang
Leslie Wingard

The South African writer Nadine Gordimer once said that “writing is making sense of life.” The challenge and pleasure for both writers and readers is to make sense of the writing that makes sense of life. The English Department offers the student a unique opportunity to encounter a rich variety of texts in which English, American, and Anglophone writers inscribe meaning into our world. Students discover their own relationship with the world as they hone their skills in reading imaginatively, thinking analytically, and expressing their thoughts clearly, creatively, and persuasively both orally and in writing.

Courses in English are designed to explore texts across historical periods, cultures, geographical regions and theoretical approaches so as to invite students to ask a wide and diverse range of questions. The curriculum is organized according to those questions-whether they aim to illuminate the cultural construction of gender, sexuality, race, or ethnicity, the career of a single writer, a period in literary history, a literary genre, a reader’s response to texts, or creative writing in fictional and non-fictional forms.

Major in English

Consists of eleven courses:

ENGL 120xx
ENGL 20000 - Investigations in Literary Theory and Research Methods–Engl Majors Only
One elective in Literature [Before 1800]
One elective in Literature [Before 1900]
Four elective English courses (above 120XX)
ENGL 300xx - Junior Independent Study
ENGL 45100 - Independent Study Thesis
ENGL 45200 - Independent Study Thesis

Special Notes

ENGL 120xx is strongly recommended as the first course in English for nonmajors and is required for majors and minors. For first year students only, ENGL 120xx or permission of the instructor is required before enrolling in courses numbered ENGL-210xx-250xx; for all students, ENGL 120xx is a prerequisite before enrolling in ENGL-20000.
In addition to ENGL 120xx (Comparative Literature emphasis), one other Comparative Literature course from Group I may count toward the English major or minor (see Comparative Literature, Group I). Other cross-listed courses include SPAN 21300 (U.S. Latino Literatures and Cultures) and THTD 30103 - Playwriting .
The ACM Newberry Seminar is the only course that may be substituted for ENGL 300xx.
AP credits do not count toward the major, minor, or distribution.
Only grades of C- or better are accepted for the major or minor.