Academic Programs

Academic Programs

The English Department is dedicated to the teaching of careful reading, creative and analytical writing, critical thinking, a historical and worldly appreciation of literature, and astute cultural awareness. Towards those ends, the department supports a variety of majors and minors: the major in English, the dual major in English and Childhood Education, a minor in English, a minor in Comparative Literature, and a minor in journalism. All majors and minors include foundational courses, core courses, upper-level courses, and elective courses.

English Major (B.A.)

Foundation Courses (should be taken by the end of sophomore year)

EN 111 World Literature
EN 211 British Literature Survey
EN 212 Introduction to Literary Analysis and Theory

Core British and American Courses (three units, one from each of the following groups)

Pre-1800 British Literature
EN 205 Crime and Violence in 18th Century Literature
EN 302 Medieval Literature
EN 303 Chaucer
EN 304 Early Modern Literature
EN 327 Advanced Drama: Renaissance to Modern
EN 355 Sex and Gender in Medieval French Literature
Post-1800 British Literature
EN 206 Romantic Poetry, Revolution, the Slave Trade, and Women's Rights
EN 224 Orphans, Poverty, and Scandal in 19th-Century British Literature
EN 225 Ghosts, Vampires and Civilization in English Gothic Fiction
EN 311 Modern English and Irish Literature
EN 313 Contemporary Irish Literature
EN 314 Post-colonial Literature
American Literature
EN 226 American Cultures and Literatures
EN 227 American Literature from its Origins to 1865
EN 228 American Literature from 1865 to the Present
EN 315 African American Literature
EN 332 Pirates,Puritans and the Revolutionary Atlantic World
EN 342 The Contested South
EN 348 Southern Women Writers

Required Upper-Level Courses

EN 330 Shakespeare Survey
EN 400 Senior Reflective Tutorial
EN 425 Senior Seminar

Electives (three units)

(Prerequisite of EN 212 or the permission of instructor unless otherwise noted).
EN 203 The Spiritual Quest in Literature
SP 213 (I) Hispanic Literature in Translation
EN 229 (I) Introduction to Comparative Literature (no prerequisite)
EN 230 Introduction to Film (F)
EN 291 Special Topics
EN 310 (I)Art and Literature in the Turn of the Century Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and Barcelona
EN 323 Aliens,Cyborgs and Time Travel in Literature and Film
EN 347 (I) (GS) The Study of Fairy Tales
FR 351 (I)(GS) French Women Writers
EN 354 Western Canon II
EN 356 (I) French Cinema (F)
EN 357 (I) Italian Cinema (F)
EN 360 African Literature
EN 593 Independent Study Independent Study (open to junior or senior majors with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher)
Please note that additional core courses from the list above may be counted as electives.
Also note that, a maximum of one course from either of the following two categories may be counted as electives: 1) Film courses designated as ―F‖ (EN 230, 356, 357, and 291 or 593, when they focus primarily on film). 2) Courses devoted primarily to writing rather than literature (EN 280, 329, Journalism [JR] courses, and 291 or 593, when they focus primarily on writing).

Nota Bene:

Only courses with a grade of C- or higher may be applied to the requirements of the major in English. Although the study of a foreign language is not required, students majoring in English are strongly urged to undertake such a study.
Dual Major of English and Childhood Education
 For the Education component of the Dual Major consult the Education section.
The English component of the Dual Major consists of a total of 11 units with the following distribution:
.

Foundation Courses (three units)

EN 111 World Literature
EN 211 British Literature Survey
EN 212 Introduction to Literary Analysis and Theory

Core British and American Courses (three units, one from each of the following groups)

Pre-1800 British Literature
EN 205 Crime and Violence in the 18th Century
EN 302 Medieval Literature
EN 303 Chaucer
EN 304 Early Modern Literature
EN 327 Advanced Drama: Renaissance to Modern
EN 355 Sex and Gender in Medieval French Literature
Post-1800 British Literature
EN 206 Romantic Poetry, Revolution, the Slave Trade, and Women's Rights
EN 224 Orphans, Poverty, and Scandal in 19th-Century British Literature
EN 225 Ghosts, Vampires and Civilization in English Gothic Fiction
EN 311 Modern English and Irish Literature
EN 313 Contemporary Irish Literature
EN 314 Post-colonial Literature
American Literature
EN 315 African American Literature
EN 317 American Literature: from the European to the American Renaissance
EN 318 American Literature: from Romanticism to Realism
EN 319 American Literature: World War I to the Present
EN 342 The Contested South
EN 345 Modern American Literature
EN 348 Southern Women Writers
EN 416 American Mosaic: Other Voices

Elective upper-level courses (2 units)

.

Required upper-level course (1 unit)

EN 330 Shakespeare Survey
.

Courses in a language other than English (2 units)

Requirements for a Minor in English
A minimum of 5 units, of which one must be a foundation course (choose from EN 111, 211, 212), one core course (see the list for the English major), and three elective courses.
Minor in Journalism
A minimum of 6 units, including JR 261, 2 units in internship: either two different one-unit internships [JR 397 two separate times] or one two-unit internship [JR 497 one time], 1 unit of Wagnerian (.5 units taken twice), and two JR electives.
Minor in Comparative Literature
Comparative Literature addresses literary study from an international perspective.  This approach to literature advances the idea that the study of literature is enhanced by knowledge of surrounding texts, languages, and cultures, and thus Comparative Literature emphasizes intersections between literature and global cultural, philosophical, and linguistic contexts.  The minor is comprised of 5 courses: 1 core course, EN 229; Introduction to Comparative Literature (EN 212 may be substituted if necessary), and 2 courses from 2 of the following areas: 300-level English, 200-300 level French, Spanish, or Italian courses.  At least one course must be conducted in French, Spanish or Italian.
Minor in Film and Media Studies
The interdisciplinary minor in film and media studies will encourage students to become media literate and to advance their own awareness of media's effect on their perceptions of critical social issues. Courses in the minor address the growing need for knowledge of film form, film and television history, world cinema, and/or practice in graphic computer arts. For requirements, consult the Film and Media Studies Minor webpage.
Departmental Honors in English
Initial eligibility for departmental honors in English: students who have earned a GPA of 3.5 in the major and an overall GPA of 3.0 at the end of their junior year are eligible to pursue departmental honors by writing an honors thesis in their senior year. Those who wish to do so should register for an independent study (EN 593) to be directed by a faculty mentor during the fall (and carrying over into spring) of their senior year. Though a student may elect to pursue departmental honors without taking an Independent Study, s/he should know that blocking out sufficient time to focus on the project is easier if there is an Independent Study obligation. It is essential that any student planning to pursue honors talk with a mentor during spring of junior year in order to begin work on the project during the summer prior to senior year. The same thesis may be counted for the Wagner Honors Program and departmental honors in English
It is important that you understand that you should undertake this project only if you have a keen desire to do the work involved. If you miss a deadline or event (in September or after), you will not be allowed to proceed to the defense, though you should complete your work in time to receive a grade for the Independent Study (in which case, it would usually be the completion of an incomplete from fall of senior year.)
Key due dates/events:
Failure to meet any of the following deadlines, indicated by an asterisk * means you cannot proceed further on the path towards departmental honors.
Junior Year
Spring: Talking with/selecting an area and a mentor. Registering for Independent study for fall of senior year.
Summer:  Do all the critical research for the thesis.
Senior Year
September: *Bibliography submitted to mentor and department chair by the end of drop/add.
October: *Prospectus (5-10 pages) submitted to mentor and department chair by the third Monday of October.
January: *Colloquium for all departmental honors candidates, the first Monday of the spring semester
February: *Request readers by the first Monday in February
March: *Submit a completed, polished paper to readers by noon on the Thursday before Spring Break
April: *Defense--scheduled by the department--and final clean copy of thesis