English

The English major enables students to become fluent and expressive writers, critical and appreciative readers of literature, and imaginative thinkers. The curriculum offers a solid foundation in literary history, with attention to the full range of classical, British, American, and global traditions. This curriculum extends as well to the consideration of all standard literary genres, to selected special topics in literary study, and literary theory.

Requirements for the Major in English

The major requires successful completion of the following:

Course Requirements
Select a minimum of nine courses in English (with the ENGL subject-code or ENGX attribute) 136
Total Semester Hours36
Additional Requirements
A comprehensive examination 2
1

All majors are encouraged to take one or two courses at the 200 level before moving to upper-level (300 and 400 level) courses. There is no distinction of form or difficulty between 300 and 400 level courses. Every English major must take at least one course that is Writing Intensive in the Major (GMWI).

2

The exam must be taken in the final semester of enrollment. The exam requires coverage in five categories of literature, divided by historical and geographical categories. You can find a guide to these categories here.

Honors

During the summer before their final year, an English major with an average of 3.60 or better in English courses may apply to enter the honors process (students with a 3.5 may appeal). An honors project is an extended research project (usually between 35-50 pages). It involves extended and directed work on literature: it is the kind of experience in which professional literary critics engage to produce research, such as journal articles and book chapters. Students accepted into the honors process will be assigned a faculty mentor and take ENGL451: Honors Tutorial in the Advent semester of their final year. Upon successful completion of that course and the approval of their mentor, they will take the 2-credit ENGL452. Those who complete their project and gain at least a B on the English comprehensive exam will participate in an oral defense of their thesis.

Courses with ENGL attribute:
AFST 320Black Autobiography in the United States4
AFST 351Toni Morrison4

Student Learning Outcomes

A student majoring in English will

  1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the texts as detailed on the department’s reading list for majors and an ability to place them in a variety of historical, social, political, critical, and theoretical contexts.
  2. Demonstrate an ability to carry out independent and sustained research at an advanced level into the primary texts using a variety of resources (including academic libraries and online materials), and engage criticism about those texts, in satisfaction of GMWI. 
  3. Demonstrate an ability to comprehend a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the contemporary period.
  4. Demonstrate the ability to deploy interpretive and analytical strategies in areas and topics not previously studied.