Bachelor of Arts in English - Literature Emphasis

The department offers courses in literary history and traditions. These courses assist students to see how the works of generation of writers explore unifying these, ides, ideals, achievements, and aspirations. The department offers courses on “writers at work” that invite close study of the ideas and literary habits of a writer or a community of writers. These courses assist in understanding the texture of writing produced by individuals of great or compelling talent. The department offers courses in reading cultural contexts that promote awareness of literary texts as cultural constructs. These courses highlight the importance of society and culture as crucial determinants in the texts we read and analyze. The department offers courses in theories and practices that explore the methods of literary inquiry. These courses expose and test the theoretical grounding of our various approaches to literary material. A capstone course integrating theory and practice required of all majors in their senior year. The department offers course in creative writing that provide instruction in and contexts for practicing and producing the students own literary texts: stories, poems, plays, critical and personal essays. Thirty-six credits in English are required of all majors.

Students with a concentration in literature are required to take

• ENG 226W Sophomore Seminar in English
• Two historical surveys of literature, one from each of the following lists:

    1.    ENG220, 230, 240
    2.    ENG 221, 223, 231, 241

• One 300- or 400-level course in four of the following five categories:

    1.    Ancient and Medieval: ENG 326, 340, 341, 342, 343, or 360
    2.    Early Modern: ENG 330, 331, 361, 362, 432, or 433
    3.    Long 18th Century: ENG 420, 433, 436, 437, or 438
    4.    Long 19th Century: ENG 319, 320, 322, 348, 364, or 365
    5.    20th and 21st Centuries: ENG 305, 322, 329, 347, 349, 366, or 367

• One drama course: ENG330, 348, 349, 361, 362, 368, or 420
• One course in a genre other than drama: ENG 262, 320, 321, 322, 325, 329, 360, 365, 366, 367, 433, or 437
• One cultural diversity course: ENG217, 218, 223, 305, 315, 316, 324, 325, 328, or 370
• ENG465W Senior Capstone Seminar
• English electives at the 200 level or above, to reach a total of at least 36 credits (12 courses) to complete the major.

Note: A single course may be used to satisfy two—but not three—distribution areas.

Note: Depending on their content, Studies in…, Special Topics, and honors courses may be used to fulfill distribution requirements.

Learning Outcomes for the BA in English (LIterature Emphasis)

1) Students will manifest an ability to read and understand a wide variety of literary texts.

2) Students will express themselves, whether in their interpretations of literature or in their own creative writing, with clarity, subtlety, and originality.

3) Students will use the vocabulary of literary criticism effectively and confidently.

4) Students will display a broad knowledge of the relationships of literature to historic and/or cultural contexts.