Program: English Major - Clark University

English Overview

Undergraduate Program

The English program offers courses for majors and minors and electives for non-majors. The program is designed to develop a sense of literature, literary history, and sensitivity to cultural values. Students will also acquire the ability to analyze effectively and to write persuasively, skills that are valuable to almost any vocation. Our program offers a range of courses, from traditional areas, such as Shakespeare, Romanticism, and global literature, to cutting-edge fields, such as medical humanism and science fiction.

We advise English majors and minors to take two historical surveys, one pre-1850 and one post-1850, early in their programs.

In addition, we have a Creative Writing minor with courses in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction taught by professional writers. These courses guide students to examine literary works as a writer to apply what they learn to their own writing. Interactive workshops, moreover, provide the feedback that helps students to develop and refine their work. Please contact Professor Elliott for more information.

Our program provides a number of scholarly opportunities, such as participation in our national Honors Society, our Capstone in English, and our Honors program. We also have connections to a number of internships, such as the London Internship Program, which offers positions in the fields of theater and journalism, in addition to internships with local newspapers and journals, as well as national organizations. Our program, moreover, has strong ties with the American Antiquarian Society, which offers seminars and the opportunity to participate in archival research. For those interested in studying abroad, the English Department has a partner program at the University of East Anglia and Advanced Studies in English in Bath, England.

For more information, please visit the English Department’s website.

Scholarly Research Program

Our program facilitates scholarly research through our Capstone in English, a senior research project, and our Honors program. Please contact Professor Kasmer, Chair, for information. Also, every year The American Antiquarian Society, a prestigious national research library of American culture located in Worcester, offers seminars in specialized topics in American studies. Please contact Professor Elliott or Neuman for more information.

Internship Opportunities

In cooperation with the University’s internship office, the English Department supports internships for all majors. Internships are available both in university offices and in venues beyond the campus-for example, newspapers, news departments of radio and television stations, periodical and book publishers, and communication departments. Please consult with Professor Kasmer, Chair, for further information.

Health Professions

In an effort to enhance students’ opportunities for entrance into medical, dental and veterinary schools, the Premedical and Predental Advisory Committee has a special arrangement with the English Department, allowing students to major in English while meeting the specific requirements of medical schools. The English Department also offers courses in medical humanism, helping those interested in the medical field to become more culturally sensitive and empathetic. If interested, please consult Professor Jones.

Study Abroad

The English Department has a special arrangement with the University of East Anglia in England, the Advanced Studies in English in Bath, England and the London Internship Program. For information, please consult with Professor Kasmer, Chair, or Clark’s Study Abroad Programs.

Major Requirements

Core Requirements:
A minimum grade of C is required to receive major field credit. Each designation in parentheses in the descriptions below is used in course listings every semester in order to identify what requirement a course meets. Thus, if a course does not appear in the list below (for example, a new course), you can nonetheless readily see what requirements it meets through these designations. For questions concerning requirements, please see your adviser.

A. Historical Sequences (2 courses)

The two courses used to satisfy this requirement must include one course from A-1 and one course from A-2:

(A-1) Pre- 1850 (1 course):

(A-2) Post-1850 Course (1 course):

ENG 141 Major British Writers II
ENG 181 Major American Writers II
ENG 134 Survey of Women Writers II
ENG 165 American Ethnic Writers
ENG 183 African American Literature II
ENG 222 Black Political Literary Movements of the 20th Century (can satisfy A-2 or C-3 but does not double count)

B. Genre Courses (2 courses)

(B-1) Each major must take at least one poetry course, such as:

(B-2) Each major must also take at least one other genre course, such as:

C. Period Requirements (4 courses)

(C-1) Each major must take at least two courses of literature before 1700, one of which must be at the 200-level such as:

ENG 120 - Introduction to Shakespeare
ENG 150 Introduction to Medieval Literature
ENG 227 The Book in the Early Modern World (For English majors, this course may satisfy the C1 or D requirements but cannot double count.)
ENG 253 - Advanced Studies in Shakespeare
ENG 255 - Studies in the Renaissance
ENG 284 Special Topics in 17th- and 18th-Century American Literature (can satisfy C-1 or C-2, but does not double count)

(C-2) Each major must take at least one 200-level course of literature between 1700 and 1900, such as:

ENG 225 American Print Culture 1700-1900
ENG 260 Making Gender through the Eighteenth-Century Novel
ENG 261 Gender and Genre in the Nineteenth-Century British Novel
ENG 263 Traumatic Tales: British Romantic Literature and Nationhood
ENG 281 Special Topics in 19th-C American Literature
ENG 284 Special Topics in 17th- and 18th-Century American Literature (can satisfy C-1 or C-2, but does not double count)

(C-3) Each major must take at least one 200 level course of literature after 1900, such as:

ENG 222 Black Political Literary Movements of the 20th Century (can satisfy A-2 or C-3, but does not double count)
ENG 232 Modernist Literature
ENG 238 - Contemporary Latino/a Literature
ENG 275 - Fictions of Empire: Studies in Global English Literature
ENG 276 - Ethnic America: Literature, Theory, Politics
ENG 279 - Fictions of Asian America
ENG 293 - Special Topics in African American Literature
HS 233 Science Fiction and the Mind of the Other

D. Theory or Language (1 course)

(D-1) Each major must take at least one 200-level course in the theory and language, such as:

ENG 245 - Mythopoetics
ENG 248 - Contemporary Literary Theory
ENG 227 The Book in the Early Modern World (For English Majors, this course may satisfy the C1 or D requirements but cannot double count.)
ENG 249 Signs and Crossroads: Semiotic Theory and Practice
WGS 200 Topics in Feminist Theory

ENG 243 - Literary Theory & Global Culture

E. Capstone Requirement (1 course)

Each major must take the Capstone course in the fall semester of senior year:

ENG 290 Capstone

F. Area of Specialization

As early as possible, in combination with an adviser, an English major should select an Area of Specialization (seven courses, four of which are typically fulfilled by core courses in the major).

Students may substitute a second major, a University concentration, or a minor for the Area of Specialization as long as they demonstrate the links between the English major and the substituted area of study in the Capstone or in another appropriate course.

Descriptions of areas of specialization with lists of required and recommended courses are available from the department.

Honors

In the spring semester, the faculty identify qualified junior majors and invite them to work on a yearlong honors thesis during their senior year. Other students who wish to take honors in English should identify an area of interest, consult with an appropriate honors adviser, and apply to Professor Kasmer, Chair, before the end of the junior year.

Nonrequired Preparatory Courses:

English Faculty

Program

Louis Bastien, Ph.D.
James Elliott, Ph.D.
Betsy P. Huang, Ph.D.
Esther Jones, Ph.D.
Lisa Kasmer, Ph.D. - Department Chair
Stephen M. Levin, Ph.D.
Meredith Neuman, Ph.D.
.

Department Instructors

Dianne Berg M.A., Ph.D. expected
Bruce Borowsky M.A.
Timothy Connolly M.A.
Jonathan Dickstein Ph.D.
Reginald Gibson M.F.A.
Kate Perillo M.A., M.A.T., Ph.D expected
Kourtney Senquiz M.A., M.A.T., Ph.D. expected
Lucilia Valerio Ph.D

Creative Writing Instructors

Michael Carolan M.F.A.
Joan Houlihan M.A.
Robin McLean M.F.A.
Karen Osborn M.F.A.
Jessica Bane Robert M.F.A.

Emeriti

John J. Conron, Ph.D.
SunHee Kim Gertz, Ph.D., Research Professor
Serena S. Hilsinger, Ph.D.
Fern Johnson, Ph.D., Research Professor
Virginia Mason Vaughan, Ph.D., Research Professor

English Major