2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
English Major
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English Overview
Undergraduate Programs within the English Department
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 foundational areas, such as Shakespeare, Romanticism, and global literature, to emergent fields, such as medical humanism, critical race theory, and sexuality studies.
We advise English majors and minors to take two historical surveys, one pre-1850 and one post-1850, early in their programs. A 100-level genre course is another good introductory class for students contemplating the major. Once a student declares (or knows they intend to declare) the major, they should take the “gateway” course, ENG 199: The Text, the World, and the Critic, ideally by spring semester of their sophomore year.
In addition, we have a Creative Writing major and 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 Coordinator of Creative Writing, Phil Lemos, for more information.
Our program provides a number of scholarly opportunities, such as participation in Sigma Tau Delta (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 Blake, Director of the Honors Program, 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 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 Neuman, Chair, for further information.
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 Neuman, 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. Gateway (1 course)
Offered every spring. The department recommends that a student complete one or two 100-level English courses and have declared (or intend to declare) the major in preparation for this required “gateway” course for the major. Ideally a major will complete this course by spring of their sophomore year.
ENG 199 - The Text, the World, and the Critic
B. Historical Sequence (2 courses)
The two courses used to satisfy this requirement must include one course from B-1 and one course from B-2:
(B-1) Pre- 1850 (1 course):
(B-2) Post-1850 Course (1 course):
C. Genre Courses (2 courses)
(C-1) Each major must take at least one poetry course, such as:
(C-2) Each major must also take at least one other genre course, such as:
D. Period Requirements (4 courses)
(D-1) Each major must take at least two courses, including one at the 200-level, in literature before 1700, such as:
(D-2) Each major must take at least one 200-level course of literature between 1700 and 1900, such as:
(D-3) Each major must take at least one 200 level course of literature after 1900, such as:
E. Theory (1 course)
(E-1) Each major must take at least one 200-level course in theory, such as:
- ENG 227 - The Book in the Early Modern World (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D1 or E requirments but cannot double count.)
- ENG 230 - Reading Voraciously: Food and Literature in the 20th Century (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-3 or E requirements but cannot double count.)
- ENG 231 - Queer Modernisms (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-3 or E requirments but cannot double count.)
- ENG 243 - Literary Theory & Global Culture
- ENG 244 Literatures of Remembrance: Colonialism, the Holocaust, and Global Memory (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-3 or E requirements but cannot double count.)
- ENG 245 - Mythopoetics
- ENG 248 - Contemporary Literary Theory
- ENG 254 History of the English Language (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-1 or E requirements but cannot double count.)
- ENG 256 - Ecologies in Crisis (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-3 or E requirements but cannot double count.)
- ENG 263 - Traumatic Tales: National Trauma in Romantic Literature (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-2 or E requirements but cannot double count.)
- ENG 264 - Queer Victorians (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-2 or E requirements but cannot double count.)
- ENG 276 - Ethnic America: Literature, Theory, Politics (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-3 or E requirements but cannot double count.)
- ENG 292 - Toni Morrison (For English majors, this course may satisfy the D-3 or E requirements but cannot double count.)
- ENG 294 - African American Literary and Critical Race Theory
F. Capstone Requirement (1 course)
ENG 290 - Capstone is offered every fall and is required for every English major in their final year.
Area of Specialization
An Area of Specialization assists you in focusing your study of literature and in becoming familiar with specific bodies of literature.
The Areas of Specialization are:
- American Literature
- Ethnic Literatures
- British Literature
- Global Literature and Culture
- Early Literature
- Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Individually Designed Area of Specialization
In planning your Area of Specialization, please consider the following:
- An area of specialization is NOT required if you have a second major, a minor in another field or a concentration.
- Many courses included in the various Areas of Specialization also satisfy certain English Major Core Requirements, so double-counting of a course is allowed for the Area of Specialization.
- With the consent of your adviser, courses not listed in an Area of Specialization may be accepted.
- An equivalent course from another accredited college or University may be substituted with your adviser’s permission.
- With the consent of your adviser, you may propose an individually designed Area of Specialization, which must be submitted to the Department Chair for final approval.
Track in American Literature
This specialization allows students to explore many different formulations of American experience through old, new, and non-canonical writers in a range of genres and periods.
Possible courses that fulfill this requirement include:
CORE COURSES Any two 100-level survey courses in American literature
- ENG 165 - American Ethnic Writers
- ENG 180 - Major American Writers I
- ENG 181 - Major American Writers II
- ENG 182 - African American Literature I
- ENG 183 - African American Literature II
ADDITIONAL COURSES Any two at the 200 level, such as:
- ENG 225 - American Print Culture 1700-1900
- ENG 238 - Contemporary Latino/a Literature
- ENG 276 - Ethnic America: Literature, Theory, Politics
- ENG 279 - Fictions of Asian America
- ENG 281 - Special Topics in 19th-C American Literature
- ENG 284 - Special Topics in 17th- and 18th-Century American Literature
- ENG 292 - Toni Morrison
- ENG 293 - Special Topics in African American Literature
One course outside the English Department
Track in Ethnic Literatures
This focus area will be of interest for students interested in comparatively exploring literatures in English by people of ethnic origins in the Americas. It will complement students pursuing programs of study in Africana Studies, Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies, and Comparative Literature.
Possible courses that fulfill this requirement:
CORE COURSES Any two at the 100 level
- ENG 165 - American Ethnic Writers
- ENG 182 - African American Literature I
- ENG 183 - African American Literature II
ADDITIONAL COURSES Any two at the 200 level, such as:
- ENG 238 - Contemporary Latino/a Literature
- ENG 276 - Ethnic America: Literature, Theory, Politics
- ENG 279 - Fictions of Asian America
- ENG 275 - Fictions of Empire: Studies in Global English Literature
- ENG 292 - Toni Morrison
- ENG 293 - Special Topics in African American Literature
One course outside the English Department
Track in British Literature
This area of study will focus on the origins of English-language literature from the medieval period to the dissemination of English forms and genres across national borders. Students will consider the literary production of the specific national and regional traditions of Britain, but will also explore the idea of Britain as a contingent formation that becomes salient within particular historical and cultural contexts.
Possible courses that fulfill this requirement:
CORE COURSES Any two at the 100 level
- ENG 120 - Introduction to Shakespeare
- ENG 140 - British Literature I
- ENG 141 - British Literature II
- ENG 110 - Lyric Architectures: Reading Poetry
ADDITIONAL COURSES Any two at the 200 level, such as:
- ENG 250 - Medieval Literature
- ENG 253 - Advanced Studies in Shakespeare
- ENG 255 - Studies in the Renaissance
- ENG 262 - Special Topics in 19th-Century British Literature
- ENG 275 - Fictions of Empire: Studies in Global English Literature
One course outside the English Department
Track in Global Literature and Culture
This specialization will focus on the study of literature and cultural production within a global context, and within specific local histories and economies that emerge in the modern world. Courses in this area will consider literary texts as well as extra-literary forms such as social movements and everyday life practices. Students may find it useful to combine this specialization with a focus on a particular regional or language tradition, drawing, for example, on offerings in Asian Studies, Africana Studies, or Comparative Literature.
Possible courses that fulfill this requirement:
CORE COURSES These courses will provide a foundation for the study of the Anglophone world. Any two at the 100 level
- ENG 140 - British Literature I
- ENG 141 - British Literature II
- ENG 110 - Lyric Architectures: Reading Poetry
ADDITONAL COURSES Any two at the 200 level, such as:
- ENG 275 - Fictions of Empire: Studies in Global English Literature
- ENG 243 - Literary Theory & Global Culture
- ENG 248 - Contemporary Literary Theory
- ENG 261 - Gender and Genre in the Nineteenth-Century British Novel
One course outside the English Department
Track in Early Literature
A specialization in Early Literature not only fosters a nuanced understanding of the past times and places but also deepens your sense of how the present is rooted in long histories, from literary conventions to pressing social and political issues of today.
Possible courses that fulfiil this requirement include:
CORE COURSES Any two at the 100 level, such as:
- ENG 120 - Introduction to Shakespeare
- ENG 140 - British Literature I
- ENG 150 - Introduction to Medieval Literature
ADDITIONAL COURSES Any two at the 200 level, such as:
- ENG 227 - The Book in the Early Modern World
- ENG 253 - Advanced Studies in Shakespeare
- ENG 255 - Studies in the Renaissance
- ENG 285 - Topics in Seventeenth-Century Literature
One course outside the English Department
Track in Gender and Sexuality Studies
This specialization will deepen your understanding of women’s writing, as well as your understanding of gender and sexuality as theoretical concepts that have evolved and continue to evolve through time. These courses examine the ways in which differences are produced culturally and emphasize the interrelationships among gender and sexuality, race, class, and nation. This specialization will complement the pursuit of study in Women’s and Gender Studies.
Possible courses that fulfill this requirement:
CORE COURSES Any two at the 100 level, such as:
- ENG 133 - Women Writers I
- ENG 134 - Survey of Women Writers II
- ENG 139 - Queer Literature
- ENG 164 - The Gothic
ADDITIONAL COURSES Any two at the 200 level, such as:
- ENG 230 - Reading Voraciously: Food and Literature in the 20th Century
- ENG 231 - Queer Modernisms
- ENG 234 - Virginia Woolf
- ENG 260 - Making Gender through the Eighteenth-Century Novel
- ENG 261 - Gender and Genre in the Nineteenth-Century British Novel
- ENG 264 - Queer Victorians
One course outside the English Department
Individually Designed Area of Specialization
In consultation with your adviser, you may design your own Area of Specialization. It should include at least five coherently related courses, one of which can be offered by other departments. After you and your adviser agree on the nature and requirements of the individually designed area, an outline of it should be forwarded to the Department Chair, Professor Meredith Neuman, for approval.
Honors
In the fall 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 Blake, Director of Honors Program, before the end of the junior year.
Nonrequired Preparatory Courses:
Students who expect to major or minor in English will usually fulifll their VE requirement through regular English coursework at the 100 level. Should a student need or desire foundational writing intensive coursework, they can take any of the classes below, ideally in consulation with the Writing Center. Please note that the following courses do NOT count toward the English major or minor.
English Department Faculty
Program
Louis Bastien, Ph.D.
Dianne Berg, Ph.D., VAP
Elizabeth Blake, Ph.D.
Mandy Gutmann-Gonzalez, M.F.A.
Betsy P. Huang, Ph.D.
Esther Jones, Ph.D.
Lisa Kasmer, Ph.D.
Phil Lemos, M.F.A., VAP - Coordinator of Creative Writing
Stephen M. Levin, Ph.D. - Director of Graduate Studies in English
Meredith Neuman, Ph.D. - Department Chair
Jeff Noh, Ph.D., VAP
Kourtney Senquiz, Ph.D., VAP
Justin L. P. Shaw, Ph.D.
Spencer Tricker, Ph.D
Department Instructors
Bruce Borowsky, M.A.
Reginald Gibson, M.F.A.
Jacqueline Morrill, M.F.A.
Lucilia Valerio, Ph.D.
Creative Writing Instructors
Michael Carolan, M.F.A.
Therese Gleason Carr, M.A., M.F.A.
Alexis “Dink” Dinkins, M.F.A.
Jane Dykema, M.F.A.
Mandy Gutmann-Gonzalez, M.F.A.
Joan Houlihan, M.A.
Phil Lemos, M.F.A. - Coordinator of Creative Writing
Jeff Noh, Ph.D.
Jessica Bane Robert, M.F.A.
Emeriti
John J. Conron, Ph.D.
James P. Elliott, Ph.D., Senior Research Scholar
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
Adjunct
Michael Bamberg, Ph.D.
Gino DiIorio, M.F.A.
Graduate Studies in English
Stephen M. Levin, Ph.D., Director
English & Creative Writing Courses
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