The Major Course of
Study
The English major at Wesleyan consists of ten
full-credit courses at the 200-level or higher, or the equivalent if half-credit
courses are counted. All but three of these credits, and all courses taken to
meet the literary history, literatures of difference, and theory requirements,
must be taken at Wesleyan or in the Department’s Sussex Program. The student’s
major program must include the following:
- Required courses
Each of the following requirements must be fulfilled by taking a full-credit
course designated by the Department as meeting the requirement. Single courses
designated as fulfilling more than one requirement may be used to fulfill more
than one requirement. Courses fulfilling requirements must be taken for a
letter grade.
- English 201, in the sophomore year.
A grade of B- or higher is required for admission to the major. Students
currently enrolled in 201 will be admitted provisionally, pending receipt
of their final grade in the course. Students who have not taken and are not
taking 201 will ordinarily not be admitted.
-
Literary History I/pre-1800
-
Literary History II/pre-1800
-
Literatures of Difference (beginning with the class of
2010)
-
Theory
- Field of Concentration (click here to
view the Concentrations)
Students in the class of 2010 are encouraged to select a concentration when they
declare the English major. Beginning with the class of 2011, a concentration
will be required.
A concentration consists of four courses, including at least two courses at the
200 level and one at the 300 level. Courses fulfilling major requirements may
also be used to fulfill the concentration.
- Elective Courses
Elective courses chosen from the Department’s offerings at the 200 level and
higher should be selected to develop, define, or supplement the student’s
program of study in the major, or specifically to add to a concentration.
Electives may supplement literary texts with historical, cultural, or
theoretical contexts, or complement a field of study by comparing or contrasting
it with related schools of literature, philosophy, and so on. Electives are
thus an opportunity to extend the focus within the major in directions that may
not be immediately obvious but will enrich the student’s understanding of
literature.
A related course from another department may be counted toward the major.
Prior approval from the student’s major advisor is ordinarily required.
- Creative Writing Courses
Students may enroll in no more than one writing class per semester (not
including tutorials). Ordinarily, two writing courses may be counted toward the
major; however, three writing courses may be counted if one is an advanced
workshop course.
- ENGL 491 and 492: Ford Seminars and Teaching Apprentice
Tutorials. When they designate Ford Seminars for writing tutors, these
courses may be counted for the major only if the actual tutoring is associated
with an upper-level English course that the tutor has not taken. When they
designate Teaching Apprentice tutorials associated with English courses, they
may be counted whether or not the teaching apprentice has taken the course.
- Student forum classes do not count toward the major.
- Senior thesis tutorials do not count toward the major.
- Individual and group tutorials may not be used to
fulfill the literary history, literatures of difference, and theory
requirements. They may be counted toward the concentration.
- AP Credit. Students who scored 4 or 5 on the AP in
English Literature or English Composition or both, or 5, 6,
or 7 on the English A1 or AS IB exam, will automatically receive a total of
one credit. The same credit is awarded for taking one exam as for taking
more than one. This credit counts toward graduation but not toward General
Education expectations or the English major.
- Oversubscription:
Students can count toward the total of 32 course credits required for the B.A.
no more than 14 course credits in any one department (15 with a senior project
and 16 with a two-credit senior thesis). Among the 14 course credits in any one
department (15 or 16 with project or thesis) that can be counted toward the
degree requirements, no more than 12 course credits numbered 201 or higher (13
or 14 with project or thesis) can be included, and no more than four course
credits numbered from 101 to 200. If a given course appears in more than one
departmental listing, i.e., is cross-listed, it must be counted in the major
department if it appears there.
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