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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
 

§  Literary History II
 

§  Literatures of Difference

 

§  Theory

 

§  Field of Concentration
In the spring of the sophomore year, students choose a concentration to focus their coursework in the major.  Each of the concentrations offers a pathway through the major, from introductory to intermediate and advanced courses, and provides students with both breadth and depth of knowledge in the field as well as expertise in reading, analysis, and writing in various formats.  

  • American Literature
    This concentration focuses on the history of the literature written in the United States and colonial America and is particularly concerned with the relation between literary expression and nationality. Like other subfields of English, the study of American literature at Wesleyan makes use of textual analysis and the study of literary forms, but it places special emphasis on the connections among literature and cultural and political history. Among other subjects, our courses focus on the role of literature in the formation and critique of American nationality and on its participation in transnational contexts that may challenge national identity. In addition, the concentration stresses the value of seeing distinct works, authors, or movements in the larger context of the history of literary expression in the U.S. The concentration requires four courses, including either English 203 or English 204 and at least one 300-level course. Normally, students will take 203 or 204 in the sophomore or junior year. At least one of the four courses must focus on literature written before the Civil War, and at least one must focus on the significance of race and ethnicity.

  • British Literature
    The British Literature concentration treats British culture and society through the lens of literature from its beginnings to the present day.  Many of the courses in the concentration deal with specific historical periods and themes; others focus on individual writers or genres, topics in cultural studies, methods, and literary and cultural theories germane to the study of British literature. Students are required to take at least two 200-level courses and at least one 300-level course. Students are encouraged to take, ordinarily in the freshman, sophomore, or junior year, on e of the introductory courses in British literature: ENGL 206, Late Renaissance to Enlightenment; ENGL 208, Enlightenment to Modernism; or ENGL 238, Renaissance Literature.

  • Race and Ethnicity
    This concentration is organized around courses devoted to studying the representation of race and ethnicity.  The Race and Ethnicity concentration is topical and also encompasses courses that cover national literatures (American, British), literary traditions within nations (African American, U.S. Ethnic), and transnational and postcolonial literatures.  In addition, some courses within the concentration are devoted to particular genres, focused on specific historical periods, and concerned with literary and cultural theories. The concentration requires students to take at least two 200-level courses, which might include a survey such as ENGL 240. Introduction to African American Literature; ENGL 243, Asian American Literature and Its Discontents; ENGL 275, Postcolonial Literature; and ENGL 279, Introduction to Latina/o Literature and Culture, as well as one 300-level course, which might be a junior or senior seminar or a special topics course such as ENGL 331, Topics in African American Literature: Charles Chesnutt and Pauline Hopkins, or a theory course.

  • Theory and Literary Forms
    The Theory and Literary Forms concentration includes two overlapping groups of courses.  The first group consists of courses that take literary theory as their subject matter, treating theory as a central topic within literary studies.  The second group includes courses that examine particular literary forms, usually poetry, drama, nonfiction, or fiction.  Additionally, most creative writing courses fall under this heading.  Students may organize their course of study by concentrating on literary theory; particular literary forms, examined through theoretical, critical, and creative writing courses; the history of a particular form over time; or the idea of genre and/or form itself.  It should be noted that declaration of a Theory and Literary Forms concentration does not guarantee admission to creative writing courses.  Students are expected to take at least two 200-level courses and at least one 300-level course.

  • Creative Writing Concentration

          The Creative Writing Concentration is a competitive program within the English major that is geared toward students who wish to pursue an intensive specialization in creative writing in the context of advanced literary study. The Creative Writing Concentration supports a rigorous study of contemporary writing practices and their roots, influences, and precursors. Students learn that writing is a practice that involves an ongoing negotiation of the tensions between creativity and discipline, experimentation and structure, critical analysis and textual production. Admission to the concentration is not guaranteed. Students wishing to pursue a specialization in Creative Writing should initially declare a concentration in Theory and Literary Forms. In addition to meeting the core requirements for the English major, students are expected to complete four courses within the concentration: at least two courses from the writing sequence (described below), one of which is an upper-level workshop; one capstone course; and a literature course focusing on a particular genre.  Majors may apply to the Creative Writing Concentration after completing an intermediate or advanced workshop and receiving a grade of B+ or higher.

    At the core of the Creative Writing Concentration is the following sequence of highly-focused, seminar-style workshops in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction: 

    • an entry-level, open-enrollment course in "techniques" 

    • an intermediate workshop 

    • an advanced workshop

The intermediate and advanced workshops are enrolled by permission of instructor through an application process explained on the course pages in WesMaps. Additional "Special Topics" courses at the introductory and advanced levels are offered regularly in each genre as well.

§  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.

Click Here For:

Preliminary List of Courses Meeting Requirements for 2010-2011

Other Course Information

§  Creative Writing Courses 
Creative Writing courses numbered 149 to 179 may be counted toward the major. 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.