English
Majors and minors offered
The English department regards the teaching of writing and the teaching
of literature as equally important and thoroughly complementary.
Courses in the department seek to help students read with comprehension
and enjoyment and write with skill and grace, to appreciate their cultural
background and explore its values, to understand the relationship between
art and life and to discover the liberating qualities of the imagination.
A major in English provides valuable preparation for careers in professional
areas such as law, business, banking and public relations as well as in
those fields usually considered “literary” in nature: editing,
publishing, journalism, advertising, teaching or librarianship.
In addition
to the English major, students may elect the environmental
studies-English interdisciplinary
major. The department also cooperates in a program leading to New York State
certification for teaching. The University’s semester program in England
provides an international experience, including an extensive array of internships,
which strongly supports majors in English and performance and communication
arts.
Membership in the Irving Bacheller chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the International
English Honor Society, is open to students who have a 3.0 overall GPA and
four or five English courses with a 3.5 average, or a 3.0 overall average
and six or more English courses with a 3.25 average.
First-year students need departmental approval to take English courses
at the 300 or 400 level, but all 200-level courses (except English
290) are open to them.
A unit of credit toward graduation is given for a test
score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement test in English
Language/Composition; a unit of credit is also given for
a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement test in English
Literature/Composition.
Upper-level English writing courses
have specific course prerequisites; most upper-level literature
courses have two courses at the 100 or 200 level as prerequisites.
Students may also take dramatic literature courses offered
by the department of performance and communication arts for
credit in English when they are dual-listed with English.
Students planning to teach English at the
secondary level are encouraged to include all four surveys
of British and American literature (225, 226, 237 and 238)
in their major, along with the following additional courses:
English 319 or 320 (Shakespeare)
and 362 (English
Language), Communication and Performance Arts 111 (Rhetoric
and Public Speaking) or 113 (Introduction
to Performance Studies). Students interested in teaching
certification should consult the education section.
Students planning to enroll in graduate
programs in literature should take an enriched major that
includes both surveys of British literature (225, 226),
English 357 (Postcolonial
Literature and Theory) and English 367 (Feminist
Postcolonial Theory) and should consult with the department
chair and their advisors carefully; such students should
recognize that a reading knowledge of one or two modern languages
is often required in graduate school. Students considering
graduate programs in writing should consult with
a faculty member who teaches creative writing.
Requirements for the Major
A minimum of 11 semester units in English.
1. Introduction to the major
a. Literary History
Two of the following:
225. Survey of English
Literature.
226. Survey of English
Literature.
237. Survey of American
Literature.
b. Forms of Expression
One of the following:
125. Introduction to Dramatic
Scripts.
190.
Introduction to Literary Forms
201. Introduction to Newswriting.
212L. The London Stage.
215. Dramatic Texts in
Context.
223. Playwriting.
241. Techniques of Fiction.
242. Techniques of Poetry.
243. Creative Non-Fiction
Writing.
244. Techniques of Screenwriting.
290. Expository Writing.
295. Nature and Environmental
Writing.
Or appropriate special topics course.
c. Gender, Ethnicity and Nation
One of the following:
220. Introduction to African
Literature.
224. Caribbean Literature
in English.
228. Irish Literature.
230. Introduction to African-American
Literature.
238. Survey of American
Literature.
239. Introduction to Canadian
Literature.
255. African-American
Drama.
263. Native American Fiction.
Or appropriate special topics course.
2. 250. Methods of Critical Analysis.
This course is designed to familiarize students with a variety of critical
approaches to texts. Students are encouraged to take this course during
their sophomore year, but must, except in extraordinary circumstances,
take the course before the end of their junior year.
3. A five-course concentration
Students are encouraged to supplement their concentration with appropriate courses from outside the major.
Focus areas:
(a) British literature
Students electing this concentration must take
five courses in the literatures of Great Britain
and associated literatures. Two of these
must be 300- or 400-level courses in periods
before 1830 and one must be a course in
a minority British literature (e.g., Irish literature)
or literature of the postcolonial British Empire
(e.g., African literature, Caribbean literature,
postcolonial literature and theory, Canadian
literature). The other courses must be
taken at the 300 or 400 level.
(b) American literature
Students electing this concentration must take five courses in the literatures of the United States. One of these must be a 300- or 400-level course in a period prior to 1900, and one of them must concentrate on a minority group within the United States (African-American, Native American, ethnic American women, etc.). The remaining courses must be taken at the 300 or 400 level.
(c) Anglophone, post-colonial and multicultural studies
Students electing this concentration must take English 357 or an appropriate substitute, and four other related courses, two of which should be at the 300 or 400 level.
(d) Writing
Students electing this concentration must take a total of five courses. Students must complete a sequence of courses in one of the following: screenwriting, fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction. In addition, students must take one 300-level literature course in the genre of their sequence and two or three other writing courses.
(e) Gender and Sexuality
Students electing this concentration must take five courses approved by their advisor, three of which must be at the 300 or 400 level.
(f) Independent
Students may, in consultation with their advisor, design their own concentration. Proposals for independently designed concentrations must be approved by the department's independent project committee. Such concentrations must consist of five courses, at least three at the 300 or 400 level.
4. An SYE
All majors must complete a course, sequence of courses or project approved by the department to receive SYE transcript notation.
Environmental Studies/English Major
The environmental studies-English major gives students
an opportunity to combine seven core courses in environmental studies
with eight core courses/electives in English, thus providing substantial
study in both disciplines, as well as their intersection. The interdisciplinary
major seeks to attract students who combine an interest in the environment
with the desire both to explore existing literature and to create new
literature on environmental themes. Note that students pursuing this
major may not also major in English. Please consult the environmental
studies section of this Catalog for the complete list of courses.
Minor Requirements
The English department currently offers four ways to minor in English, each one consisting of a group of six courses.
1. The minor in literature requires
English 225 and 226
(surveys of British literature), 237
or 238 (one survey
of American literature) and three 300- or 400-level courses in literature.
2. The minor in British literature requires English
225 and 226 (surveys
of British literature, 237
or 238 (one survey
of American literature) and three 300- or 400-level courses in British
literature.
3. The minor in American literature requires English 237
and 238 (surveys of
American literature), 225
(the first survey of British literature) and three 300- or 400-level
courses in American literature.
4. The minor in writing requires two of the following survey courses: English
225, 226, 237
and/or 238, three writing courses (two of which must be a sequence, listed above) and one 300- or 400-level course in literature.
Certification to Teach English
Students seeking initial certification as a 7-12 English
teacher in New York must major in English and also complete
the certification minor in education. English majors intending
to complete student teaching after graduation in the University’s
Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program must complete
the English major and the educational studies minor in education
(or its equivalent) as undergraduates. Consult the education section
of this Catalog and/or speak to the coordinator of the teacher
education program in the education department as early as possible.
Honors
To receive honors in English, students must achieve
a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the major and submit for evaluation a critical
or creative writing project of substantial length. The proposal for
an honors project must be submitted midway through the semester before
the project is to begin.
Normally, the project is developed in English
495 (Honors Projects) under the direction of a faculty advisor; English
495 is offered only in the fall semester. Critical projects usually
examine the works of a particular writer or a literary theme or practice
that two or more writers share. Creative projects are usually collections
of original poetry, fiction or prose essays. (See also Honors in
the Curriculum.)
Professors
Patricia Ann Alden, A.B., A.M., Ph.D., Stanford
Professor of English and Associate Dean for International and Intercultural
Studies
Peter Joseph Bailey, A.B., New School for Social Research; M.A., Johns
Hopkins; Ph.D., Southern California
Professor of English and Chair of Department
Robert Mark DeGraaff, A.B., Calvin; M.A., Miami University; Ph.D.,
Duke
Professor of English
James Kerry Grant, B.A., Cambridge (England); M.A., East Anglia (England);
Ph.D., Virginia
Professor of English
Sidney Logan Sondergard, B.A., M.A., Wichita; Ph.D., Southern California
Professor of English
Eve Walsh Stoddard, A.B., Mount Holyoke; Ph.D., UCLA
Professor of English and Global Studies and Chair of the Department
Susan Eileen Ward, B.A., Carnegie–Mellon; M.A., Ph.D., Connecticut
Professor of English
Bruce Ira Weiner, A.B., Princeton; M.A., Ph.D., Pennsylvania
Craig Professor of English
Margaret Kent Bass, B.A., Wilmington; M.Ed., Mississippi; Ph.D., Louisiana
State
Associate Professor of English, Interim Vice President and Dean of
Student Life and Co-Curricular Education, and Coordinator of the Jeffrey
Campbell Graduate Fellows Program
Robert Duffley Cowser, B.A., Loyola; M.A., Marquette; Ph.D., Nebraska/Lincoln
Associate Professor of English
John Jaunzems, B.A., M.A., McMaster (Canada); Ph.D., Toronto
Associate Professor of English
Richard H. Jenseth, B.A., Western; M.A., SUNY Albany; Ph.D., Iowa
Associate Professor of English
Natalia Rachel Singer, B.A., Northwestern; M.F.A., Massachusetts
Associate Professor of English
Caroline Breashears, B.A., Arkansas; M.A., Ph.D., Virginia
Assistant Professor of English
Sarah Gates, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Boston University
Assistant Professor of English
Mary M. Hussmann, B.A., Northern Iowa; M.F.A., Iowa
Assistant Professor of English
Ngoc Quang Huynh, B.A., Bennington College; M.F.A., Brown; Ph.D.,
Cardiff (UK)
Assistant Professor of English
Hillory Oakes, B.A., Oklahoma; M.A., Ph.D., Denver
Visiting Assistant Professor of English and Director of the University
Writing Center
Pedro Ponce, B.A., Williams; M.A., Johns Hopkins; M.F.A, Western Michigan;
Ph.D., Denver
Assistant Professor of English and Coordinator of the Writers Series
