Department of English

Undergraduate Course Requirements

This outline details the requirements for the department's general literature major. Some major options have additional requirements. For more details about individual courses, please see the course descriptions page.

At least 10 intermediate or advanced courses for a minimum of 31 credits. This includes the requirement that one course, selected from English 215, 216, or 217 must be taken in the 4 credit format. The classes are distributed as follows:

• At least one course taken in the 4 credit format (selected from 215, 216, 217)
• English 215: British Literature Before 1750 (3-4 cr)
• English 216: British and Anglophone Literature from 1750 to the present (3-4 cr)
• English 217: American Literature (3-4 cr)
• One course in Shakespeare (3 cr):
  • 219 Shakespearean Drama
  • 220 Shakespearean Drama
  • 226 Introduction to Shakespeare
  • 417 Shakespeare
  • 418 Shakespeare
• One additional course in Eng. Lit. before 1800 (3 cr):
  • 359 Beowulf (prereq: English 320)
  • 360 The Anglo Saxons
  • 361 Study of Outstanding Figure(s) of Medieval Eng. Lit.
  • 362 Study of a Theme in Medieval English Literature
  • 365 Early Medieval Lit. (1066-1350)
  • 367 Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
  • 368 Chaucer's Courtly Poetry
  • 369 Contemp. and Immediate Successors of Chaucer
  • 400 The Sixteenth Century (exclusive of Spenser)
  • 401 Study of Outstanding Figure(s) of 16th C. Lit.
  • 402 A Study of a Theme in 16th C. English Literature
  • 405 Spenser
  • 411 English Drama before Shakespeare
  • 415 Elizabethan Drama Including Shakespeare
  • 419 English Drama in the Time of Shakespeare
  • 420 Seventeenth-Century Literature, 1600-1660
  • 425 Study of Outstanding Figure(s) in 17th C. Eng. Lit.
  • 426 A Study of a Theme in 17th C. English Literature
  • 434 Milton
  • 437 British Drama 1660-1750
  • 438 British Drama 1750-1900
  • 440 Anglo-French Literary Relations, 1660-1800
  • 441 Study of Outstanding Figure(s) in 18th C. Eng. Lit.
  • 442 A Study of a Theme in 18th C. English Literature
  • 444 English Literature 1660-1745
  • 445 English Literature 1745-1798
  • 459 The English Novel: 18th Century
• FIVE ELECTIVES: Any five freely chosen Intemediate or Advanced English courses numbered 215 and above (15 cr)
  American Electives:
  • 223 V. Nabokov: Russian & American Writing
  • 509 Selected Major Modern American Poets
  • 605 Outstanding Figure(s) in Early Am. Lit.
  • 606 Theme in Early American Literature
  • 608 Colonial and Early Romantic American Literature
  • 609 Major American Novelists
  • 610 The American Short Story
  • 611 Major American Prose Writers
  • 612 Voices of American Humor
  • 613 Major American Poets
  • 618 Literature of the American Renaissance
  • 619 Three American Novelists
  • 621 Three American Authors Before 1865
  • 625 Outstanding Figure(s) of 19th C. Am. Lit.
  • 626 A Study of a Theme in 19th C. Am. Lit.
  • 629 American Literary Realism
  • 630 Study of a Theme in 20th C. American Lit.
  • 631 Outstanding Figure(s) of Cont. Am. Lit.
  • 633 Modern American Literature Since 1914
  • 635 Selected Minor American Novelists, 1914-1945
  • 649 Modernity in Native American Literature
  • 650 Contemp. Amer. Indian Lit. Since 1953
  • 662 Selected Topics in Multicultural American Lit.
  • 672 Selected Topics in Afro-American Literature

• British Electives:
  • 438 British Drama 1750-1900
  • 460 The English Novel: 19th Century
  • 461 Intellectual Opinion 19th C. Eng. Lit.
  • 463 Romantic Poetry
  • 464 The Romantic Age
  • 465 Studies in Romantic Literature
  • 466 Studies in Victorian Literature
  • 467 Outstanding Figure(s) 19th C. English Lit.
  • 468 A Study of a Theme in 19th C. English Lit.
  • 471 Victorian Prose
  • 473 Victorian Poetry
  • 477 The Irish Literary Revival
  • 478 Modern Irish Drama
  • 479 Late Victorian and Edwardian Literature
  • 500 Outstanding Figure(s) of Contemp. Eng. Lit.
  • 501 Selected Major British Novelists
  • 503 James Joyce
  • 504 A Study of a Theme in 20th C. English Literature
  • 507 Modern British Literature Since 1914
  • 510 Selected Major Modern British/Irish Poets
  • 517 The Irish tradition
  • 518 The Scottish Tradition
  • 519 Englishness and Jewishness
• NOTE: These classes are British electives when designated as Lecture 8; American electives when designated as Lecture 9:
  • 506 Modern Drama written in English
  • 508 Recent Drama in English
  • 511 Recent Fiction in English
  • 512 Recent Poetry in English
  • 513 Mod. British or Amer. Lit. and Its Backgrounds
  • 516 Topics in 20th C. Literature in English
• Electives in Criticism:
  • 551 Studies in Criticism
  • 551 English Literary Criticism
  • 552 American Literary Criticism
  • 553 Modern Critical Theories
• Electives in Genre:
  • 354 Introduction to Children's Literature
  • 523 Postcolonial Theatre
  • 524 Indian Writers Abroad
  • 561 Studies in Dramatic Literature
  • 563 Studies in Narrative Literature
  • 565 Studies in Poetry
• Electives in Gender:
  • 248 Women in Ethnic Am. Literature (e)
  • 249 Women in Literature 1200-1900
  • 250 Women in Literature
  • 570 Women's Tradition in the Novel
  • 571 Women in Modern Literature in English
  • 574 Special Topics in Women's Writing and Feminist Theory
• Electives in Multicultural Literature:
  • 270 Survey of Asian American Lit. (e)
  • 275 American Indian Oral Literatures (e)
  • 591 Topics in Ethnic and Minority Lit. (e)
  • 593 Lit. of Jewish Identity in America (e)
  • 595 Asian American Women Writers (e)
  • 649 Modernity in Native American Literature
  • 650 Contemp. Amer. Indian Lit. Since 1953
  • 662 Select Topics: Multi-cultural Am. Lit. (e)
  • 672 Selected Topics in Afro-Am. Lit. (e)
• Students should be aware that the English Dept. does not offer the entire major curriculum during Summer Sessions. Unless students need only electives to complete the major, they cannot do so in the summer session.

(rev. 10/2005)