English
Department

The English Major

The English major requires a minimum of forty-eight* credit hours of course work, consisting of a twenty hour core, twenty-four hours of electives, and a 400-level seminar. Students may also opt to undertake an SMP in lieu of 8 credits of their elective coursework.

Students must earn a grade of C- or better in each course counted towards the major, and maintain an overall GPA of at least 2.0 in these courses.

*Students following catalogue requirements from 2009–2012 are only required to take 44 hours; students who entered before 2009 should consult their first-year catalogue to determine their requirements.

The core (twenty credit hours)

The core consists of (a) three courses that examine literature historically within English-speaking communities, (b) an introductory course in literary analysis, and (c) an advanced course in methodologies of literary studies.

(a) ENGL 281: Literature in History I: The Beginnings through the Renaissance
(a) ENGL 282: Literature in History II: The Rise of Anglo-American Literature, 1700-1900
(a) ENGL 283: Literature in History III: Twentieth-Century Voices

(b) ENGL 203: Reading and Writing in the Major (not required for students in catalogues prior to 2012)

(c) ENGL 304: Methods of Literary Study

Each of these is a four-credit class, and each will be offered every term.

Electives in the major (at least twenty-four credit hours, of which sixteen must be at the upper level)

Additional course work may be selected from the following offerings. Course content and focus will vary; the subject matter for the semester will be announced in the Schedule of Classes prior to registration. Any of these courses, with the exception of Engl106 and Engl270, may be repeated for credit provided the content is significantly different.

ENGL 106: Introduction to Literature
ENGL 130: Literary Topics
ENGL 201: Advanced Composition
ENGL 230: Literary Topics
ENGL 235: Topics in Literature and Culture
ENGL 270: Creative Writing
ENGL 350: Studies in Language: Historical, Linguistic, and Rhetorical Contexts
ENGL 355: Studies in British Literature
ENGL 365: Studies in American Literature
ENGL 380: Studies in World Literature
ENGL 390: Topics in Literature
ENGL 395: Topics in Writing
ENGL 400: Studies in Genre
ENGL 410 Studies in Authors
ENGL 420: Studies in Theory
ENGL 430: Special Topics in Literature
ENGL 493/494: The St. Mary's Project

Each of these courses earns four credits, and most will be offered at least once a term.

Elective course work in the major may also include the following:

1) Up to four credit hours of: Guided Readings (ENGL 297, 397, 497) (1-2 credits); Independent Study ( ENGL 299, 399, 499) (1-4 credits); or Off-Campus Internships (ENGL 398, 498) (Internships may be taken for 4-16 credits, but only four credits will be counted towards the English major).

2)  Up to eight semester-hours of approved classes originating in other departments. The current list of approved courses includes:

EDUC 366: Children's & Young Adult Literature
HIST 393: St. Petersburg: History, Myth, Memory
HIST 435: Topics in European History (selected topic only): World War II in Russian Culture
HIST 447: History of Russian and Soviet Cinema
HIST 455: Topics in Asian, African, or Latin American History (selected topic only): Chinese Film and History
HIST 475: Topics in Comparative, Thematic, or Global History (selected topic only): Mass Culture and the Creation of the Modern
ILAS 206: Introduction to Latin American Literature in Translation
ILAS 350: Latin American Cinema
Any upper-division literature class in ILCC, ILCF, ILCG, ILCS, or ILCT
ILCT 106: Introduction to World Literature
ILCT 293: Introduction to Cultural Studies
ILCT 300: Introduction to Linguistics
TFMS 106: Introduction to Dramatic Literature
TFMS 210: Japanese Performance Traditions
TFMS 220: Introduction to Film and Media Studies
TFMS 221: Film and Media Production Modes
TFMS 225: Topics in Film and Media  (selected topics only; check with Chair for approval)
TFMS 326: World Cinema
TFMS 300: Modern Theater
TRMS 310: Shakespeare
TFMS 315: Japanese Film
TFMS 320: Film History
TFMS 325: Documentary Practices
TFMS 346: Screenwriting
TFMS 420: Mediated Bodies
TFMS 425: Advanced Topics in Film and Media (selected topics only; check with Chair for approval)

Experimental and special topics classes may also be added to this list on a term-by-term basis, and so designated in the “Schedule of Classes.”

The 400-level Seminar (four credit hours)

All English majors must complete, in their junior or senior years, a 4-credit 400-level ENGL seminar (400, 410, 420, or 430) not used to satisfy any other requirement for the major.
Guided readings, independent studies, internships, and courses originating in another department may not be used to fulfill the Senior Seminar requirement.

The St. Mary’s Project

All students may apply, in the spring of their junior year, to undertake a St. Mary’s Project. Projects approved by the department will receive eight hours of elective credit to be counted towards the major. Application deadlines and procedures will be announced each spring. Students wishing to begin their SMP mid-year should consult with the department chair. Students contemplating an SMP in another discipline may petition the department to accept this work for elective credit towards their major. All such petitions must be received by the end of Exam Week the semester prior to the commencement of the intended project. Students whose extra-departmental project is not earning English credit, but has shifted significantly in focus during the course of its execution (such that English forms a more significant part of their work), may re-petition the department in mid-year for the possibility of receiving fours credits towards their English major. Students petitioning for second-semester credit must contact the department chair no later than Thanksgiving.