Basic Requirements
- English majors must complete a minimum of ten upper-division English courses (3000 level or above).
- Eight of these ten must be at the 4000 level.
- Seven of the ten major courses must be taken in residence.
- English majors must show competency in a foreign language through the fourth semester.
- Students must achieve at least a "C" in all major courses.
Course Distribution Requirements
- 2 classes from Group 1, English and American Literature before 1800 (Each course must come from a different area of British and American Literature )
- 1 class from Group 2, British and Postcolonial Literature after 1800
- 1 class from Group 3, American Literature
- 1 class from Group 4, Language, Criticism, and Culture
- 5 Major Electives, chosen from any major group. No more than two electives may be at the 3000 level.
Areas of Emphasis
If you wish to concentrate your studies within the English Major in a particular Area of Emphasis, click here for more information.
Courses by Area
Group I: British and American Lit before 1800
1A. EARLY LITERATURE OF THE BRITISH ISLES
4060/6060: Old English
4210/6210: Old English Literature
4220/6220: Beowulf
4222: Topics in Early Literature of the British Isles*
4295/6295: Topics in Celtic Studies*
4296: Literature of Medieval Wales
1B. MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
4197: Middle Welsh
4225/6225: The Age of Cathedrals: Literary Culture in the High Middle Ages
4230: Medieval Literature
4230W: Medieval Literature, writing intensive
4240/6240: Chaucer
4240W: Chaucer, writing intensive
4270: Medieval Romance
4290: Topics in Medieval Literature*
1C. EARLY MODERN BRITISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
4300/6300: Elizabethan Poetry
4300W: Elizabethan Poetry, writing intensive
4320/6320: Shakespeare I: Selected Works
4320E/6320E: Shakespeare I: Texts and Contexts, an online learning course
4320W: Shakespeare I: Selected Works, writing intensive
4330: Shakespeare II: Special Topics**
4330W: Shakespeare II: Special Topics, writing intensive**
4330/4330W: Shakespeare II: Special Topics is repeatable for 6 credit hours, but may only be counted once towards the English and American Literature before 1800 requirement.
4330E: Shakespeare II: Special Topics, an online learning course*
4331 and 4331L: Shakespeare on Film. Students must sign up for 4331L along with 4331.
4332: Shakespeare and Media
4332W: Shakespeare and Media, writing intensive
4340/6340: Renaissance Drama
4350/6350: Seventeenth-Century Poetry
4360: Renaissance Prose
4370: Milton
4390: Topics in Renaissance Literature*
4390W: Topics in Renaissance Literature, writing intensive*
1D. RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
4400/6400: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century English Drama
4420/6420: Early Eighteenth-Century Prose and Poetry
4430: The Eighteenth-Century English Novel
4440/6440: The Age of Johnson
4450: The Global Eighteenth Century
4460: Women in the Eighteenth Century
4480/6480: Scottish Literature of the Eighteenth Century
4490: Topics in Eighteenth-Century Literature*
4491 and 4491L: The Eighteenth Century on Film. Students must sign up for 4491L along with 4491.
4700: People of Paradox: American Colonial Voices
Group II: British and Postcolonial Literature After 1800
4500: Romantic Literature
4501: Romantic Circles
4505: Jane Austen
4510: Nineteenth-Century British Prose
4520: Nineteenth-Century British Novel
4520W: Nineteenth-Century British Novel, writing intensive
4525W: Charles Dickens, writing intensive
4530: Victorian Literature
4540: Victorian Poetry
4590: Topics in Nineteenth-Century British Literature*
4650: Modern Drama
4660: Twentieth-Century British Poetry
4670: Twentieth-Century British Novel
4675: Twenty-First Century British Fiction
4680: Modern Irish Literature
4685: Postcolonial Literature
4690: Topics in Twentieth-Century British Literature*
4695: Topics in Postcolonial Literature*
4695S: Topics in Postcolonial Literature, service learning*
4698: James Joyce
Group III: American Literature
4620: African American Poetry
4630: African American Fiction
4642/6642-4642L/6642L: Films about the American South. Students must sign up for the lab along with 4642/6642.
4710: Emancipated Imagination: American Renaissance
4712: Edgar Allan Poe
4720: American Realism and Naturalism
4721: Mark Twain
4723: Herman Melville
4730: American Novel to 1900
4740: Southern Literature
4750: American Modernism
4760: Contemporary American Literature
4770: Twentieth-Century American Poetry
4780: Twentieth-Century American Novel
4790: Topics in American Literature*
4791: American Autobiography
4795: William Faulkner
4860: Multicultural Topics in American Literature *
4874: Literature and the Civil War
4880: Topics in African American Literature*
4880E: Topics in African American Literature, an online learning course*
4884W: Contemporary African-American Writing, writing intensive
Group IV: Language, Criticism, and Culture
4005/6005: History of the English Language
4010/6010: American English
4040: Language Use in African American Community
4050/6050: Structure of African American English
4060/6060: Old English
4100/6100: Lexicography
4110/6110: English Grammar
4170/6170: Second Language Acquisition
4180/6180: ESL Error Analysis
4190: Topics in English Language*
4195/6195: Celtic Languages
4295/6295: Topics in Celtic Studies*
4640: Film as Literature
4800W: Advanced Creative Writing, writing intensive
You may receive up to 12 hours of credit for English 4800, however, only 6 hours can be used toward satisfying English major distribution requirements. The other 6 credit hours will appear in your general electives.
4810: Literary Magazine Editing and Publishing
4820: Literary Theory
4821: Poetics
4822: Texts, Sex, and Gender
4825: Topics in Literary Theory*
4826: Style: Language, Genre, Cognition
4830W: Advanced Studies in Writing, writing intensive. Repeatable once for credit.
4831W: Advanced Studies in Writing: The Critical Essay, writing intensive
4832W: Writing for the World Wide Web, writing intensive
4833W: Composition Theory and Pedagogy, writing intensive
4835: Environmental Literature
4836W/6836W: Writing About Health and Medicine, writing intensive
4837W/6837W: Digital Storytelling, writing intensive
4850W: Rhetoric, Literature, and Textuality, writing intensive
4864: History and Theory of the Novel
4865: Studies in the Novel Before 1900
4866: Studies in the Novel After 1900
4870: Folklore Studies. Repeatable once for credit.
4876: Fantasy Literature
4885: Introduction to Humanities Computing
4886: Text and Corpus Analysis
4888: Humanities Computing I: Knowledge Representation
4889: Humanities Computing II: Applied Design
4890: Topics in Criticism and Culture*
4892/6892: Literature in the Archives
4895: Topics in Literature and Arts*
4896: Comics and Graphic Narratives
4897: Science Fiction
4898: Comics Theory and Practice
4995: Senior Seminar
LING(AFAM)(ENGL) 4050/6050: Structure of African American English
Introductory Courses
3010: Introduction to Folklore
3030: Introduction to English Language
3050: Introduction to Poetry
3050H: Introduction to Poetry, permission from the Honors program is required for registration
3055: Poetry and Popular Song
3100: Introduction to British Culture
3150: Generative Syntax
3230: Development of African American Literature
3300: Women in Literature
3330: Literature and Human Rights
3400: Literature and Evolution
3410: Literature and Media
3420: Literature and the Mind
3430: Literature and Childhood
3440: Literature and Philosophy
3450: Literature and War
3500: Jane Austen’s World
3530: Introduction to Victorian Studies
3590W: Technical and Professional Communication, writing intensive
3600W: Advanced Composition, writing intensive
3610: Introduction to Fiction
3610H: Introduction to Fiction, permission from the Honors program is required for registration
3650: Introduction to Drama
3650H: Introduction to Drama, permission from the Honors program is required for registration
3800W: Introduction to Creative Writing, writing intensive
3800H: Introduction to Creative Writing, permission from the Honors program is required for registration
3801: Intermediate Creative Writing. You must have had 3800W to take this course.
3820W: Critical Approaches to Literature, writing intensive
3850S: Writing and Community, service learning
3860W: Science Writing for General Audiences, writing intensive
3880S: The Modern Civil Rights Movement in Literature and Culture, service learning
3892S: Literature in the Library, service learning
The following English courses do not satisfy the Group IV requirement. They can only be taken as general electives.
4831: Eportfolio Workshop
4810: Literary Magazine Production
4834/4834E: Electronic Writing Portfolio Workshop, an online learning course
4840: Internship in Literary Media
4841: Internship in Teaching and Pedagogy
4842: Internship in Professional and Technical Communications
4843: Internship in Libraries and Museums