The English Major
The English major is designed to bring students to the highest
possible level in the interpretation and use of the English language.
We achieve this goal by enabling students to master the most
sophisticated writings in the history of the English language. For this
reason, our major is solidly built on the materials of literary
history, stretching from Chaucer to Shakespeare, Austen and Blake to
Woolf and Yeats, and to the most recent literature by writers such as
David Foster Wallace, Toni Morrison, J. M. Coetzee, and Seamus Heaney.
It is carefully designed to develop your writing skills in tandem with
your study of demanding and rewarding literary works. Our professors
passionately believe that literature uniquely enables students to
experience and analyze the complexity of the human situation and to
imagine alternative ways of inhabiting the world. Thus, our major
prepares students for careers in law, business, and medicine as well as
all other fields in which excellent information and communication
skills are crucial (journalism, teaching, publishing)--but it also
equips them with a finely-tuned compass to navigate the ethical and
moral perplexities of life in advanced societies such as ours. Such
preparation coincides with other goals in our intentionally small
classroom settings: the opportunity to engage in enriching
conversations with peer scholars, to enter into other cultures through
literary study, and to experience the sheer pleasure of discussing
fiction, poems, and plays in a special community of enthusiastic
readers and exceptional writers.
Requirements for the English Major
The Department of English offers every semester freshman seminars that explore literature from a variety of perspectives. Current offerings include Literature and Science, American Traditions, Literature and Justice, Literature and the Invention of Love. These seminars are small group experiences designed and led by senior professors in the department. They introduce incoming students to literature as a unique source for analyzing the complexity of the human situation. The moral, philosophical, psychological, historical, and theological contexts in which literature comes to life are central to these seminars. They appeal to students who are still uncertain about the direction of their studies and to those who already lean toward majoring in English. We believe that these seminars provide an ideal introduction to the interdisciplinary concerns that occupy literary studies today. Freshman seminars count toward the major. They are not, however, required for the major.
Prerequisite (six units minimum): ELit 215 (Introduction to
Literary Study) and either ELit 211 (Chief English Writers I) or ELit
257 (Art of Poetry). One additional course chosen from the
three courses above may be counted among electives satisfying the
24-unit upper-division requirement. Chief English Writers I
(ELit 211) may be counted as a pre-1700 course if it is taken in
addition to the prerequisites.
24 units (8 courses) of upper-division (300 and 400) work.
Students with a special interest in creative or expository writing may
count toward the major up to nine upper-division units in courses
labeled EComp. Alternatively, students may wish to take a
Writing Minor (15 units – see below) in addition to an English Major
and in that case are advised to take courses labeled ELit exclusively
for the major, courses labeled EComp exclusively toward the
minor. At least two of the courses must for the English major
be taken at the ELit 400 level. The eight upper-division
courses must include:
• two courses in literature pre-1700
• two courses in literature written
between 1700 and 1900
• one course in American literature (may
be used to satisfy one of the 1700-1900 requirements)
• one course in a major author, i.e.,
Austen, Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare (may be used to satisfy the above
requirements as well)
Goals for an English Major
Majors should discuss with their advisors a program that will achieve
goals of depth and diversity, keeping in mind the following:
• a course of study that moves beyond a
single literature to include a range of texts generated by multiple
cultures in diverse forms and idioms, including those of Anglophone
post-colonial cultures;
• a course of study that enlarges to
include different literary cultures; a comparative study that sharpens
the profile of each culture while suggesting resonance, even symbiosis,
between them.
Important Considerations:
• To fulfill the
requirements for a major in English a student must receive a grade of C
or better.
• Under ordinary circumstances, only one
cross-listed course not home-based in English may be counted toward the
24 units of required upper-division work. The two required
400-level literature courses must be home-based in English.
Problems and questions may be referred to the student’s major advisor
or the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
• Department courses satisfying the Arts
and Sciences Advanced Writing Requirement may be counted toward the
major.
General Information
Your advisor can be a valuable resource in planning a
rewarding major that achieves goals of depth, diversity, and strong
preparation for graduate school or employment. Before the end
of junior year, majors are strongly encouraged to consult with their
advisors about plans for fulfilling remaining major
requirements. Discussion of the projected program of study
with the advisor will enable you to complete the major on the basis of
thoughtful choices rather than last-minute availability.
Students with a special interest in creative or expository writing may
count toward the
major up to nine upper-division units in courses labeled
EComp. Alternatively, students may wish to take a Writing
Minor (15 units – see below) in addition to an English Major and in
that case are advised to take courses labeled ELit exclusively for the
major, courses labeled EComp exclusively toward the minor.
Courses at the 400 level assume greater skill in critical reading and
writing than do those on the 300 level, require more extensive reading,
and are designed for advanced undergraduates and first-year graduate
students.
A student may count no more than six (6) units of University College
and/or Summer School courses toward the major. Before
registering for any of these courses, permission from the Director of
Undergraduate Studies must be obtained.
Only one prerequisite for the major may be taken in University College
or Summer School, subject to departmental approval.
Students seeking credit toward the major for course work done in the UK
must complete their 200-level prerequisite courses and at least two
upper-level courses in English literature before going
abroad. In order to realize the benefits of study abroad,
students should aim to achieve preparation comparable to that of the
British students themselves. (See below for further
information under “Study Abroad.”)
A student may count three units of 300- or 400-level course work in the
literature of another language toward English Major electives provided
that the reading for the course was done in the original language and
that the course in question is not also being credited towards another
major or minor program.
At least half of the courses at the level of 300 or above for any major
or minor in the College of Arts and Sciences must be completed in
residence at Washington University.