Concentrations
Beginning in the fall of 2006, the requirement that English majors declare a concentration was dropped. Students may no longer opt for a concentration within the major, although students with an existing concentration may keep it, if they so wish. Instead, students should discuss with their advisors and teachers how to craft an intellectually coherent course of study within the major, one that both exposes them to a variety of literary works and allows for a deeper investigation of some particular areas of interest to the student.
- New World And Postcolonial Literature
- Medieval Literature
- British Literature, 1500-1660, And Milton
- Restoration And Eighteenth-Century British Literature
- Nineteenth-Century British Literature
- Twentieth-Century Literature in English
- American Literature
- Literary Criticism And Theory
- Literature And Culture
- Literature And Gender
- Poetry
- Drama
- Fiction
A Guide to the 13 Concentrations
Before examining the concentrations, the faculty advisor and student should bear in mind the following provisions that hold for all concentrations.
- It would be redundant to list gateway courses for all individual concentrations. What follows presumes that for Concentrations #1 - 13, one quarter of either English 210 or English 270 plus English 298 are basic and prerequisite. Further, they all assume that the English 210 or 270 sequence will be completed as one of the core courses.
- Some courses may count in two (and, rarely, more) different concentrations, and may fulfill more than one of the other major requirements. Thus English 363-1 (Modern British Fiction) fulfills a post-1798 requirement and a Concentration #6 (20th century) requirement or a Concentration #13 (Fiction) requirement.
- Certain courses with broad headings (e.g., English 359, Studies in Victorian Literature) may be taken more than once, if their content varies.
- No course may count as both a prerequisite and a major (meaning a concentration, non-concentration, or pre- or post-1798 requirement) course.
- Note that certain courses, especially those offered outside the Department, sometimes have special conditions for enrollment (e.g., prerequisites, permission of instructor or department, mastery of a foreign language), and that some courses may vary in regard to whether the texts they examine were originally written in English. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of these conditions.
Given the range of course selections and variations in precise course offerings from year to year, students and advisors should work together to plan the richest and most coherent selection of major and related courses in completing the major. All English majors are encouraged to meet with their advisors each quarter before registering for the following quarter to discuss their course selections and progress toward choosing and completing their concentrations and the major. To assist students, many departments, including the English Department, maintain year-long schedules. Advance information on courses is available in individual departments or program offices, and through various online resources, including departmental web pages and CAESAR. For specific questions, check with your advisor.
The descriptions of each concentration do not pretend to be comprehensive; that is, they cite only a few representative courses that satisfy the concentration in question, and only a few representative related courses. The advisor should be able to determine what other courses will fit from the samples given. If in serious doubt, consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
New World And Postcolonial Literature
Five concentration courses, devoted to the study of the literatures of the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, or other Postcolonial areas. Some sample courses that fulfill this concentration follow (the list is not meant to be exhaustive; as to further courses, consult your adviser):
English 365, Studies in Postcolonial Literature
English 369, African Literature
Af-Am Studies 210-1, Survey of African American Literature
French 366, Francophone Literature of Africa and the Caribbean
Spanish 340, Latin American Literature and Civilization before 1888
Five non-concentration courses, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Note: For this concentration, a student may take up 2 of the five concentration courses, and up to 4 of the 10 major courses, in departments or programs outside the English Department. All these courses must be in literature, though not necessarily texts originally written in English.
Two related courses in American, African, African American, or Caribbean studies, in fields other than literature. Some sample courses (again, not a comprehensive list) include:
Af-Am Studies 214-1, History of Racial Minorities in North America
Anthropology 311, The Indians of North America
History 301-1, Survey of African American History
History 365, The Formation of Latin American Society
History 366, Latin America in the Independence Era
British Literature, 1500-1660, And Milton
Five concentration courses, one of which may be a course in the literature of the period offered by another department or pro-gram. Some sample courses that fulfill this concentration include:
English 234, Introduction to Shakespeare
English 330, Renaissance and 17th-Century Literature
English 332, Renaissance Drama
English 335, Milton
English 339, Special Topics in Shakespeare
German 240, The Theme of Faust Through the Ages
Five courses outside the concentration (the Department strongly recommends CLS 210, The Bible as Literature), as specified in the the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature. Some sample courses that fulfill this requirement are:
Art History 330-1,2,3, Renaissance Art
Classics 260, Classical Mythology
European Thought & Culture 214, The Renaissance
History 333, The Age of the Renaissance
Musicology 351, History of Music: Renaissance
Restoration And Eighteenth-Century British Literature
Five concentration courses, one of which may be a course in the literature of the period offered by another department or pro-gram, or a course substantially on 18th-century American literature. Sample courses fulfilling this requirement are:
English 340, Restoration and 18th-Century Literature
English 342, Restoration and 18th-Century Drama
English 344, Eighteenth-Century Fiction
English 348, Studies in Restoration and 18th-Century Literature
Classics 240-1,2, The Literary Achievement of Greece and Rome
French 330, Classical Theater and Society
Five courses outside the concentration, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature. Some courses that satisfy this requirement are:
Art History 340-1,2, Baroque Art
European Thought & Culture 216, The Age of Enlightenment
History 350-2, The Intellectual History of Europe
Musicology 353, History of Music: Classic
Philosophy 210-3, The History of Philosophy
Nineteenth-Century British Literature
Five concentration courses, one of which may be a course in literature of the period offered by another department or program, or a course substantially on 19th-century American literature. Some typical courses that satisfy this concentration are:
English 350, 19th-Century British Literature
English 351, Romantic Poetry
English 357, 19th-Century British Fiction
English 358, Dickens
CLS 362-1, Modern (i.e., late 19th-c.) Drama
Slavic 311, Dostoevsky
Five non-concentration courses, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature. Some examples are:
Art History 350-1,2, Nineteenth Century Art
European Thought and Culture 217, The Romantic Period
History 350-3, The Intellectual History of Europe
History 362-2, Modern British History
History 364-1, Social & Intellectual History of Modern Brit.
Twentieth-Century Library Resources
Five concentration courses, up to two of which may be courses in non-British literature of the period. Courses fulfilling this concentration include:
English 260, Introduction to 20th-Century British Literature
English 361-1,2,3, Twentieth Century Poetry
English 363-1,2, Twentieth Century Fiction
English 367, Postwar British Fiction
CLS 365, The Avant-Garde
German 324, Modern German Drama
Five courses outside the concentration, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature. Some examples are:
Art History 369, Special Topics in 20th-Century Art
Art History 379, Special Topics in Modern Architecture
German 262, Berlin: The Golden Twenties
History 338-1,2, Europe in the Twentieth Century
History 362-3, Modern British History
Philosophy 323, Studies in Contemporary Philosophy
American Literature
Five concentration courses in American literature, up to 3 of which may focus on texts written after 1865. Students who have taken 270-1 are permitted to take up to 4 of their 5 concentration courses in literature written after 1865 . Some sample courses that fulfill this concentration include:
English 273, Intro. to 20th-Century American Literature
English 371, American Novel
English 372, American Poetry
English 378, Studies in American Literature
Af-Am Studies, 210-1,2, Survey of African American Lit.
Theatre 365, American Theatre and Drama
Five courses outside the concentration, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature. Some courses that fulfill this requirement are:
Af-Am Studies 225, African American Culture
Af-Am Studies 220, The Civil Rights Movement
Art History 365-1,2, American Art
Communication Studies 325-1,2,3, Rhetorical History of the United States
History 303-1,2, American Women's History
History 317-1,2,3, American Cultural History
Literary Criticism And Theory
Five concentration courses in literary criticism or theory. For this concentration, the student may take several concentration courses in departments or programs other than the English Department. It is possible that more than two of these courses will include texts not originally written in English. If this is the case, it is expected that the five courses outside the concentration will all be in literature originally written in English. Some courses that fulfill this concentration are:
CLS 280, Interpreting Culture
CLS 302, Language in the Text
CLS 382-1,2,3, History of Literary Criticism
CLS 383, Special Topics in Theory
French 378, Contemporary Theory
Five courses outside the concentration, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature. Such courses as:
Anthropology 360, Language and Culture
Communications Studies 312, Modern Rhetorical Theory
CLS 375, Literature and the Arts
French 396, Contemporary French Thought
Linguistics 309, Psycholinguistics
Philosophy 324, Phenomenology
Literature and Culture
Five concentration courses that explicitly address the relationship between literature and culture, or that substantially use social and cultural categories in their mode of inquiry. Numerous courses offered within and outside the English Department fulfill this concentration, including, for example:
Several English courses designated with #9 in English Notes.
CLS 280, Interpreting Culture
CLS 303, Literature in History
French 397, Studies in Literature and Culture
German 212, Introduction to German Culture and Literature
Italian 304, Modern Italian Cultural Studies
Five courses outside the concentration, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Note: For this concentration, the student may take up to 2 of the 5 concentration courses, and up to 4 of the 10 major courses, in departments or programs outside English, though all these courses must still be in literature.
Two related courses. (For this concentration the adviser's counsel may be specially pertinent here.) Some satisfactory related courses are:
Anthropology 211, Culture and Society
European Thought and Culture 215, The Birth of Modernity
German 233-1,2, German History and Culture
History 285, Indian Civilization
History 317-1,2,3, American Cultural History
Sociology 345, Class and Culture
Literature and Gender
Five courses in literature that explicitly address issues of gender. Some courses that satisfy this requirement are:
Several English courses designated with #10 in English Notes
Af-Am Studies 379, African American Women Playwrights
French 340, Sexual Politics in the Ancient Regime
French 374, French Feminist Fiction
Theatre 307, Studies in Gender and Performance
Five courses outside the concentration, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses in fields other than literature. Such courses as:
Anthropology 354, Gender and Anthropology
History 303-1,2, American Women's History
History 324, American Lesbian and Gay History
Psychology 337, Human Sexuality
Sociology 356, Sociology of Gender
As of the Fall 2000, Women's Studies was re-titled Gender Studies. A good number of courses from this re-christened program will suit Concentration #10, some as concentration courses, others related. Discuss all pertinent cases with your adviser.
Poetry
Five concentration courses, at least one of them before 1798. One of these courses may be a theory of poetry course offered by English or by another department or program. Some typical courses fulfilling this concentration are:
English 211, Introduction to Poetry
English 311, Studies in Poetry
English 333, Spenser
English 351, Romantic Poetry
English 372, American Poetry
Slavic 360, Survey of 19th-Century Russian Poetry
Five non-concentration courses, focusing substantially on other genres than poetry, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature or in writing poetry, selected with advice and consent of adviser. Poetry writing courses include:
English 206, Reading and Writing Poetry
English 393, Theory and Practice of Poetry (year-long sequence; requires permission)
Center for the Writing Arts 302, The Art of Poetry
Recommended: other related courses are those that provide a broad historical background for the study of literature, such as History 201-1,2, European Civilization and History 350-1,2,3,4, Intellectual History of Europe.
Drama
Five concentration courses, at least one of them before 1798. One of these courses may be a theory of drama course offered by English or by another department of program. Some courses that fulfill this concentration are:
English 212, Introduction to Drama
English 234, Introduction to Shakespeare
English 334-1,2, Shakespeare
English 342, Restoration and 18th-Century Drama
CLS 362-1,2,3, Modern Drama
German 324, Modern German Drama
Five non-concentration courses, focusing substantially on other genres than drama, as specified in the the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature (including Performance Studies), or in play writing, selected with advice and consent of the adviser. The School of Speech offers a course in play writing: i.e., Theatre 346-1,2, Playwriting.
Other related course possibilities:
Dance 230, History of the Dance
Integrated Arts 291-1, Modes of Theatre
Performance Studies 216, Performance and Culture
Performance Studies 318, Shakespeare: Performance and Criticism
Theatre 367, History of the Lyric Theatre
Fiction
Five concentration courses, at least one of them before 1798. One of these may be a theory of fiction course offered by English or by another department or program. Some representative courses that fulfill this concentration are:
English 213, Introduction to Fiction
English 313, Studies in Fiction
English 357, 19th-Century British Fiction
English 367, Postwar British Fiction
Slavic 311, Dostoevsky
Spanish 323, Cervantes
Five non-concentration courses, focusing substantially on other genres than fiction, as specified in the Guide to the Major.
Two related courses, in fields other than literature or in writing fiction, selected with advice and consent of the adviser.
Fiction writing courses include:
English 207, Reading and Writing Fiction
English 307, Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction
English 394, Theory and Practice of Fiction (year-long sequence; requires permission)
Center for the Writing Arts 301, The Art of Fiction
Recommended: other related courses are those that provide a broad historical background for the study of literature, such as History 201-1,2, European Civilization; and History 350-1,2,3,4, Intellectual History of Europe.
