English, leading to a B.A. degree

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Major Requirements

Our English literature major is a nine course major shaped around forms and genres and around social justice; students who major in English must study more than one genre of storytelling in a formal way and must also engage the writings and literary cultures of previously marginalized groups as well as more canonical texts and contexts.

Requirements:

At least 1 Reading X course
1 CUE: Senior Seminar in English
At least 9 courses total in ENG (or approved cognate) including the above and:
- *At least 3 courses from our Social Justice offerings, at least 1 of which must center on authors who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC)
- *At least 1 course each in the three forms of Poetry, Prose, and Drama/Transmedia.
- *At least 3 courses (including the CUE) at 300-level or above

*Note that a single course may count towards up to three of these requirements. For example, a 300-level course on Global Black Literature would be at once a Prose course, a social justice (BIPOC) course, and a 300-level course. Similarly, a course such as Reading Caryl Churchill would satisfy the Reading X requirement and count as a Drama/Transmedia course and a Social Justice course (WST, but not BIPOC).

Up to 2 Creative Writing courses may be counted towards any of the requirements for the English major.

Reading X

All English majors must take at least 1 Reading X.

A set of offerings at the 200 level, the “Reading X” series, is designed for fledgling English majors and minors. These courses are also appropriate for students seeking their HU requirement who may desire greater focus than a typical survey course provides. The “Reading X” courses immerse students in a specific author, text, or literary topic, focusing on areas of controversy and debate in contemporary literary and cultural studies. Reading X courses further introduce students to practical criticism; each course will represent voices in at least 3 named types of literary theory and criticism, at least one of which represents views that critique inequities in the canon, such as Race and Postcolonial Studies, Disability Studies, Gender and Sexuality Theory, and Ecocriticism. With the senior seminar, the “Reading X” courses will bookend the major with experiences of depth.

Reading X Courses (a partial list)

ENG 202 - Reading Emily Dickinson Course unit(s): 1
ENG 204 - Reading Hemingway & Fitzgerald Course unit(s): 1
ENG 208 - Reading (In)Justice Course unit(s): 1
ENG 212 - Reading Frankenstein Course unit(s): 1
ENG 215 - Reading Caryl Churchill Course unit(s): 1
ENG 274 - Reading African American Literature: Twenty-First Century Writing Course unit(s): 1
ENG 275 - Reading Analytically Course unit(s): 1

Forms & Genres

All English majors must take at least 1 course in prose, 1 in poetry, and 1 in drama/transmedia storytelling. These courses are marked as such in workday and often have the form or genre in the title (e.g. Contemporary Fiction, Modern Poetry, Postwar British Drama and Film).

Social Justice

All English majors must take at least 3 designated Social Justice courses, one of which must foreground BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).

English Department Social Justice courses have significant content that foregrounds and theorizes literature from and concerns of underrepresented groups as well as the political and historical contexts that create and sustain inequity. These courses work to highlight literature and the literary study of all genders, sexualities, races, nationalities, religions, and ecological concerns that have been and continue to be marginalized in literary study. They may foreground BIPOC, women, and/or LGBTQ+ writers, or they may investigate literary engagement and complicity with systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism, and ecology-destroying attitudes.

These courses often intersect with other programs on campus with prominent social justice concerns, including WST, AAS, and SUS. Like Muhlenberg’s HDGE courses, our social justice courses “aim to broaden and deepen students’ understanding of human difference and to develop the intellectual and civic skills students require for participation in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.”

Social Justice courses (a partial list, * indicates BIPOC)

ENG 208 - Reading (In)Justice Course unit(s): 1 *
ENG 229, 232 - Black Comedy: Theatre & Film Course unit(s): 1 *
ENG 253 - Modern Jewish Writers Course unit(s): 1
ENG 265 - Literature, Social Justice & Current Events Course unit(s): 1 *
ENG 271, 272 - Ethnicity in US Literature Course unit(s): 1 *
ENG 274 - Reading African American Literature: Twenty-First Century Writing Course unit(s): 1 *
ENG 249 - Gay and Lesbian Theatre & Film Course unit(s): 1
ENG 975 - Writing in the Prisons Course unit(s): 0.5
ENG 976 - Writing in the Schools Course unit(s): 0.5

Courses in Study Abroad, Summer School, and the School of Continuing Studies

Typically, students may count no more than two Summer School and/or Study Abroad courses toward the major. These courses must be approved in advance by the Department Chair. Day students may count courses taken through the School of Continuing Studies toward the major only with permission of the Department Chair.

Students should plan on satisfying required courses with the regular Muhlenberg English faculty.

Majors must maintain a 2.00 GPA in English courses to remain in the department. A 3.30 GPA in the major is expected of those who desire unconditional recommendations for graduate schools or for teaching positions. Students who are planning to attend graduate school in English would do well to enroll several courses in excess of the minimum course requirement for majors and should seek the advice of their faculty advisor as early in their undergraduate career as possible; working on an honors thesis is also a tremendous asset in the graduate school preparation process.