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Department of English

Chair: Dr. Ruud, 450-3674
Professors: Dr. Anderson, Dr. Fowler, Dr. Frontain, Dr. Glenn, Dr. Kearns, Dr. Lee, Dr. Melchior, Dr. Rogers, Dr. Schaefer, Dr. Shumaker, Dr. Stengel
Associate Professors: Dr. Gaughan
Assistant Professors: Dr. Bane, Dr. Chen, Dr. Coleman, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Lavender, Dr. Marotte, Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Sommers

[1] Purposes

The fourfold objective of the Department of English is (1) to improve the abilities of students in understanding, writing, and speaking the English language; (2) to increase students’ pleasure in and knowledge of literature as an art form; (3) to enable our students to find meaning in large amounts of information and to give them the skills of synthesis to evaluate, interpret, and use this information to solve problems; and (4) to endow students of literature and language with the ability to work with sympathetic imagination with people from backgrounds and cultures different from their own–that is, to give the English major an understanding of globalization and its implications for the world of work in the twenty-first century.

Courses in literature are varied in such a fashion that general overall views of world literature, British literature, and American literature are presented in addition to period courses, “figure” courses, and genre courses which allow greater in-depth study. Increasingly, our world literature classes and our introduction to fiction, drama, and poetry are taking a global perspective which demonstrates to students the nature of and relationships among cultures across national boundaries. By understanding literary expression as a product of social, historical, and artistic processes, our students see parallels and connections among citizens and artists in societies around the globe.

English majors will have had a strong foundation, both in studies in the English language and in several areas of literature, even though they may have a variety of choices within given categories. Traditionally the English major may qualify to enter graduate school in English or to teach on the secondary level. Increasingly, however, our students pursue careers in foreign service, law, technical communication, advertising, public relations, business management, sales, and higher education/administration.

A number or courses, particularly those on the sophomore level, are specifically designed as general education courses and are intended primarily to acquaint students who major in other fields with such literature as will broaden understanding of the human experience and the potential of their role in an increasingly more interconnected 21st-century world.

[2] The Undergraduate Scholars Program in English

As early as the sophomore year, and no later than the first semester of the junior year, an English major may be invited to participate in the undergraduate scholars program in English. To graduate with honors the following conditions must be met:

  1. Consent of the chair of the Department of English.
  2. Maintenance of a minimum overall 3.25 grade point average and a 3.50 grade point average in the major.
  3. Successful completion of ENGL 4300, the examination for which will be oral and conducted by three members of the English faculty.
  4. An acceptable essay based upon reading done in ENGL 4300 and submitted in the senior year to the professor who directed the reading program.

[3] Baccalaureate Degrees

[3.1] Bachelor of Arts

The degree of Bachelor of Arts, with a major in English, requires successful completion of at least 120 hours, including (1) the general education component, (2) degree requirements, (3) major requirements, and (4) a minor.

        [3.1.1] Major in English (37 hours)

Thirty-seven hours of English of which at least 21 must be upper-division. Required: ENGL 2312, 2313, 2316, 2317, 2318, 3105 4335; a genre course, a period course, an author course, and an upper-division language course; two upper-division English electives (6 hours).

        [3.1.2] Minor in English (25 hours)

Twenty-five hours of English of which at least 12 must be upper-division. Required: ENGL 2312, 2313, 2316, 2317, 2318, 3105; one upper-division language course; two upper-division English electives (6 hours). * (ENGL 4361 is required for teacher licensure.)

*Note: With the approval of their advisor and the department chair, BA candidates or English minors may present one of the following courses as an upper-division elective: WRTG 3320 (Forms of Scriptwriting), WRTG 3325 (Forms of Poetry), WRTG 3330 (Forms of Creative Nonfiction), WRTG 3335 (Forms of Fiction). No more than one language course may be presented for degree credit in addition to the one used to fulfill the Language Course requirement.

[3.2] Bachelor of Arts with Licensure

Thirty-seven hours of English of which at least 21 must be upper division. Required: ENGL 2312, 2313, 2316, 2317, 2318, 3105, 4335, 4360, 4361, a genre course, a period course, an author course, and a second upper-division language course (ENGL 3312 or 3335).

Licensure candidates must also take ENGL 1355 (Film and Literature) as their General Education Humanities requirement, and ENGL 2305 or ENGL 2306 (World Literature I or II) as part of their General Education World Cultural Traditions requirement. Like all BA students, they are required to take the Foreign Language requirement (FREN 2310, SPAN 2310, GERM 2310, CHIN 2310 or JAPN 2310).

BA students seeking licensure in English must apply to the Office of Candidate Services and Field Experience and meet established criteria for admission to the teacher education program. Once admitted, students must take the following courses (use these links for courses in EDUC and MSIT):

ENGL 4350 English Education Internship I
ENGL 4358 Methods of Teaching English and Composition
ENGL 4680 English Education Internship II
ENGL 4681 English Education Internship II
MSIT 3310 Learning and Development
MSIT 4305 Classroom Management
EDUC 3309 Families, Schools, and Community Partners
EDUC 3321 Introductory Strategies for Students with Diverse Learning Needs: Middle/Secondary

[4] Master’s Degree

See Graduate Bulletin.

[5] Courses in English (ENGL)

Follow this link for ENGL course descriptions: course link.