English

English
Academic Bulletin

When advising a student interested in English, please note:

English 110 -or- any of the new English 111-118 Literature And… courses are a prerequisite for all creative writing courses at and above the 200-level and all literature courses at and above the 300-level.

The new Literature And… courses are a new addition change for AY 2019-2020

• The new courses (111-114) should be seen as curricularly-analogous to English 110.
  • 111: Literature and the Arts
  • 112: Literature and the Body
  • 113: Literature and Race
  • 114: Literature and Business
  • 115: Literature and Sexuality
  • 116: Literature and the Environment
  • 117: Literature and Science
  • 118: Literature and the Mind
• As with English 110, the new “Literature And” series is designed to be comprised of courses focused on introductory College-level analysis of literature (poetry, fiction, and drama).
• Each course in the “Literature And” series is oriented around learning and practicing the “close reading” skills of intensive literary study. In this, they are identical in mode of analysis to English 110.
• The title of each course in the series is intended to reflect the thematic focus of the section. The titles do not presume the need for any particular disciplinary background as a pre-requisite for each course, nor do they signal that these courses will address non-literary disciplinary knowledge. That’s to say, “Literature and Business” will be the close study of literature that relates to business — broadly defined — but that knowledge of business is unnecessary for the class, and the class will not convey any disciplinary content of business.
• Our intention in this new series is twofold: A) To offer more discrete themes to signal to students not-typically inclined to see literature as related to their prospective fields of study how, indeed, literature intersects with many categories of knowledge; B) To demonstrate the potential value in students taking more than one general introductory course in literature. A student who so chooses could take more than one course in the 100-level
• The classes are not sequential; 110 is not a pre-requisite for any other course at this level.
• Any of these classes can substitute for the 110 pre-requisite for upper level courses in English.
• English 110 remains in the curriculum, for students interested in a non-thematically organized class; however, it is important to note that, in practice, 110s usually do have an unstated theme.

OVERALL NOTES IN ENGLISH

• Students confident in their literary criticism skills may take English 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, or 235 their first semester at Allegheny. As these are large classes that cover much more material than English 110, students who have any doubts about their ability to analyze literature should take English 110 or FSENG 201 first.
• Students may also begin the Major by taking a studies course (230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235)
• 300-level courses may be appropriate for sophomore if they had at least 2 previous English courses.
•  Emphasis: The department now offers two emphases, Literature and Creative Writing. Each emphasis requires a common core of literature courses, along with other specific requirements. If one of your first year advisees wishes to begin one of these avenues, then they should begin with English 110 or one of the studies courses (230-235). Prospective majors may begin study in an exploratory fashion, without deciding on one of the two emphases at first, since introductory classes overlap. Those who wish to pursue Creative Writing however are strongly encouraged to complete the 100-level pre-req n their first semester, so they are eligible to enroll in a writing workshop in their second semester.
• For students interested in the Pitt. M.A.T. program: Children’s Literature (English 350)  is only offered every other year. Our old English 385 (the Cultural History of the English Language) is no longer part of the curriculum; some iterations of our English 360 (Language, Theory, and Practice) will offer content similar to the old English 385. Students who require these courses for later admission to an education program should take 350 the first chance they get. For example, if a rising junior intending to enter the Pitt program sees that English 350 is offered that next year, the student needs to register for it. It will not be offered their senior year, and the department cannot offer independent study versions of either Children’s Literature or the History of the English Language course for students who might have missed a chance to take it as a class.
   
• Options for students looking for help in writing:
  • Work with a writing consultant. If one of your advisees is particularly anxious about his/her writing skills or if you have concerns about the quality of the student’s prose, please encourage him/her to sign up for a matched writing consultant through the Learning Commons. The consultant and the student will meet weekly to help strengthen the writer’s writing over the course of the semester and to address any general areas in which the writer would like to improve
  • Students may also opt to meet one-to-one with trained student writing consultants at the Learning Commons. Students can make an appointment online or drop in Sunday-Thursday 3-5 p.m. and 7-11 p.m.
  • Take English 110: Introduction to Literary Studies or one of the 111-118 Literature and… courses. While not composition courses, these classes will help students get more closely attuned to the subtleties of language and will give them lots of practice writing.

Questions: Contact Alexis Hart the Director of Writing, at ext. 6296, or, Matthew Ferrence English Dept. Chair, at 4339. 

Suggested Schedule for the English Major:

The Department of English offers Minors in English, Writing, and Environmental Writing. Please see Academic Bulletin for specifics for each.