English Language and Literature

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English (ENGL)

Department Website: https:///academics/english.html

Department Email: English@

Department Mission

The Department of English Language and Literature offers a wide variety of courses leading up to both major and minor concentrations in English, as well as an honours degree. The core of the program reflects a traditional approach to English studies, including literary-historical and genre courses. What makes the department distinctive, however, are a number of courses cross-listed with other disciplines or programs, such as Atlantic America Studies, Women and Gender Studies, Linguistics, Irish Studies, and Creative Writing. This feature allows students to expand their area of academic study in ways that reflect interdisciplinary approaches and their own developing interests. 

The Major Program

Students wishing to major in English must satisfy the general requirements set out by the Faculty of Arts, and complete forty-two (42) credit hours in English including three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level.
The Major Program (42 credit hours) consists of:

  • Three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level
  • Six (6) credit hours in ENGL 2307
  • Six (6) credit hours in ENGL at the 2000 level (ENGL 2205 is recommended)
  • Eighteen (18) credit hours in ENGL at the 3000 level (see detailed requirements in year 3)
  • Nine (9) credit hours in ENGL at the 4000 level

Suggested schedule

Year 1

  • Three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the l000-level
  • Six (6) credit hours from one or two of the following: PHIL 1200 (no other Philosophy course satisfies this requirement), Mathematics [including MGSC 1205, MGSC 1206, and CISY 1225].
  • Nine (9) credit hours from at least two of the following Humanities: Classics, History, Religious Studies, English [other than ENGL 1205], Philosophy (other than PHIL 1200), and Modern Languages courses on languages, literature and culture
  • Twelve (12) credit hours from first year courses in the following social sciences: Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology (a maximum of six (6) credits will be counted in any one area)

Year 2

  • ENGL 2307 Literary Traditions in English
  • Six (6) credit hours from 2000 level English courses (the Department recommends students take ENGL 2205 Practical Criticism as part of this requirement)
  • Twelve (12) credit hours from Arts courses at the 2000 level (may include English courses at the 2000 level beyond the above requirement)
  • Six (6) credit hours of electives

Year 3

  • Nine (9) credit hours from the following ENGL 3000 level courses in the pre-Twentieth Century period:

    ENGL 3331; 3344; 3347; 3348; 3404; 3408; 3410; 3411; 3412, 3415; 3416; 3419; 3444, 3445, 3446; 3447; 3452; 3458; 3481; 3482; 3483; 3484.

    There may also be Special Author/Special Subject courses that fulfill the distribution requirements for 3000 level courses, if approved by the Department Chairperson.
  • Nine (9) credit hours in ENGL at the 3000 level
  • Six (6) credit hours from Arts courses at the 2000 level or above (may include English courses at the 3000 level beyond the above requirement)
  • Six (6) credit hours of electives

Year 4

  • Nine (9) credit hours from 4000 level ENGL courses
  • Nine (9) credit hours of Arts electives at the 2000 level or above (may include English courses at the 4000 level beyond the above requirement)
  • Twelve (12) credit hours of electives


The Minor Program in English

A minor consists of at least twenty-four (24) credit hours in English with a maximum of three (3) credit hours at the 1000 level and a minimum grade point average of 2.0. Students may also minor in Creative Writing or Linguistics.

Minor Program in Creative Writing

Students who declare a minor in Creative Writing must take at least twelve (12) credit hours in Creative Writing in at least two of the four genres offered (fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction).

Students are also required to take twelve (12) credit hours more in English courses beyond three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level.

Students who wish to major in English and minor in Creative Writing must take forty-eight (48) credit hours in English courses above three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level and fulfill the requirements of both programs.


Minor in Culture, Race and Resistance in Literature

A minor in “Culture, Race and Resistance in Literature” brings together a diverse range of courses that examine issues of race, nationalism, globalization, social justice, activism, and cultural resistance. It enables students to specialize in the study of literature from transnational, translocal and interdisciplinary perspectives. The courses investigate postcolonial, anti-colonial, black and Indigenous writing alongside theories of cultural and literary analysis. The theories and literature examined cover a range of periods and cultures, and include topics such as African women’s writing, South Asian literature, literature, black Atlantic and black British literature, Irish literature, and critiques of race and popular culture. The minor offers an exciting opportunity for students to explore how literature reflects and galvanizes resistant cultural movements in ways that remold our contemporary world.

Prerequisite: Three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level.

Strongly recommended courses: ENGL 3302 Literary Theory I, and/or ENGL 3303 Literary Theory II, ENGL 3343 Cultural Studies.

The following courses are regularly offered; they can be considered to fulfill the minor credit requirement:

  • ENGL 2261 Postcolonial Literature: Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia
  • ENGL 2262 Postcolonial Literature: America, Australia, and New Zealand
  • ENGL 2461 Storytelling and Literature
  • ENGL 3302 Literary Theory I
  • ENGL 3303 Literary Theory II
  • ENGL 3343 Cultural Studies
  • ENGL 3361 World Literature in English: Selected Focus
  • ENGL 3453 Irish Drama in the 20th Century [IRST 3453]
  • ENGL 3462 Post-1945 Black British Writing
  • ENGL 3470 The Contemporary Novel
  • ENGL 3521 North American Indigenous Literature I United States
  • ENGL 3522 North American Indigenous Literature II America
  • ENGL 3534 Literature of Modern Ireland I: The Literary Revival, 1890 – 1922 [IRST 3534]
  • ENGL 3791 Literatures of the Black Atlantic [IRST 3791]
  • ENGL 4464 Postcolonial Literature: Special Topics
  • ENGL 4465 Indigenous Literature Seminar
  • ENGL 4466 Representations of Indigenous Womanhood.
  • Special topic courses at 2000, 3000, and 4000 level (see Handbook, produced annually).


Minor in Dramatic Literature

A minor in Dramatic Literature provides students with an opportunity to specialize in drama as a literary form read within a context of staging and theatre history and from a perspective of performance theory. A dedicated minor brings together courses covering drama from a wide array of historical, thematic, international, national, and regional backgrounds, beginning with the antique drama of Greece and Rome and extending to contemporary drama and performance. Students explore dramatic literature from a range of theoretical and cultural approaches that shaped the study of drama and theatre in their vibrant and diverse responses to society, politics, ideology, and history. Literature offers students a unique and exciting opportunity to study one of the oldest genres of literary and cultural expression and to understand it as an agent of cultural and social critique and change across its long history.

Prerequisite: Three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level.

The following courses already exist and are regularly offered, and they can be considered to fulfill the minor credit requirement:

  • ENGL 2341 Introduction to Drama I (Ancient Greece to 1700)
  • ENGL 2342 Introduction to Drama II (1700 to Contemporary)
  • ENGL 3382 Writing Plays
  • ENGL 3408 Drama and Society: Restoration to 18th Century
  • ENGL 3409 Drama and Society in the 19th Century
  • ENGL 3435 Twentieth-Century European Drama
  • ENGL 3437 American Drama
  • ENGL 3444 Shakespeare I (comedies and romances)
  • ENGL 3445 Shakespeare II (history plays and problems plays)
  • ENGL 3446 Shakespeare III (tragedies)
  • ENGL 3447 Shakespeare’s Contemporaries
  • ENGL 3451 British Drama Since 1945
  • ENGL 3453 Irish Drama in the 20th Century
  • Special topic courses at 2000, 3000, and 4000 level (See Handbook, produced annually). This includes the study-abroad course ENGL 3826.1: Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon I (Criticism and Performance) and ENGL 4801.0: Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon II (Theatre and Text).


Minor in English Language

A minor in English language allows students to study the English language as a subject, explicitly focusing on its grammar, its history and varieties, its uses and users. In taking the minor students will not only acquire extensive knowledge of English, but also learn how to describe a particular language and its varieties, and how to linguistically characterize instances of discourse in English – from everyday talk and texts to literary genres. Such explicit knowledge of English is complementary to studies of English Literature, Linguistics, Modern Languages or indeed any field where explicit knowledge of the grammar, dialects, history, and discourse patterns of English might be useful.

Prerequisite: Three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level.

Courses listed below can be taken for credit towards a Minor in English Language. On the recommendation of the 
program coordinator/chair of English, students may substitute a linguistics course and/or an English literature course in an area of particular interest and relevance for their program of study.

  • ENGL 2212 Varieties in English [under approval, Faculty of Arts]
  • ENGL 2308 The Development of English Prose Style from 1500
  • ENGL 2311 Modern English Language
  • ENGL 2326 Language and Gender
  • ENGL 3402 History of the English Language
  • ENGL 3404 Chaucer: Canterbury Tales
  • ENGL 3405 Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde
  • ENGL 4427 Language, Gender, and Power
  • ENGL 4493 Doing Discourse Analysis
  • ENGL 4494 Approaches to Discourse Analysis
  • Special topic courses at 2000, 3000 and 4000 level courses (see Handbook produced annually).


In addition to the programs cited above, information on a Minor in British Studies may be found in the British Studies section in Section 4 of this Academic Calendar.


Concentration

A minimum of twenty-four (24) credit hours in English is required to obtain a concentration in English in partial fulfillment of the B.A. General degree (i.e., one with Double Arts Concentrations and a minimum of ninety (90) credit hours).
Further details are available from the Chairperson.


The Honours Program

Students wishing to major in English with Honours must satisfy the general requirements set out by the Faculty of Arts, and complete sixty (60) credit hours in English including three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level.
The Honours program (60 credit hours) consists of:

  • Three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level.
  • Six (6) credit hours in ENGL 2307 Literary Traditions in English
  • Six (6) credit hours at the 2000 level (see detailed requirements in year 2 - ENGL 2205 is recommended)
  • Thirty (30) credit hours at the 3000 level (see detailed requirements in year 3)
  • Six (6) credit hours of the Honours Seminar
  • Nine (9) credit hours at the 4000 level

NOTE: Within the total 60 credit hours, at least three (3) credit hours must be selected from the following English Language courses: ENGL 2308, 2311, 3402, 4493

Suggested Schedule

Year 1

  • Three (3) credit hours in ENGL at the 1000-level.
  • Six (6) credit hours from one or two of the following: PHIL 1200 (no other Philosophy course satisfies this requirement), Mathematics [including MGSC 1205, MGSC 1206, and CISY 1225]
  • Nine (9) credit hours from at least two of the following Humanities: Classics, History, Religious Studies, English [other than ENGL 1205], Philosophy (other than PHIL 1200), and Modern Languages courses on literature and culture
  • Twelve (12) credit hours from first year courses in the following social sciences: Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology (a maximum of six (6) credits will be counted in any one area)

Year 2

  • ENGL 2307 Literary Traditions in English
    Six (6) credit hours from 2000 level English courses (the Department recommends students take ENGL 2205 Practical Criticism as part of this requirement)
  • Nine (9) credit hours from Arts courses at the 2000 level (may include English courses at the 2000 level beyond the above requirement)
  • Nine (9) credit hours of electives

Year 3


There may also be Special Author/Special Subject courses that fulfill one or more of these distribution requirements for 3000 level course, if approved by the Department Chairperson

  • ENGL 3302 Literary Theory I
  • ENGL 3303 Literary Theory II
  • Nine (9) credit hours from ENGL 3000 level courses

Year 4

  • Six (6) credit hours of the Honours Seminar (topics vary from year to year; students are encouraged to check the departmental calendar for offerings)
  • Nine (9) credit hours from 4000 level English courses
  • Fifteen (15) credit hours of electives courses including 3 credit hours ENGL Language course selected from ENGL 2308, 2311, 3402, 4493, 4494