Learning Goals: 

• Students will be able to engage with significant works of literature and make rich sense of them by employing the fundamental techniques of literary analysis. 
• Students will have a general knowledge of the history of English and American literature and a more detailed knowledge of several periods, genres, or movements. 
• Students will develop a clear prose style and will be able to write articulate and well-organized essays about literature and culture.

Assessment Criteria:

Analysis and Interpretation

• Students will demonstrate the ability to ground interpretation in the text; paying close attention to significant details, listening to the suggestions and implications of words, and understanding metaphor, irony, and other figurative language.
• Students will demonstrate an awareness of historical, literary, and cultural contexts inform our understanding of an individual text. 
• Students will demonstrate an awareness of developments in literary theory, especially as those developments inform the process of becoming knowledgeable, self-conscious, and sophisticated readers.

Literary History

• Students will demonstrate knowledge of and engagement with representative texts from at least four standard periods in English literary history and a more detailed knowledge of one period, figure, or genre. 
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of and engagement with representative American texts and literary, historical, and cultural contexts, with particular emphasis on knowledge of the cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity of American literary voices.
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of and engagement with the works of Shakespeare.

Writing

• Students will improve as writers and will develop an increasingly clear and graceful prose style.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to develop and manage complex critical and interpretative arguments.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to frame, quote, summarize, and respond to other critical voices as they develop their arguments. 

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
ENG 181 Literary Analysis and Interpretation         4
ENG 121 Linguistics
     or
ENG 123 Grammar: A Linguistic Approach               4
ENG 250H Shakespeare                                 4
ENG 251H British Texts and Contexts I or                 
ENG 252H British Texts and Contexts II               4
ENG 272H American Texts and Contexts                 4
Two 300-level literature courses                     8
Two 400-level literature courses                     8
One additional literature elective                   4

Subtotal:                                           40

Distribution Requirements: of the 300-level and 400-level courses, one must be in American literature, and one must be in British literature.  For students who take ENG 251H to satisfy the British Texts and Contexts requirement, the advanced British course must be post-1798.  For students who take ENG 252H to satisfy the British Texts and Contexts requirement, the advanced British course must be pre-1798.  Each semester at pre-registration, an official list of courses meeting these distribution requirements will be circulated to advisors and students. 

Note: A creative writing course may be substituted for the open literature elective.

Total Credits for the Major:                        40

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
For specific information about general education requirements and expectations, see the  General Education Requirements in the Academic Programs section of this catalog.

MINIMUM TOTAL CREDITS FOR THE DEGREE               128

An additional requirement of the major is completion of assessment activities in ENG 181, 400-level ENG literature courses, and annual reflections that students compose in their sophomore and subsequent years.  These activities are crucial in students' attainment of a well-rounded and complete education because they help faculty to plan courses that meet the educational needs of students, help advisors to guide students in the selection of courses, and help students to play an active role in developing their knowledge of literature.

MINOR IN ENGLISH
MINOR REQUIREMENTS
ENG 181 Literary Analysis and Interpretation         4
ENG 251H British Texts and Contexts or
ENG 252H British Texts and Contexts II               4
ENG 272H American Texts and Contexts                 4
One 300-level literature course                      4
One literature elective                              4

Total credits for the Minor:                        20

Note: A creative writing course may be substituted for the literature elective.