Program Description
This minor is for students who wish to gain research and writing skills while mastering the fundamentals of textual analysis and interpretation. Students receive training in literary analysis and build a foundation in American and British literature. In addition, students also have the opportunity to study authors of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and learn to situate literary works in their historical and cultural contexts, and to employ various critical methods when interpreting texts.
At a Glance
18 credits minimum (beyond required composition courses)
- Core (choose one)
- ENG 1115 Introduction to Literature
- ENG 2130 Introduction to Literary Studies
- British Survey: ENG 2268 Survey of British Literature
- American Survey: ENG 2278 Survey of American Literature
- English Electives (choose any three upper division ENG courses from those above or below)
- ENG 3305 Comparative Literature
- ENG 3307 Literature in English from Around the World
- ENG 3312 Introduction to Fiction Writing
- ENG 3314 Introduction to Poetry Writing
- ENG 3316 Creative Non-Fiction Prose Writing
- ENG 3320 Special Topics in Literature
- ENG 3324 Composition Theory & Practice
- ENG 3326 Women’s Literature
- ENG 3327 African American Literature
- ENG 3328 Lesbian and Gay Literature
- ENG 3329 Regional Literature
- ENG 3332 Nature Writing
- ENG 3333 Advanced Writing for English Majors
- ENG 3346 American Literature and Culture
- ENG 3347 British Literature and Culture
- ENG 3348 World Literature and Culture
- ENG 3352 Shakespeare
- ENG 3356 Eighteenth Century British Literature
- ENG 3359 Nineteenth Century British Literature
- ENG 3360 Twentieth Century British Literature
- ENG 3351 English Renaissance Literature
- ENG 3362 American Romanticism and Transcendentalism
- ENG 3364 Twentieth Century American Literature
- ENG 3376 Genre in Context
- ENG 3382 Contemporary Literary Theory and Criticism
- ENG 3385 Author in Context
- ENG 4401 Seminar in Literary Studies
- ENG 4411 Advanced Fiction Writing
- ENG 4412 Advanced Poetry Writing
- ENG 4416 Novel Writing
- ENG 4497 Independent Study
Program Requirements
18 credits minimum (beyond the required composition courses) to include:
Core Requirement: 3 credits
ENG 1115: Introduction to Literature
Introduction to reading poetry, fiction, drama for understanding and enjoyment. Offered each semester. No prerequisites.
OR
ENG 2130: Introduction to Literary Studies
An intensive introduction to the discipline of literary studies for current and prospective English majors. Students will become acquainted with literary genres and terms, learn strategies for reading and understanding literature, and develop critical skills for discussing and analyzing literary texts. Offered in the spring semester. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
British Survey Requirement: 3 credits
ENG 2268: Survey of British Literature
Survey of major British literature from Old English through the present. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
American Survey Requirement: 3 credits
ENG 2278: Survey of American Literature
Survey of American writers from the 17th century to the present. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
English Electives: 9 credits
Choose any three upper division ENG courses from those above or those listed below:
ENG 3305: Comparative Literature 3 cr.
Examines major works in a genre or movement, comparing two or more national literatures. May be taken for a total of nine credits. Offered spring semester. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3307: Literature in English from Around the World 3 cr.
Study of literature written in English outside of the British Isles and the United States. Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3312: Introduction to Fiction Writing 3 cr.
Designed to help students find their true voice and true concerns as writers while mastering the essentials of the art. Emphasis is on writing exercises and then complete works, but also on becoming better readers. In-depth discussion of student work, the assigned readings, and the process of writing. Prerequisite: ENG 2202 or permission of instructor.
ENG 3314: Introduction to Poetry Writing 3 cr.
Designed to help students discover and develop their voices and styles as poets. Explore poetry writing through writing exercises, through reading and discussing poems written by contemporary poets, and through discussing one another’s poems in a supportive atmosphere. Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: ENG 2202.
ENG 3316: Creative Non-Fiction Prose Writing 3 cr.
Students will write about subjects of interest and importance to them using literary techniques and devices. Will read and discuss a selection of book-length non-fiction works: memoirs, diaries, socio-political commentary, and nature writing. Writing techniques and exercises designed to stir creativity and stimulate ideas will be used. Prerequisite: ENG 2202.
ENG 3320: Special Topics in Literature 3 cr.
A specialized study of a topic in literature, film, or folklore. May be taken for a total of 9 credits.
ENG 3324: Composition Theory & Practice 3 cr.
Analysis of current theories about the writing process and methods of applying these theories, with actual practice in tutoring writing. Offered fall semester. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and ENG 3313.
ENG 3326: Women's Literature 3 cr.
A study of literature by and about women in its literary, cultural, and social contexts. May be topical, thematic, or period-based. May include such authors as Austen, Bronte, Chopin, Woolf, Emecheta, Morrison, and Tan. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3327: African American Literature 3 cr.
This course studies a prominent dimension of African-American Literature. Potential topics include specific genres, important time periods, major or minor authors, comparative multicultural contexts. Students hone their critical reading and writing skills in this important and growing area of American literature. Offered spring of odd years. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3328: Lesbian and Gay Literature 3 cr.
This course focuses on literature by and about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and what it is to be LGBT in our society. Literature will be studied in conjunction with film, music, television, newspaper and magazine articles, art, and history. The emphasis of the course will be on active discussion and close scrutiny of the literature, our society, and ourselves. Offered spring of even years. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3329: Regional Literature 3 cr.
A study of literature unique to a particular region of the United States. Topics may include literature specific to broad regions such as the American South, the American West, or Appalachia; literature specific to life in individual states, such as Pennsylvania literature; or literature specific to life in a particular urban area, such as the literature of New York City. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3332: Nature Writing 3 cr.
Based on reading, observation, and experience, students will write creative non-fiction prose about nature and discuss each other’s work. The course will deal with such issues as the importance of place, the role of science in personal responses to nature, the nature of Nature, and the meaning of “nonfiction” in nature writing. Offered spring semester.
ENG 3333: Advanced Writing for English Majors 3 cr.
Designed to refine the writing skills of English majors, with an emphasis on critical analysis and the mechanics of writing. Students will read and write about a literary, rhetorical, or linguistic concept chosen by the instructor (irony in literature, for example) and revise at least one essay from their English portfolio. Offered fall semesters. Prerequisites: ENG 1130 and two upper division ENG classes.
ENG 3346: American Literature and Culture 3 cr.
A focused study in a period of American literature using representative texts covered in their historical and cultural contexts. Authors may include Douglass, Wharton, Faulkner, and Morrison. Appropriate for both majors and non-majors. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3347: British Literature and Culture 3 cr.
A focused study in a period of British literature using representative texts in historical and cultural contexts. Authors may include Austen, the Romantic poets, and Shakespeare. Appropriate for both majors and non-majors. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3348: World Literature and Culture 3 cr.
A focused study of world literature written in English and/or in English translation using representative texts in historical and cultural contexts. Authors may include Achebe, Murakami, and Tagore. Appropriate for both majors and non-majors. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3352: Shakespeare 3 cr.
Selected plays of Shakespeare with interpretation, evaluation, and attention to his development as a dramatist and poet. Offered fall semester. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and ENG 1130 or ENG 1115 or ENG 2207 or ENG 2209.
ENG 3356: Eighteenth Century British Literature 3 cr.
A study of major British writers from 1660 to 1800. The course will include both primary texts and literary criticism addressing the literature of the period. Includes authors such as Behn, Defoe, Pope, Richardson, Fielding, Smith, and Radcliffe. Offered spring of odd years. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and (ENG 1130 or ENG 1115 or ENG 2207 or ENG 2209).
ENG 3359: Nineteenth Century British Literature 3 cr.
A study of major British writers from the Romantic and Victorian eras. May include such authors as Burns, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, Bronte, Carlyle, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, and Wilde. Offered fall of odd years. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and (ENG 1130 or ENG 1115 or ENG 2207 or ENG 2209).
ENG 3360: Twentieth Century British Literature 3 cr.
A study of major writers of the twentieth century such as Yeats, Joyce, Woolf, Eliot, Beckett, Winterson, and Rushdie. Topics of study include modernism, postmodernism, literary responses to cultural upheaval such as World War II, and post-colonialism. Offered fall of even years. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and (ENG 1130 or ENG 1115 or ENG 2207 or ENG 2209).
ENG 3362: American Romanticism and Transcendentalism 3 cr.
A study of American Romanticism and Transcendentalism, focusing on the work of such writers as Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, Whitman, Melville, Hawthorne, and Poe. Offered spring of even years. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and (ENG 1130 or ENG 1115 or ENG 2207 or ENG 2209).
ENG 3364: Twentieth Century American Literature 3 cr.
A study of major American writers since World War I, such as Wharton, Faulkner, Williams, Baldwin, Morrison, and Erdrich. Topics include modernism, postmodernism, race, and gender. Offered spring of odd years. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and (ENG 1130 or ENG 1115 or ENG 2207 or ENG 2209).
ENG 3376: Genre in Context 3 cr.
A study of a major genre, such as poetry, drama, the novel, short fiction, nonfiction prose, or film. Offered spring semester. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and ENG 1130.
ENG 3382: Contemporary Literary Theory and Criticism 3 cr.
Survey of recent approaches to literature, including formalist, structuralist, post-structuralist, reader-response, psychoanalytic, feminist, Marxist, new historical, and/or post-colonial literary criticism. Offered spring of even years. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and ENG 1130.
ENG 3385: Author in Context 3 cr.
A detailed study of a major author/auteur (or pair of authors/auteurs), such as Chaucer, Milton, Dickens, Brontë, Woolf, Faulkner, Morrison, or Hitchcock. Offered fall semester. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and ENG 1130.
ENG 4401: Seminar in Literary Studies 3 cr.
A sustained, in-depth study of literature which draws on the expertise developed in previous English courses. Topics will vary. Students will complete a seminar-length researched paper/project, culminating in the public presentation of that work. Offered spring semester. Prerequisites: ENG 1112 and 75 credits.
ENG 4411: Advanced Fiction Writing 3 cr.
Through writing exercises, reading the work of published writers, and workshopping original manuscripts, students will work on creating a portfolio of short fiction. Students will also learn how to market their work. Offered spring semester. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
ENG 4412: Advanced Poetry Writing 3 cr.
Study of poetry by contemporary poets. Presentations will be made about poets of student’s choosing. Learn how to evaluate literary markets, prepare a manuscript to be submitted for publication, and develop a chapbook of poems. Offered spring semester. Prerequisite: ENG 3314.
ENG 4416: Novel Writing 3 cr.
Students will read and discuss published novels and work on writing their own, critiquing and discussing one another’s work. Includes the first 3 chapters and a synopsis of the novel. Prerequisite: ENG 3312 or permission of instructor.
ENG 4497: Independent Study 1 - 3 cr.
Independent study is an activity initiated by the student to increase his/her already advanced knowledge in a particular academic discipline. The subject is examined in an intensive manner with guidance by a faculty member who has special expertise in that field. May be taken for 1 - 3 credits at one time.