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Advising Helpsheet for English Majors

 

The goal of this document is to help English majors make the best choices for courses in the major, in line with our goals for your education: 

 

1. A broad knowledge of literature written in English, which reflects its diversity across time, geography, culture, and modes of linguistic and artistic expression. 

2. An ability to produce focused, intensive literary-critical prose.

3. A critical relationship to the “tradition” of English literature, including knowledge of non-English texts to which that tradition responds and literary and non-literary critiques of the inclusiveness or necessity of the tradition. 

 

The English major has only three requirements: 

• 9 courses in the major (ENGL prefixed courses, ENGL101 included) 

• One Writing Intensive in the Major (GMWI) course

• The comprehensive exam, taken one’s last semester

The shape of the comprehensive exam provides a structure for the organization of the major, especially the distribution of the courses that students should take. You can find a sample comprehensive exam on the English website, at https://new.sewanee.edu/programs-of-study/english/resources/comprehensive-examination/ as well as a Frequently Asked Questions section. 

Students are required to take at least 1 Writing Intensive in the Major (GMWI) course. We suggest that students do not put this off until their last semester, and taking more than one is recommended. 

The exam expects that you have competency in 5 “periods” of English literature, though these are properly organized by both time and geography. You will need to answer essay questions and discuss passages from 5 periods out of the 8 that we identify, and therefore you should take at least 1 course at the 300/400 level in 5 of those periods (there is no difference in difficulty between a 300 and 400 level course). Our ENGL349: Special Topics changes from year to year and may contribute to any period depending on the topic. You can get an idea of what texts might be read in a particular course from its description on our website, in the e-catalog, and by consulting our Reading List: https://new.sewanee.edu/programs-of-study/english/resources/reading-list-for-majors-in-english/ This suggests the texts that might be covered and would be useful for that period on the comprehensive exam; we certainly do not expect any student to read everything listed under any period during their college career. 

 

Following are the periods and the courses in the catalog that fit in those periods: 

1. MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

ENGL 347     Old English Literature 

ENGL 348     Middle English Literature 

ENGL 352     Chaucer 

Partial (contains some Medieval literature): 

ENGL 353     English Drama to 1642  

ENGL 354     Early Women's Voices  

 

2. RENAISSANCE LITERATURE

ENGL 359     Renaissance Literature I  

ENGL 360     Renaissance Literature II  

ENGL 362     Milton  

Partial (contains some Renaissance literature):

ENGL 353     English Drama to 1642  

ENGL 354     Early Women's Voices  

 

3. SHAKESPEARE

ENGL 356     Shakespeare Seminar  

ENGL 357     Shakespeare I  

ENGL 358     Shakespeare II  

 

4. RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE

ENGL 365     The Restoration and Eighteenth Century  

ENGL 367     Inventing the British Novel  

ENGL 369     Authorship and Authority in 18th Century Britain 

Partial (contains some Restoration and 18th cent. literature):

ENGL 362     Milton  

ENGL 368     Fictions of Empire 

ENGL 371     Blake  

 

5.  NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE

ENGL 370     British Romanticism: The Early 19th Century

ENGL 371     Blake  

ENGL 373     Victorian Poetry and Prose  

ENGL 374     The Victorian Novel  

Partial (contains some 19th cent. literature):

ENGL 368     Fictions of Empire  

ENGL 389     Gothic Literature  

 

6. AMERICAN LITERATURE THROUGH THE 19TH CENTURY

ENGL 331     Melville and his World 

ENGL 377     American Literature, Beginnings to 1855  

ENGL 378     American Literature from 1850-1900 

ENGL 379     Origins and Development of the American Novel: 1790 to 1920  

ENGL 380     Emily Dickinson  

Partial (contains some pre-20th cent. American literature):

ENGL 395     African-American Literature 

ENGL 402     African American Poetry

 

7.  MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE

ENGL 330     The Life and Literature of Tennessee Williams

ENGL 338     Border Fictions: Literature of the U.S.-Mexico Border  

ENGL 390     Power Plays: Modern and Contemporary Drama 

ENGL 391     Modern American Poetry  

ENGL 392     Modern American Fiction  

ENGL 393     Faulkner  

ENGL 394     Literature of the American South  

ENGL 395     African-American Literature  

ENGL 396     American Environmental Literature  

ENGL 397     Contemporary American Fiction  

ENGL 398     American Poetry Since World War II 

ENGL 402     African American Poetry  

ENGL 491     Contemporary Latinx Literature  

 

8.  MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY BRITISH AND WORLD LITERATURE

ENGL 316     The Novel in the Global Age  

ENGL 368     Fictions of Empire  

ENGL 381     Making Nothing Happen: Modern and Contem. British and Irish Poetry  

ENGL 382     British Fiction From “On or about December 1910”  

ENGL 383     British Fiction Right Now  

ENGL 384     Fantasy Island: Visions of England in Modern and Contemporary Brit Lit  

ENGL 385     Revivals, Riots, Roots: Modern and Contemporary Irish Literature  

ENGL 386     Joyce  

ENGL 390     Power Plays: Modern and Contemporary Drama 

ENGL 399     World Literature in English  

 

EXPECTATIONS FOR DIVERSITY

We expect students to experience diversity in a variety of ways, not just in terms of the “periods” listed above. Students should take courses that focus on different genres, that is, drama, fiction poetry, etc. These often cross periods. A number of these are available at the 200 level. 

ENGL 210     Studies in Poetry  

ENGL 211     Studies in Fiction  

ENGL 212     Studies in Literature  

ENGL 215     Studies in Drama  

ENGL 216     Studies in Literature: American Literary Journalism  

ENGL 218     Studies in Literature: Literature and Religion

ENGL 221     The Literature of Memoir 

ENGL 227     Studies in Speculative Fiction

 

Upper-level courses like ENGL 320: Poetry, Nature, and Contemplation, and ENGL 402: African-American Poetry, while crossing periods, provide an excellent grounding in the genre of poetry. ENGL 390: Power Plays: Modern and Contemporary Drama, provides grounding both American and British drama, and ENGL 389: Gothic Literature does the same for fiction. Numerous courses at the 300 and 400 level provide in-depth approaches to genres of literature. We do not recommend taking more than two 200 level courses; this can make coverage for the comprehensive exam difficult. 

We also expect students to experience linguistic diversity, that is, not just modern Standard English. Therefore, we suggest taking at least one course in Medieval, Renaissance, or Shakespearean literature for learning about Old, Middle, and Early Modern Englishes; this could also be done by taking ENGL 251: History of the English Language(s) or ENGL 301: Old English Language and Literature. 

We expect students to take courses that include significant examples of modern and contemporary non-standard English and cultural and gender diversity, such as 

ENGL 207 Women in Literature

ENGL 224    Slavery and Race in the American Literary Imagination   

ENGL 316 The Novel in the Global Age

ENGL 338 Border Fictions: Literature of the U.S.-Mexico Border

ENGL 395 African-American Literature

ENGL 399 World Literature in English

ENGL 402 African American Poetry

ENGL 491 Contemporary Latinx Literature 

Note that a number of English courses not in this list have a Women’s and Gender Studies attribute. 

 

We also offer a course, ENGL401: Literary Criticism which focuses on literary theory, that is, the ways in which critical and philosophical approaches shape the reading of literature. Open to all students, it is recommended (though not required) for students considering pursuing honors in English, especially in Easter of their sophomore or junior year. 

 

While they do not satisfy a “period” for the comprehensive examination, taking one of the following courses is recommended for understanding the sources of the English tradition: 

ENGL 200     Representative Masterpieces  

ENGL 203     Roots of the English Literary Tradition  

The material in these courses, in addition to being important for understanding periods and traditions of English literature, can also be used in the cross-period essay on the comprehensive exam.