English (B.A.)

Faculty

Dr. Elizabeth Child, Professor of English (program chair)
Dr. Pamela Barnett, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences; Distinguished Professor of English
Dr. Bill Beverly, Associate Professor of English
Ms. Wendy Bilen, Assistant Professor of English
Dr. Rewa Burnham, Assistant Professor of English
The English program is also supported by a dedicated team of Instructional Specialists.

Description

The English Program provides students with opportunities to study literature in English and to develop facility in original writing, including academic, professional, and creative writing. Our courses are contemporary and challenging: they embrace Trinity’s interdisciplinary curriculum and focus on gender, race, and ethnicity. Students study the traditional canon of literary works as well as ideas and texts that have challenged the canon’s centrality. Our courses are particularly attentive to literature by and about women, and to literature written in English by members of diverse cultures in the United States and internationally.

The core of courses required for the English major provide an understanding of literary genres, of themes and movements, and of major figures. Consistent with Trinity’s mission, the English Program stresses the development of the ability to analyze, criticize, and synthesize the structures and ideas encountered in texts; the viewing of literature as the reflection of diverse cultures; and the understanding of literature as a sociological and political event and as a commentary on human values, particularly values related to justice, gender, and race.

The skills and insights developed in English courses are highly prized in the professional and scholarly worlds. English students develop the ability to conceive, write, and present nuanced arguments and analyses; they research and think critically; their ability to think empathetically and interdisciplinary make them into conscientious, creative communicators and leaders.

Through research projects and seminar participation, students develop the ability to reason, write, and speak persuasively. Through creative writing electives and practicum experience, students combine studio art training with hands-on project administration. The Program’s faculty members, all practicing researchers and writers, encourage English majors to view and develop themselves as independent researchers.

The English Program supports both a major and a minor in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Major Requirements

To fulfill the requirements of the B.A. in English, students must complete 39 hours of required coursework in the following areas:

General Education Literature Requirement 3 credits
Major British or U.S. Authors Survey Requirement 9 credits
Major Figures Requirement 6 credits
Major Genres and Movements Study 3 credits
Literary and Critical Theory 3 credits
English Electives 12 credits
Senior Colloquium 3 credits

General Education Literature Requirement (3 credits)

Choose any class that satisfies the English knowledge and inquiry requirement in the first year of the major. Any one of the following will fulfill this requirement:

ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
ENGL 220 African American Literature
ENGL 267 Multicultural United States Literature
ENGL 271 Literature of the African Diaspora
ENGL 283 Stories and Their Writers
ENGL 284 Modern Lives: Memoir as Literature
ENGL 285 Plays and Playwrights
ENGL 310 Tales of Terror: Gothic Fiction and Film

Major British and U.S. Authors Requirement (9 credits)

THREE of the following courses, which examine the work of writers whose ideas and achievements have shaped and are shaping literature in English. 

ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II

Major Figures Study (6 credits)

TWO courses at the 300-level or above specifically devoted to the work of one author or a limited set of authors. Please note that ENGL 389 is a pre-requisite for courses numbered at 305 and above.  Sample courses include:

ENGL 325 Works of Shakespeare
ENGL 434 Jane Austen and Her Influence
ENGL 435 The Bronte Sisters
ENGL 451 Writers of the American South
ENGL 470 Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
ENGL 471 The Major Works of Octavia Butler
ENGL 476 Seminar on Toni Morrison


Major Genres and Movements Study (3 credits)

ONE course that uses genre or literary period as a category of analysis. Please note that ENGL 389 is a pre-requisite for courses numbered 305 and above.   Sample courses include:

ENGL 273 African American Poetry
ENGL 282 Reading Film
ENGL 283 Stories and Their Writers
ENGL 284 Modern Lives: Memoir as Literature
ENGL 285 Plays and Playwrights
ENGL 310 Tales of Terror: Gothic Fiction and Film
ENGL 341 Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance
ENGL 363 American Short Fiction
ENGL 365 Contemporary United States Fiction


Literary and Critical Theory (3 credits)

ENGL 389 Literary and Critical Theory

Students must take this course before progressing to courses numbered 305 and higher in English.

English Electives (12 credits)

FOUR additional English courses at the 200-level or higher, two of which must be at the 300-level or higher.

Senior Colloquium (3 credits)

ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium

In the Senior Colloquium, English majors write the senior comprehensive paper.  Pre-requisite: ENGL 389 Literary and Critical Theory; senior status.

Minor Requirements

General Education Literature Requirement (3 credits)

Choose any class that satisfies the English knowledge and inquiry requirement in the first year of the major. Any one of the following will fulfill this requirement:

 ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
ENGL 220 African American Literature
ENGL 267 Multicultural United States Literature
ENGL 271 Literature of the African Diaspora
ENGL 283 Stories and Their Writers
ENGL 284 Modern Lives: Memoir as Literature
ENGL 285 Plays and Playwrights
ENGL 310 Tales of Terror: Gothic Fiction and Film

Major British and U.S. Authors Requirement (9 credits)

THREE of the following courses, which examine the work of writers whose ideas and achievements have shaped and are shaping literature in English. 

ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II

Major Figures Requirement (3 credits)

ONE course at the 300-level or above specifically devoted to the work of one author or a limited set of authors (see above).

Electives (6 credits)

TWO additional courses in the English Program at the 200-level or above.

Program Policies

Advanced Placement:
Students in the College of Arts and Sciences who earn a score of a 4 or a 5 on the AP examination in English Language & Composition may waive out of ENGL 107. CAS students who earn a score or a 4 or a 5 on the AP examination in English Literature & Composition may waive the CAS Gen Ed requirement for literature.

CLEP Policy:
Students interested in receiving credit for CLEP examinations should contact the Program Chair.

Grades in Major and Minor Courses:
Students are required to earn a grade of “C” (2.0) or better in all courses counted to fulfill requirements for the major or minor in English.

Pass/No Pass:
The pass/no pass grading option is not accepted in courses to be applied for the major or minor in English.

Senior Assessment:
All majors are required to take ENGL 499 for which students write an independent supervised comprehensive and scholarly research paper.

Study Abroad:
Students are encouraged to plan their studies to allow for the possibility of study abroad.

TELL Policy:
Students with substantial experiential learning are encouraged to apply for TELL credit in English.

Transfer Credits:
Students may apply transfer credit in English toward the major and minor in English if the transferred courses parallel courses required for the major or minor. Transfer students who elect an English major must complete a minimum of 12 credits in English major courses at Trinity, of which three must be in ENGL 499. Similarly, transfer students who elect an English minor must complete a minimum of 6 credits in English courses at Trinity.

Course Descriptions

ENGL 107 College Composition
ENGL 150 Writing about Literature
ENGL 170 The Actor's Workshop
ENGL 198 Independent Study in Writing
ENGL 200 Introduction to Creative Writing
ENGL 201 Instruction in Writing and Peer Tutoring
ENGL 208 Writing the Literary Analysis
ENGL 209 Business Writing
ENGL 211 Major British Writers I
ENGL 212 Major British Writers II
ENGL 214 Major United States Writers I
ENGL 215 Major United States Writers II
ENGL 220 African American Literature
ENGL 267 Multicultural United States Literature
ENGL 270 The Actor's Workshop II: Scene Study
ENGL 271 Literature of the African Diaspora
ENGL 273 African American Poetry
ENGL 275 21st Century Texts
ENGL 277 Women Warriors in Film and Fiction
ENGL 282 Reading Film
ENGL 283 Stories and Their Writers
ENGL 284 Modern Lives: Memoir as Literature
ENGL 285 Plays and Playwrights
ENGL 299 First-Year Honors Seminar
ENGL 301 Creative Writing: Poetry
ENGL 302 Creative Writing: Fiction
ENGL 304 Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction
ENGL 310 Tales of Terror: Gothic Fiction and Film
ENGL 321 Arthurian Literature
ENGL 322 Early Modern English Drama
ENGL 325 Works of Shakespeare
ENGL 332 Romanticism
ENGL 341 Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance
ENGL 348 Modernisms
ENGL 363 American Short Fiction
ENGL 364 The American Literary Renaissance
ENGL 365 Contemporary United States Fiction
ENGL 366 Framing Culture in Contemporary Film
ENGL 368 American Family on Film
ENGL 371 Women in Fiction
ENGL 372 19th Century African-American Narrative
ENGL 373 African American Women Writers
ENGL 374 The Films of Spike Lee
ENGL 377 Women in Contemporary American Film
ENGL 378 African American Women in Film
ENGL 379 Images of Men in Contemporary Film
ENGL 380 History of the Novel
ENGL 385 Modern Drama
ENGL 389 Literary and Critical Theory
ENGL 399 Honors Seminar: Trading Spaces: Migration, Narrative & Econ
ENGL 434 Jane Austen and Her Influence
ENGL 435 The Bronte Sisters
ENGL 451 Writers of the American South
ENGL 470 Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin
ENGL 471 The Major Works of Octavia Butler
ENGL 475 Seminar on Adichie, Danticat, and Diaz
ENGL 476 Seminar on Toni Morrison
ENGL 491 Internship
ENGL 492 Independent Study
ENGL 498 Independent Study
ENGL 499 Senior Colloquium