The English Major
A major in English provides a foundation in humanistic
knowledge
important
to students planning to study in areas such as business,
law, communications and education. Departmental offerings
provide
a background of knowledge and understanding necessary for
students intending to pursue graduate study in English language
and literature. Moreover, English majors, by electing prescribed
courses in English and the department of education, may qualify
for teaching at the elementary or secondary level.
Spelman
English majors explore their own identity through the contexts
and perspectives of writers who may be separated from them
by centuries or continents or who may be as close as the
respected writers on our own faculty. Above all, students
learn with the help of the Spelman English department, that
language is power and that sisterhood depends on communication.
Major Requirements (2002 or After)
The English major, for students entering 1998 and later,
shall
consist
of a total of eleven (11) courses or forty-four (44)
hours.
Two entry-level courses are required:
- English 280. Introduction to Literary Studies
- English 285. Advanced Exposition
The remaining nine (9) courses in the major are offered
in the following three (3) categories:
Category I. African American and U.S. Literature
In this category two courses are required.
English 375. Seminal Writers in the African American
Tradition
(This
course
is
required
for
all
students).
The second course must be selected from the US literature
category, either surveys or seminars.
Category II. British Literature. In this category two
courses
are required.
English 310. Shakespeare (This course is required for
all
students)
The second course must be selected from the remaining
British category, either surveys or seminars.
Category III. Gender Studies, Critical Theory, and International
Literature
Two courses in this category are required, either surveys
or seminars.
The forty-four (44) hours of the major may be completed
through major electives which complete the following distributional
requirements:
- A student must complete at least three major electives
- She must complete at least two seminar courses in
her
forty-four (44) hours
- She must satisfy a requirement in chronological periods:
one (1) course covering the period before 1800; one
course in the period between 1800 and 1900; and one
course in the period after 1900. Shakespeare may not
be
used to satisfy the early period requirement
