Core Courses (9 credit hours)

English majors in all three concentrations must take three courses focusing on the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and debate.

  • ENGL 200: Introduction to the Study of Literature and Culture
  • ENGL 301: Introduction to Critical Theory
  • ENGL 350: Writing about Literature, Text, and Culture

Cluster Courses (12 credit hours)

Topics in English students who chose Literature & Science must take four courses in that cluster. These classes can be an eclectic selection of courses from all aspects of the cluster or a deep dive into a specific area of interest.

Literature & Science Course List

Courses marked with a * may or may not count for Literature & Science depending on their topics for a given semester.

  • ENGL 120: Science Fiction 
  • ENGL 199: Undergraduate Open Seminar* 
  • ENGL 219: Literature and Medicine
  • ENGL 220: Literature and Science 
  • ENGL 221: Speculative Futures 
  • ENGL 261: Topics in Literature and Culture* 
  • ENGL 280: Women Writers* 
  • ENGL 293: The Anthropocene 
  • ENGL 350: Writing about Literature, Text, and Culture (can only count for Literature & Science if the course topic is appropriate and the course is not also being used to satisfy the Core Courses requirement)
  • ENGL 360: Environmental Writing 
  • ENGL 396: English Honors Seminar* 
  • ENGL 412: Topics in Medieval British and Irish Literature* 
  • ENGL 431: Topics in British Romantic Literature* 
  • ENGL 455: Major Authors* 
  • ENGL 461: Advanced Topics in Literature and Culture* 
  • ENGL 462: Topics in Modern Fiction* 
  • ENGL 475: Literature and Other Disciplines* 
  • ENGL 476: Topics in Literature and the Environment 
  • ENGL 477: Advanced Environmental Writing 
  • ENGL 498: Environmental Writing for Publication

ENGL 400: Senior Capstone Seminar (3 credit hours)

This advanced seminar is a required course for all senior-level Topics in English students. In it, they will work with their peers and professor to plan and produce a major project—a capstone to their course of study. (English and English Teaching students interested in a similar sense of culmination may take the seminar as an elective.)

Electives (15 credit hours)

Topics in English students are free to explore whatever aspect of English studies interests them as part of their elective coursework. The five courses satisfying this requirement must be either controlled by the English Department or cross-listed with BTW, CW, or ENGL.

Difference & Diaspora

To deepen their understanding of the historical and contemporary disparities in society and culture, all English majors must make sure that one of the classes they take to fulfill their requirements is a Difference & Diaspora course—a course focusing on race, ethnicity, indigeneity, postcoloniality, gender, or sexuality.

Difference & Diaspora Course List

Courses marked with a * may or may not count for Difference & Diaspora depending on their topics for a given semester.

  • ENGL 112: Literature of Global Culture 
  • ENGL 150: Black Literature in America 
  • ENGL 211: Introduction to African Literature 
  • ENGL 222: Jewish American and US Minority Literatures in Dialogue 
  • ENGL 223: Jewish Storytelling 
  • ENGL 224: Latina/o Popular Culture 
  • ENGL 225: Introduction to Latina/o Literature 
  • ENGL 253: Topics in Literature and New Media* 
  • ENGL 259: Early African American Literature and Culture 
  • ENGL 260: Modern African American Literature and Culture 
  • ENGL 261: Topics in Literature and Culture* 
  • ENGL 265: Intro to American Indian Literature 
  • ENGL 272: Minority Images in American Film 
  • ENGL 275: American Indians & Film 
  • ENGL 276: Asian Film Genres 
  • ENGL 280: Women Writers* 
  • ENGL 281: Women in the Literary Imagination* 
  • ENGL 284: Modern Jewish Literature 
  • ENGL 285: Postcolonial Literature in English 
  • ENGL 286: Asian American Literature 
  • ENGL 325 Topics in LGBT Literature and Film 
  • ENGL 330: Slavery and Identity 
  • ENGL 350: Writing about Literature, Text, and Culture (can only count for Difference & Diaspora if the course topic is appropriate and the course is not also being used to satisfy the Core Courses requirement)
  • ENGL 373: Special Topics in Film Studies* 
  • ENGL 374: World Cinema in English 
  • ENGL 380: Topics in Writing Studies* 
  • ENGL 396: English Honors Seminar* 
  • ENGL 412: Topics in Medieval British and Irish Literature* 
  • ENGL 416: Topics in British Drama to 1660* 
  • ENGL 435: Nineteenth-Century British Fiction* 
  • ENGL 452: The Postwar Era and Contemporary American Literature* 
  • ENGL 455: Major Authors* 
  • ENGL 458: Latina/o Performance 
  • ENGL 459: Topics in American Indian Literature 
  • ENGL 460: Literature of American Minorities 
  • ENGL 461: Advanced Topics in Literature and Culture* 
  • ENGL 470: Modern African Fiction 
  • ENGL 475: Literature and Other Disciplines*