Secondary Field

6 Courses

• one course in Early British Literature (4 credits)
• one course in American Literature (4 credits)
• one undergraduate seminar (4 credits)
• three English electives (12 credits)

Early British Literature

Any course in English Literature before 1800 from the Department’s range of offerings will fulfill this requirement. 

Previous Early British

American Literature

Any course in American Literature from the Department’s range of offerings will fulfill this requirement.

Previous American Literature

Undergraduate Seminar

At least one seminar is required, which could be a 90-level English seminar or a Freshman Seminar taught by a member of the English Department faculty. A seminar on Early British Literature or a seminar on American Literature may double count for both requirements, but you still must take a total of six courses. Please note: We advise you not to wait until your senior year to fulfill your seminar requirement, as limited enrollments means that spots aren’t guaranteed.

Seminars

English Electives

Three additional courses taught by English Department faculty complete the requirements. Two creative writing workshops may count toward the total of six.

6 Courses

• English 20: Literary Forms (4 credits)
• A course focused on texts written before 1700 (4 credits)
• A course focused on texts written between 1700 and 1900 (4 credits)
• A course focused on texts written between 1900 and 2000 (4 credits)
• Two electives, which may be creative writing workshops (8 credits)

Literary Forms

introduces the concepts of style, form, and genre, exploring how writers use literary language to address personal and societal concerns and challenges.

pre–1700

Encompassing the medieval, Renaissance, and early modern eras, this 1000-year period witnessed the emergence of English as a literary language in dialogue with multiple ethnic communities in the British Isles, Europe, and increasingly across the world. Amid cultural and political upheaval, writers created new poetic forms, engaged in protest and dissent, explored scientific discoveries, and gauged the impact of a new technology, printing.

1700–1900

The long transition spanning the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Victorian eras from a feudal and political world of inherited privilege and absolute power to one of increasing democracy, often coupled with imperialism and suppression of indigenous peoples

1900–2000

Twentieth century writers from Modernism to Postmodernism and Postcolonialism saw the advent of suffragism, black civil rights, total war, the atom bomb, and life-altering technologies from the airplane to the Internet.   

English Electives

Two additional courses taught by English Department faculty complete the requirements. Two creative writing workshops may count toward the total of six.