In addition to the University core requirement in English, major take a minimum
of 10 upper-division classes. One of these must be English Literary History
Before 1800 (EN300), which students are urged to take early in their careers
as majors. Four of the remaining courses must be chosen from the courses covering
primarily literature written before 1800 (EN300-359), and five from courses
covering primarily English, American, and post-colonial literature written after
1800 (EN340-399). Two of the required minimum of ten upper-division classes
must be seminars.
An honors option, involving a seminar and a thesis, is available to qualified seniors. Students are invited to enroll in the seminar at the close of their junior year. The Senior Honors Seminar (EN409) counts as an upper-level seminar in the major. Each year the chair will determine, on the basis of course material, whether EN 409 counts as a pre- or post-1800 course. Whether the Senior Honors Thesis (EN410) may count as one of the ten required upper-division courses is subject to the approval of the chair.
Students choosing an interdisciplinary major take a minimum of five upper-division English classes while at the same time fulfilling the interdisciplinary requirements of a second department. Two of the five required English classes must cover primarily literature written before 1800, and two must cover primarily literature written after 1800, and two must cover primarily literature written after 1800. One of the five required courses must be a seminar.
This course examines the novel’s development as a literary genre in the United States and its relationship to and influence on American society and history. Authors and books studied:
• Susanna Rowson, Charlotte Temple
• Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
• Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• William Dean Howells, The Rise of Silas Lapham
• Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
• Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye