Department of English - Undergraduate Program Degree Requirements

Program Requirements

The program presupposes the completion of the general education requirement in the humanities (or its equivalent), in which basic training is provided in the methods, problems, and disciplines of humanistic study. Because literary study itself attends to language and is enriched by some knowledge of other cultural expressions, the major in English requires students to extend their work in humanities beyond the level required of all College students in the important areas of language and the arts.

Language Requirement

English majors must take two additional quarters of work in the language used to meet the College language competency requirement, or they must receive equivalent credit by examination.

Arts Requirement

Beyond their general education requirement, English majors must take one course in art history or in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. This course may be in the same discipline as what is used to meet the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts; and it may be an advanced course.

Course Distribution Requirements

The major in English requires at least ten departmental courses, distributed among the following:

Critical Perspectives. All English majors must take an introductory course (ENGL 11100, Critical Perspectives). This course develops practical skills in close reading, historical contextualization, and the use of discipline-specific research tools and resources; and encourages conscious reflection on critical presuppositions and practices. The course prepares students to enter into the discussions that occur in more advanced undergraduate courses. Students must take ENGL 11100 before Autumn Quarter of their fourth year.

Period Requirement. Reading and understanding works written in different historical periods require skills, information, and historical imagination that contemporary works do not require. Students are accordingly asked to study a variety of historical periods in order to develop their abilities as readers, to discover areas of literature that they might not otherwise explore, and to develop a self-conscious grasp of literary history. In addition to courses that present authors and genres from many different eras, the program in English includes courses focused directly on periods of literary history. These courses explore the ways terms such as "Renaissance" or "Romantic" have been defined and debated, and they raise questions about literary change (influence, tradition, originality, segmentation, repetition, and others) that goes along with periodizing. To meet the period requirement in English, students should take two courses in literature written before 1700 and two courses in literature written between 1700 and 1950.

Genre Requirement. Because an understanding of literature demands sensitivity to various conventions and different genres, students are required to take at least one course in each of the genres of fiction, poetry, and drama/film.

British and American Literature Requirement. Students must also study both British and American literature. The program requires at least one course in each

Summary of Requirements

The English Department requires a total of thirteen courses: ten courses in the English Department; two language courses; and one course in the dramatic, musical, or visual arts. By Winter Quarter of their third year, all students are required to file a worksheet. Worksheets are available on the following Web site: english.uchicago.edu/courses/undergrad.shtml.

2 quarters of study at the second-year level in a language other than English*

1 any course in the dramatic, musical, or visual arts not taken to meet the College requirement (in the Department of Art History, the Department of Music, the Committee on the Visual Arts, or the Committee on Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities)

1 ENGL 11100

4 English courses to fulfill period requirements: two courses pre-1700 and two courses 1700-1950

1 English course in fiction

1 English course in poetry

1 English course in drama or film

1 course in British literature

1 course in American literature

0 - 6 English electives (for a total of ten courses in the department; may include ENGL 29900)>

senior project (optional)

13 **

* Credit may be granted by examination.

** The total of thirteen required courses must include ten courses in the English department; two language courses; and one course in the dramatic, musical, or visual arts.

NOTE: Some courses satisfy several genre and period requirements. For example, a course in metaphysical poetry would satisfy the genre requirement for poetry, the British literature requirement, and the pre-1700 requirement. For details about the requirements met by specific courses, students should consult the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. Please note that no matter how individual programs are configured, the total number of courses required by the program remains the same.

Courses Outside the Department Taken for Program Credit. With the prior approval of the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, a maximum of two courses outside the English Department (excluding the required language courses; the required course in the dramatic, musical, or visual arts; and courses in creative writing that originate in Creative Writing or the Theater and Performance Studies Option [TAPS] of the Committee on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities [ISHU]) may count toward the total number of courses required by the major, if the student is able to demonstrate their relevance to his or her program. The student must propose, justify, and obtain approval for these courses before taking them. Such courses may be selected from related areas in the University (e.g., history, philosophy, religious studies, social sciences), or they may be taken in a study abroad program for which the student has received permission in advance from the Office of the Dean of Students in the College and an appropriate administrator in the English Department. Transfer credits for courses taken at another institution are subject to approval by the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies and are limited to a maximum of five credits. Transferred courses do not contribute to the student's University of Chicago grade point average for the purpose of computing an overall GPA, Dean's List, departmental honors, or general honors. NOTE: The Office of the Dean of Students in the College must approve the transfer of all courses taken at institutions other than those in which students are enrolled as part of study abroad programs sponsored by the University of Chicago. For details, see http://www.college.uchicago.edu/academics/transfer–credit.shtml.

Reading Courses (ENGL 29700 and 29900). Upon prior approval by the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, undergraduate reading courses (ENGL 29700) may be used to fulfill requirements for the major if they are taken for a letter grade and include a final paper assignment. No student may use more than two ENGL 29700 courses in the major. Seniors who wish to register for the senior project preparation course (ENGL 29900) must arrange for appropriate faculty supervision and obtain the permission of the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. ENGL 29900 counts as an English elective but not as one of the courses fulfilling distribution requirements for the major. If a student registers for both ENGL 29700 and ENGL 29900, and if ENGL 29700 is devoted to work that develops into the senior project, only one of these two courses may be counted toward the departmental requirement of ten courses in English. NOTE: Reading courses are special research opportunities that must be justified by the quality of the proposed plan of study; they also depend upon available faculty supervision. No student can automatically expect to arrange a reading course. For alternative approaches to preparing a B.A. paper, see the section on honors work.

Grading. Students majoring in English must receive quality grades in all thirteen courses taken to meet the requirements of the program. Nonmajors may take English courses on a P/F basis with consent of instructor.

Students who wish to use the senior project in English to meet the same requirement in another major should discuss their proposals with both program chairs no later than the end of third year. Certain requirements must be met. A consent form, to be signed by the chairs, is available from the College adviser. It must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student's year of graduation.

Senior Honors Work. Special honors in English are reserved for graduating seniors who have excellent course grades and who complete a senior seminar essay or senior thesis project judged to be of the highest quality. For honors candidacy, a student must have at least a 3.0 grade point average overall and a 3.5 grade point average in departmental courses (grades received for transfer credit courses are not included into this calculation).

Students who wish to be considered for departmental honors must submit a senior project. This may take the form of a critical essay, a piece of creative writing, a director's notebook or actor's journal in connection with a dramatic production, or a mixed media work in which writing is the central element. Such a project is to be a fully finished product that demonstrates the highest quality of written work of which the student is capable. To be eligible for honors, a student's senior project or senior seminar paper must be judged to be of the highest quality by the graduate student preceptor, faculty supervisor, and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies.

The critical B.A. project may develop from a paper written in an earlier course or from independent research. Whatever the approach, the student is uniformly required to work on an approved topic and to submit a final version that has been written, critiqued by both a faculty adviser and a senior project supervisor, rethought, and rewritten. Students typically work on their senior project over three quarters. In Spring Quarter of their third year, all students will be assigned a faculty field specialist and graduate student preceptor. In Autumn Quarter of their fourth year, students will attend a series of colloquia convened by the preceptors and designed to prepare them for the advanced research and writing demands of thesis work. In Winter and Spring Quarters, students will continue to meet with their preceptors and will also consult at scheduled intervals with their individual faculty adviser (the field specialist). Students may elect to register for the senior project preparation course (ENGL 29900) for one-quarter credit.

Students wishing to produce a creative writing honors project must receive permission of the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. Prior to the Winter Quarter of their fourth year, students will be required to take at least two creative writing courses in the genre of their own creative project. In Winter Quarter of their fourth year, these students will enroll in a prose or a poetry senior seminar. These seminars are advanced courses limited to twelve students, and will include students majoring in English as well as ISHU and Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH) students who are producing creative theses. Students will work closely with the faculty member, with a graduate preceptor, and with their peers in the senior writing workshops and will receive course credit as well as a final grade. Eligible students who wish to be considered for departmental honors will, in consultation with the faculty member and preceptor, revise and resubmit their creative project within six weeks of completing the senior seminar. The project will then be evaluated by the faculty member and a second reader to determine eligibility for honors.

Completion of a senior project or senior seminar paper is no guarantee of a recommendation for departmental honors. Honors recommendations are made to the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division by the department through the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies.

Advising. All newly declared English majors must meet with the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies and must fill out the requirements worksheet. Students are expected to review their plans to meet departmental requirements at least once a year with the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. To indicate their plans for meeting all requirements for the major, students are required to review and sign a departmental worksheet by the beginning of their third year. Worksheets may be obtained online at the following Web site: english.uchicago.edu/courses/undergrad/index.shtml. The Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies has regularly scheduled office hours during which she is available for consultation and guidance on a student's selection of courses, future career plans, and questions or problems relating to the major.

In addition to consulting with the Associate Chair, all newly declared majors and all third-year English majors may be assigned faculty advisers who share similar field interests. Students meet with advisers in Autumn and Spring Quarter to discuss the intellectual direction of their proposed course of study. Students are also encouraged to consult the faculty directory distributed by the English Department. This directory lists faculty interests and current projects, providing leads for students seeking general counsel on their intellectual direction or specific guidance in reading courses. Faculty members are available to students during regular office hours posted every quarter.

The London Program (Autumn). This program provides students in the College with an opportunity to study British literature and history in the cultural and political capital of England in the Autumn Quarter. In the ten-week program, students take four courses, three of which are each compressed into approximately three weeks and taught in succession by Chicago faculty. The fourth course, which is on the history of London, is conducted at a less intensive pace. The program includes a number of field trips (e.g., Cornwall, Bath, Canterbury, Cambridge). The London program is designed for third- and fourth-year students with a strong interest and some course work in British literature and history. While not limited to English or History majors, such students will find the program to be especially attractive and useful. Applications are available online via a link to Chicago's study abroad home page (study-abroad.uchicago.edu) and are normally due in mid-Winter Quarter.

Faculty

L. Berlant, D. Bevington (Emeritus), B. Brown, T. Campbell, J. Chandler, B. Cormack, R. Coronado,
L. Gandhi, J. Goldsby, E. Hadley, Ma. Hansen, Mi. Hansen, E. Helsinger, O. Izenberg, H. Keenleyside,
J. Knight, L. Kruger, J. Lastra, M. Miller, W. J. T. Mitchell, M. Murrin, D. Nelson, S. Reddy, L. Rothfield,
L. Ruddick, J. Scappettone, J. Schleusener, J. Scodel, E. Slauter, M. Slouka, R. Strier, R. Valenza,
W. Veeder (Emeritus), R. von Hallberg, C. von Nolcken, K. Warren, A. Yu (Emeritus)