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IMPORTANT NOTE

The requirements below apply to those students with a year. Students are required by to follow the major (and minor) requirements found in the catalog in effect at the time they declared their first major. To find your catalog year, please visit your Grades and Academic Records found in and access the that matches your catalog year.

English

Overview

Courses in the English department engage students in the close critical study of English-language literature in an international and interdisciplinary context, encompassing works from British, American, and other Anglophone literary traditions. In keeping with Occidental’s mission values of equity and excellence, students in English courses read the work of both long-studied writers and of those previously excluded from traditional literary history. Majors will 1) become proficient in close reading and focused discussion of individual literary works, 2) learn to situate those works in their generative historical, geographic and social contexts, and 3) become skilled in interpreting them through a range of theories and methods that characterize the evolving discipline of literary studies. Non-majors will develop their capacity to engage in close reading, critical thinking, and analytical writing. Most courses in the department are seminars or combinations of lecture and discussion. This pedagogical orientation underscores the department’s strong emphasis on faculty-student interaction and the collaborative production of knowledge. Introductory survey courses (ENGL 287, ENGL 288, ENGL 289) expose students to the breadth and diversity of Anglophone literary history. Upper division courses develop sophisticated skills in literary analysis, interpretive writing, and oral presentation. Methodological and research-oriented seminars in the sophomore, junior and senior years (ENGL 290, ENGL 390, and ENGL 490) direct students in the practice of original independent analysis that places primary textual interpretation in dialogue with secondary critical research.

Major Requirements

A major requires a minimum of eleven courses (44 units).

Major (no concentration)

Historical Surveys

ENGL 287Literary Experiments from Chaucer to Milton

4 units

ENGL 288Modern British Literary Traditions

4 units

ENGL 289The American Experience in Literature

4 units

Seminars

ENGL 290Introduction to Literary Methods

4 units

ENGL 390Junior Seminar in English

4 units

ENGL 490Senior Seminar: Comprehensive Project

4 units

Group 1 - Medieval and Renaissance Literature

Students must select one of the following courses:

 

 

ENGL 220Literatures of the Scientific Revolution

4 units

ENGL 222The Literature of Revenge

4 units

ENGL 225Shakespeare: Beyond Tragedy

4 units

ENGL 311The Literature of Error: Romance and Genre

4 units

ENGL 314Renaissance Poetry

4 units

ENGL 316Literatures of Primitive Accumulation

4 units

ENGL 322Renaissance Cultures of Punishment

4 units

Group 2 - 18th and 19th Century Literature

Students must select one of the following courses:

ENGL 241The "Deviant"

4 units

ENGL 248Money, Gender, and the Nineteenth Century Novel

4 units

ENGL 330Colonialism and the Definition of the Human in 18th-Century British Literature

4 units

ENGL 332Eighteenth Century Literature: 1730-1800

4 units

ENGL 341Race, Law, and Literature

4 units

ENGL 345On Tyranny in American Literature before 1900

4 units

ENGL 346/BLST 34619th Century African American Literature

4 units

Group 3 - 20th and 21st Century Literature

Students must select one of the following courses:

ENGL 265White Women: Constructing Race and Gender in Multiethnic American Literature

3 hours of class meeting per week, plus 9 hours of reading, research, preparation and writing for week, for a total of 12 hours per week, with a total of 180 total hours of student work.

ENGL 267Afro-Surrealism

4 units

ENGL 270Asian American Literature

4 units

ENGL 273Contemporary American Poetry

4 units

ENGL 274Women Writers

4 units

ENGL 295Topics in English

4 units

ENGL 351Modernism and Contemporary British Fiction

4 units

ENGL 353Reading the Global 1930s: Depression-era Literature, Philosophy, and Politics

4 units

ENGL 360/BLST 360Toni Morrison and U.S. Imaginative Production

4 units

ENGL 365Contemporary Literature

4 units

ENGL 370Literary Criticism

4 units

ENGL 377/BLST 377Afrofuturism

4 units

Group 4 - Emergent Literature

Students must select one of the following courses that focuses on literature previously excluded from the canon:

ENGL 241The "Deviant"

4 units

ENGL 265White Women: Constructing Race and Gender in Multiethnic American Literature

3 hours of class meeting per week, plus 9 hours of reading, research, preparation and writing for week, for a total of 12 hours per week, with a total of 180 total hours of student work.

ENGL 267Afro-Surrealism

4 units

ENGL 270Asian American Literature

4 units

ENGL 273Contemporary American Poetry

4 units

ENGL 274Women Writers

4 units

ENGL 341Race, Law, and Literature

4 units

ENGL 346/BLST 34619th Century African American Literature

4 units

ENGL 353Reading the Global 1930s: Depression-era Literature, Philosophy, and Politics

4 units

ENGL 360/BLST 360Toni Morrison and U.S. Imaginative Production

4 units

ENGL 365Contemporary Literature

4 units

ENGL 370Literary Criticism

4 units

ENGL 377/BLST 377Afrofuturism

4 units

NOTE: "Emergent Literature" courses will typically fall under the Group II or III categories. However, they cannot count for both a period requirement (such as Group II or III) and the Emergent Literature requirement.

Electives

ENGL One additional ENGL course

Students considering graduate work in literature are strongly encouraged to take additional English courses beyond the minimum of eleven in order to broaden and deepen their knowledge of literary history and their practice of literary interpretation. Most graduate programs require proficiency in at least one foreign language.

Major with a concentration in Creative Writing

Students majoring in English may elect to take additional courses in order to complete a concentration in Creative Writing, a special track that provides a strong background in both literary history and creative writing skills. Students choosing this concentration will take a total of 13 courses.

Historical Surveys

ENGL 287Literary Experiments from Chaucer to Milton

4 units

ENGL 288Modern British Literary Traditions

4 units

ENGL 289The American Experience in Literature

4 units

Seminars

Students must complete the courses listed below:

ENGL 290Introduction to Literary Methods

4 units

ENGL 390Junior Seminar in English

4 units

ENGL 490Senior Seminar: Comprehensive Project

4 units

Three Upper Division Electives

Choose from categories noted above as Groups I, II, III and IV (only one of these may be a 200-level course).

Creative Writing Electives

Students must complete four creative writing electives. At least two of these must be from the English department. Other departments and programs that have offered writing courses include French, Media Arts and Culture, Theater, and Writing and Rhetoric. Students interested in pursuing concentration in creative writing must work out a careful program in consultation with their adviser and the department chair.

CWP 285Principles of Journalism I: Covering News Across Media

4 units

CWP 286Principles of Journalism II: Narrative Nonfiction: True Stories Told Well

4 units

CWP 301Creative Nonfiction

4 units

ENGL 280Creative Writing: Introduction to Fiction Writing

4 units

ENGL 281Creative Writing: Poetry

4 units

ENGL 380Creative Writing: Advance Fiction Writing

4 units

ENGL 382Advanced Creative Writing

4 units

MAC 222Creating and Writing Television/Streaming Series

4 units

THEA 380Playwriting

4 units

Honors in the Major

Honors may be awarded to graduating seniors who demonstrate excellence in course work and who successfully develop their comps project into an honors thesis. To be eligible, students must have a 3.65 grade point average in courses taken toward the major and an overall 3.5 grade point average. Qualified students will be invited to apply for permission to proceed to honors by the department prior to the beginning of the spring semester. Upon review by department faculty, students whose applications are accepted will register for ENGL 499 (Independent Study), for two units in the spring semester. They will complete a thesis to be orally defended before a faculty committee during the spring semester. For further details, consult with your department advisor.

Minor

Five courses or 20 units.

Historical Surveys

Students must select two courses from the list below:

ENGL 287Literary Experiments from Chaucer to Milton

4 units

ENGL 288Modern British Literary Traditions

4 units

ENGL 289The American Experience in Literature

4 units

ENGL 290Introduction to Literary Methods

4 units

Electives

Any three ENGL courses, two of which must be taken at the 300-level.

Second-Stage Writing

Students majoring in English satisfy the Second-Stage Writing requirement by successfully completing ENGL 390 in the junior year and receiving a notation of "Satisfactory" for its writing component.

Comprehensive Requirement

All majors must take ENGL 490 (Senior Seminar) in the fall of the senior year, where they will design, develop, and complete a significant project involving literary research and analysis. The project will result in a substantial essay of original interpretation and pertinent secondary research, and a formal conference-style oral presentation at the Senior Symposium held during the spring semester. See the department website for more details.

Transfer Credit Policies

The English Department policy on transfer credit conforms to College policy. Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for details. English majors who have completed the AP examination in English with a score of 4 or 5 may petition the department chair to be allowed to complete the major with 10 courses (including all required courses and Group I-IV categories) rather than the 11 specified above.

Contact English
Swan Hall 233