Development of English Major Requirements

Undergraduates who declare their English major will progress towards the degree under the following requirements. However, students declaring the English major with the Creative Writing will need to allot one extra slot for their fourth 100-level Creative Writing course, as there will now be only 3 electives in the English major.

For general information concerning requirements leading to the B.A. degree in Columbian College see the current Undergraduate Bulletin, including the General Curriculum Requirements. Strictly speaking, the Bulletin for the year in which you were admitted to degree candidacy in Columbian College defines the requirements for your degree. Exceptions to English requirements are made only by petition to the Director of Undergraduate Advising.
Prerequisite courses: Any English course at the teen level (ex: 1310, 1320, 1330, 1340, 1351, 1410, 1411, 1510, 1511, 1710, 1711, 1830 or 1840), but not 1210. A score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam in English Literature, or of 6 or 7 on the Higher Level IB Exam English A1, will fulfill this requirement. For additional questions about the applicability of credits earned outside GW, see the Director of Undergraduate Advising.
Required for the major: 33 hours of upper-level courses [numbered 2000 or above] offered by the Department. Most of these courses will involve literary and cultural studies, but up to 3 upper-level courses in expository or creative writing may be included as electives. With the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Advising, up to 2 courses in a foreign literature, in the original language or in translation, may be used as electives. For the purpose of the English major, literature not initially published in English will be considered “foreign” literature--whether studied in the original or in translation, at GW or elsewhere--unless it qualifies as “postcolonial” literature.

Students must now register for the following classes in English and American literature:

Two courses in literature written before 1700
Two courses in literature written between 1700-1900
One course in literature post-1900
English 2800 (Critical Methods)
One additional course in cultural studies or critical theory
One additional course in minority or postcolonial literature
Three English Department courses of the student’s choice as electives

Practically speaking, this means that English department courses now fall under the following rubrics:

Literature in English before 1700:

3410 Chaucer
3420 Medieval Literature
3430 English Renaissance 1515-1625
3441 Shakespeare #1 (fall)
3441 Shakespeare #2 (spring)
3450 Special Topics in Shakespeare
3460 Milton
3470 English Drama to 1660 (fall)
3810 Epic and Romance: When Worlds Collide
3810 Renaissance Drama
3910 Identity and Disability in Medieval Culture
4135 Folger Seminar

“Before 1700” OR “1700-1900,” but not both:

3490 Early American Literature

Literature in English between 1700 and 1900:

3480 18th Century #1 (fall)
3481 18th Century #2 (spring)
3530 The Romantic Movement
3540 Victorian literature #1 (fall) 1830-1865
3541 Victorian literature #2 (spring) 1865-1900
3550 English Novel #1: 18th Century
3551 English Novel #2: 19th Century
3520 American Romanticism
3560 American Realism
3570 19th-Century Black Literature
3620 American Poetry #1 (fall): beginnings through early 20th Century
3640 American Novel #1 (fall): beginning through 19th Century
3820 Melville and Whitman

“Between 1700-1900” OR “After 1900,” but not both:

3510 Children’s Literature

Literature in English after 1900 (See also minority/postcolonial list):

3660 Irish Literature #1
3661 Irish Literature #2
3710 Contemporary Drama, since 1960
3621 American Poetry #2 (spring) Early 20th century to present
3630 American Drama #1 (fall) 19th century through 1950s
3631 American Drama #2 (spring) 1960s-present
3641 American Novel #2 (spring) 20th century
3650 Short Story
3730 Selected Topics in Postcolonial Literature
3720 Contemporary American Literature #1 (fall)
3721 Contemporary American Literature #2 (spring)
3810 Jewish Literature Live (spring)
3810 Modernism and the "Lost Generation"
3810 Latino Literature
3826 Morrison and Faulkner
3850 Ethnicity and Place
3930 Literature of Black America II : early 20th century to present
3960 Asian American Literature

“After 1900” or “Theory & Cultural Studies,” but not both:

3610 Modernism

Theory & Cultural Studies

2800 Critical Methods
2240 Play Analysis
3830 Special Topics in Theory or Cultural Studies
3830 Aesthetics
3840 Gender and Literature
3860 History of the English Language
4040 Senior Honors Seminar (fall) by application in spring of junior year only
4250 Senior Honors Seminar (spring) by application in spring of junior year only
See also courses listed below.

Theory and Culture Studies OR Minority/Postcolonial, but not both:

3910 Disability Studies
3920 Topics in U.S. Latina/o Literature and Culture
3950 Cultural Theory and Black Studies
3965 Topics in Asian American Literature and Culture
3980 Queer Studies

Minority or Postcolonial Literatures:

Each of the following courses may count in the minority postcolonial category OR another category, but not both:

3570 19th-Century Black Literature (may count as Literature in English between 1700 and 1900)
3660 Irish Literature #1 (may count as after 1900)
3661 Irish Literature #2 (may count as after 1900)
3730 Selected Topics in Postcolonial Literature (may count as after 1900)
3810 Latino Literature
3826 Morrison and Faulkner
3850 Ethnicity and Place (may count as after 1900)
3850 Ethnicity and Place (may count as after 1900)
3930 Literature of Black America II: early 20 century to the present (may count as after 1900)
3940 Topics in African American Literature Studies (19th or 20th century depending on the section)
3960 Asian American Literature (may count as after 1900)
3970 Jewish American Literature (may count as after 1900)

Electives:

3471 English Drama #2 (spring), 1660-present
3820 Major Authors
3810 Selected Topics in Literature (periods TBA for individual sections)
3940 Topics in African American Literature Studies (19th or 20th century, TBA for individual sections)
Look for complete details in the most recent University Bulletin.