English

Chairman and Professor: JUSTIN A. JACKSON

English 104-105 is a two-semester sequence that is foundational to the liberal arts curriculum. Major literary works of the Judeo-Christian, Greco-Roman, and the British and American traditions serve as the basis for instruction in close reading, thinking, and writing. Students take English 104 (Great Books in the Western Tradition: Ancient to Medieval) the spring semester of the freshman year, and English 105 (Great Books in the British and American Traditions) the fall semester of the sophomore year.

All students choosing English as their field of concentration should consult with the chair of the Department as soon as possible and choose a major advisor. English majors are strongly recommended to take ENG 201 to round out a full and robust Great Books experience in the major.

Departmental Honors                             

Those who wish to seek Departmental Honors in English must meet the highest standards of excellence, in terms of both departmental GPA and the quality of the thesis. No matter which of the two options below the student chooses, the successful Honors thesis needs to integrate secondary scholarship into the main argument of the essay. An excellent honors thesis situates one’s own close reading within the wider scholarly conversation and demonstrates how one’s work contributes to it. The student working toward Honors must also have the support of the Department generally, as well as the help of a particular faculty member as a thesis advisor. The Honors thesis may be completed in one of two ways: either a) as an original work of research and writing, completed over the course of one’s senior year; or b) as a revision of a previously-written seminar paper, written during the junior or senior year. For the first option, the student must have a departmental GPA of 3.6 or higher at the time of application. In the spring semester of junior year, the student must secure an advisor and submit a formal thesis application and proposal (see the chair for detailed instructions) no later than April 1. If the department approves the proposal, the student may register for English 575 in the fall semester of senior year. Completed by the end of the fall semester, the successful thesis must be 20-25 pages long and demonstrate proficient understanding of the relevant scholarly work in the field. If the advisor and a second reader determine that the essay earns an A minus or better, and the student is projected to maintain a 3.6 departmental GPA until graduation, the final step will be to give a public lecture on the thesis, sometime early in the spring semester.

The second way to earn departmental honors requires the major to improve upon a successful seminar paper from a 400-level course, according to the following guidelines. The student must have a departmental GPA of no less than 3.6 at the time of graduation. The student must be nominated by an English faculty member on the basis of outstanding performance on a 400-level research paper, written for a class that takes place no later than fall semester, senior year. Should the student accept the nomination, be willing to do the work of revision, and have an excellent chance of achieving a 3.6 departmental GPA come graduation, the nominating professor will immediately submit the seminar paper to a three-member faculty committee for consideration. By the beginning of the following semester, the committee (not including the nominating professor) will read the essay and give one of four judgments: rejected; revise and resubmit; accepted but with revisions; or accepted as is. Should the student be asked to revise, he or she will have six weeks to make the necessary revisions. When the final, revised draft has been turned in, the thesis will be judged once again. On successful completion of the revision process, the student will give an honorary public lecture on the topic of the thesis, as soon as possible after its acceptance. Should the student retain a 3.6 departmental GPA until graduation, he or she will be awarded departmental honors in English.