English Major (B.A.)

Our general English major has two objectives: provide our students with a common core of literary experience and expertise, and offer them opportunity to shape a course of study suited to their personal interests. By offering flexible requirements, we encourage students to devise a path through coursework that has an intelligent rationale. If students have a special interest in writing, for example, they can take the minimum number of literature courses (five) and complete the major by taking offerings in fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry writing; if students' interests are in literary studies, they can focus on offerings in that arena; or they can match up courses from different arenas in the department (say, literature and writing courses focused on poetry). All the undergraduate courses we offer in the English department are open to English majors so students can sample a range of courses in literature, linguistics, creative or nonfiction writing, and English teaching, according to how particular interests may change and grow. 

The guiding principle of the general English major, then, is that it is open and liberal by design. It allows students to sample a variety of courses in order to study the operation of language from many perspectives. 

Major Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 40 credits of with a minimum grade of C-.
2. The required minimum overall GPA is 2.0.
3. ENGL 401, 415s, "Literature and..." courses, 444s, ENGL 620 and ENGL 788 may not be used to satisfy major requirements.
4. A total of six courses must be numbered 600 and above.
5. One major-required course may be used to satisfy one Discovery category requirement.
6. Only one online course may count toward major requirements.
7. Special Topics in Literature courses (e.g. ENGL 693, 787, 797) may be used to satisfy Pre-1800 or Post-1800 and/or Race Requirement areas if the designated topic is appropriate. 

8. Capstone must be completed with a minimum grade of C. May not be double-counted toward major requirements. Submit a Capstone Declaration form indicating the English course to be taken at the time of registration.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required
ENGL 419	How to Read Anything (Minimum grade of C)	4

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Select two courses from the following:		8

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
500-level Courses
ENGL/LING 405	Introduction to Linguistics
ENGL 501	Introduction to Creative Nonfiction
ENGL 502	Professional and Technical Writing
ENGL 503	Persuasive Writing
ENGL 510	Introduction to the Digital Humanities
ENGL 511	Major Writers in English
ENGL 512	British Literature I Age of Heroes: Beowulf to Dr. Faustus
ENGL 513W	British Literature II Age of Revolutions: Shakespeare to Austen
ENGL 514W	British Literature III: Revolts, Renewals, Migrations
ENGL 515W	American Literature I Conquest and Nation: First Contact to the Civil War
ENGL 516W	American Literature II Money, Migration, and Modernity: Huck Finn to Beloved
ENGL #517	Black Creative Expression
ENGL 518W	Bible as Literature
ENGL 520	Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
ENGL 521	Nature Writers
ENGL 526	Introduction to Fiction Writing
ENGL 527	Introduction to Poetry Writing
ENGL 533	Introduction to Film Studies
ENGL 534	21st Century Journalism: How the News Works
ENGL 549	In the Groove: African American Music as Literature
ENGL 550	Introduction to the Literature and Culture of Race
ENGL 555	Science Fiction
ENGL 560	Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture
ENGL 575	Sex and Sensibility: The Rise of Chick Lit
ENGL 581	Reading the Postcolonial Experience
ENGL 585	Introduction to Women in Literature
ENGL 585R	Introduction to Women in Literature
ENGL 595	Literary Topics

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Select two courses from the following:		8

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Pre-1800 Literature Courses
ENGL 512	British Literature I Age of Heroes: Beowulf to Dr. Faustus
or ENGL 513W	British Literature II Age of Revolutions: Shakespeare to Austen
ENGL 595	Literary Topics (if topic is appropriate)
ENGL 657	Shakespeare
ENGL 693R	Special Topics in Literature (if topic is appropriate)
ENGL #741	Early American Literature: Colonialism, Revolution, Nation
ENGL 751	Medieval Romance
ENGL 753	Old English
ENGL 756	Chaucer
ENGL 758	Advanced Shakespeare
ENGL 758R	Advanced Shakespeare
ENGL 759	Milton
ENGL 767	Literature of the Restoration and Early 18th Century
ENGL 768	Literature of the Later 18th Century
ENGL 780	Drama of Shakespeare's Contemporaries: Will and Company
ENGL 783	English Novel of the Eighteenth Century
ENGL 787	English Major Seminar (if topic is appropriate)
ENGL 787R	English Major Seminar (if topic is appropriate)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Select two courses from the following:		8

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Post-1800 Literature Courses
ENGL 514W	British Literature III: Revolts, Renewals, Migrations
or ENGL 516W	American Literature II Money, Migration, and Modernity: Huck Finn to Beloved
ENGL 595	Literary Topics (if topic is appropriate)
ENGL 609	Ethnicity in America: The African American Experience in the 20th Century
ENGL 636	Literature and the Environment
ENGL 650	I Hear America Singing: Studying American Literature and Culture
ENGL 681	Contemporary African Literature
ENGL 690	African American Literature
ENGL 693R	Special Topics in Literature (if topic is appropriate)
ENGL 738	Asian American Studies
ENGL 739	American Indian Literature
ENGL 743R	American Literature, 1865-1915: The Birth of the American Empire
ENGL 745	Contemporary American Literature
ENGL 749R	Major American Authors
ENGL 773	Literary Modernisms: Return, Revolt, Recycle
ENGL 774R	Modern & Contemporary British Literature: New Departures
ENGL 775	Modern Irish Literature: A Changing Landscape
ENGL 777	The English Novel in the World
ENGL 782	Modern and Contemporary Drama
ENGL #784	English Novel of the 19th Century
ENGL 787	English Major Seminar (if topic is appropriate)
ENGL 787R	English Major Seminar (if topic is appropriate)
ENGL 797R	Special Studies in Literature (Race & Racial Theories) (if topic is appropriate)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Select one course from the following:		4

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Race, the Construction of Race, and Racial Theory Courses
ENGL 440A	On Race in Culture and Society
ENGL #441	On Race and Culture in Society
ENGL #517	Black Creative Expression
ENGL 549	In the Groove: African American Music as Literature
ENGL 550	Introduction to the Literature and Culture of Race
ENGL 560	Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture
ENGL 585R	Introduction to Women in Literature
ENGL 609	Ethnicity in America: The African American Experience in the 20th Century
ENGL 650R	I Hear America Singing: Studying American Literature and Culture
ENGL 690	African American Literature
ENGL 693	Special Topics in Literature (subtopic R)
ENGL 693R	Special Topics in Literature
ENGL 738	Asian American Studies
ENGL 739	American Indian Literature
ENGL 743R	American Literature, 1865-1915: The Birth of the American Empire
ENGL 749R	Major American Authors
ENGL 758R	Advanced Shakespeare
ENGL 774R	Modern & Contemporary British Literature: New Departures
ENGL 778	Race and Gender in Film and Popular Culture
ENGL 787R	English Major Seminar
ENGL 797R	Special Studies in Literature (Race & Racial Theories)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Select one additional 500-, 600-, or 700- level ENGL course		4
Capstone (one 700-level ENGL course)		4

Please see your advisor if you have questions about other courses that might fulfill these requirements.

If you're interested in majoring in English please contact Carla Cannizzaro, academic/career counselor, Department of English, 230F Hamilton Smith Hall, (603) 862-1313.

Undergraduate students in the English Department at the University of New Hampshire have many options as they advance to degree. They can choose to complete a general English major or opt to follow one of several specialized tracks: English Literature, Journalism, English Teaching, and Linguistics. I. All undergraduate English majors acquire the same core skills. These include:

• Proficiency in analytical writing, critical thinking, and public-speaking.
• Knowledge of important literary genres and subgenres
• Fluency in literary terminology,
• A broad understanding of British-and-American literature, from the medieval period in England and the moment of first contact in America to the present day.
• Demonstrated proficiency in writing an analytical essay that offers a sophisticated close-reading or explication of a literary text. This essay will have a clear thesis and proceed in a logical fashion, with interpretive claims supported by evidence from the text.
• Demonstrated proficiency in literary research and in writing an extended thesis-driven research paper in which sources are correctly and responsibly cited.
• Demonstrated understanding of how to read across the color line in the US and /or how to analyze literary works written in English from outside the UK and the US--from India, Africa, and the Caribbean, for example.