Courses of Study 2024-2025
Literatures in English
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In the College of Arts and Sciences .
Course Offerings
The Department of Literatures in English offers a wide range of courses in English, American, and Anglophone literature as well as in creative writing, expository writing, and film analysis. Literature courses focus variously on close reading of texts, study of particular authors and genres, questions of critical theory and method, and the relationship of literary works to their historical contexts and to other disciplines. Writing courses typically employ the workshop method in which students develop their skills by responding to criticism of their work by their classmates as well as by their instructors. Many students supplement their formal course work in English by attending public lectures and readings sponsored by the department or by writing for campus literary magazines. The department seeks not only to foster critical analysis and lucid writing but also to teach students to think about the nature of language and to be alert to both the rigors and the pleasures of reading texts of diverse inspiration.
Website: english.cornell.edu
Faculty
S. Samuels, Picket Family Chair, Department of Literatures in English; B. Mort, director of creative writing; L. Brown, director of undergraduate studies; P. Lorenz, director of honors; L. Thomas, director of graduate studies; E. Anker, K. Attell, J. Braddock, M.P. Brady, N. Bulawayo, J. Byrd, C. Caruth, E. Cheyfitz, E. Cohn, D. Faulkner, C. Frazier, E. Fridlund, A. Galloway, R. Gilbert, C. Green, E. Hanson, R. Hey-Colón, J. Hu Pegues, G. Hutchinson, J. Juffer, R. Kalas, A. Kim, A. Kleeman, J.R. Lennon, C. Levine, G. Londe, K. McCullough, J. McKenzie, S. Mohanty, T. Murray, M.W. Ngugi, E. Quiñonez, M. Raskolnikov, J. Rosenberg, A. Shechtman, D. Schwarz, D. Spires, L. Van Clief-Stefanon, H. Viramontes, L. Warren, S. Zacher. Emeriti: B. Adams, J. Blackall, F. Bogel, C. Chase, B. Correll, J. Culler, S. Davis, L. Donaldson, A. Fulton, L. Herrin, N. Hertz, T. Hill, M. Hite, M. Jacobus, B. Jeyifo, K. McClane, M. McCoy, D. Mermin, R. Morgan, R. Parker, N. Saccamano, P. Sawyer, H. Shaw, S. Siegel, S. Vaughn, W. Wetherbee, S. Wong
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The Major in English:
The English major provides a foundation in reading, writing, research, critical theory, and critical thinking relevant to a vast variety of fields, including journalism, publishing, authoring fiction and non-fiction, the arts and sciences, law, business, and medicine. The department welcomes students who seek double majors.
Visit the English Majors Guide for more information.
Note: In addition to the major requirements outlined below, all students must meet the college graduation requirements .
Major requirements:
Ten full-semester courses, at least two of these at the 4000-level, including the following categories (a course may be used to fulfill a maximum of two categories):
- Two courses on literatures in English before 1800; two courses on literatures in English after 1800.
- One course on literatures in English of the Global South, i.e., African, African Diaspora, Asian Diaspora, South Asian, or Caribbean literature.
- Two courses on literatures in English of the Americas, including at least one course on American Indian or Indigenous, African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or Latinx literature.
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Three courses must be related in topic, theme, time period, genre, or approach to form a “concentration.” Students may develop a concentration in consultation with their advisor during the final year based on the courses that form a cluster in their studies.
Notes on course credits
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All cross-listed courses qualify for the major, even if the student is not enrolled in the ENGL section.
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A minimum grade of C is required for a course to qualify for the major (no S/U grades).
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Courses must be 3 credits or higher to count toward the major unless otherwise noted.
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The requirement categories which a course can satisfy are designated in the course description.
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First-Year Writing Seminars, ENGL 2800 - Creative Writing and ENGL 2880 - Expository Writing may not be applied toward the major.
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ENGL 4930 - Honors Essay Tutorial I and ENGL 4940 - Honors Essay Tutorial II may be applied toward the required ten full-semester courses but may not be used to satisfy other categories of requirements.
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A maximum of three non-ENGL courses 2000-level or above from other departments on subjects related to literary study, even if focused on literatures not originally in English, may be applied toward the required ten full-semester courses and the concentration with the approval of the major advisor. To qualify toward the other requirement categories, a course must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS).
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Transfer and study abroad courses may be applied toward the required ten full-semester courses and the other requirement categories with the approval of the DUS. No more than two non-Cornell courses per semester may be applied to the major.
Planning a Program of Study:
Few students know from the moment they decide to major in English exactly what they wish to study. Moreover, it is natural for interests to change over the course of time. The requirements of the English major are designed to provide a flexible framework for increasing skills in literary analysis, research, and writing; the span of studies is as important as following particular connections. Within that framework, the concentration and the Honors Program provide two further ways to shape the pursuit of the major.
English majors are expected to discuss their overall program of study with their major advisor each semester. The effort of creating or discovering a coherent pattern in the courses selected is itself a valuable part of a literary education, and the department expects students to choose courses with an eye to breadth and variety as well as focus and coherence.
First-Year Writing Seminars
As part of the university-wide First-Year Writing Seminars program administered by the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, the department offers a wide range of courses in literature, film, and media; nature, the environment, and climate change; culture, politics, and identity; and in community engagement—connecting students with local community partners. Students may apply any of these courses to their first-year writing seminar requirement. Detailed course descriptions may be found in the first-year writing seminar program listings, available through the Knight Institute in July for the fall semester and in November for the spring semester.
First-year students interested in majoring in English are encouraged to enroll in a section of ENGL 1270 - FWS: Writing About Literature .
Survey Courses
The department recommends that prospective English majors begin with at least one survey course. ENGL 2010 - Literatures in English I: From Old English to the New World provides a survey of pre-1800 British and American writers. ENGL 2020 - [Literature in English II: 1750 to the Present] broadens to include literatures of the Caribbean and Africa from the late 18th-century until the present. Several other 2000-level courses are offered each semester which provide introductions to important aspects of literature, culture, and theory also covered in more advanced courses. These introductory courses concentrate on the skills basic to the English major and to other academic work—analytical reading and articulate writing.
Creative Writing Courses
Students interested in developing their skills as writers can participate in workshop courses in expository and creative writing. Due to the writing-intensive nature of these courses, the department discourages enrollment in more than one writing course per semester.
ENGL 2800 - Creative Writing , and ENGL 2880 - Expository Writing are also suitable preparations for the major, and are open to students who have completed their first-year writing seminar requirement. Although these introductory courses do not qualify for major credit, ENGL 2800 is a prerequisite for the 3000-level creative writing courses, which do qualify.
An expository writing course can, with permission of the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, be substituted for a FWS course. Creative Writing courses do not count for First-Year Writing Seminar credit.
The Honors Program:
Second-semester sophomores who have done superior work in English are encouraged to seek admission to the departmental program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in English. Completing the English major with honors allows students to independently study a topic they choose and to write a researched, critical paper of at least 50 pages. A minimum English GPA of 3.7 is required to be eligible for the Honors Program.
The Honors Program is a three-course commitment in which students must complete:
Students work one-on-one with their thesis advisor, meeting regularly on a mutually agreed upon schedule. Students will also attend larger meetings of all honors candidates held by the Director of Honors.
Visit the English Honors Program Guide for the application form and more information.
Minors in the Department of Literatures in English:
The Department of Literatures in English offers three minors: “Creative Writing,” “English,” and “Minority, Indigenous, and Third World Studies” (MITWS). English majors can complete any minor except English.
Students interested in minoring with the department should submit an online minor intent form as soon as possible. To declare a minor, students submit the applicable online minor declaration form as soon as all classes to be used are known, and no later than the end of the seventh week of their final semester.
Visit the English Minors Guide for forms.
Successful completion of the minor will be noted on students’ official transcripts.
Notes on course credits
- Each minor requires students to pass five three- or four-credit courses at the 2000-level or higher with a minimum grade of C (no S/U grades). Courses offered by the department and all crosslisted courses quality for the minors, even if the student is not enrolled in the ENGL section.
- No First-Year Writing Seminars may be applied toward the minors.
- A maximum of one course from transfer, study abroad, independent study, or upper-level literature courses from another Cornell department may qualify if approved by the department.
Creative Writing
Due to the writing-intensive nature of these courses, students may take only one creative writing course per term.
Students minoring in Creative Writing must complete the following courses:
English
Students minoring in English may distribute their eligible courses from categories such as literature, creative writing, and critical writing/creative nonfiction. Those wishing to take four creative writing courses should minor in creative writing.
Minority, Indigenous, and Third World Studies (MITWS)
Students minoring in Minority, Indigenous, and Third World Studies (MITWS) may distribute their eligible courses from categories such as African American, Asian American, American Indian and other indigenous, Latino/a, and Anglophone African, Asian, and Caribbean literatures. The MITWS minor seeks to foster comparative thinking across domestic U.S. and international contexts, and coursework should engage with ethnic, indigenous, and/or national literatures.
The courses listed below provide an example of the kind of courses that qualify for the MITWS minor. For questions about a course’s eligibility, please consult the department.
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