English Undergraduate Major (BA, HBA)
This program is available at the following location:
- Corvallis
An English degree is about more than the book. English majors learn to see complex problems in their full richness and don’t take the first answer, or the simplest answer, as truth. In our courses, all kinds of texts – from medieval poems to postmodern novels, adapted screenplays to literary criticism – appear as windows into the cultures and conditions in which they were produced. English majors develop habits of mind attuned to the reasons why people do what they do and write what they write. Our graduates are engaged, empathetic people pursuing a creative, critical, and useful degree.
The English major includes an array of subjects ranging in literary history to film and visual culture, creative and nonfiction writing, rhetoric and literacy, and the digital humanities. We focus on the big picture and the details: close reading skills and critical analysis, how literacy and language change over time, and how social and historical movements and processes are represented in texts. Reading, writing, active listening, discussing, presenting, and debating are foundational activities in our classrooms.
When entering the program, students are encouraged to explore their current literary interests and find new ones by selecting from a wide range of lower-division courses. At the 300-level, English majors take a series of specialized courses in which they practice essential skills for advanced study; they also prepare for future careers in a course specifically designed to help them recognize and promote their skills. At the 400-level, students explore specific literary periods and movements in greater depth and put their English major skills to use in a hands-on, classroom-based collaborative project and/or individual thesis.
Major Code: 890
Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:
- Write effective arguments about a variety of literary and cultural texts.
- Use information literacy and new technologies to plan and conduct research appropriate to initial and advanced study in English.
- Recognize and interpret a wide variety of texts and genres (may include visual, material, inter-cultural texts), using a range of theoretical and interpretive strategies, including close reading.
- Demonstrate the role of context(s) in production, reception, and transmission of literary and cultural texts (across periods, histories, geographical/national spaces, and cultural differences).
- A grade of C– or better is required for all courses used to complete major requirements.
- Courses taken to satisfy major requirements may not be taken with an S/U grade.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core | ||
| ENG 301 | WAYS OF READING | 4 |
| ENG 302 | ^WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE | 4 |
| ENG 345 | INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY CRITICISM AND THEORY | 4 |
| ENG 304 | +CAREER PATHWAYS FOR ENGLISH AND WRITING MAJORS | 2 |
| WR 474 | +THE WRITING AND RHETORIC OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY | 4 |
| Lower-Division Electives | ||
| Select four courses from the following: | 16 | |
| *SHAKESPEARE | ||
| *SHAKESPEARE | ||
| *SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE: BEGINNINGS TO 1660 | ||
| *SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE: RESTORATION TO ROMANTIC ERA | ||
| *SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE: VICTORIAN ERA TO 20TH CENTURY | ||
| LITERATURE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION: CLASSICAL-RENAISSANCE | ||
| *LITERATURES OF THE WORLD: ASIA | ||
| +*LITERATURES OF THE WORLD: AFRICA | ||
| +*LITERATURES OF THE WORLD: LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN | ||
| *LITERATURES OF THE WORLD: MIDDLE EAST | ||
| *LITERATURE OF THE WORLD: EUROPE | ||
| *TOPICS IN DIFFERENCE, POWER, AND DISCRIMINATION | ||
| +*AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| CHILDREN'S LITERATURE | ||
| *INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LITERATURE | ||
| *SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE: COLONIAL TO 1900 | ||
| *SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE: 1900 TO PRESENT | ||
| *LITERATURE OF AMERICAN MINORITIES | ||
| *THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE | ||
| Upper-Division Electives | ||
| Select one course from the following: | 4 | |
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: BEGINNINGS TO CHOPIN | ||
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: MODERNIST PERIOD | ||
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: POST-WORLD WAR II | ||
| *STUDIES IN PAGE, STAGE, AND SCREEN | ||
| *STUDIES IN WORD, OBJECT, AND IMAGE | ||
| *STUDIES IN GLOBALISM, TEXT, AND EVENT | ||
| *THE HOLOCAUST IN LITERATURE AND FILM | ||
| *NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| *AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS | ||
| CHILDREN'S LITERATURE | ||
| A CULTURAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN ART AND LITERATURE: PART I | ||
| A CULTURAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN ART AND LITERATURE: PART II | ||
| A CULTURAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN ART AND LITERATURE: PART III | ||
| *FILM THEORY AND CRITICISM | ||
| SHORT STORY WRITING | ||
| CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING | ||
| POETRY WRITING | ||
| FOOD WRITING | ||
| Literature Pre-1700 1 | ||
| ENG 425 | STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE | 4 |
| or ENG 435 | STUDIES IN SHAKESPEARE | |
| or ENG 490 | HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE | |
| Literature 1700-1900 1 | ||
| ENG 418 | THE ENGLISH NOVEL: VICTORIAN PERIOD | 4 |
| or ENG 434 | STUDIES IN LITERATURE 1700-1900 | |
| Literature Post-1900 1 | ||
| ENG 438 | STUDIES IN LITERATURE AFTER 1900 | 4 |
| or ENG 440 | STUDIES IN MODERN IRISH LITERATURE | |
| Select two courses from the following, including one projects-based course: 2 | 8 | |
| THESIS | ||
| PROJECTS | ||
| POWER AND REPRESENTATION | ||
| ^STUDIES IN NONFICTION | ||
| MAJOR AUTHORS | ||
| STUDIES IN DRAMA | ||
| STUDIES IN THE NOVEL | ||
| ^STUDIES IN POETRY | ||
| STUDIES IN LITERATURE, CULTURE AND SOCIETY | ||
| STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| ^STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| LITERATURE AND PEDAGOGY | ||
| WRITING, LITERATURE AND MEDICINE | ||
| *INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S VOICES | ||
| SELECTED TOPICS | ||
| DOCUMENTARY FILM STUDIES | ||
| ^STUDIES IN FILM | ||
| STUDIES IN FILM, CULTURE AND SOCIETY | ||
| ^THE TEACHING OF WRITING | ||
| ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING | ||
| STUDIES IN WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED FICTION WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED POETRY WRITING | ||
| MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING | ||
| CRITICAL REVIEWING | ||
| ^ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING | ||
| RHETORICS OF RACE | ||
| ^INTRODUCTION TO LITERACY STUDIES | ||
| DIGITAL LITERACY AND CULTURE | ||
| Remaining Core Ed, CLA Core, BA Requirements and Electives | 122 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |
- *
- Baccalaureate Core course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in a catalog year up to 2024-2025
- +
- Core Education course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in catalog year 2025-2026 and beyond
- ^
Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) course
- 1
Additional courses may count as pre-1700, 1700-1900 and post-1900 with advisor approval
- 2
Students can fulfill the projects-based requirement by completing 4 credits of ENG 403 or ENG 406. See advisor for other approved project courses
Major Code: 890
Degree plans are subject to change and the following is only an example of how students may complete their degree in four years. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best degree plan for them. Contact details for advisors can be found on the Academic Advising page.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| WR 121Z | +*COMPOSITION I | 4 |
| ENG 200-Level Course | 4 | |
| Language 111 | 4 | |
| Core Ed: Transitions | 2 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Winter | ||
| ENG 200-Level Course | 4 | |
| Language 112 | 4 | |
| Core Ed: Arts & Humanities Global | 3-4 | |
| Core Ed: Communication, Media & Society | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENG 200-Level Course | 4 | |
| Language 113 | 4 | |
| Core Ed: Quantitative Literacy & Analysis | 4 | |
| Core Ed: Difference, Power & Oppression Foundations | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| ENG 200-Level Course | 4 | |
| Language 211 | 4 | |
| Core Ed: Arts & Humanities General | 3-4 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Winter | ||
| Language 212 | 4 | |
| Core Ed: Scientific Inquiry & Analysis | 4 | |
| Core Ed: Social Science | 3-4 | |
| Core Ed: Writing Elevation | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| Language 213 | 4 | |
| CLA Core: Non-Western Culture | 3-4 | |
| Core Ed: Seeking Solutions | 3-4 | |
| Core Ed: Scientific Inquiry & Analysis | 4 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| ENG 301 | WAYS OF READING | 4 |
| ENG 304 | +CAREER PATHWAYS FOR ENGLISH AND WRITING MAJORS | 2 |
| ENG 300-Level Course | 4 | |
| CLA Core: Social Science | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Winter | ||
| ENG 302 | ^WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE | 4 |
| CLA Core: Fine Arts | 3 | |
| CLA Core: Additional Course | 3 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENG 345 | INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY CRITICISM AND THEORY | 4 |
| CLA Core: Humanities | 3 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| WR 474 | +THE WRITING AND RHETORIC OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY | 4 |
| Literature Pre-1700 | 4 | |
| 400-Level Projects Course | 4 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Winter | ||
| 400-Level Course | 4 | |
| Literature 1700-1900 | 4 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| Literature Post-1900 | 4 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in a catalog year up to 2024-2025
- +
Core Education course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in catalog year 2025-2026 and beyond
- ^
Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) course