Program Requirements

English majors take 10 literature or writing courses above the first-year level. First-year majors will be enrolled in Critical Reading and Writing-Poetry (CRAW) designated for majors. Students who declare English their major any time after their first semester must take Critical Reading and Writing- Poetry (English 120) as a prerequisite to further pursuit of the major. All English majors are required to take at least one course in each of four out of seven literary periods: Medieval, Renaissance, 18thcentury British, 19th-century British, 19th-century American, 20th-century British, and 20th-century American. At least two of the four periods must be before 1800. Also, two of the four courses must be sophomore-level Readings courses. The other two period requirements may be satisfied by any upperdivision course in the period, including single-author courses. No more than two Readings courses, however, may be counted toward the ten upper-level courses required of the major. The purpose of these requirements is: (1) to provide a formal grounding in the many forms literature has taken over time; (2) to introduce the student to the cultural and historical issues that shape literary responses to their times; and (3) to continue with development of close reading and analytical writing skills begun in the first-year courses in Critical Reading and Writing.

The remaining six courses required for the major can come from any of the upper-division courses listed below, including courses that are approved for Study Abroad and tutorials and honors theses devoted to British or American literature. Up to two creative writing courses (at any level) may also be counted among these six courses.

The department recommends that majors take their 200-level period Readings requirements before 300-level courses and advanced seminars. Ideally, they will be completed by the end of the second year. If the student intends to study abroad in a non-English speaking country in the junior year, it is particularly important that the Readings courses be completed in the sophomore year. If the student is in the Teacher Certification Program, which requires a full semester of the senior year, it is also necessary to take all of the requirements for the major by the end of the first term of the senior year.

Each semester the English Department offers approximately 25 upper-division courses for majors. Some are organized in terms of historical periods of English and American literature (Restoration and 18th-century Drama, Early American Literature, African-American Literature); some are organized according to literary type (Modern Drama, 19th-Century Novel); and some are by author (Chaucer, Shakespeare); others are arranged thematically (Tragic View, Southern Literature); some deal with aesthetics and criticism (Feminist Literary Theory); and others concentrate upon the art of writing (Composition, Creative Writing: Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, and Expository Writing).

The English Department Honors Program is designed for selected members of the senior class who have demonstrated excellence and an aptitude for independent research in their studies of English or American literature. Candidates for honors in English, who are admitted to the program in their junior year, must take a course in literary theory and a seminar, in addition to writing a two-semester senior English honors thesis. Admission to honors is by invited application to the English Honors Committee in the junior year. Students may be members of both the College Honors Program and the English Honors Program. Such students need write only one English thesis for both programs. Tutorials, seminars, and lecture courses on special topics are also offered, as well as a range of courses cross-listed with the College’s concentrations in Women’s Studies, African-American Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, and International Studies.

Sigma Tau Delta — the national English honor society, was established at Holy Cross in 1987. Eligible English majors are elected to membership and actively engage in the promotion of English studies.

Advanced Placement Credit - Students with AP credit in English are not awarded credit in the major or advanced placement in the English curriculum.