English
Jay Dickson
The novel, British modernism, Victorian literature, queer studies, postcolonial studies.
Maureen Harkin
Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British narrative, the sentimental novel, aesthetic theory, spatial studies.
Nathalia King
Rhetorical and narrative theory, the novel, autobiography, gender studies, creative writing.
Robert S. Knapp
Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, literary theory.
Laura Leibman
Early American literature and culture, American poetry, poetics and ethnopoetics, Native American literature and culture, postcolonial theory, gender theory, American studies.
Michael Mirabile
The modern novel, modern criticism, critical theory.
Nicholas Moschovakis
Shakespeare, poetry, literature and religion, Renaissance humanism and classical imitation, prison literature, twentieth-century American drama.
Roger J. Porter
Modern drama, modern fiction, Shakespeare, autobiography as a literary form, nonfiction prose.
Peter Rock
(See Creative Writing.)
Pancho Savery
African American literature; American literature and cultural history; modern and contemporary drama, poetry, and fiction; creative writing; American Indian fiction.
Maxine Scates
(See Creative Writing.)
Gail Berkeley Sherman
Medieval English literature, gender studies, poetics of biblical narrative.
Ellen Keck Stauder
Modern poetry, Victorian literature, prosody, literature and the arts.
Lisa M. Steinman
Modern and contemporary poetry, creative writing, Romanticism, eighteenth-century poetry.
Crystal Williams
(See Creative Writing.)
In each academic year, the department offers at least 12 courses at
the upper-division level. Among these are two junior seminars
(intended principally for majors) and courses in American and
British literature in various genres from the fourteenth to the
twentieth century. Some courses are listed under general rubrics
such as “Studies in Shakespeare” or “Poetry and History.” (Students
may register for more than one course under the same rubric,
provided that the subject matter differs.) Courses in the catalog
not offered in the current academic year will normally be offered
in one of the next two academic years.
In consultation with their academic advisers, students majoring in
English should plan to take courses from a range of genres, topics,
and periods within the department. Students may also include in the
major one course in creative writing or one course in translation
given in other departments within the Division of Literature and
Languages.
Requirements for the Major
1. Two 200-level English courses in different genres (Literature
266, when offered, may be used to fulfill this English department
requirement, as well); one semester of the junior seminar; at least
three other 300- or 400-level English courses, one of which may be
in creative writing or literature in translation; English 470. One
of the English courses aside from the junior seminar and English
470 must be in literature prior to 1700.
2. Each student must pass a junior qualifying examination before
beginning the thesis. The qualifying exam is generally taken
between the third and fourth weeks of April in the spring semester
of the junior year, although they are offered also at the beginning
of each semester. The exam usually consists of three parts, the
first two involving questions about a piece of fiction and a
critical or theoretical essay (both of which are handed out to be
read before taking the exam). There is generally also a question
about a poem or poems, copies of which are sometimes not available
in advance. Students are given a weekend over which to work on the
qualifying exam, although no more than six hours are to be spent
writing on the examination questions.
3. Departmental courses are open to freshmen only with the consent
of the instructor. This will be permitted only on very rare
occasions. Students wishing to enroll in a particular course and
lacking the prerequisite for it should consult with their adviser
and the course instructor.
The department recommends that all majors take at least one course
in each of the principal literary genres: poetry, drama, and
fiction. 200-level courses are intended primarily but not
exclusively for sophomores. Literature 266 may be used to fulfill
this requirement.
