Mar 28, 2024  
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2013-14 
    
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2013-14 [Archived Catalog]

English Major (B.A.)


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Major code BA5231

College of Arts and Sciences
English Department
Ellis Hall 360
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: 740.593.2838
Fax: 740.593.2832
english.department@ohio.edu
http://www.english.ohiou.edu  

Beth Quitslund, director of undergraduate studies/contact person
 
 

Program Overview

With its emphasis on understanding the power and influence of literature written in diverse times and cultures, the study of English lies at the heart of a liberal arts education. The English major at Ohio University provides students with breadth of knowledge in their discipline as well as the opportunity to focus more specifically on distinct subfields within the wide spectrum of English studies. A set of core requirements, including genre and literary history courses, are designed to give all English majors a strong foundational comprehension of how literature evolves and changes over time. In addition to this core, the English major offers students a choice of four concentrations for intensive study: literary history; creative writing; cultures, rhetoric, and theory; and prelaw. Students may elect to compete two concentrations if they fulfill the requirements necessary for these tracks.

Literary History

Students choosing the literary history concentration engage in critical dialog with the traditions, conventions, and practices of British and American writing; through course of study, students discover how literature of different historical periods both represents the culture of its time and continues to mediate the ways in which readers experience their world. Along with developing a historical perspective on the different cultures of literary production, students perfect their skills at analytical reading and writing, thus preparing themselves to respond effectively to social, political, and philosophical questions and challenges.

Creative Writing

The concentration in creative writing permits students to engage with genres of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from the inside out, by generating and revising their own work as well as exploring closely how published work employs techniques to particular aesthetic effects. In addition, the course work provides a theoretical lens for the practice of writing. All students in the creative writing track participate in workshops which focus on the students’ understanding and construction of different literary forms; to achieve these goals, workshops emphasize the study of texts by established writers as well as students’ experimentation with their own creative processes. In this small group environment, creative writing students gain experience as sophisticated authors and responsible critics.

Cultures, Rhetoric, and Theory

Students choosing the concentration in cultures, rhetoric, and theory examine a variety of cultural texts and contexts–such as literary, linguistic, visual, and digital–in relation to issues of power and inequality embedded in language, rhetoric, and literary expression. Using multiple theoretical lenses, students in this track explore concepts such as race and class; nation and ethnicity; internal migration and immigration; gender and sexuality; and colonialism, postcolcolonialism, and transnationalism. The cultures, rhetoric, and theory concentration encourages students to apply literary and rhetorical analysis towards an understanding of the institutions and ideologies shaping human experience.

Prelaw

The prelaw concentration entails the same course-work and the same deeply analytical perspective as the literary history track. However, students choosing the prelaw concentration also expand their awareness of the relation between law and culture by taking at least three courses in complementary disciplines, including African American studies, communication studies, economics, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, and women’s and gender studies.
 

Admissions Information

Freshman/First-Year Admission

Enrollment in the English major entails no requirements beyond University admission requirements.

Change of Program Policy

For students currently enrolled at Ohio University, transferring into the English major requires a 2.0 GPA. Students choosing to transfer into the English major should contact the director of undergraduate studies in the English department for assistance. Students who wish to add English as a major in addition to another major program should seek assistance from the director of undergraduate studies; students with a second major outside the College of Arts and Sciences will be responsible for meeting the degree requirements of both the English major and the College of Arts and Sciences.

External Transfer Admission

For students currently enrolled at institutions other than Ohio University, transferring into the English major entails no requirements beyond University admission requirements. Students should contact the director of undergraduate studies in the English Department for assistance.
 

Opportunities Upon Graduation

Having developed strong skills in critical analysis and writing, graduates of the program in English are prepared to pursue a wide variety of career opportunities. The literary history concentration prepares students for employment in administration, advertising, public relations, personnel management, publishing, teaching, and research organization and presentation. Upon graduation, many literary history students also secure admission to business school, graduate school (usually M.A. and Ph.D. programs in English), law school, publishing institutes, or schools of library and information science. Students graduating with a concentration in creative writing follow many of the same career paths as those with a concentration in literary history; moreover, creative writing graduates also secure admission to M.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. programs in literature/creative writing, and work toward employment in higher education.

Graduates of the concentration in prelaw usually gain admission to law schools, both in-state and around the nation. Cultures, rhetoric, and theory graduates find themselves especially prepared for employment in institutions requiring employees to have an understanding of and sensitivity to multi-cultural or global issues and populations. These careers include employment in national, state, and local government agencies; non-profit community agencies; political action agencies; political action organizations; international corporations of non-governmental organizations (NGOs); academic administration; public relations; personnel management; teaching diverse or underserved communities (Peace Corps, Teach for America); and research presentation.
 

Requirements

 

Universitywide Graduation Requirements


To complete this program, students must meet all Universitywide graduation requirements .

College-Level Requirements for the College of Arts and Sciences


View the A&S - College Level Requirements (A&S CLR) .

English Department Core Requirements


Genre Courses


Complete the following courses:

British or American Literature before 1800 Course


Complete one of the following courses:

British or American Literature after 1800 Course


Complete one of the following courses:

Senior Seminar


Complete one of the following courses:

Concentrations, complete one of the following:


Literary History Concentration


In addition to the Department Core requirements, complete the following requirements. Courses used to satisfy the Core cannot be used to satisfy concentration requirements.

Literary History Requirements


British Literature before 1660 Course


Complete one of the following courses. Only one course from ENG 3010 and ENG 3020 may be used to fulfill historical period requirements. If one is used to satisfy the Core, the other may not be used here.

British or American Literature 1660-1900 Course


Complete one of the following courses:

British or American Literature since 1900 Course


Complete one of the following courses:

English Language or Literary Theory Course


Complete one of the following courses:

Literary History Electives


Complete 9 hours of ENG courses at the 3000- or 4000-level, excluding ENG 3***J, ENG 4510, and ENG 4520.

Creative Writing Concentration


In addition to the Department Core requirements, complete the following requirements. Courses used to satisfy the Core cannot be used to satisfy concentration requirements.

Creative Writing Form and Theory


Complete one course from the following:

Creative Writing Electives


Complete 12 hours of ENG courses at the 3000- or 4000-level, excluding ENG 3***J, ENG 4510, and ENG 4520.

Cultures, Rhetoric and Theory Concentration


In addition to the Department Core requirements, complete the following requirements. Courses used to satisfy the Core cannot be used to satisfy concentration requirements.

Theory


Complete one of the following courses:

Cultures, Rhetoric, and Theory Courses


Complete at least nine hours, with at least one course from each of the following areas:

Cultures, Rhetoric and Theory Electives


Complete 12 hours of ENG courses at the 3000- or 4000-level, excluding ENG 3***J, ENG 4510, and ENG 4520.

Prelaw Concentration


In addition to the Department Core requirements, complete the following requirements. Courses used to satisfy the Core cannot be used to satisfy concentration requirements.

Literary History Requirements


British Literature before 1660 Course


Complete one of the following courses. Only one course from ENG 3010 and ENG 3020 may be used to fulfill historical period requirements. If one is used to satisfy the Core, the other may not be used here.

British or American Literature 1660-1900 Course


Complete one of the following courses:

British or American Literature since 1900 Course


Complete one of the following courses:

English Language or Literary Theory Course


Complete one of the following courses:

Prelaw Electives


Complete 9 hours of ENG courses at the 3000- or 4000-level, excluding ENG 3***J, ENG 4510, and ENG 4520.

Prelaw Extradepartmental Electives


Complete 9 hours from the following:

Preparation for Law


If you plan to enter law school after earning an undergraduate degree, it is prudent to choose a major that reflects your true academic interest. Law schools draw students from a variety of majors, and history has proven to be one of the most successful in launching students toward successful careers in law. This is because our courses provide an understanding of the context within which the western legal tradition emerged.  They explain the impact that laws and courts have had on shaping society and, conversely, how societal change has reshaped legal practice. As critically the habits of a historian teach students to read and contextextualize evidence, to consider multiple perspectives, and to frame and express arguments, skills that numerous lawyers and administrators of law schools suggest are the closest approximation of legal practice that can be simulated in an undergraduate curriculum.   

Additional information about the history department’s prelaw program is available at:
www.ohio.edu/history/undergraduate/prelaw.html.

In addition to our diverse array of history courses, you are advised to use your general electives to take other courses helpful in enhancing your analytical abilities. Those may include courses from English composition and literature, American literature, political science, economics, sociology, philosophy (include ethics and logic), accounting, psychology, and a foreign language. Courses in speech, and training in expression, as well as activities that develop the capacity for independent thought and action, are recommended.

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that to enter law school you must be able to show possession of an undergraduate degree from an approved college if you wish to take the Ohio Bar Examination. Law schools in the State of Ohio require the degree of all entering students, regardless of the state in which they plan to take the bar examination. More general informaton regarding prelaw can be found at: www,cas.ohiou.edu/undergrad/cat/PreLaw.asp.

English Hours Requirement


Complete a total of 39 semester credit hours of ENG coursework, including all of the requirements below.

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