The Major and Minor
For Majors
Following a sophomore sequence that helps you develop fundamental skills essential to literary study and a pair of courses introducing literature’s historical traditions, you will have the opportunity to work with a faculty adviser to choose among a rich variety of electives. In your junior and seniors years, you will develop depth in one or more of these areas by taking a seminar on a topic that interests you. For all majors in the class of 2024 and beyond, we are introducing a new set of courses on Race, Blackness, and Language, which reflect our continued commitment to re-making the curriculum to fit the needs of the current century.
Major Requirements
After you declare the major (by contacting Marla DeRosa at marla.derosa@bc.edu) you’ll be assigned a departmental faculty advisor if English is your only major or your first declared major. The advisor will help you map out an academic program in line with your interests. If English is a second major, you will be assigned an informal departmental faculty advisor.
The major ordinarily consists of 30 credits (10 courses) beyond First-Year Writing Seminar (FWS) and Literature Core.
For students in the class of 2023
- 1 semester of Studies in Poetry (ENGL 2131)
- 1 semester of Studies in Narrative (ENGL 2133)
- 8 Additional courses, of which one must be a seminar**, comprised of the following
- 1 semester of medieval or early modern literature (pre-1700), which can be fulfilled by courses in either British or American literature.
- 1 semester of eighteenth- or nineteenth-century literature (pre-1900), which can be fulfilled by courses in either British or American literature.
- 1 additional course in EITHER medieval/early modern or eighteenth- or nineteenth-century literature (pre-1700 OR pre-1900), which can be fulfilled by courses in either British or American literature.
- 5 electives
- At least one of these courses must be a seminar. Seminars should be taken following Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative, ordinarily in the junior or senior year, and include all grad/undergrad courses offered in English, as well as any course with a seminar designation. Creative writing courses are excluded.
For students in the class of 2024 and beyond
- 1 semester of Studies in Poetry (ENGL 2131)
- 1 semester of Studies in Narrative (ENGL 2133)
- 8 Additional courses comprised of the following
- 1 semester of medieval or early modern literature (pre-1700), which can be fulfilled by courses in either British or American literature.
- 1 semester of eighteenth- or nineteenth-century literature (pre-1900), which can be fulfilled by courses in either British or American literature.
- 1 course designated as fulfilling the requirement Race, Blackness, and Language
- 5 electives
- At least one of these courses must be a seminar. Seminars should be taken following Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative, ordinarily in the junior or senior year, and include all grad/undergrad courses offered in English, as well as any course with a seminar designation. Creative writing courses are excluded.
Majors may also want to pursue a concentration within the major (such as American or Irish Studies), apply to the intensive Creative Writing Concentration, or pursue Honors as a senior.
English majors can receive credit for up to two courses (electives or distribution requirements) for each semester of study abroad in an approved program. Courses need to be approved by the Assistant to the Chair, Marla DeRosa. Email for an appointment: marla.derosa@bc.edu. Requirements ordinarily include detailed course descriptions or syllabi, a minimum of 11 pages of writing, and coursework based on textual analysis, either in English or the language of the host country.
Summer courses or evening courses taken through the Woods College of Advancing Studies and designated as ADEN do not count for Core credit or credit towards the major.
Race, Blackness, and Language
This requirement for all English majors is designed to encourage students to think about how the meaningfulness of literature emerges from the many forces shaping the world as we understand it, focusing on anti-black racism and racial difference more generally. Students will examine issues of race thinking and global relations of power through lenses of ethics, social justice, respect for human dignity, sustainability, and the politics of language use. The department requires a course in Race, Blackness, and Language in the belief that analyzing literature with these themes in mind stimulates critical thinking and broadens our imaginations.
Courses that meet this requirement will
- Contain readings that reflect on the ways in which ideas of race, blackness, and language have found expression in multiple literary traditions.
- Teach students to recognize how whiteness is a product of race thinking that is often concealed under universal categories and thus accepted as the human norm.
- Engage with these literatures as complex social, philosophical, and artistic texts in their own rights, not only as reactive responses to white, colonial, or Eurocentric thinking and aesthetics.
- Teach students to recognize institutional and disciplinary norms and practices that have historically excluded or marginalized the study of these literatures.
- Offer strategies for thinking through the current political moment as well as conceptualizing and historicizing relations of power.
For Minors
The Minor is designed to give you maximum flexibility to pursue your interests in the study of literature. You will take one of the sophomore sequence classes and one course focused on the historical traditions informing English-language literatures, both of which provide an important foundation in the development of your writing skills, in deliberate thinking about the quality of your attention to literary texts, and the relationship between history and the development of literary forms. After these two courses, you get to develop a sequence of four electives from the department’s rich offerings. These electives can include any topics that interest you, from a sampling of different kinds of courses to clusters of courses on topics or approaches that most interest you. For instance, you could take as many creative writing courses as you wanted or you could focus on courses organized around themes, such as those that meet our Race, Blackness, and Language designation.
Minor Requirements
The English minor is comprised of six courses (18 credits) beyond beyond First-Year Writing Seminar (FWS) and Literature Core.
These must include
- Either Studies in Poetry (ENGL 2131) or Studies in Narrative (ENGL 2133)
- A historical foundations course (pre-1700 or pre-1900)
- Four electives from the department offerings
We encourage minors to consider taking a seminar and a Race, Blackness, and Language course for one of their four electives.
Core and Woods College classes may not be counted toward the minor, though additional courses that fulfill the first two requirements may be counted as electives. Students may count up to two courses from study abroad toward the minor, though they must be approved by the department.
For questions about the English minor, or to declare, please contact Marla DeRosa at marla.derosa@bc.edu.
The Sophomore Sequence: Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative
Two courses serve as gateways to the English major, and at least one of these courses must be taken for the minor: Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative. Students are encouraged to take Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative at the beginning of their course of study to prepare them for upper-level English classes.
These courses focus on preparing students to read and write critically about two major literary forms: poetry and narrative. The emphases in both courses is on improving the quality of your attention to literary texts and on accelerating your development as a writer.
Studies in Poetry
In this class, you will learn to analyze poetry across a wide range of genres, styles, and historical periods. Studies in Poetry will also develop your critical writing skills, preparing you for upper-division English courses.
Course Objectives
- To be introduced to and learn to interpret a variety of poetic forms and techniques
- To learn to analyze poems with reference to the social contexts—historical, geographic, and otherwise—in which they have been composed and transmitted
- To continue to hone students’ abilities in close reading, writing about literature, and oral discussion in the classroom
Studies in Narrative
In this class, you will learn to analyze narrative prose across a wide range of genres, styles, and historical periods. Studies in Narrative will also develop your critical writing skills, preparing you for upper-division English courses.
Course Objectives
- To be introduced to and learn to interpret a variety of narrative forms and techniques
- To learn to analyze narratives with reference to the social contexts—historical, geographic, and otherwise—in which they have been composed and transmitted
- To continue to hone students’ abilities in close reading, writing about literature, and oral discussion in the classroom
Seminar
Once you’ve taken Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative as a major, you are eligible to enroll in a seminar. Seminars are smaller, discussion-based classes that foster a close-knit sense of community and intellectual risk-taking. The department’s seminars include a wide range of courses that allow for student-led discussions, projects, and conversations.
In some seminars students develop podcasts; in others, students look closely at the work of a single author over a career or they might work collaboratively to annotate unpublished texts.
The department’s seminars fall into two categories, both of which allow you to fulfill the seminar requirement
- Exploratory Seminars, which often emphasize project- and process-based learning
- Graduate/Undergraduate Seminars, which delve deeply into a topic or question and often—though not always—culminate in a research paper that contributes to a critical conversation. We encourage students interested in writing an Honors Thesis or applying to graduate school to consider enrolling in a mixed Graduate/Undergraduate seminar.
All English majors are eligible for all listed seminars, you should follow your interests in choosing the seminar that is the best fit. This is not a requirement for minors, but minors are encouraged to consider taking a seminar as one of their electives.