English

Bachelor of Arts

Claire Gleitman, Associate Professor and Chair

The English curriculum provides a broad chronological study of Western literature from ancient to modern, as well as concentrated study in British and American literature. In cooperation with the College's Center for Teacher Education, it also provides a program through which prospective secondary school teachers can apply for New York State teaching certification upon graduation.

Since departmental requirements and course offerings often change between catalog printings, students should be aware that current information concerning the English major can be obtained from the student's adviser, from the chairperson of the department, or from the departmental secretary. Each semester the department publishes detailed descriptions of literature courses planned for the following semester in the Humanities and Sciences Supplement.

Requirements for Honors in English

Students with a sufficiently high grade point average in all their courses receive their degree with College honors. In addition, students who fulfill the appropriate departmental requirements graduate with honors in their major. To qualify to pursue honors in English, a student must have received a grade of A- or above in at least three English courses, two of which must be at level 3 or 4 and/or be required for the major. Detailed requirements for the honors project are available from the departmental secretary. In summary, they are as follows:

1. Successful application to candidacy by fulfillment of prerequisites, support for the project from a faculty mentor, and formal submission of a letter of application to the department chairperson.

2. Successful completion of a course of independent study with the mentor, which will involve completion of an extensive annotated bibliography in the candidate's chosen field, a prospectus of 1,000-1,500 words describing the thesis he or she aims to write, and an oral examination to determine the candidate's preparedness for the next stage.

3. Successful completion of a second course of independent study with the mentor, during which the student will write the thesis --- usually a long essay written under supervision of the mentor and read by a committee of three faculty members.

Students who wish to earn departmental honors are advised to inform the chairperson as early in their college careers as possible so that they can ascertain well in advance appropriate courses, readings, and faculty sponsors for the project.

Requirements for the Major in English --- B.A.

Credits in the major

307-11300	Introduction to Poetry	3
307-21900	Shakespeare	3
	Three of the Periods of Literature courses: 307-13100, 307-23200, 307-27100, 307-27200, 307-38100	9
	Two of the remaining two Periods of Literature courses or designated substitutes (a list is available in the department)	6
	Electives, of which 9 credits must be at level 3 or 4	15
	Total, in the major	36

Of the courses counted toward the 36 required credits, no more than 12 credits shall be (1) in any one period of literature or (2) in comparative literature and literature in translation (taught by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures)

	Electives	84
	Total, B.A. in English	120

All English majors are also required to complete a foreign language through the intermediate level or demonstrate equivalent proficiency as part of their major requirements.

Requirements for the Minor in English

307-11300	Introduction to Poetry	3
307-21900	Shakespeare	3
	Level-3-4 courses	9
	Literature electives	6
	Total	21

Of the courses counted toward the 21 required credits, no more than 6 credits shall be in any one period. Students who wish to declare the English minor must do so, at the latest, in the semester previous to the semester in which they graduate.

Requirements for English, B.A. with Teaching Option

The program requirements below are for students who will graduate and apply for New York State teaching certification on or after February 2, 2004. Entering first-year students in fall 2000 and thereafter will complete the following program.

Any transfer student entering the college in the 2002-2003 academic year, who intends to graduate and apply for New York teaching certification on or before February 2, 2004 will meet the requirements for the B.A. in English with Teaching Option found in the 2001-2002 Ithaca College Undergraduate Catalog, page 124.

Credits in the major

307-11300	Introduction to Poetry	3
307-21900	Shakespeare	3
	Three of the Periods of Literature courses: 307-13100, 307-23200, 307-27100, 307-27200, 307-38100	9
	Two of the remaining two Periods of Literature courses or designated substitutes (a list is available in the department)	6
	Electives, of which 9 credits must be at level 3 or 4	15
	Total in the major	36

Of the courses counted toward the 36 required credits, no more than 12 credits shall be (1) in any one period of literature or (2) in comparative literature and literature in translation (taught by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures). All English majors are also required to complete a foreign language through the intermediate level or demonstrate equivalent proficiency as part of their major requirements.

Core education requirements Credits

327-21910	Elements of Tutoring	3
312-20100	Technology for the Middle/Secondary School Teacher	2
327-10100	Literacy Education for the Middle/Secondary School Teacher	2
620-23900	Educating Children with Special Needs	2
620-22900	Second Language Acquisition: Its Nature and Meaning for Educators	2
330-21010	Educational Psychology	3
395-34000	Social Foundations of Education	3
327-30810	Pedagogy and Practice across the Disciplines	3
327-31110	Pedagogy and Practice for the English Teacher	3
327-41210	Seminar on the Practical Issues of Teaching	3
327-49810	Professional Semester in Education	12
	Total core education requirements	38

Additional requirements

· All teaching option students must successfully complete a year of college-level study in a language other than English. All English majors are required to complete a foreign language through the intermediate level or demonstrate equivalent proficiency as part of their major requirements.

· All teaching option students must successfully complete a writing course at the 106 level or above.

· All teaching option students must successfully complete the second-year review and maintain a minimum 2.75 GPA in their subject. If a student receives an unsuccessful review or a review with stipulations, the student must participate in and successfully pass a second review the following year. Unsuccessful reviews and reviews with stipulations will be accompanied by a written statement outlining what must be done before the second review is completed.

· Students must earn a grade of B or better in 327-30810 and 327-31110 to qualify for student teaching. A grade of B- does not qualify.

· Professional Semester in Education and the Seminar on the Practical Issues of Teaching constitute a full course load during the student teaching semester. No additional courses may be taken.

· All candidates for initial certification must successfully complete all three sections of the New York State Teacher Certification Exam: the liberal arts and sciences test, the assessment of teaching skills-written, and the content area exam.

· The student's department chair and the coordinator of teacher education must approve any exceptions to the above requirements.

	Electives	46
	Total, B.A. in English with teaching option	120

Minor in Comparative Literature

21 credits in minor (of which 9 credits must be level 3 or 4)

General literature

A total of 6 credits selected from the following (only one may be an "Introduction")

307-10700	Introduction to Literature
307-11000	Introduction to Fiction
307-13100	Ancient Literature
307-23200	Medieval Literature
307-27100	Renaissance Literature
307-36500	Studies in the Novel
307-38200	Modern Literature I
307-38300	Modern Literature II
307-41000	Seminar in Medieval English Literature
307-43000	Seminar in the English Renaissance
307-48000	Studies in Literary Criticism	6

The following European literature courses

308-31200	French Literature in Translation
309-15200	German Literature in Translation
318-26600	Spanish/Latin American Literature in Translation	9

(Note: Students proficient in a foreign language may substitute 3 credits of literature in the foreign language.)

One of the following British literature courses

307-21600	Contemporary British Fiction
307-21900	Shakespeare
307-27200	The Enlightenment (1660-1770)
	Any level-3 or 4 course in British literature (see English department course listing for courses currently offered)
	Total, British literature	3

One of the following American literature courses

307-10500	Introduction to American Literature
307-31900	Great American Writers before 1890
307-32000	Great American Writers after 1890
307-37000	American Poetry
307-37200	Studies in American Literature
307-47000	Seminar in American Literature
	Total, American literature	3

Students with no prior college-level literature courses are advised to begin this minor with a level-1 introductory course. Courses taken for the comparative literature minor may not be counted toward the English major or minor, or toward the major or minor in modern languages and literatures.

Total, minor in comparative literature

21