Our general English major has two objectives: provide our students with a common core of literary experience and expertise, and offer them opportunity to shape a course of study suited to their personal interests. By offering flexible requirements, we encourage students to devise a path through coursework that has an intelligent rationale. If students have a special interest in writing, for example, they can take the minimum number of literature courses (five) and complete the major by taking offerings in fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry writing; if students' interests are in literary studies, they can focus on offerings in that arena; or they can match up courses from different arenas in the department (say, literature and writing courses focused on poetry). All the undergraduate courses we offer in the English department are open to English majors so students can sample a range of courses in literature, linguistics, creative or nonfiction writing, and English teaching, according to how particular interests may change and grow.
The guiding principle of the general English major, then, is that it is open and liberal by design. It allows students to sample a variety of courses in order to study the operation of language from many perspectives.
Undergraduate students in the English Department at the University of New Hampshire have many options as they advance to degree. They can choose to complete a general English major or opt to follow one of several specialized tracks: English Literature, Journalism, English Teaching, and Linguistics. I. All undergraduate English majors acquire the same core skills. These include:
- Proficiency in analytical writing, critical thinking, and public-speaking.
- Knowledge of important literary genres and subgenres
- Fluency in literary terminology,
- A broad understanding of British-and-American literature, from the medieval period in England and the moment of first contact in America to the present day.
- Demonstrated proficiency in writing an analytical essay that offers a sophisticated close-reading or explication of a literary text. This essay will have a clear thesis and proceed in a logical fashion, with interpretive claims supported by evidence from the text.
- Demonstrated proficiency in literary research and in writing an extended thesis-driven research paper in which sources are correctly and responsibly cited.
- Demonstrated understanding of how to read across the color line in the US and /or how to analyze literary works written in English from outside the UK and the US--from India, Africa, and the Caribbean, for example.
