English

Overview

Courses in the English department engage students in the close critical study of English-language literature in an international and interdisciplinary context, encompassing works from British, American, and other Anglophone literary traditions. In keeping with Occidental’s mission values of equity and excellence, students in English courses read the work of both long-studied writers and of those previously excluded from traditional literary history. Majors will 1) become proficient in close reading and focused discussion of individual literary works, 2) learn to situate those works in their generative historical, geographic and social contexts, and 3) become skilled in interpreting them through a range of theories and methods that characterize the evolving discipline of literary studies. Non-majors will develop their capacity to engage in close reading, critical thinking, and analytical writing. Most courses in the department are seminars or combinations of lecture and discussion. This pedagogical orientation underscores the department’s strong emphasis on faculty-student interaction and the collaborative production of knowledge. Introductory survey courses (ENGL 287, ENGL 288, ENGL 289) expose students to the breadth and diversity of Anglophone literary history. Upper division courses (ENGL 300 level classes) develop sophisticated skills in literary analysis, interpretive writing, and oral presentation. Methodological and research-oriented seminars in the sophomore, junior and senior years (ENGL 290, ENGL 390 and ENGL 490) direct students in the practice of original independent analysis that places primary textual interpretation in dialogue with secondary critical research.

Major Requirements

A major requires a minimum of eleven courses (44 units).

COURSEWORK

Historical Surveys

Seminars

Group 1 - Medieval and Renaissance Literature

Students must select one course numbered:

Group 2 - 18th and 19th Century Literature

Students must select one course numbered:

Group 3 - 20th and 21st Century Literature

Students must select one course numbered:

Group 4 - Emergent Literature

Students must select one course that focuses on literature previously excluded from the canon:

Electives

CREATIVE WRITING EMPHASIS

Students majoring in English may elect to take additional courses in order to complete a Creative Writing Emphasis, a special track that provides a strong background in both literary history and creative writing skills. 

Students choosing this emphasis will take a total of 13 courses.

Historical Surveys

Seminars

Students must complete the courses listed below:

Three Upper Division Electives

Choose from categories noted above as Groups I, II, III and IV (only one of these may be a 200-level course).

Creative Writing Electives

Students must complete four Creative Writing Electives. At least two of these must be from the English department. Other departments and programs that have offered writing courses include French, Media Arts and Culture, Theater, and Writing and Rhetoric. Students interested in pursuing the Creative Writing Emphasis must work out a careful program in consultation with their adviser and the department chair.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT POLICY

English majors who have completed the AP test in English with a score of 4 or 5 may petition the department chair to be allowed to graduate with 10 courses (including all required courses and Group I-IV categories) rather than the 11 specified above.

SECOND-STAGE WRITING REQUIREMENT

Students majoring in English satisfy the second-stage writing requirement by successfully completing ENGL 390 in the junior year and receiving a notation of "Satisfactory" for its writing component.

COMPREHENSIVE REQUIREMENT

All majors must take ENGL 490 (Senior Seminar) in the fall of the senior year, where they will design, develop, and complete a significant project involving literary research and analysis. The project will result in a substantial essay of original interpretation and pertinent secondary research, and a formal conference-style oral presentation at the Senior Symposium held during the spring semester. See the department website for more details.

HONORS

Honors may be awarded to graduating seniors who demonstrate excellence in course work and who successfully develop their comps project into an honors thesis. To be eligible, students must have a 3.65 grade point average in courses taken toward the major and an overall 3.5 grade point average. Qualified students will be invited to apply for permission to proceed to honors by the department prior to the beginning of the spring semester. Upon review by department faculty, students whose applications are accepted will register for ENGL 499 (Independent Study), for two units in the spring semester. They will complete a thesis to be orally defended before a faculty committee during the spring semester. Honors candidates are encouraged to take ENGL 370, preferably in the junior year. For further details, consult with your department advisor.

Minor Requirements

Five courses or 20 units.

COURSEWORK

Historical Surveys

Students must select two courses from the list below:

Three additional electives

Any three ENGL courses, two of which must be taken at the 300-level

Courses

English Courses

Faculty

Regular Faculty

Warren Montag, chair

Brown Family Professor in Literature, English

B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.A., Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School

Daniel Fineman

Professor, English

B.A., Franklin and Marshall College; M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University

James Ford III

Associate Professor, English

B.A., Morehouse College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Notre Dame

Ross Lerner

Assistant Professor, English

B.A., Haverford College; M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University

Leila Neti

Associate Professor, English

B.A., University of California, Los Angeles; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Irvine

Eric Newhall

Professor, English; Advisory Committee, American Studies

A.B., Occidental College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

John Swift

Professor, English

B.A., Middlebury College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Virginia

Raul Villa

Professor, English; Advisory Committee, American Studies; Advisory Committee, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.A., Yale University; M.A., University of Michigan; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz

Jean Wyatt

Professor, English

A.B., Pomona College; Ph.D., Harvard University

On Special Appointment

Zinzi Clemmons

Part-Time Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, English

B.A., Brown University; M.F.A., Columbia University