4. Course Objectives
At the end of this course, you should be able to
- Deeply and critically read complex literary and academic texts
- Write college-level essays on personal and professional topics, building on the foundation of standard English grammar and usage that you developed in Basic Comp and/or Seminar in Thinking and Writing.
- Use textual evidence to support your own original claims about issues raised in the readings, without dismissing or oversimplifying views which differ from yours
- Demonstrate the ability to engage intellectually with peers in both formal and informal environments
- Write a college-level research paper that appropriately uses primary and secondary sources
The path we'll be taking through the material will be a bit clearer if you keep in mind these goals, which the English faculty have determined for all English majors:
- Comprehend and interpret literature written in English, representing a wide range of genres, styles, and cultures.
- Demonstrate a knowledge of literary history, appraising texts from the traditional British and American canon as well as writings from popular culture and previously marginalized groups.
- Analyze a variety of literature in discussion and in the writing of critical essays.
- Collect and evaluate information from library and internet sources to compose critical research papers dealing with literature.
- Write and speak effectively in a wide range of formats appropriate to major emphasis: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, critical essay, and oral presentation.
- Discuss and assess significant issues arising in the discipline of English and relate them to the culture at large.
- Evaluate their own reading and writing practices, and examine their place in the evolving field of literary criticism and production
- [An eighth goal is specific to each track -- literature, creative writing, or new media journalism.]
The subject of the course was chosen with specific attention paid to meeting goals 1, 2, 3, and 6.
The method of teaching the material and evaluating student performance was chosen with specific attention paid to goals 4, 5, and 7.
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My quote is,"Great, you majored in English-but what else you got?" This has been my fear since day one of deciding that I would major in English because of what I want to do with my major. I have talked to Dr. Arnzen about it a few times and we are constantly trying to figure out what I should minor in because of this exact concern.