English

William Patrick Day, Professor of English and Cinema Studies; Acting Chair

T. Scott McMillin, Associate Professor of English; Department Chair

Laura Baudot, Visiting Assistant Professor of English

Jennifer Bryan, Associate Professor of English
Jan Cooper, John Charles Reid Assoc. Professor of Rhetoric & Composition and English

Jed Deppman, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and English

Ingrid Geerken, Visiting Assistant Professor of English
Phyllis Gorfain, Professor of English
DeSales Harrison, Assistant Professor of English
John Nelson Hobbs, Associate Professor of English
Gillian Johns, Associate Professor of English
Nicholas Root Jones, Professor of English; Assoc. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Anuradha Dingwaney Needham, Donald R. Longman Professor of English
John Olmsted, Professor of English
Jeffrey Pence, Associate Professor of English and Cinema Studies
Geoffrey Pingree, Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and English
Leonard A. Podis, Professor of Rhetoric and Composition and English
Anne Trubek, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition and English
Carol Tufts, Associate Professor of English

David L. Walker, Professor of English
Sandra Abelson Zagarell, Donald R. Longman Professor of English

The curriculum of the Department of English is intended to aid students in developing methods for critical interpretation, to acquaint students with representative works in important periods of English, American, and Anglophone literature, and to introduce students to the main literary genres. Further information about the department, faculty and courses is available online (www.oberlin.edu/english).

Advanced Placement.

Students will receive three hours of Oberlin College credit for a score of 5 on the Advanced Placement Examination in English Literature/Composition or English Language/Composition, and will be eligible for entry into introductory (200-level) courses in English.

First-Year Seminars.

Although these small Writing Intensive seminars do not count as part of the English major, they are nonetheless highly recommended as a preliminary to courses in English. They focus on the essential skills of reading, analysis, writing, and discussion. Successful completion of any first-year seminar will count as prerequisite for introductory work in English, as will a Writing Intensive course in any other department, or certification of writing proficiency in any Writing Certification course in the Humanities division.

Courses Primarily for Non-Majors.

Lecture courses at the 100 level are intended primarily for non-majors and do not count for Writing Certification, nor for the major in English. Students hoping to do further work in English or literary study in general should normally begin work with a First-Year Seminar and proceed directly to 200-level courses.

Gateway and 200-Level Courses.

200-level courses in English serve as introductions to the major. All English courses above the 100 level are Writing Certification courses.

200-level courses cover a substantial body of texts, provide instruction in the conventions of genre, period, and region as appropriate, and give significant attention to fundamental issues and approaches in critical reading and writing.

Most 200-level courses are designated as Gateway courses, in which students will gain knowledge of approaches to literary study that are important to the discipline of English. The individual focus of each Gateway course is indicated more fully in the course descriptions below.

English majors are required to take two Gateway courses, and should consult with their advisors about making appropriate choices of the Gateway courses. Qualified non-majors are welcome in Gateway courses, as well. Normally, students not wishing to major in English but intending to go on to further work at the advanced level should take at least two 200-level courses, including one Gateway.

300-Level Courses.

Advanced (300-level) courses are primarily intended for English majors who have completed two Gateway courses and for other students who have completed at least two courses at the 200 level, including one Gateway course. Students in advanced courses further develop their approaches to literary study on a more focused topic in the discipline of English. These courses are smaller in size to facilitate more intensive work than the 200-level courses.

Senior Tutorials and Seminars.

English majors who have declared the major in spring of 2003 or later are required to enroll in a 400-level course to fulfill the major. A Senior Tutorial, a Senior Seminar, or admission to the Honors Program will fulfill this requirement (see below for Honors). Application for either the Tutorial or Seminar will be required of rising seniors in the second semester of the junior year.

Senior Tutorials allow students to pursue an individual critical project in a small group supervised by a faculty member whose areas of expertise may shape the projects directed. Tutorials are available only to senior English majors.

Senior Seminars offer students (1) an opportunity to focus on a common set of critical issues and works and (2) to conduct significant research leading to a term paper. If spaces remain in Senior Seminars after all senior English majors have been accommodated, they will be available, by application, to other qualified students.