English

Danielle C. Skeehan, Associate Professor of English; chair

Laura J. Baudot, Associate Professor of English and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Jennifer E. Bryan, Professor of English
William Patrick Day, Professor of Cinema Studies and English
DeSales Harrison, Professor of English
Wendy Beth Hyman, Professor of English
Asif Iqbal, Visiting Assistant Professor of English
Gillian Johns, Associate Professor of English
Sarah Jane Kerwin, Visiting Assistant Professor of English
Jeffrey S. Pence, Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and English
Harrod J. Suarez, Associate Professor of English
Natasha Tessone, Associate Professor of English
Carol Tufts, Associate Professor of English

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English, or the practice of literary study, is integral to the work of the humanities. Interpretation is integral to the work we do in the Department of English at Oberlin College.

For students who enroll in courses in the English department, the “literary” remains a crucial, but not the only, operative category of thought or object of study. Students will come to understand that literary study is more than textual analysis, but also a way of viewing the world, a set of transferable skills and practices, a capacity for creativity, and a heightened awareness of how all kinds of formal and cultural practices make their meanings. Reading texts is the center of what we do. Collectively, we attend not only to poetics, but also to the poetics of culture. Classes are organized, in other words, by animating questions that turn to a wide array of literary and non-literary objects to answer. Student inquiry revolves around making meaning, nourishing better thinking, cultivating effective communication, and assisting students in the making of meaningful lives.

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Departmental Policies

Advanced Placement Credit

The following score(s) will correspond to credit for the following course(s), fulfilling corresponding prerequisite requirements (if applicable) and counting toward total credits needed for graduation:

AP English Literature and Composition, 5 → ENGL 600 (one full course)
HL IB English; 5, 6, or 7 → ENGL 600 (one full course)

Note: Transfer credit received for ENGL 600 does not count toward the English major or the English minor.

Majors and Minors

Curriculum

Interpretation, the making of meaning through textual study, involves a mix of modes:

Examination: careful attention to the details of a text and its general nature
Explication: connecting details & contexts to create plausible meanings for a text
Extrapolation: connecting the meanings of a text to broader questions
Reflection: self-evaluation of one’s process of making meaning; further thought on the meanings being made

These modes do not necessarily occur sequentially; each interacts with the other, multiplying the possibilities for meaningful encounters with texts. The course offerings of the Department of English represent the numerous ways in which these modes of interpretation can be practiced, with each level of the curriculum emphasizing a particular mode but also its connection to interpretation as a whole.

The English department welcomes students who are not majors into its advanced courses. The expectations of skills in interpretation and written expression increase at each level, and students should balance their interest in a topic with their sense of readiness for a course’s demands.

First-Year Seminar Program

First-year seminars, which are small and often carry the Writing Intensive attribute, do not count towards the English major or minor but are nonetheless highly recommended.

100-Level Courses

Emphasize Examination; introduce students to different types of texts and interpretive practices.
Are courses primarily for non-majors
- The English department offers several 100-level courses intended to serve a general audience interested in learning about literature from topical approaches. Such courses do not normally carry the Writing Intensive attribute.

200-Level Courses

Emphasize Explication; identification of significant textual elements, explanation of what they mean in different contexts, connection of text, and contexts to create meaning.
Most English courses above the 100-level carry either the Writing Intensive or the Writing Advanced attribute.

300-Level Courses

Emphasize Extrapolation; drawing larger ideas, questions, and themes from a text; implications of a text’s meanings in other contexts; application of interpretation to other issues.
These courses are smaller in size to facilitate more intensive work than the 200-level courses.

400-Level Courses

Emphasize Reflection on the interpretive process, connecting different modes of interpretation, further application of interpretation.
Senior tutorials allow students to pursue an individual 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 an opportunity to focus on a common set of critical issues and works, and to conduct significant research leading to a substantial final project. If spaces remain in senior seminars after all senior English majors have been accommodated, they will be available, by application, to other qualified students.