PrincetonUniversity
Class of 2004 Sophomore Academic Handbook

prev   contents   next

Department of English

The Department of English offers a variety of critical approaches to major texts in British and American literature. In nine departmental courses, and in junior and senior independent work, students explore a range of literary periods and genres, learning at the same time a variety
of methods for the interpretation of literature. While the distribution requirements ensure coverage of traditional periods, courses in subjects such as feminist criticism, literary theory, postmodernism, and African-American literature testify to the wide-ranging interests of the department and its students.

English majors have the opportunity to focus their studies in one of five programs within the major: English and American literature generally; English literature and comparative contexts; American literature and American studies; creative writing; and theater and dance. Through a combination of specialized courses and directed independent work, students in each of these programs tailor a course of study to their personal interests. Students may also take the opportunity to participate in Princeton's Study Abroad Program.

The general prerequisite for entering the department is completion of English 201 and 202, which survey the scope of English literature from the fourteenth through the twentieth centuries. These courses are designed to provide students with the background necessary to pursue more advanced work in literature. The junior seminar (English 300) hones students' writing and analytical skills, introduces them to different approaches to literature, and leaves majors familiar with some of the issues that are crucial to the practice of literary criticism today.

For many majors, the culmination of their work in the department is the senior thesis, an independent project (usually of about 80 pages) that brings together the student's writing, critical, and research skills. Recent senior thesis topics have ranged from Shakespeare to Seamus Heaney, from Hemingway to Zora Neale Hurston.

Upon graduation, some seniors will pursue graduate education in the humanities, but many more will attend law, medical, and professional schools or immediately enter the work force. Their choices testify to the belief that English as a discipline of thought can prepare students for a wide variety of careers.

top