The Undergraduate Program: Majoring in English

The English Department offers a coherent and comprehensive program of literary studies leading to the B.A. degree. Academically oriented, the major provides a strong program for students desiring a broad liberal arts background and thorough preparation for students planning to pursue graduate degrees. The English major provides the opportunity to develop skills in writing and in critical thinking.

Requirements for the Major

The following classes are required for the English major. Read below for a more detailed description.

                PREPARATION FOR THE MAJOR

• English Literature: English 20, 30, and 40.
• Foreign Language
• Option 1: 5th quarter of the language.
• Option 2: 3rd quarter of the language AND 5 literature in translation courses.

 

 
 
 

UPPER DIVISION MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
40 Upper Division English Units distributed as follows......
 

• Shakespeare: English 117A, or 117B or 118.
• American Literature: English 136A or 136B or 136C.
• Chaucer: English 152A.
• Milton: English 162.
• Senior Seminar: English 197.
• Upper Division Electives: 20 units of UD English courses (except 106-110, 117E).

All courses for the major MUST be taken for a letter grade, including courses applied to the major from other departments, with one exception: In OPTION 1 of the Foreign Language Requirement, quarters 1-4 may be taken P/NP and in OPTION 2, quarters 1 and 2 may be taken P/NP

        English 20, 30, 40: Introduction to English Literature

20: The Literature of the English Renaissance
30: English Literature of the Restoration and Eighteenth Century
40: English Literature of the Nineteenth Century
This three quarter survey sequence is designed to give you an introduction to British literature and literary history. Plan to take these lower division classes as early as possible, preferably in your sophomore year, since many upper division courses in the major build on the foundations established here. It is best, though not necessary, to take 20, 30, and 40 in order.

        Foreign Language Requirement

The ability to read a foreign literature in its original language gives valuable insights into the operations of the English language itself and into the difference between reading a translation and the original. There are two ways to satisfy the foreign language requirement for the English major: Option 1 or Option 2. Option 1 is the recommended way to fulfill this requirement for all majors. OPTION 1 develops the ability to read in a foreign language (French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Greek or Latin) at an advanced undergraduate level (as defined below). Students who intend graduate work in literature are well advised to take Option 1. Consult any graduate schools you are considering to determine whether specific languages are required. In addition, see the Academic Program Adviser to discuss this choice. Also, election to Phi Beta Kappa requires a foreign language at an advanced level. The department does not require language courses as such, but the ability to read at the prescribed level. Consult the General Catalog and language departments for information on placement examinations.

OPTION ONE:  The requirement reads as follows: Completion of the fifth quarter (or its equivalent) in any foreign language taught at UCSB. Other foreign languages may be considered by petition. The language classes may be taken P/NP through the fourth quarter, but the final quarter must be taken for a letter grade. OPTION 2, for students who do not find it feasible to continue studying the language itself, strengthens the major with the study of foreign literature in translation taught by those who are expert in the original language.
 

OPTION TWO:  The requirement reads as follows: A. Completion of the third quarter (or its equivalent) in any foreign language taught at UCSB; and B. Completion of five upper division foreign literature in translation courses to be selected from the list available in the department office. The final language course and all five literature in translation courses must be taken for a letter grade. If you declared the major in 1989-90, 1990-91 or 1991-92, then only three courses are required.

UPPER DIVISION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR

Forty units of upper division course work are required as follows:

Shakespeare

Either English 117A: Shakespeare, Poems and Earlier Plays, OR English 117B: Shakespeare, Later Plays, OR English 118: Shakespeare: Selected Poems and Plays;

136A: Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century American Literature, OR 136B: Nineteenth-Century American Literature, OR 136C: Twentieth-Century American Literature;

 English 162: Milton;

 English 197: Upper Division Seminar.

This seminar is designed as a small class limited to fifteen students in which there will be opportunity for in-depth discussion, library research, and the writing of a substantial paper utilizing a more advanced level of scholarship. The seminar should ideally be taken at the end of your junior year. Because enrollment is strictly limited to fifteen per class, do not wait until the last quarters of your senior year.

The remaining twenty units are to be upper division English electives.

Attempt to achieve a balance among kinds of courses--single authors, surveys, themes, genres, etc. Courses taken in another department, except for those transferred from a double major, are not acceptable substitutions.

English 108, 108T and 117E do not apply for electives toward the major.