The Department of English is in the process of finalizing plans to instigate major changes within its curriculum. The proposed changes are the result of a routine academic program review conducted during the last academic year. While a proposal has been drawn up by the department concerning key issues within the curriculum and the development of plans for future action, it must be approved by the College Curriculum Council before the changes can be made official.
One of the main changes proposed is changing the name of the concentration from "Literatures and Cultures in English" to the more traditional "English," with the intention of making the concentration more accessible and clear to students.
Academically, the new curriculum would require completion of three introductory courses: ENGL 0210: "Medieval and Early Modern Literatures and Cultures," ENGL 0410: "Enlightenment and the Rise of National Literatures and Cultures," and ENGL 0610: "Modern and Contemporary Literatures and Cultures." These mandatory courses would take the place of the previous area requirements.
"The idea is to have faculty in relatively small classes teaching broad-based courses for the concentration," hopefully devoting more resources towards these classes to create a more extensive foundation, said Kevin McLaughlin, professor of English and chair of the department. Within these courses, there will be a focus on analytical skills and a consideration of a range of literary texts from a broad historical spectrum, he said.
"At first I was apprehensive because of the potential for big classes," said Yuli Zhu '12, a concentrator brought in by the committee charged with considering potential changes. But "the three core courses are a good idea because it makes the curriculum more cohesive," she said.
Janet Zong '11, also brought in to provide a student perspective on the changes, agreed. "I think overall, the perceptions will be positive because they're incorporating issues that have been evident in the curriculum for a long time," she said. "It's obvious they're putting a lot of thought into the improvements based on issues raised by the concentration committee."
The department is also looking to introduce a number of senior seminars for concentrators, McLaughlin said, with "topics especially designed with English concentrators in mind."
Another potential change involves establishing nonfiction writing as a track, rather than a focus area, within the English concentration. The department is also considering the creation of an honors seminar and honors adviser in nonfiction writing and the elimination of the "four-course focus" from concentration requirements.
"What we're essentially trying to do with all of these changes is reinforce the structural aspects of the curriculum so that we make it possible to fulfill these goals of learning and gain a background in English literature," McLaughlin said.
According to the draft of the proposal for these requirements, the new concentration requirements will provide students with a "coherent sense of the history of literature written in English from the Anglo-Saxon period up to today," as well as critical writing and thinking skills.
If approved, these changes would go into effect in the fall semester of 2011.
