English BA

Major: English
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 181.0
Co-op Options: Three Co-op (Five years); One Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 23.0101
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 25-1123

Literary Studies Concentration

English majors who select the concentration in Literary Studies benefit from the full range of courses and opportunities that we offer. These include core courses taken by all our majors, offering a strong foundation in textual and rhetorical analysis along with writing skills.  

The concentration offers additional in-depth study of British, American and World literatures. We develop skills in literary and cultural analysis and in related research. We take full advantage of our location to tap into the rich opportunities in literary and dramatic arts in Philadelphia.  

For more information about this program, please visit the Department of English & Philosophy web page.

Degree Requirements

University Requirements
CIVC 101Introduction to Civic Engagement1.0
COOP 101Career Management and Professional Development *1.0
ENGL 101Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research3.0
or ENGL 111 English Composition I
ENGL 102Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing3.0
or ENGL 112 English Composition II
ENGL 103Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres3.0
or ENGL 113 English Composition III
UNIV H101The Drexel Experience1.0
UNIV H201Looking Forward: Academics and Careers1.0
College of Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum **
Developing Quantitative Reasoning **6.0-8.0
Two courses in MATH based on placement exams OR
Symbolic Logic I
Symbolic Logic II
Engaging the Natural World **6.0-8.0
Analyzing Cultures & Histories **6.0-8.0
Understanding Society & Human Behavior **6.0-8.0
Cultivating Global Competence **6.0-8.0
Perspectives in Diversity **3.0-4.0
Language Requirement8.0
Select two consecutive courses in a foreign language, reaching at least 103 ***
English Major Requirements
English Core Courses30.0
English Freshman Seminar
African American Literature
English Major Colloquium (1-credit course, take three times for 3 credits total)
Shakespeare
Topics in World Literature
Women and Literature
Senior Project in Literature
Threshold Concepts in Writing
Language Puzzles and Word Games: Issues in Modern Grammar
Creative Writing
Literature Surveys12.0
Select four for a minimum of 12.0 credits
Classical to Medieval Literature
Renaissance to the Enlightenment
Romanticism to Modernism
Survey of World Literature
Post-Colonial Literature
American Literature I
American Literature II
British Literature I
British Literature II
Authors and Periods3.0
Select one for a minimum of 3.0 credits
Period Studies
Major Authors
Literary Impacts3.0
Select one for a minimum of 3.0 credits
Literature & Science
Literature and Other Arts
Literature and Society
Literary Traditions3.0
Select one for a minimum of 3.0 credits
The Bible as Literature
Mythology
Literary Theory3.0
Literary Theory
Literature Seminars6.0
Take both for a minimum of 6.0 credits
Seminar in English and American Literature
Seminar in World Literature
English Electives6.0
Choose any additional two courses (300+) in WRIT or ENGL for a minimum of 6.0 credits
Free Electives60.0
Choose 60.0 credits from any discipline. Consider a second major or minor, or education certification.
Total Credits180.0-191.0
*

Students not participating in co-op will take one additional credit of free elective instead of COOP 101.

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

**

See Core Curriculum List for complete list of course options.

***

Select two consecutive courses at the 102-499 level within the same subject code: ARBC, CHIN, FREN, GER, JAPN, KOR, SPAN.

Language courses may count toward the College Core Curriculum requirements, in which case students may take a corresponding number of free electives.

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Sample Plan of Study

4 year, 1 co-op

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ENGL 101 or 1113.0CIVC 1011.0COOP 101*1.0VACATION
ENGL 1953.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
UNIV H1011.0WRIT 2003.0ENGL 2073.0 
Developing Quantitative Reasoning3.0-4.0Cultivating Global Competence3.0-4.0WRIT 1953.0 
Foreign Language Course4.0Developing Quantitative Reasoning3.0-4.0Analyzing Culture and Histories3.0-4.0 
Understanding Society and Human Behavior3.0-4.0Foreign Language Course4.0Engaging the Natural World3.0-4.0 
 17-19 17-19 16-18 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ENGL 3011.0Analyzing Culture and Histories3.0-4.0ENGL 301 (2nd of 3)1.0ENGL 3253.0
WRIT 2253.0Authors & Periods3.0ENGL 3153.0Free Electives6.0
Cultivating Global Competence3.0-4.0Free Elective3.0Free Electives9.0Literary Impacts3.0
Engaging the Natural World3.0-4.0Literature Survey3.0Literature Survey3.0Literature Survey3.0
Literature Survey3.0Perspectives in Diversity3.0-4.0  
Understanding Society and Human Behavior3.0-4.0   
 16-19 15-17 16 15
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEENGL 3011.0Free Electives15.0
  ENGL 3803.0 
  Free Electives9.0 
 0 0 13 15
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
ENGL 4903.0ENGL 3553.0ENGL 4953.0 
UNIV H2011.0ENGL 4923.0Free Electives9.0 
English Elective (ENGL or WRIT)3.0English Elective (ENGL or WRIT)3.0  
Free Electives6.0Free Elective3.0  
Literary Traditions3.0   
 16 12 12 
Total Credits 180-191
*

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

5 year, 3 co-op

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ENGL 101 or 1113.0CIVC 1011.0COOP 101*1.0VACATION
ENGL 1953.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
UNIV H1011.0WRIT 2003.0ENGL 2073.0 
Developing Quantitative Reasoning3.0-4.0Cultivating Global Competence3.0-4.0WRIT 1953.0 
Foreign Language Course4.0Developing Quantitative Reasoning3.0-4.0Analyzing Culture and Histories3.0-4.0 
Understanding Society and Human Behavior3.0-4.0Foreign Language Course4.0Engaging the Natural World3.0-4.0 
 17-19 17-19 16-18 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEENGL 3011.0Analyzing Culture and Histories3.0-4.0
  WRIT 2253.0Free Electives6.0
  Cultivating Global Competence3.0-4.0Literature Survey3.0
  Engaging the Natural World3.0-4.0Perspectives in Diversity3.0-4.0
  Literature Survey3.0 
  Understanding Society and Human Behavior3.0-4.0 
 0 0 16-19 15-17
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEENGL 3011.0ENGL 3253.0
  ENGL 3153.0Free Electives9.0
  Authors and Periods3.0Literature Survey3.0
  Free Electives6.0 
  Literature Survey3.0 
 0 0 16 15
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEENGL 3011.0Free Electives15.0
  ENGL 3553.0 
  Free Elective3.0 
  Literary Impacts3.0 
  Literary Traditions3.0 
 0 0 13 15
Fifth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
ENGL 3803.0ENGL 4923.0ENGL 4953.0 
ENGL 4903.0English Elective (ENGL or WRIT)3.0Free Electives9.0 
UNIV H2011.0Free Electives6.0  
English Elective (ENGL or WRIT)3.0   
Free Electives6.0   
 16 12 12 
Total Credits 180-191
*

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

English Faculty

Kenneth Bingham, MA (Temple University). Teaching Professor. First-year writing; engineering ethics; literature of baseball.
Valerie Booth, PhD (Emory University). Associate Teaching Professor.
Jakeya Caruthers, PhD (Stanford University). Assistant Professor. English and Africana Studies. Black popular culture, literature, and media representation; black feminist theory; anti-carceral feminism; art and visual culture.
Paula Marantz Cohen, PhD (Columbia University) Distinguished Professor, Dean of the Pennoni Honors College. Co-editor, Journal of Modern Literature; Host of the Drexel Interview. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century English and American literature; film studies.
Lisa DiMaio, MEd (Temple University). Teaching Professor. English as a second language
Dan Driscoll, MA (Temple University) Coordinator, Writing Curriculum Initiatives, University Writing Program. Teaching Professor. Associate Director, University Writing Center: Curricular Initiatives. Co-Director, Minor in Writing. First-year writing.
Nomi Eve, MFA (Brown University) Director of the Creative Writing MFA Program. Assistant Teaching Professor.
Robert Finegan, MFA (University of Pittsburgh). Associate Teaching Professor. First-year writing; technical and creative writing.
Edward Fristrom, PhD (State University of New York-Albany). Associate Teaching Professor. Professional writing, creative writing, multimedia, and writing education.
Keunah Han, PhD (Temple University). Associate Teaching Professor. English as a Second Language (ESL)
Cassandra Hirsch, MFA (Rosemont College). Associate Teaching Professor. Writing fiction and memoir; mentoring; community-based learning.
Jonathan Hobratsch, MFA (Texas State University). Assistant Teaching Professor.
Henry Israeli, MFA (University of Iowa) Director of Drexel Writing Festival, Director of Jewish Studies. Associate Teaching Professor. Founder and editor of Saturnalia Books, a publisher of contemporary poetry.
Elizabeth Kimball, PhD (Temple University). Assistant Professor. Rhetorical theory; writing studies; engaged learning; multilingual practice; community-based learning; writing program administration.
Miriam Kotzin, PhD (New York University). Professor. Founding Editor, Per Contra. American literature; genre studies; creative writing; communications.
Roger Kurtz, PhD (University of Iowa) Department Head. Professor. Postcolonial and world literatures, East African literature and culture; trauma theory.
Deirdre McMahon, PhD (University of Iowa). Teaching Professor. 19th-century British literature and culture: empire, critical race studies and analyses of material culture.
Jill Moses, MFA (University of Oregon). Associate Teaching Professor. Contemporary poetry; feminist literature; creative writing.
Christopher T. Nielson, PhD (Purdue University). Teaching Professor. Shakespeare; Drama; early modern literature; British Renaissance literature; medieval literature; world literature; composition studies.
Karen Nulton, PhD (Rutgers University) Director, Writing Assessment. Teaching Professor. Writing assessment; work-integrated-learning (WIL); reflective writing.
Margene Peterson, MA (Rhode Island School of Design). Assistant Teaching Professor. Multilingual learners; mentor; visual rhetorical analysis; anti-racist pedagogy.
Maegan Poland, PhD (University of Nevada, Las Vegas). Assistant Teaching Professor. Creative writing; first-year writing; fiction; memoir.
Elizabeth Polcha, PhD (Northeastern University). Assistant Professor. English and Digital Humanities. Black Atlantic Literature; digital humanities; early American studies; postcolonial and settler colonial studies; gender sexuality studies; environmental studies; history of science; history of the book.
Abioseh Porter, PhD (University of Alberta, Canada) Director of Africana Studies. Professor. Comparative literature; postcolonial literatures
Donald Riggs, PhD (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill). Teaching Professor. Cinematic monsters; science fiction and fantasy literature and film; Renaissance literature; creative writing; first-year writing.
Donna Rondolone, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Associate Teaching Professor. Medieval literature; Arthurian legend; first-year writing.
Gail Rosen, JD (Temple University). Teaching Professor. Literature and law; first-year writing.
Doreen Alvarez Saar, PhD (SUNY Buffalo). Professor. Early American literature; Eighteenth-century America; race and gender studies.
Sheila Sandapen, PhD (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) Director, First Year Writing Program. Associate Teaching Professor. First-year writing; cultural studies;Black British literature; Cultural Studies; Contemporary British literature; Feminist literature.
Fred A. Siegel, PhD (New York University) Director, First-Year Writing Program. Teaching Professor. Popular theater; dramatic literature, creative non-fiction; first-year writing.
Matthew Ross Smith, MCW (University of Auckland). Assistant Teaching Professor.
Scott Stein, MFA (University of Miami) Director, Drexel Publishing Group. Teaching Professor. Creative writing; fiction and novels; satire and humor; publishing, Kafka; superheroes; first-year writing; Founding Editor, Write Now Philly.
Eva Thury, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Associate Professor. Classical and world Mythology; classical literature; Superheroes; Vampires; Popular Culture; Mythology and film, Educational software.
Kathleen Volk Miller, MA (Rutgers University). Teaching Professor. Co-Editor,Painted Bride Quarterly (PBQ); creative writing; publishing, literary magazines, writing and neuroplasticity; healing through writing; journaling; personal essay.
Maria Volynsky, EdD (Temple University) Associate Director, First-Year Writing Program; ESL Coordinator. Associate Teaching Professor. TESOL, linguistic diversity, multilingualism, online teaching, social emotional learning, language acquisition, assessment.
Scott Warnock, PhD (Temple University) Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. Professor. Teaching with technology, online writing instruction; writing administration; learning assessment; faculty development.
Robert A. Watts, MA (Temple University). Associate Teaching Professor. Creative writing; first-year writing.
Vincent Williams, PhD (Temple University). Associate Teaching Professor. First-year writing; the intersection of race, gender, class and urbanism.
Jennifer Yusin, PhD (Emory University) Director Women's and Gender Studies. Associate Professor. LGBTQ+ studies; trans studies; psychoanalytic studies; philosophies of race and gender; global modernisms.

Emeritus Faculty

Jan Armon, PhD (University of Michigan). Associate Teaching Professor. Academic functions of personal writing, composition.
Valarie Arms, PhD (Temple University). Professor Emeritus. Rhetoric and Composition
Richard Astro, PhD (University of Washington) Distinguished Professor. Provost Emeritus. Twentieth-century American literature; literature and sports.
Raymond Brebach, PhD (University of Illinois). Professor Emeritus. Modern British fiction; the novel; textual studies.
Stephen Mandell, PhD (Temple University). Professor. First-year writing; technical writing; speech; American literature.
Harriet Levin Millan, MFA (University of Iowa) Director, Certificate in Writing and Publishing. Associate Teaching Professor. Poetry.
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