English

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.  

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

Jan Armon, PhD (University of Michigan). Associate Teaching Professor. Academic functions of personal writing, composition.
Kenneth Bingham, MA (Temple University). Teaching Professor. First-year writing; engineering ethics; literature of baseball.
Valerie Booth, PhD (Emory University). Associate Teaching Professor.
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) Associate Director University Writing Program. Teaching Professor. Associate Director, University Writing Center: Curricular Initiatives. Co-Director, Minor in Writing. First-year writing.
Anne Erickson, PhD (Purdue University). Assistant Teaching Professor. Online educational applications; the short story cycle.
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.
Valerie Fox, PhD (SUNY at Binghamton). Teaching Professor. Founding Editor, <em>Press 1.</em> Twentieth century drama; modern and contemporary American poetry; first-year 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. Fiction.
Gabriella Ibieta, PhD (City University of New York) Director, Programs in English. Associate Professor. Comparative literature; Cuban and Latin American fiction.
Henry Israeli, MFA (University of Iowa). Associate Teaching Professor. Founder and editor of Saturnalia Books, a publisher of contemporary poetry.
Kirsten Kaschock, PhD (University of Georgia). Associate Teaching Professor. Creative writing (poetry and prose).
Elizabeth Kimball, PhD (Temple University). Assistant Professor. College writing, civic engaged learning, multi lingual and trans lingual practice, history and theory of rhetoric, public and community writing,18th and 19th century U.S. rhetorical history
Miriam Kotzin, PhD (New York University). Professor. Founding Editor, <em>Per Contra.</em> American literature; genre studies; creative writing; communications.
Roger Kurtz, PhD (University of Iowa) Department Head. Professor. Postcolonial and world literatures
Stephen Mandell, PhD (Temple University). Professor. First-year writing; technical writing; speech; American literature.
Deirdre McMahon, PhD (University of Iowa). Teaching Professor. 19th-century British literature and culture: empire, critical race studies and analyses of material culture.
Marianallet Mendez-Rivera, PhD (University of Minnesota). Assistant Teaching Professor. Use of the mass media to secure, maintain and enhance political power; international technical communication—including issues of translation v. localization.
Harriet Levin Millan, MFA (University of Iowa) Director, Certificate in Writing and Publishing. Associate Teaching Professor. Poetry.
Jill Moses, MFA (University of Oregon). Associate Teaching Professor. Dramatic literature; first-year writing.
Christopher T. Nielson, PhD (Purdue University). Teaching Professor. Shakespeare; Renaissance drama and literature; dramatic literature; first-year writing.
Karen Nulton, PhD (Rutgers University) Director, Writing Assessment. Teaching Professor. Writing assessment, writing pedagogy, and writing across the curriculum.
Margene Peterson, MA (Rhode Island School of Design). Assistant Teaching Professor. English as a Second Language (ESL); the learning styles and strategies of non-native speakers of English.
Maegan Poland, PhD (University of Nevada, Las Vegas). Assistant Teaching Professor. Creative writing; first-year writing
Abioseh Porter, PhD (University of Alberta, Canada). 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) Assistant Director, First Year Writing Program. Associate Teaching Professor. First-year writing; cultural studies; women's studies; history and film.
Fred A. Siegel, PhD (New York University) Director, First-Year Writing Program. Teaching Professor. Popular theater; dramatic literature, creative non-fiction; first-year writing.
Scott Stein, MFA (University of Miami) Director, Drexel Publishing Group. Teaching Professor. Creative writing; first-year writing; Founding Editor, When Falls the Coliseum: A Journal of American Culture (Or Lack Thereof).
Eva Thury, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Associate Professor. Mythology; classical literature; drama; first-year writing; desktop publishing and software documentation.
Kathleen Volk Miller, MA (Rutgers University). Teaching Professor. Co-Editor,Painted Bride Quarterly (PBQ); creative writing; first-year writing.
Maria Volynsky, EdD (Temple University) Associate Director, First-Year Writing Program; ESL Coordinator. Associate Teaching Professor. English as a Second Language (ESL).
Scott Warnock, PhD (Temple University) Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. Professor. Rhetoric and composition; medical writing; information technology and literacy.
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). Associate Professor. Postcolonial literature; trauma theory; literary theory; psychoanalysis, and memory studies in contemporary literature in English.

Emeritus Faculty

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.
  • Schedule of Classes
  • All Course Descriptions
  • Co-op
  • Academic Advising
  • Admissions
  • Tuition & Fees
LEARN MORE