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Bachelor of Arts in English, Literature

The Department of English is increasingly viewed as one of the pre-eminent departments at Loyola. For example, professors in the department swept the Faculty Excellence Awards, the first time a single department won all four awards in teaching, research, advising, and community service. Not surprisingly, the number of students majoring in English has grown so much over the past few years that we are approaching the department’s all-time record for majors. English faculty members have developed national and even international reputations for their creative and scholarly achievements, and our seniors are going on to some of the best graduate schools in the country.


Overview of Courses

In addition to a core set of foundational courses, you’ll choose literature courses to tailor the program to your interests. Here’s a sample of what you can expect to learn and do:

  • Reading Poetry
    This course is an introduction to the basic tools needed to read and write about English and American poetry, including the concepts of genre, form, meter, figurative representation, and history.
  • Reading Historically I
    This course provides a foundation in English literary history from the medieval period through the 17th century. Students explore their significance in historical, formal, and aesthetic contexts, and we consider how contemporary critical approaches enhance our understanding of this material.
  • Studies in Renaissance Literature
    This seminar explores the development of a specific theme or genre in a transnational early modern context. Topics include Renaissance women writers, Renaissance epic, the literature of empire, or gender and sexuality in Renaissance literature.
  • Postcolonial Literatures
    This course is a survey of postcolonial literatures from Africa, India, Latin America, and the Caribbean, focusing on both the counter-narratives of history, memory, and identity that were central literary concerns after independence and more recent literary trends.
  • Contemporary Critical Issues
    This special topics course focuses on contemporary issues in literary criticism, such as environmental theory, new media, food studies, and post-humanism.

Download Major Sheet 

 

Curriculum

  • ENGL A206 Reading Poetry
  • ENGL A217 Reading Historically Ihttp://bulletin.loyno.edu/undergraduate/cas/humanities#english
  • ENGL A218 Reading Historically II
  • ENGL A300-A400 American Literature Elective
  • ENGL A300-A400 British Pre-1800 Literature Elective
  • ENGL A300-A400 Seminar Literature Elective
  • ENGL A300-A400 English Literature Elective
  • ENGL Writing or Film & Digital Media Elective
  • ENGL Elective
  • ENGL Elective
  • ENGL Elective
  • ENGL Elective

Limit of one Loyola Core course may be used in the major.

Courses used in the major cannot also be used to satisfy requirements for a minor.

 

English Course Information

Find out more about the English major:

 

Teacher Education

Students seeking teacher preparation in English can follow a plan very similar to the B.A. in English with a concentration in Literature that includes focus-area courses for teacher education. See the degree plan here, and the list of teacher-education course descriptions here.