English
Introduction
Students of English Language and Literature can choose from a wide range of courses that meet a variety of needs and demands:
- introductory and advanced courses in composition and literary studies
- British and American literature survey and period courses
- genre studies, including works translated into English from other languages
- language and theory courses
- single-author courses
- creative writing and nonfiction writing courses
Objectives of Composition Courses
The primary goal of courses in composition and literature is to help students become competent readers and writers by providing them with challenging texts and ample opportunities to practice their skills of critical thinking and expression. Toward this end, the English faculty has set the following four objectives. All students completing the core curriculum will demonstrate:
- proficiency in expository writing with Standard American English grammar, punctuation, and usage
- proficiency in critical reading
- the ability to assimilate, organize, and develop ideas logically and effectively
- an understanding of the rudiments of research-based writing, including accurate and ethical citation and MLA documentation
Objectives of English Major Courses
All students completing the baccalaureate program in English will be prepared to pursue careers in which a broad knowledge of literature and a proficiency in critical reading, critical thinking, and expository writing are important. They also will be prepared to pursue graduate studies in English and in other professional areas, such as law, medicine, or journalism. In addition, students who wish to prepare for a career in teaching may do so by completing a major in English. For each of these endeavors, English majors will demonstrate:
- an extensive knowledge of the development of British literature and American literature from their origins to the present
- the interpretation of texts, reading critically, and expressing critical ideas, both in oral discussion and in written work
- critical and analytical judgment, both in oral discussion and in written work
- a mastery of the techniques of research and the use of MLA style
- a knowledge of Standard American English grammar, punctuation, and syntax
- proficiency with discipline-specific discourse
Assessment of Learning Objectives
Success in achieving the objectives of the English major will be demonstrated as follows:
- completion of each major course with a grade of C- or better
- satisfactory performance on the senior thesis and its presentation
Students preparing for graduate study in English or law are encouraged to take the GRE or the LSAT.
Awards
Outstanding English majors may receive one of the following awards during the annual Honors Day program:
- the Walter D. Jones Award for Excellence in Composition and Scholarship
- the Murial B. Williams Award for Excellence in Literary Studies
- the Francis Marion Chalker Medlock Prize for Poetry
The Jones award is given to the student whose paper written for a major course is judged as outstanding by a panel of reviewers. The Williams award is given to the student who is deemed by the English faculty to demonstrate the highest standards of scholarship and who contributes the most to the advancement of literary studies among English majors at LaGrange College.
The Medlock Prize is awarded to the student who has demonstrated a love of and appreciation for poetry and who shows great promise as an aspiring poet.
In addition, each spring at Honors Day, recognition goes to the most outstanding essay composed for a Rhetoric and Composition course (ENGL 1101 or 1102) during the current academic year. Each winning essay is published in the next year’s edition of the LaGrange College Handbook of Rhetoric & Composition.
Sigma Tau Delta
Sigma Tau Delta is the international English honor society. The society strives to confer distinction upon students who have demonstrated high achievement in English language and literature. Qualifications for membership are as follows:
- formal declaration of English major or minor
- successful completion of ENGL 1101, 1102, and at least one English course at the 3000 level or above
- overall GPA of at least 3.0
- English GPA of 3.5.
Writing Center
LaGrange College maintains a Writing Center, which serves the college community by providing advice and support for student writers. The Writing Center is directed by Dr. Justin Thurman, who trains students to serve as peer writing consultants. These tutors are available at regularly scheduled hours or by appointment.
Students who would like to serve as peer tutors but are ineligible for work-study funding may enroll in TCHA 4492 (On-Campus Tutoring Internship) and thus earn one to three (1-3) semester hours of academic credit for their service. Note that these hours do not count toward any major or minor program. This course may be repeated for credit. Grading is on a “Pass/No credit” basis. Prerequisites: Recommendation from a full-time faculty member in the subject to be tutored and approval by either the Director of the Writing Center or the Director of the Tutoring Center.
The Scroll and LC Writing Contest
Since 1922, The Scroll has been LaGrange College's journal of creative arts. Published each spring, the magazine features the best of fiction, drama, poetry, essays, and artwork by the students and faculty of the College.
The LC Writing Contest is an annual event sponsored by the English faculty, the Writing Center, and The Scroll. It is open to all LC students. First and second prizes are awarded to best entries in fiction/drama, poetry, and essay. Winning entries are published in The Scroll.
Advanced Placement
Most LaGrange College students will take Rhetoric and Composition I and II (ENGL 1101 and 1102) during their first year. Some students will receive credit for one of these courses based on their performance on the Advanced Placement Test.
- Students who earn a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Test in English Language and Composition will receive three hours of credit for Rhetoric and Composition I [ENGL 1101].
- Students who earn a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Test in English Literature and Composition will receive three hours of credit for Rhetoric and Composition II [ENGL 1102].
- Students who earn a score of 4 or 5 on both tests must choose which course they prefer to Only one exemption is allowed.
- Only the AP Tests in English Language or English Literature are accepted for credit in the LaGrange College English program.
Transient Credit
No transient credit will be accepted for courses in first-year Rhetoric and Composition
(ENGL 1101 or 1102).
Combined B.A. and M.A.T. Program of Study
Undergraduate students who meet the admission requirements for the M.A.T (passing GACE Program Admissions Assessment or a combined SAT score of more than 1000 and completing the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators Assessment) and those who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their undergraduate studies are eligible to participate in a combined B.A. and M.A.T. program of study after the completion of 90 semester hours. Once accepted, candidates may take entering MAT cohort graduate courses the Summer Semester following their junior year of study. Upon gaining senior status, candidates may take one (1) three-credit graduate course during the Fall, Interim, and Spring semesters only if enrolled with twelve (12) undergraduate credits.
Majors and Minors
Major Minor
B.A. in English Minor in EnglishCourses
Instruction and practice in the fundamentals of expository writing, including paragraph development, organization, logic, grammar, and mechanics.
Introduction to expository writing, emphasizing the essay form, the writing process, and rhetorical modes of thesis development.
Introductory college writing course that emphasizes reporting, editing, and publishing articles for the campus newspaper’s online and physical platforms. Includes the technical and process elements of ENGL 1101 and satisfies the same general education goals and requirements.
This course provides an introduction to writing and the writing process. Through the topic of sustainability, students learn a wide range of rhetorical skills: drafting and polishing a thesis; organizing an argument; using topic sentences; creating interesting introductions and conclusions. By examining how culture affects us, as well as how we affect culture, the course also aims to stimulate deliberate thinking and active reading skills.
Introduction to critical thinking and writing about literature, emphasizing reading strategies, analytic writing, research techniques, and modes of documentation.
Introduction to critical thinking and writing about literary journalism, emphasizing reading strategies, analytic writing, research techniques, and modes of documentation. Students will also report, edit, and publish articles for the campus newspaper’s online and physical platforms
Introduction to critical thinking and writing about literature, emphasizing reading strategies, analytic writing, research techniques, and modes of documentation.
Introduces students to the academic discipline of English. Focuses on critical issues (past and present) involved in literary studies.
A survey of British Literature from the Anglo-Saxon period through the eighteenth century. Short critical essays required, at least one with documentation.
A survey of British literature from the Romantics through the Modern/Postmodern period. Short critical essays required, at least one with documentation.
A survey of American Literature from the Colonial period through American Romanticism. Short critical essays required, at least one with documentation.
A survey of American literature from Realism and Naturalism through the Modern/Postmodern period. Short critical essays required, at least one with documentation.
This course prepares undergraduates to work as peer tutors in a writing center. Students will practice tutoring as they learn about reading and responding to the writing of others.
This course introduces undergraduates to the theory that informs the modern practice of teaching composition. Fundamentals of persuasion and human communication are presented as well.
This course introduces undergraduates to the fundamentals of imaginative writing. Analysis of professional models, but emphasis upon student work, especially poetry and fiction.
Introduction to principles of linguistics; a survey of the origins and development of English, and a study of its structure.
A survey of the basic logic and grammatical structure of English, from morpheme to word, phrase and clause, to sentence.
This course is open to all students, regardless of major, who are interested in producing nonfiction prose that is exemplary for its clarity and finesse. Providing each other with feedback in classroom workshops, students write an interview; a critique of the fine arts; a humor piece; a travel piece; a piece on science, technology, or sports; and a memoir.
An advanced course in imaginative writing. Professional models studied, but student writing is emphasized.
An advanced course in imaginative writing. Professional models studied, but student writing is emphasized.
This course presents the fundamentals of effective persuasion, including the three appeals (logical, emotional, ethical), logical fallacies, inductive and deductive reasoning, and evaluation of evidence. Students from all majors, as well as undeclared majors, are encouraged to enroll.
This course consists of a survey of literary journalism, a form of creative nonfiction that blends elements of fictional narrative and factual reporting.
A survey, mostly in Middle English, of English literature to about 1500.
Renaissance English literature to about 1675, excluding Shakespeare
An examination of the development of drama, excluding Shakespeare, from its beginnings up through the 18th century.
Selected Restoration, Neoclassical, and Pre-Romantic English literature, excluding the novel.
A study of the rise of the novel with an emphasis on selected works of the late seventeenth-century and eighteenth-century, including novels in translation.
A study of selected major nineteenth-century British prose and poetry, with emphasis on lyric verse.
A study of the selected 19th century novels, including novels in translation.
A study of selected major Victorian prose and poetry.
Major American Romantic writers of the United States through Whitman and Dickinson.
Major American writers of the Realistic and Naturalistic movements in the United States.
A study of major Southern writers from about 1815 to the present.
A study of major African-American writers from 1900 to the present.
This course focuses on the critical viewing of film with critical writing in several modes.
A survey of theoretical interpretive traditions of the 20th and 21st centuries.
A survey of Chaucer's work. Consideration will also be given to Chaucerian influence and criticism.
The development of Shakespeare's art, as reflected in selected individual plays or groups of plays.
Selected poetry and prose of Milton.
A study of selected contemporary fiction writers and their novels or short stories, including works in translation.
A study of selected contemporary poets and their poems, including works in translation.
A study of contemporary playwrights and their plays, including works in translation.
The course will explore the ways in which women writers relate to, and write about, the green world. Has the world of plants, forests, and herbs, as Linda Baron and Brenda Peterson claim, "long been the province of women" (xi)*? Is women's bond with the plant kingdom inherently different from men's? What motivates women, in particular, to reflect on the "emotional, philosophical, and spiritual aspects"(xii)* of humanity's interaction with the green world? If, as Baron and Peterson maintain, "[t]he green world is fundamental to our identity," how do women create, reflect, and/or interact with such an identity through the craft of writing? These are some of the questions we will examine as we read texts by Isabel Allende, Zora Neale Hurston, Mary Crow Dog, Naomi Shihab Nye, Mary Oliver, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and others.
Each English majors will write and present orally an original research project developed or derived from a project created for a major English course, based on a significant topic in language or literature. Required of all English majors.
An opportunity for students to gain added experience and insight in approved off-campus settings.
This is an opportunity for students to conduct an individual, in-depth exploration of an area in literature, writing, or theory.
