Page 104 of Boston College 2006-2007 University Catalog by Boston College University

largely by English Department faculty. Students may not take courses through the Woods College of Advancing Studies for the purpose of fulfilling their English Core requirement. Because Core classes are restricted to first-year students, students should plan to take both courses during the first year. EN 010 First Year Writing Seminar The First Year Writing Seminar helps students use their writing as a source of learning and a form of communication. Designed as a workshop in which each student develops a portfolio of personal and academic writing, the seminar follows a semester-long process. Students write and rewrite essays continuously, discuss their works-in-progress in class, and receive feedback during individual and small group conferences with the instructor. In connection with their writing, students read and discuss a wide range of texts, including various forms of nonfiction prose. In addition to regular conferences, the class meets two hours per week to learn and discuss writing processes and strategies, various genres and rhetorical situations for writing, the evolving drafts of class members, and various forms of conducting and writing research, including an introduction to using the resources at ONeill Library. EN 080-084 Literature Core In this part of the Core program, students explore the principal motives which prompt people to read literature: to assemble and assess the shape and values of ones own culture, to discover alternative ways of looking at the world, to gain insight into issues of permanent human importance as well as issues of contemporary urgency, and to enjoy the linguistic and formal satisfactions of literary art. Individual Core literature courses are designed with separate titles and reading lists in five major areas: EN 080 Literary Forms EN 081 Literary Themes EN 082 Literature and Society EN 083 Literature: Traditions and Counter-Traditions EN 084 Literatures of the World In different ways these courses will strive to develop the students capacity to read and write with clarity and engagement, to allow for that dialogue between the past and present we call history, and to provide an introduction to literary genres. English for Foreign Students The department offers core level courses in language and literature for foreign students. These classes require exam placement for registration. Interested students should contact the English department for exam dates and locations. Major Requirements Students ordinarily begin an English major in their sophomore year, after completing the First Year Writing Seminar and the Literature Core, or equivalents. In addition to the two Core courses, students must take ten courses from the departments offerings. These must include the following required courses: EN 131 Studies in Poetry and then EN 133 Narrative and Interpretation. These courses are usually taken in sequence in the sophomore year. Both courses train students intensively in the close reading of literary texts and in writing with critical awareness about literature. Also required are three other courses that must include: one course in pre-1700 British or American literature two courses in pre-1900 British or American literature These courses may be taken at any time in the students major, but preferably after the completion of Studies in Poetry. Students who have a special interest in American literature are advised to take American Literary History I as a foundation for later courses. During the sophomore year, historical survey courses such as Introduction to British Literature and Culture I and II and the American Literary History sequence may be useful to fill in students knowledge of the development of English and American literature. At this point, students should be in a position to begin making their own choices about how they will complete the major requirements. They will have many options from among the thirty or more electives the Department offers each semester in English and American literature, in Irish Studies, in writing, in the different genres, and in particular themes. Students are reminded that courses taken through the Woods College of Advancing Studies and/or over the summer cannot be counted toward the major. By senior year students will have the opportunity to focus on some well-defined topics (individual authors, important single works, specialized themes). Each year the department will offer seminars to enable students, usually seniors and juniors, to work closely with a faculty member on a topic of special interest. Individually Designed Major For some students with specific interdisciplinary interests, in American Studies for instance, an individually designed sequence of courses under the English major is appropriate. Students who satisfy their major requirements this way may count for English credit up to two courses taken in other departments. This plan must be approved by the chairperson and the students department advisor by the end of the first semester of junior year. English Courses for Non-Majors Though there is no English minor, students majoring in other subjects have always been welcome in English courses for the diversity of viewpoint and variety of knowledge they often bring with them. From the students point of view, English courses offer the enjoyment of reading good literature; insight into history, culture, and human character; and a chance to polish skills of reading and writing. American Studies Program The minor is committed to interdisciplinarity, meaning that it requires one to think beyond assumptions of any single department. The over-arching subjects an American Studies minor investigates are race, class, ethnicity, and gender. But within these broadly defined categories, minors are exposed to a number of more explicit, and contentious, debates within the field of American Studies. By the end of the six-course sequence, minors can expect to have a working knowledge of these topics, and their significance to an understanding of American culture. Minors can elect to enroll in a special concentration in Asian American Studies. This concentration requires minors to take the requisite course in the minor, as well as five other pre-defined courses that specifically address Asian American identity, culture, history, gender, and literary production within a larger discussion on race. Students interested in the American Studies program should contact Professor Carlo Rotella. Irish Studies Irish Studies, an integral part of Boston Colleges distinguished Irish Programs, offers an interdisciplinary approach to the culture and society of Ireland. Individual courses cover the areas of social, political, and economic history, literature, medieval art, sociology, folk music, 104 The Boston College Catalog 2006-2007 ARTS AND SCIENCES

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