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Academic Catalog 2021-2022

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English, BA

2021-2022 Edition

  • Undergraduate
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      • English
        • English, BA
        • Computer Science and English, BS
        • English and Communication Studies, BA
        • English and Criminal Justice, BA
        • English and Cultural Anthropology, BA
        • English and Graphic and Information Design, BA
        • English and Philosophy, BA
        • English and Political Science, BA
        • English and Theatre, BA
        • History and English, BA
        • Journalism and English, BA
        • Linguistics and English, BA
        • Media and Screen Studies and English, BA
        • Architecture and English, BS
        • Biology and English, BS
        • English, Minor
        • Rhetoric, Minor
        • Writing, Minor
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    • Faculty
    • Appendix
  • College of Professional Studies Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Course Descriptions
  • Catalog Archives
  • Overview
  • Program Requirements
  • Plan of Study

Students in the English major study the diverse historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts of English, American, and other Anglophone literatures. They analyze writing practices and related media from the Middle Ages through the present, from the quill pen to code. They practice a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of language, rhetoric, writing, and literature.

Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.

University-Wide Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the University-Wide Requirements.

BA Language Requirements

All BA students are required to complete the BA language requirements.

NUpath Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.

English Major Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
Foundation Courses
ENGL 1000English at Northeastern1
ENGL 1400Introduction to Literary Studies4
ENGL 1160Introduction to Rhetoric4
or ENGL 1410 Introduction to Research on Writing
ENGL 1700Global Literatures 14
or ENGL 1701 Global Literatures 2
Literary Periods
Early Literatures
Complete one of the following:4
ENGL 1600
Introduction to Shakespeare
ENGL 3101
Early Literatures
ENGL 3678
Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity
or JWSS 3678
Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity
Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries
Complete one of the following:4
ENGL 2250
18th-Century British Literature
ENGL 2296
Early African-American Literature
or AFAM 2296
Early African-American Literature
ENGL 3120
17th- and 18th-Century Literatures
ENGL 3618
Milton
Nineteenth Century
Complete one of the followng:4
ENGL 2330
The American Renaissance
ENGL 3140
19th-Century Literatures
ENGL 3619
Emerson and Thoreau
ENGL 3720
19th-Century Major Figure
Twentieth to Twenty-First Centuries
Complete one of the following:4
ENGL 2301
The Graphic Novel
or ARTE 2301
The Graphic Novel
ENGL 2440
The Modern Bestseller
ENGL 2600
Irish Literary Culture (Abroad)
ENGL 2610
Contemporary Israeli Literature and Art (Abroad)
ENGL 3161
20th- and 21st-Century Literatures
ENGL 3685
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature
or JWSS 3685
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature
ENGL 3730
20th- and 21st-Century Major Figure
Comparative Literature
Complete two of the following:8
ENGL 1450
Reading and Writing in the Digital Age
ENGL 1502
American Literature to 1865
ENGL 2362
Modern and Contemporary African-American Literature
ENGL 2420
Contemporary Poetry
ENGL 2430
Contemporary Fiction
ENGL 2451
Postcolonial Women Writers
or WMNS 2451
Postcolonial Women Writers
or CLTR 2451
Postcolonial Women Writers
ENGL 2455
American Women Writers
or AFAM 2455
American Women Writers
or WMNS 2455
American Women Writers
ENGL 2510
Horror Fiction
ENGL 2520
Science Fiction
ENGL 2530
Fantasy Literature
ENGL 2620
What Is Nature?
ENGL 2690
Boston in Literature
or AFAM 2690
Boston in Literature
ENGL 2695
Travel and Place-Based Writing
ENGL 3487
Film and Text (Abroad)
ENGL 3663
The African American Novel
or AFAM 3663
The African American Novel
Theories and Methods
Complete one of the following:4
ENGL 1140
Grammar: The Architecture of English
ENGL 1160
Introduction to Rhetoric
ENGL 1410
Introduction to Research on Writing
ENGL 2150
Literature and Digital Diversity
ENGL 2850
Writing for Social Media: Theory and Practice
ENGL 3325
Rhetoric of Law
ENGL 3340
Technologies of Text
ENGL 3370
Writing Cultures
ENGL 3381
The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing
ENGL 3400
Opening the Archive
ENGL 3404
African American Rhetorical Traditions
or AFAM 3404
African American Rhetorical Traditions
ENGL 3700
Narrative Medicine
ENGL 4410
Research in Rhetoric and Writing
LING 1150
Introduction to Language and Linguistics
LING 2350
Linguistic Analysis
LING 3450
Syntax
LING 3452
Semantics
LING 3454
History of English
LING 3456
Language and Gender
LING 3458
Topics in Linguistics
Advanced Writing in the Disciplines
Complete one of the following:4
ENGW 3310
Advanced Writing in Literature
ENGW 3311
Advanced Writing for Prelaw
Writing
Complete two of the following:8
ENGL 2695
Travel and Place-Based Writing
ENGL 2700
Creative Writing
ENGL 2710
Style and Editing
ENGL 2740
Writing and Community Engagement
ENGL 2760
Writing in Global Contexts
ENGL 2770
Writing to Heal
ENGL 2780
Visual Writing: Writing Visuals
ENGL 3375
Writing Boston
ENGL 3376
Creative Nonfiction
ENGL 3377
Poetry Workshop
ENGL 3378
Fiction Workshop
ENGL 3380
Writing Seminar
ENGL 3382
Publishing in the 21st Century
ENGL 3384
The Writer’s Marketplace
Capstone
ENGL 4710Capstone Seminar4
or ENGL 4720 Capstone Project
Diversity
Complete one of the following courses, which can also count toward another requirement in the major:4
ENGL 2150
Literature and Digital Diversity
ENGL 2296
Early African-American Literature
or AFAM 2296
Early African-American Literature
ENGL 2362
Modern and Contemporary African-American Literature
ENGL 2451
Postcolonial Women Writers
or WMNS 2451
Postcolonial Women Writers
or CLTR 2451
Postcolonial Women Writers
ENGL 2455
American Women Writers
or AFAM 2455
American Women Writers
or WMNS 2455
American Women Writers
ENGL 2760
Writing in Global Contexts
ENGL 3404
African American Rhetorical Traditions
or AFAM 3404
African American Rhetorical Traditions
ENGL 3663
The African American Novel
or AFAM 3663
The African American Novel
ENGL 3678
Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity
or JWSS 3678
Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity
or WMNS 3678
Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity
ENGL 3685
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature
or JWSS 3685
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature
ENGL 3900
Gender and Black World Literatures
or AFRS 3900
Gender and Black World Literatures
or WMNS 3900
Gender and Black World Literatures
Electives
Complete any two ENGL courses, except for First-Year Writing and Advanced Writing in the Disciplines, that has not already been used to fulfill another requirement. The following courses may also be used as electives:8
LING 1150
Introduction to Language and Linguistics
LING 2350
Linguistic Analysis
LING 3450
Syntax
LING 3452
Semantics
LING 3454
History of English
LING 3456
Language and Gender
LING 3458
Topics in Linguistics

Experiential Learning Requirement

Complete one course in experiential learning from the list below or any Dialogues of Civilization experience. (Other study-abroad programs may not be used.) This course can also count toward another requirement in the major.

Course List
Code Title Hours
Experiential Learning Course Work
ENGL 2690
Boston in Literature
or AFAM 2690
Boston in Literature
ENGL 2740
Writing and Community Engagement
ENGL 3340
Technologies of Text
ENGL 3370
Writing Cultures
ENGL 3375
Writing Boston
ENGL 3381
The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing
ENGL 3382
Publishing in the 21st Century
ENGL 3400
Opening the Archive
Dialogues of Civilization
Complete one Dialogues of Civilization experience, including but not limited to those offered by the department. (Other study-abroad programs may not be used.)
ENGL 2600
Irish Literary Culture (Abroad)
ENGL 2610
Contemporary Israeli Literature and Art (Abroad)
ENGL 2620
What Is Nature?
ENGL 3487
Film and Text (Abroad)

English Major Credit Requirement

Complete 64 semester hours in the major.

Experiential Liberal Arts

All undergraduate students in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities are required to complete the Experiential Liberal Arts Requirement.

Program Requirement

128 total semester hours required

Five Years, Three Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall

Year 1
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
ENGL 10001ENGL 17004Vacation0Vacation0
ENGW 11114ENGL 1410 or 11604  
ENGL 14004Foreign language core course4  
Foreign language core course4Elective4  
Elective4EESH 20001  
 17 17 0 0
Year 2
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
Comparative course elective4Comparative course elective4Vacation0Co-op0
Literary period and diversity elective4Foreign language core course4  
Elective4Literary period course elective4  
Elective4Writing and experiential education elective4  
 16 16 0 0
Year 3
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
Co-op0Advanced Writing in the Disciplines4Writing elective4Co-op0
 Literary period elective4Elective4 
 Elective4  
 Elective4  
 0 16 8 0
Year 4
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1Hours 
Co-op0Literary period elective4English elective4 
 Theories and methods elective4Elective4 
 Elective4  
 English elective4  
 0 16 8 
Year 5
FallHoursSpringHours  
Co-op0Capstone4  
 Elective4  
 Elective4  
 Elective4  
 0 16  
Total Hours: 130
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