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Academic Catalog 2021-2022

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English and Communication Studies, BA

2021-2022 Edition

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        • English, BA
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The English department and the communication studies department offer an interdisciplinary combined major in English and communication studies. Broadly speaking, students in the combined major in English and communication studies at Northeastern integrate the study of literature and writing with studies of media, social, corporate, and political communications. 

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 Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
English Course-Level Requirement
In addition to the capstone, two of the courses chosen from the lists below must be numbered 3000–4999.
Introduction to College
ENGL 1000English at Northeastern1
Foundational Courses
ENGL 1400Introduction to Literary Studies4
ENGL 1160Introduction to Rhetoric4
or ENGL 1410 Introduction to Research on Writing
Diversity
Complete one of the following courses. This course may also be used to fulfill an additional English requirement below:4
ENGL 2150
Literature and Digital Diversity
ENGL 2296
Early African-American Literature
ENGL 2451
Postcolonial Women Writers
ENGL 2455
American Women Writers
ENGL 2760
Writing in Global Contexts
ENGL 2470
Asian-American Literature
ENGL 3663
The African American Novel
ENGL 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
Pre-Nineteenth-Century Literature
Complete one of the following:4
ENGL 1600
Introduction to Shakespeare
ENGL 1700
Global Literatures 1
ENGL 2296
Early African-American Literature
ENGL 3101
Early Literatures
ENGL 3120
17th- and 18th-Century Literatures
ENGL 3618
Milton
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
Nineteenth-, Twentieth-, and Twenty-First-Century Literature
Complete one of the following:4
ENGL 2301
The Graphic Novel
ENGL 2330
The American Renaissance
ENGL 2440
The Modern Bestseller
ENGL 2600
Irish Literary Culture (Abroad)
ENGL 2610
Contemporary Israeli Literature and Art (Abroad)
ENGL 3140
19th-Century Literatures
ENGL 3619
Emerson and Thoreau
ENGL 3685
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature
or JWSS 3685
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature
ENGL 3720
19th-Century Major Figure
ENGL 3730
20th- and 21st-Century Major Figure
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 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 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
Comparative Literature
Complete one of the following:4
ENGL 1450
Reading and Writing in the Digital Age
ENGL 1500
British Literature to 1800
ENGL 1502
American Literature to 1865
ENGL 2150
Literature and Digital Diversity
ENGL 2420
Contemporary Poetry
ENGL 2430
Contemporary Fiction
ENGL 2451
Postcolonial Women Writers
ENGL 2455
American Women Writers
ENGL 2470
Asian-American Literature
ENGL 2510
Horror Fiction
ENGL 2520
Science Fiction
ENGL 2600
Irish Literary Culture (Abroad)
ENGL 2620
What Is Nature?
ENGL 2690
Boston in Literature
ENGL 3487
Film and Text (Abroad)
ENGL 3663
The African American Novel
Writing
Complete one of the following:4
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 2850
Writing for Social Media: Theory and Practice
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
English Electives
Complete two additional ENGL electives.8

Communication Studies Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
Communication Studies Common Requirements
COMM 1101Introduction to Communication Studies4
COMM 1112Public Speaking4
or COMM 2301 Communication Research Methods
Foundation Course
Complete one of the following:4
COMM 1210
Persuasion and Rhetoric
COMM 1231
Principles of Organizational Communication
COMM 1225
Communication Theory
COMM 1255
Communication in a Digital Age
Cluster Course
Complete one of the following:4
COMM 1131
Sex, Relationships, and Communication
COMM 2303
Global and Intercultural Communication
COMM 2304
Communication and Gender
COMM 2501
Communication Law
COMM 2551
Free Speech in Cyberspace
Writing-Intensive Courses
Complete two of the following:8
COMM 3200
Mobile Communication
COMM 3201
Health Communication
COMM 3230
Interpersonal Communication
COMM 3304
Communication and Inclusion
COMM 3320
Political Communication
COMM 3414
Great Speakers and Speeches
COMM 3415
Communication Criticism
COMM 3445
Public Relations Principles
COMM 3500
Environmental Issues, Communication, and the Media
COMM 3501
Free Speech: Law and Practice
COMM 3530
Communication and Sexualities
COMM 3532
Theories of Conflict and Negotiation
COMM 4535
Nonverbal Social Interaction
COMM 4605
Youth and Communication Technology
COMM 4631
Crisis Communication and Image Management
Communication Studies Electives
Complete three additional COMM courses.12

Integrative Requirement

Course List
Code Title Hours
Integrative English Course
Complete one of the following:4
ENGL 3325
Rhetoric of Law
ENGL 3340
Technologies of Text
ENGL 3381
The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing
Integrative Communication Studies Course
COMM 3415Communication Criticism4
or COMM 4602 Contemporary Rhetorical Theory

Communication Studies Grade Requirements

No more than two grades below a C in communication studies courses may be used to satisfy degree requirements.

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

Sample Four Years, Two Co-ops

Year 1
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
ENGL 1000 or COMM 10001Communication Studies foundational course4Communication Studies cluster course4Foreign Language4
ENGL 14004English diversity course4Communication Studies elective4Communication Studies elective4
COMM 11014English Pre-19th Century Literature elective4  
COMM 1112 or 23014ENGL 1160 or 14104  
Elective4   
 17 16 8 8
Year 2
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
English 19th-20th-21st Century Literature elective4CO-OPCO-OPCommunication Studies writing-intensive4
English Theories and Methods course4  Communication Studies elective4
Foreign Language4   
Elective4   
EEAM 20001   
 17 0 0 8
Year 3
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
English Comparative Literature elective4CO-OPCO-OPElective4
English Writing elective4  Elective4
Communication Studies writing-intensive4   
Foreign Language4   
 16 0 0 8
Year 4
FallHoursSpringHours  
English elective4English capstone4  
English elective4Integrative COMM Course4  
Integrative ENGL course4Elective4  
Elective4Elective4  
 16 16  
Total Hours: 130
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