Home 2016-2017 Undergraduate College Catalog Undergraduate Programs of Study(Majors, Minors & Requirements) English

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Undergraduate Programs of Study(Majors, Minors & Requirements)

In this section

General Requirements and Opportunities

Literature Concentration

Film Studies Concentration

Creative and Professional Writing Concentration

Introduction

In small, participatory classes, English majors develop the ability to analyze and interpret literary works and film in context. Creative writers hone their craft in workshop courses and contribute to the campus literary magazine, Graffiti; the newspaper, Touchstone; and the department’s annual Writing Awards.

Degree

Bachelor of Arts. Students concentrate in Literature, Creative and Professional Writing, or Film Studies (35-40cr.). Students may also apply in their junior year for the 5-year BA/MFA Program in Creative Writing.

Optional Minors

Students may minor in English with a Concentration in Literature, Creative and Professional Writing, or Film Studies (17-20 cr.).

Career Ideas

Advertising Executive, Attorney, Book Editor, Broadcast News Analyst, Copy Writer, Digital Media Specialist, Professor, Film Producer, Fund Raiser, Legal Assistant, Librarian, Lobbyist, Newspaper Editor, Novelist, Poet, Public Relations Specialist, Journalist, Screenwriter, Speech Writer, Teacher, Television Producer

Program Administrators

Nada Halloway, Program Chair, (914) 323-5107, Nada.Halloway@mville.edu

Faculty and Staff

FULL-TIME FACULTY

Jeff Bens

Caralyn Bialo

Meghan Freeman

Nada Halloway

Van Hartmann

David Lugowski

Mark Nowak

Patrick Redding

ADJUNCT FACULTY

Sally Bilumis-Dunn

Joseph Fasano

Paul Levitz

Overview

The curriculum of the English Department includes courses in all periods of American, British, and international literature in English, as well as courses in Creative and Professional Writing and in Film Studies.

English courses explore literary themes and genres from a variety of viewpoints, equipping students with an understanding of historical and cultural trends, developing students’ proficiency in the analytical reading of and critical writing about literature, and fostering students’ expertise in verbal expression, logical argumentation, and close analysis of language. Training in clear, effective writing is fundamental to all three Concentrations within the department, which are offered as both majors and minors:

Literature

Film Studies

Creative and Professional Writing

In the Literature and Film Studies Concentrations, a progressive sequence of courses develops students’ fundamental skills in writing and critical analysis, including approaching literary and cinematic texts in social and historical contexts and in light of theory and criticism; a senior research thesis caps these two Concentrations. (Double majors in English and secondary education complete a slightly adapted version of the Literature Concentration.)

Creative writers hone their craft in a sequence of workshop courses, complemented by literature courses; a senior writing portfolio caps this Concentration. (An accelerated BA/MFA with Concentration in Creative and Professional Writing is also offered; see the Dual Degrees section of the catalog for details.)

General Requirements and Opportunities

Minimum grade for major or minor requirements: Only courses in which the student receives a grade of "C" or better may be used to satisfy major or minor requirements.

Early literature requirement: Each English Literature major must complete two courses in literature written before 1800. For the Creative Writing and Film concentrations, the requirement is one course in literature before 1800.

Non-western/post colonial literature requirement: Each English major must complete one course in non-western or postcolonial literature or film.

Students may opt to major in one concentration and minor in another as long as no courses are double-counted.

Credit towards the major or minor for courses taken outside the department and for on-line classes is determined by the department chair. The Department generally accepts no more than two outside courses. Students who have received a grade of B or better in Composition and Literature 102 at a Community College and students who have passed the Advanced Placement English Literature Exam with a score of 5 are exempt from one 1000-level literature class.

ENC (English composition) courses are not accepted towards any English major or minor.

Independent studies (ENG.4495 and ENW.4495) are permitted only with full-time members of the department.

Internships related to the major (ENG.4497 and ENW.4497) must be supervised by a full-time member of the department and should be arranged through the Center for Career Development Office.

On-campus publications that welcome submissions from and involvement of students include the campus newspaper, Touchstone, and the undergraduate literary magazine, Graffiti. Internships are also available with The Manhattanville Review, Manhattanville’s national journal of fiction and poetry.

English Department Writing Awards: Each spring, the English Department invites all undergraduates to submit pieces of critical and creative writing for consideration for the Eileen O’Gorman Undergraduate Prize in Fiction, the Robert O’Clair Undergraduate Prize in Poetry, the Sr. Margaret Williams Prize for Literary Criticism, the Dan Masterson Prize for Screenwriting, and the William K. Everson Prize for Writing on Film.

Honors in the English major is granted to students with exceptional (A level) performance throughout their course of study in English.

Literature Concentration

Literature Concentration

The English Major with a Concentration in Literature requires the following courses:

Two ENG 1000-level Introduction to Literature courses

Three ENG 2000-level Literature courses

Two ENG 3000-level Literature seminars

ENG 3083: Literary Theory & Criticism (Prerequisite: one 1000-level ENG course and one 2000-level ENG course) or ENF 3075: Film Theory (Prerequisite: ENG.2083, ENG.1013 or ENF.1001), in the junior year

Two electives at the 2000 or 3000 level, one of which may be ENW (Creative Writing) and/or ENF (Film) courses

Senior Thesis Research (3 credit)

Students double majoring in English and Secondary Education who plan to teach at the middle school or high school level should make sure that their selection of courses meets the following additional distribution requirements: at least one course in American literature, one course in film studies, one course in creative and professional writing, and one course in women’s writing. These students should also see School of Education catalog for additional EDU and ENE course requirements.

The English Minor with a Concentration in Literature requires the following courses (17-19 cr.):

Two ENG 1000-level Introduction to Literature courses

One ENG 2000-level Literature course

Two ENG Electives in Literature at the 2000 level or above. Creative/Professional Writing (ENW) and/or Film (ENF) courses at any level may also be used.

Prerequisites for ENG 3000-level courses: Students must have taken one previous ENG 1000-level course and one previous ENG 2000-level course; for ENG 3998 (Senior Thesis Literature), students must have taken one previous 3000-level course in addition to ENG 3083 (Literary Theory) or ENF 3075 (Film Theory) or by permission of the department; for ENF 3075 (Film Theory), students must have previously taken ENF 1001 (Introduction to Film Studies); for ENF 3998 (Senior Thesis in Film), students must have previously taken ENF 3075 or by permission of the department.

Film Studies Concentration

Film Studies Concentration Film Studies Concentration

The English Major with Concentration in Film Studies requires the following courses:

One ENG 1000-level Introduction to Literature course

Two ENG 2000-level courses in Literature

One additional ENG Literature elective at the 2000- or 3000-level

ENF.1001 Introduction to Film Studies (formerly ENG.2083)

ENF.2088 History of Cinema I or ENF.2089 History of Cinema II

ENF.3075 Film Theory (Note that ENF 1001 is a prerequisite for this course.)

Two ENF or qualifying ENG or ENW Electives in film*

One additional ENF 3000/4000 seminar or qualifying ENG 3000-level seminar*

Senior Thesis in Film Studies (3 cr.)

*The following courses may be used as electives in film: ENF.2080 American Film, ENF.2076 Women’s Film, ENF.2088 History of Cinema I (if not taken as a required course), ENF.2089 History of Cinema II (if not taken as a required course), ENG.3026 Shakespeare on Film (prerequisite: completion of one 1000-level and one 2000-level English course or permission from the department), ENG.3071 Laughter (prerequisite: completion of one 1000-level and one 2000-level English course), ENF.3173 Queer Film and Media Studies (prerequisite: one previous course in film studies, or COMM1001), ENF.4010 Major Film Directors (prerequisite: One previous course in film studies), ENF.4020 Topics in Film Genre (prerequisite: One previous course in film studies), ENF.4030 Topics in National and Regional Cinemas (prerequisite: one previous course in Film Studies), ENW.2040 Writing for the Media, ENW.4003 Screenwriting I (prerequisite: ENW 1013 Approaches to Creative Writing), and ENW.4004 Screenwriting II (prerequisite: Screenwriting I). One elective may, with approval, be a film course from outside the department. Note that a qualifying ENG course may not be counted for both a film and a literature requirement.

Early literature requirement: At least one of the courses for this Concentration must cover literature written before 1800.

Non-western/post-colonial literature requirement: At least one course must cover non-western/post-colonial literature or film.

The English Minor with Concentration in Film Studies requires the following courses:

ENF 1001 Intro to Film Studies

ENF 2088 or ENF 2089 History of Cinema I or II

ENF 3075 Film Theory

Two electives from ENF and/or film and media-related electives (see above) from ENG and/or ENW. One course, with approval, may be a film-related course from outside the department.

Creative and Professional Writing Concentration

Creative and Professional Writing Concentration

The English Major with Concentration in Creative and Professional Writing requires the following courses:

Two 1000-level ENG courses in Literature

Two 2000-level ENG course in Literature

One 3000-level ENG or ENF course in Literature or Film Studies

ENW.1013 Approaches to Creative Writing

ENW.2016 Narrative Studies (Prerequisite: ENW 1013)

Three electives in Creative/Professional Writing

>>The following courses may be used as electives in creative/professional writing. Note that 4000-level courses are repeatable for credit. ENW.4020 Fiction Workshop, ENW.4030 Advanced Fiction Workshop, ENW.4011 Journalism I, ENW.4012 Journalism II, ENW.4009 Poetry Workshop, ENW.4003 Screenwriting I, ENW.4004 Screenwriting II, ENW.2040 Writing for the Media.

ENW.3998 Senior Writing Portfolio (3 credits)

Early literature requirement: At least one of the courses for this Concentration must cover literature written before 1800.

Non-western/post-colonial literature requirement: At least one course must cover non-western/post-colonial literature or film.

The English Minor with Concentration in Creative and Professional Writing requires the following courses (total 20 credits):

Two 1000-level Introduction to Literature

One 2000-level course on literary traditions

ENW.1013 Approaches to Creative Writing

One Elective in Creative/Professional Writing

>>See list of electives in Creative/Professional Writing under the requirements for the Creative/Professional Writing major.