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3187 Angell Hall |
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Phone: (734) 764-6330 |
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Fax: (734) 763-3128 |
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Website: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/english/ |
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email: undergrad.sec.eng@umich.edu |
A spontaneous enjoyment of reading and writing, an interest in the play of language, and a curiosity about the development of culture in all of its social implications leads students to the discipline of English. Most people associate English with the study of literature, and they are right in this. But English is a capacious field that includes any number of human activities in which language plays a major role: drama and film, language study, theories of criticism, the writing of poetry, fiction, and prose essays, and the interpretation of rhetorical strategies in everything from restaurant menus to national constitutions.
The University's large and eclectic faculty in English offers a curriculum that spans this variety of interests. The Department offers courses on widely valued authors, from Chaucer to Faulkner to Pynchon, from Shakespeare to Plath to Morrison; it is rich, too, in courses addressing topically such complex literary-cultural material as Afro-American literature and literature by women. Most recently, it has been developing its capacity to address the global range of literature written in English, from Canada to the Caribbean to India. Its interests, in fact, shade imperceptibly into those of such other disciplines as American Culture, Comparative Literature, Theatre, Film and Video Studies, African American Studies, and Women's Studies, all of them represented by strong programs here.
This curricular breadth encourages students to engage in new subjects, but it also requires students to define and deepen their individual interests in a meaningful sequence of related courses. For that reason the Department encourages undergraduates to work closely with a faculty advisor, member of our faculty, or a concentration advisor.
In all, by nurturing an awareness of the ways in which the human situation has been represented in different historical periods and social circumstances and in varying literary forms, the study of English leads people to a fuller, more imaginative understanding of themselves and of their own society. In a time of intensifying specialization, English offers a general humane education.
Career Opportunities
As a key constituent of liberal arts education, English resists reduction to a pre-professional status and encourages learning for its own sake. Nonetheless, the popular misconception that a liberal arts education leads nowhere professionally is refuted by the strong and increasing demand for students in English in such diverse fields as government, industry and business, law, medicine, and the mass media. Career opportunities in teaching and writing are extremely varied and currently increasing. Some examples follow.
Government, Business, Law, and other pursuits ñ A concentration in English supports a career in any endeavor that makes use of the written word. In business, for example, large corporations typically employ graduates in English to instruct administrators in effective communication, and to prepare materials for advertising, for public and press relations, and for product booklets. But the larger point is that the abilities achieved in the study of English ñ imaginative and precise interpretation and expression ñ are readily applicable to any endeavor.
Writing ñ Opportunities for careers in writing are many and varied, including professional literary work, journalism, publishing and editing, advertising, research, government service, public relations ñ in fact, every kind of activity that makes use of the written word. Students should realize that a professional career as a novelist, poet, or dramatist is possible only by virtue of superior talent. Nonetheless, skill in self-expression has many markets, and those who develop solid verbal craftsmanship will find rewards for their abilities.
Teaching ñ Some undergraduate English concentrators choose to pursue a graduate education with a goal of college teaching and academic scholarship. Many other students concentrating in English are candidates for the teacher's certificate: the Department of English has long maintained its concern for excellent training of teachers.
Specific preparation for teaching English in high schools and community colleges requires (1) a "major" in English; (2) a "minor" in another subject or related field, such as social studies; and (3) a teacher's certificate, which may be obtained by taking basic courses in psychology, education, and directed teaching. The program is designed to provide both a liberal arts education and moderately specialized professional training. It includes courses in British and American literature, composition, the history of structure of the English language, and the teaching of English.
Fields of Instruction
The courses in the Department of English are divided into broad fields: English and American literature, writing, and the English language. Classes vary in size from seminars to lecture courses, but many are small enough to allow for lively discussion and a high degree of individual instruction. Writing courses are limited to twenty students. In addition to its on-campus teaching, the department runs a special summer program in New Hampshire which concentrates on New England literature. [University Record article about NELP]
As prerequisite to the English concentration, students elect one course in the close reading of poetry and a second exploring the nature of our discipline. Students concentrating in the General Program are required to take 27 upper-level credits, to include three courses in Literature in English written before 1830, one of which should study pre-1600 literature; a course in American literature; and a course focusing on the works of minority or women authors (the "New Traditions" requirement). Each concentrator should work with a departmental advisor to develop a program reflecting an individual area of interest: a particular historical field or literary genre, writing, language, film or some other area.
Honors Program ñ The Department of English has for many years offered an Honors Program. The aim is to afford those who are qualified the opportunity for intensive work in sustained association with a relatively small group of other students who are admitted to the program. Students interested in the Honors Program should consult with, and be admitted by, the honors program director. Prospective Honors students in English might best prepare for the program by taking, in their first two years, English 240 (Introduction to Poetry) and English 239 (What is Literature?). The Honors Program itself will consist of a set of two special seminars for honors students, to be taken over the course of the junior and senior years, plus a seminar in critical theory, and a year-long thesis writing course during the senior year. All students must fulfill the regular English concentration requirements and take the theory course offered by the department each term required courses for the English Honors Program. Students should, however, strive for historical and methodological range in the seminars they elect. Students will also write a thesis on a literary subject of their own choice, with the help of an advisor. Students who plan to study abroad may offer substitutions for various courses with the approval of the director of the program.
Creative Writing Subconcentration ñ Students interested in the department's offerings in creative writing should begin with English 223, an introduction to the reading and writing of modern poetry and prose (and, in some sections, drama) and to the workshop method of critiquing student writing. Successful completion of the introductory course entitles students to apply to the intermediate course, English 323, in the genre of their choice (poetry or, fiction or a combination of artistic media). At the advanced level, students may elect (with the instructor's permission) the advanced fiction workshop (English 423) or the advanced poetry workshop (English 429).
English concentrators who wish to specialize in the writing of poetry or prose fiction may, in the winter term of their junior year, apply to the Creative Writing Subconcentration, which is an optional path to a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Students in the program take creative writing workshops described above in sequence, and in their last term, compile a major manuscript of poetry or prose fiction while working closely with the creative writing faculty in a tutorial reserved for subconcentrators (English 428). The program is small and highly selective; however students not enrolled in the subconcentration may still pursue their interest in creative writing by applying to the appropriate upper-level workshops.
The Avery Hopwood Awards ñ Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, prominent American dramatist and University alumnus, a sum of about $40,000 is distributed annually in prizes for creative writing in fiction, poetry, drama, screenplay, and the essay. The awards are made on a competitive basis; the manuscripts submitted are judged by nationally known writers; and the contests are open to all University students who meet the conditions specified in the Hopwood Bulletin. In many cases these awards are large enough to afford the winners some leisure in which to develop their skills in writing. The Hopwood Program also administers eight other writing and fellowship contests.
Cultural Opportunities ñ The University, with a student body and faculty drawn from the entire nation and many foreign countries, offers a large variety of cultural advantages. Plays, concerts, lectures, notable films, art exhibitions, ballet, and modern dance provide an excellent environment for developing one's cultural interests and awareness.
The Department of English brings writers of distinction to the campus to give readings and lectures and to serve as visiting members of the faculty. In past years Robert Frost, W.H. Auden, Joyce Carol Oates, Kurt Vonnegut, and Jerzy Kosinski,Derek Walcott, Michael Ondaatje, Seamus Heaney, Athol Fugard, Grace Paley, and Robert Hass, among many others, have made stays of varying lengths on the campus. During the fall and winter terms, the department sponsors weekly readings by new as well as established poets.
Interest in drama is strong at the University. There are four campus theaters (including the Power Center for the Performing Arts) in which plays are presented by the Professional Theater Program ( in conjunction with the Department of Theatre and Drama), and by other groups such as the Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
The University Library system of approximately six million volumes is one of the best in the nation, and the University Museum of Art houses a constantly growing collection of paintings and sculpture.
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