Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 36
- Grade Required: C or above
Required Courses
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ELIT 2151 | Literature in English: Early Texts and Contexts | 3 |
| ELIT 2152 | Literature in English: Modern Texts and Contexts | 3 |
| ELIT 3000 | Introduction to Literary Theory | 3 |
Requirements
In addition to the 9 units of required coursework, students must complete 27 units of coursework, 24 of which must be upper-division (3000- and 4000-level) coursework and at least 6 units of which must be at the 4000 level, distributed as follows. Students must earn a C or better in all courses to count them toward the major.
1. Historical Requirements
Three historical courses covering three of the following five historical periods in American, British, or Anglophone literature and including at least one course from each of the following two groups:
Group 1
- Medieval
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ELIT 3102 | Old English Literature: Beowulf | 3 |
| ELIT 3109 | The Medieval Romance | 3 |
| ELIT 3266 | Topics in Medieval Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 4101 | Medieval English Literature (when offered as "Medieval Dream Visions") | 3 |
| ELIT 4102 | Medieval English Literature II | 3 |
| ELIT 4158 | Chaucer | 3 |
- Early Modern
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ELIT 3129 | Reading in the Renaissance: Texts and Practices | 3 |
| ELIT 3154 | The Renaissance | 3 |
| ELIT 3155 | Topics in Renaissance Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3162 | Shakespeare in Performance | 3 |
| ELIT 3163 | Shakespeare | 3 |
| ELIT 3271 | Topics in Early Modern Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 4103 | Sixteenth-Century English Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 4104 | 17th-Century English Literature: 1603-1660 | 3 |
| ELIT 4124 | Reading in the Renaissance: Literature and Media in Early Modern England | 3 |
| ELIT 4149 | Topics in English Literature and History: The 17th Century | 3 |
| ELIT 4200 | Spenser | 3 |
| ELIT 4201 | The Spenser Lab | 3 |
Group 2
- The 18th Century
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ELIT 3116 | Topics In Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3125 | Selected Writers: Jane Austen | 3 |
| ELIT 3172 | The Eighteenth Century | 3 |
| ELIT 3276 | Topics in 18th Century Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3513 | The Literature of the American Revolution | 3 |
| ELIT 3519 | Epistolary Literature in the 18th Century: Other Peoples' Letters | 3 |
| ELIT 4105 | Restoration & Augustan Literature: 1660-1740 (ELIT 4621:: The Secret Life Of Things) Will run in spring 2027 | 3 |
- The 19th Century
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ELIT 3130 | A History of the Golden Age of Children's Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3131 | Modern Drama 1850-1920 | 3 |
| ELIT 3135 | Topics in 19th- and 20th-Century American Writing: American Short Fiction | 3 |
| ELIT 3156 | Writing and the Representation of Pain | 3 |
| ELIT 3157 | The Victorian Period | 3 |
| ELIT 3165 | Topics in 19th-Century American Writing | 3 |
| ELIT 3281 | Topics in 19th Century Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 4107 | Readings in 19th-Century English Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 4137 | English Novel of the 19th Century | 3 |
| ELIT 4155 | Frankenstein | 3 |
- The 20th Century and Later
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ELIT 3100 | The Great American Novel | 3 |
| ELIT 3101 | Literature and Consent | 3 |
| ELIT 3105 | Caribbean Literature in English | 3 |
| ELIT 3107 | Topics in English & American Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3119 | Contemporary American Women Poets | 3 |
| ELIT 3126 | Selected American Writers: Toni Morrison | 3 |
| ELIT 3133 | Modern Drama, 1945 to the Present | 3 |
| ELIT 3135 | Topics in 19th- and 20th-Century American Writing: American Short Fiction | 3 |
| ELIT 3136 | Topics in 20th-Century American Writing | 3 |
| ELIT 3138 | Introduction to Postcolonial Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3148 | 20th-Century Poetry | 3 |
| ELIT 3149 | Black Literature: Race, Class, and Writing in the United States and the Caribbean, 1900-1950 | 3 |
| ELIT 3150 | The Writings of Philip Roth | 3 |
| ELIT 3160 | African-American Literature: African-American Writers Since the Harlem Renaissance | 3 |
| ELIT 3286 | Topics in 20th Century and Later Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3502 | Topics in American Literature: Girls' Fiction | 3 |
| ELIT 3510 | Writing Modern War | 3 |
| ELIT 3512 | Bots, Drones, and Cyborgs: Being Human in the Age of Intelligent Machines | 3 |
| ELIT 3517 | Memory and Narrative: The Literature of Memory | 3 |
| ELIT 3518 | On Time: Clocks, Calendars, Crisis in Modern British Fiction | 3 |
| ELIT 4121 | American Fiction Since 1945 | 3 |
| ELIT 4125 | Topics In Literature - Topics in 20th Century and Later Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 4131 | Modern British and American Poetry | 3 |
| ELIT 4132 | Modern Poetry I: Modernisms | 3 |
| ELIT 4134 | 20th-Century Irish Poetry | 3 |
| ELIT 4138 | The Modern Novel | 3 |
| ELIT 4139 | British Fiction After Modernism | 3 |
| ELIT 4140 | Contemporary Fiction | 3 |
| ELIT 4141 | The Modern European Novel | 3 |
2. Global or Minority Literatures
At least one 3000- or 4000-level literature course must be taken in one of the following areas:
- Global literatures in English, defined as the Anglophone literatures of Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia, and other non-British or non-U.S. territories
- Minority literatures of the United States or the United Kingdom, which include Anglophone African American, Asian American, Native American, Latinx, and Black British writing
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFAS 3254 | African Americans and Children's Literature | 3 |
| AFAS 3451 | Topics in African-American Literature: | 3 |
| AFAS 3460 | African American Literature: African American Writers Since the Harlem Renaissance | 3 |
| AFAS 3550 | Undoing Empire: Introduction to Postcolonial Writing and Art | 3 |
| ELIT 3105 | Caribbean Literature in English | 3 |
| ELIT 3106 | Topics in Asian American Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3126 | Selected American Writers: Toni Morrison | 3 |
| ELIT 3138 | Introduction to Postcolonial Literature | 3 |
| ELIT 3142 | Blacks and Jews in America | 3 |
| ELIT 3149 | Black Literature: Race, Class, and Writing in the United States and the Caribbean, 1900-1950 | 3 |
| ELIT 3159 | African-American Literature: Early Writers to the Harlem Renaissance | 3 |
| ELIT 3160 | African-American Literature: African-American Writers Since the Harlem Renaissance | 3 |
| ELIT 3161 | African Literature in English | 3 |
| ELIT 4113 | Slavery and the American Imagination | 3 |
| ELIT 4116 | Topics in African-American Literature | 3 |
Courses applied to this requirement may also satisfy other English major requirements involving historical range (requirement 1) and the need to complete two 4000-level courses.
3. Genre Sequence
Three creative writing courses specializing in one particular genre (poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction) that follow the sequence: introductory (2000 level), intermediate (3000 level), and advanced (4000 level).
4. Electives
Three electives: one upper-level literature (ELIT) elective, one creative writing elective, and one creative writing elective outside the chosen genre of specialization. One of the two creative writing electives must be at the 3000 or 4000 level.
5. Additional Information
- At least two literature (ELIT) courses must be at the 4000 level.
- Only one non-ELIT or non-WRITING course may be counted toward the 27 units required.
- A maximum of 6 units from WashU Continuing & Professional Studies and/or Summer School courses may count toward the major. These selections require English department approval.
- Study abroad students are expected to complete the 2000-level prerequisite courses and at least two upper-level courses in English literature before going abroad.
- 3 units of 3000- or 4000-level courses in the literature of a language other than English may be counted toward the English major, as an elective, provided that the reading for the course was done in the original language and that the course is not also being credited toward another program.
- Before the end of their junior year, majors are encouraged to consult with their advisors regarding the fulfillment of major requirements.
6. Portfolio Capstone
All majors are required to complete a portfolio capstone project, for which the student provides a 2000-level paper, a 4000-level paper, and a brief essay (two to three pages) that reflects on the student's overall learning experience in the major.
Creative Writing Specialization
There is the option of completing an English Literature major with a creative writing specialization. To do so, students must take five creative writing courses, including at least three upper-division courses. Students will specialize in one particular genre — poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction — and, ultimately, take a three-course sequence (2000-, 3000-, and 4000-level courses) in that genre while taking at least one course outside of the chosen genre. The specialization requirements will not change the requirement structure for the English major and, thus, requires 6 additional credit units to complete as compared with a regular English Literature major. For more information, please consult the description of the major on the English department website.
Contact Info
| Phone: | 314-935-5190 |
| Email: | english@wustl.edu |
| Website: | http://english.artsci.wustl.edu |