English
The Bachelor of Arts in English allows students to think critically and write both persuasively and creatively, as well as perform publicly with attention to developing voice and an awareness of audience. Within the major, students may elect to pursue one of two additional options: the Drama Minor or the Creative Writing and Performance Concentration.
In addition to five required literature courses, students draw from a wide variety of electives, including:
- Childrenâs Literature
- Poking Fun: Irony and Satire
- Literature of the Environment
- Literature and Diversity
Courses in the Creative Writing and Performance concentration include:
- Writing the Self in Poetry and Prose
- Modern Drama in Performance
- Journal Editing
The Journal Editing course focuses on poetry and prepares you to select and submit entries to the professional, national-level poetry journal, Presence.
Internships
English majors who are not involved in field work and student teaching through double-majoring in education are strongly encouraged to participate in one or more internships. In recent years, students have worked for Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, NJ Kids Directory, The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College, as well as for Calyx, the student-driven literary magazine of Caldwell University and for the media relations department at Caldwell. They have also assisted professional writers with research projects and worked at area public libraries. The department is also able to offer opportunities to intern in the area of grant writing.
Recent Graduates
Recent Caldwell English major graduates have completed M.A. degrees in English and M.F.A. degrees in creative writing and subsequently taught at the elementary, high school, and college level. Others have pursued graduate degrees in the fields of law, history, library science, and education administration and have proceeded to work in research, community activism, libraries, and higher-education administration. Still others write for professional publications.
Majoring in English at Caldwell University Powerpoint
âA book is a silent meeting of two minds âthe authorâs and the readerâs. An intimate connection, that often meets our connection needs more than another human being.â – Bijal Shah
Helpful Links
Presence: A Journal Of Catholic Poetry
Undergraduate English Major Comprehensive Portfolio Assessment
Majors and Minors
Majors
B.A in English
B.A in Education
Minors
Drama
English
Creative Writing and Performance Concentration
The department offers a B.A. degree in English.
As a final requirement for graduation, English majors are expected to write a comprehensive essay demonstrating their mastery of clear purposeful prose and the tools of literary analysis; the essay must integrate insights from several periods and genres in English, American, and world literature. A student whose comprehensive essay is judged inadequate by the English faculty will have the opportunity to retake the test. Students who do not complete this requirement will not be able to obtain a degree in English. Post-baccalaureate, second degree and alternate route students taking 30 credits in English do not need to take the comprehensive examination. Note: Students must have a 2.0 grade point average in the major to take the examination
STUDENTS WHO MAJOR IN ENGLISH MUST COMPLETE:
Short Title : Found. W.Lit
Course Code : EN 301
Course Description :
Surveys major literary texts in the history of western and world literature with an emphasis on those considered essential to an understanding of British and American literature.
Prerequisites :
EN111, EN320, EN COR 1
- Credit : 3
Short Title : English Literat
Course Code : EN 306
Course Description :
Covers the development of English literature from early medieval to modern times, including readings from representative authors of each period.
Prerequisites :
EN COR 1, EN111, EN320
- Credit : 3
Short Title : Cap Eport. Prj.
Course Code : EN 410
Course Description :
One of the final courses that an English major takes, the "Capstone ePortfolio Project" offers students the opportunity to revisit several papers written for English classes taken at Caldwell University. In this capstone course, students will heavily revise these papers according to certain guidelines, incorporate the process of self-reflection, and ultimately create an e-portfolio that will showcase their accomplishments as English majors. *Formerly English Seminar through Spring 2019.
Prerequisites :
EN COR 1, EN111, EN320
- Credit : 3
Short Title : American Litera
Course Code : EN 305
Course Description :
Surveys over three hundred years of American literature beginning with the Puritans and other early English settlers and ending in the first half of the twentieth century, with an emphasis on the nineteenth century. Ranging across a variety of genres, modes, and literary movements, from the early Puritan plain style to the nineteenth-century American literary Renaissance, from realism and regional local color writing to modernism, from Realism to the Harlem Renaissance, this class will explore how American writers have created an American subject.
Prerequisites :
EN COR 1, EN111, EN320
- Credit : 3
OR
Short Title : The American No
Course Code : EN 313
Course Description :
What makes an American novel? How did the American novel help to create a myth of national origins for the United States? What role did the American novel play in shaping the cultural, political, economic, and social debates that arose as the United States grew from young nation to 20th-century world superpower? How does the American novel work to effect social change and advocate for social justice? In answering these questions and others, we will explore the development of the novel in America, spanning roughly three hundred years from late-18th-century novels of seduction through American literary nationalism and the American literary Renaissance into turn-of-the-century naturalism and realism and, finally, the 20th century. Students will gain a broad understanding of the development, modes, and major themes of the American novel as we explore how American writers have created an American subject.
Prerequisites :
EN111, EN COR 1, EN320
- Credit : 3
Short Title : Shakespeare:Pol
Course Code : EN 401
Course Description :
Explores Shakespeare's interpretation of the use and abuse of political power while tracing his dramatic development through critical reading of representative plays.
Prerequisites :
EN COR 1, EN320, EN111
- Credit : 3
OR
Short Title : Shakesp:Plays O
Course Code : EN 417
Course Description :
Explores Shakespeare's use and interpretation of the literary conventions of love while tracing his dramatic development through critical reading of representative plays and sonnets.
Prerequisites :
EN COR 1, EN111, EN320
- Credit : 3
and a minimum of five additional courses 300-level and above.
Students may substitute the following 200-level courses:
EN 207 Global Literature
EN 221 Woman in Literature
EN 226 Psychology in Literature
EN 229 Literature and the Arts
Students must attain a minimum grade of C in all courses applied to the English major.
Requirements for Elementary School with Subject Matter Specialization Endorsement (Middle School):
Short Title : American Litera
Course Code : EN 305
Course Description :
Surveys over three hundred years of American literature beginning with the Puritans and other early English settlers and ending in the first half of the twentieth century, with an emphasis on the nineteenth century. Ranging across a variety of genres, modes, and literary movements, from the early Puritan plain style to the nineteenth-century American literary Renaissance, from realism and regional local color writing to modernism, from Realism to the Harlem Renaissance, this class will explore how American writers have created an American subject.
Prerequisites :
EN COR 1, EN111, EN320
- Credit : 3
Short Title : Found. W.Lit
Course Code : EN 301
Course Description :
Surveys major literary texts in the history of western and world literature with an emphasis on those considered essential to an understanding of British and American literature.
Prerequisites :
EN111, EN320, EN COR 1
- Credit : 3
OR
Short Title : English Literat
Course Code : EN 306
Course Description :
Covers the development of English literature from early medieval to modern times, including readings from representative authors of each period.
Prerequisites :
EN COR 1, EN111, EN320
- Credit : 3
In addition to the required courses, students seeking middle school endorsement must choose three upper division English courses (300- or 400-level). Students may substitute the 200-level courses listed above.
CREATIVE WRITING AND PERFORMANCE CONCENTRATION
English majors wishing to concentrate on writing and/or performance must complete the following:
- 5 required courses for the English major
- 3 upper-level literature electives
- any 3 electives from among the following writing/performance courses:
Course Code : DR 202
Course Description :
Introduces students to performance styles and conditions across the centuries.
- Credit : 3
Course Code : DR 203
Course Description :
Focuses on a range of twentieth century scripts, styles and conditions.
- Credit : 3
Course Code : DR 204
Course Description :
Introduces students to the study of Shakespearean drama as a performing art.
- Credit : 3
Course Code : EN 319
Course Description :
A hybrid literature/creative writing/performance course that allows students to explore the possibilities for self-expression in poetry and personal essays. Students read and analyze examples of personal essays and lyric poetry by published authors; read and discuss a guidebook discussion of craft; write their own pieces in a collaborative, workshop setting that encourages critique and revision; and, ultimately, perform selected pieces for their classmates and/or a campus audience in a campus venue. Though there will be a strong autobiographical element in the writing studied and produced for the course, students will also be encouraged to think about how their experiences and concerns as individual writers intersect with the wider world and can be expressed in ways that will engage an audience.
Short Title : Writing Power
Course Code : EN 320
Course Description :
Offers an intensive writing workshop for students determined to advance from average to superior writing performance. Emphasis on effective strategies for producing compelling prose in many disciplines. Chair’s permission required. Does not fulfill core literature requirement.
- Credit : 3
Course Code : EN 323
Course Description :
This course will enable students to exercise a critical eye when selecting poems submitted by a wide variety of contemporary poets on the basis of their artistic merit. Selected poems will be published in the annual issue of the international print journal, Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry. Students will read critical essays that discuss qualities of poetry that make it “good” by way of its craft. Additionally, they will read book reviews published in a number of current literary journals devoted to the intersection of literature and religious faith or spirituality with a view toward writing short reviews of recently published collections of poems. Excerpts from these student reviews will be posted on the journal’s website: www.catholicpoetryjournal.com.
- Credit : 3
Short Title : Writ For Prof
Course Code : EN 338
Course Description :
Focuses on the professional writing required in a variety of professional fields such as education, finance, publishing, health professions, communications and others. Students work on the various genres of professional writing, including proposals, press releases, business plans, reports, feature articles, op-ed essays, letters, memos, and electronic formulations. Does not fulfill core literature requirement.
Prerequisites :
EN111, EN320
- Credit : 3
Short Title : Creative Writin
Course Code : EN 406
Course Description :
Offers an intensive exploration of the short story and lyric poetry. A workshop for students interested in developing creative talents. Opportunity for publication in literary magazine. Does not fulfill core literature requirement.
Prerequisites :
EN COR 1, EN111, EN320
- Credit : 3
Course Code : EN 418
Course Description :
When we stay up far into the night reading a novel instead of sleeping, chances are that the book in question is not one of the “classics” typically enshrined in literature anthologies and taught in college English courses but a psychological thriller, romance novel, detective story, horror novel or science fiction narrative. For many of us, these and other forms of genre fiction constitute a vital part of our extracurricular reading—the reading we do, perhaps somewhat guiltily, for fun. Guilty Pleasures: Reading and Writing Genre Fiction starts from the premise that we need not apologize for the pleasure we find in the books of Stephen King or Octavia Butler or Patricia Highsmith—to take three well-known examples—that genre fiction often has great literary value, and that it can teach us a lot about how fiction works. This course introduces students to some of the best short fiction in a selected genre and helps them apply what they have learned in short stories of their own creation. Does not fulfill core literature requirement.
- Credit : 3
Students concentrating in these areas must write the same comprehensive essay for outcomes assessment as all English majors.
Your degree includes credits from Liberal Arts and Sciences Core, Major, and Electives.
A Catholic Liberal Arts Education
At the core of a Caldwell education is our liberal arts curriculum, designed to guide students to critical thinking skills, appreciate diverse cultures, and acquire a moral and civic awareness.
Students develop the whole self as they absorb learning through our liberal arts core: the humanities; the physical and biological sciences, and mathematics; and the social sciences.