B.A. in English
The study of language and literature is the heart of a liberal arts education. The major program at Gallaudet provides not only an understanding of our rich literary heritage, but also offers an opportunity to develop the advanced reading and writing abilities necessary for anyone wishing to participate fully in modern society. A major or minor in English prepares students for graduate school, careers in education, professional, and creative writing, and for a variety of professional fields. A minor in Writing provides students with the critical thinking skills and information and digital literacies that are essential to employment in the professional world, as well as the exploration of their creative capacities. Students who major in English may also minor in writing, but courses cannot be double-counted
Declaring a Major
Admission to the English major program requirements:
A grade of C or better in any ENG Literature-focused course or ENG 250 or their equivalents, and permission of Major/Minor coordinator or chair.
Students who have not yet declared a major in the English Department may take up to twelve credits of courses numbered 208 or above with permission of the English Major/Minor coordinator; thereafter, admission to the major program is required.
Summary of Requirements
| |
2023-2024 |
| Core Curriculum |
43 |
| Pre-Major Courses |
3 |
| Major and Related Courses |
30 |
| Free Elective Courses |
44 |
| TOTAL |
120 |
Requirements for a Major in English
To continue and graduate in the program, English majors must maintain a GPA of C or better in their major coursework. Students whose major GPA falls below this will be placed on probation and given one semester to improve to a C average. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the major. English majors are also expected to demonstrate academic and personal integrity in major coursework and interactions with faculty and peers, as specified in the university's Academic Integrity Policy and Behavior Codes. Violations of either will result in probation for the remainder of the student's major coursework, in addition to other penalties deemed appropriate by the instructor and/or Major/Minor Review Committee. Further violations will result in dismissal from the major, in addition to other penalties deemed appropriate by the instructor and/or Major/Minor Review Committee. Students may appeal such decisions to the school leader and/or university Academic Integrity Committee.
Required Pre-Major Courses 3 credits
To be taken in freshman or sophomore years:
| ENG 250 | Introduction to Public and Professional Writing | 3 |
Required English Courses 6 credits
| ENG 320 | Field Experience | 3 |
| ENG 493 | Senior Thesis Project [Topic to be specified] | 3 |
Elective English Courses 24 credits
| ENG 323 | Literature and Film I | 3-4 |
| ENG 324 | Literature and Film II | 3-4 |
| ENG 325 | Introduction to Deaf Literature | 3-4 |
| ENG 350 | Introduction to African American Literature | 3-4 |
| ENG 355 | Literature by Women | 3-4 |
| ENG 373 | Introduction to Hispanic-American Literature | 3 |
| ENG 408 | Multicultural Literature and Perspectives | 3 |
| ENG 410 | Adolescent Literature | 3 |
| ENG 433 | Seminar in Pre-1800 Literature [topic to be specified] | 3 |
| ENG 435 | Seminar in Post-1800 Literature [Topic to be specified] | 3 |
| ENG 441 | Shakespeare | 3 |
| ENG 442 | Major Author [Topic to be specified] | 3 |
| ENG 495 | Special Topics [Topic to be specified] | 1-5 |
| ENG 330 | Topics in Popular Culture and Literature | 3-4 |
| ENG 360 | Writing for Digital Media | 3 |
| ENG 365 | Writing for Social Media | 3 |
| ENG 370 | Multimedia Composition | 3 |
| ENG 375 | Media Literacy | 3 |
| ENG 380 | Business and Technical Writing | 3 |
| ENG 381 | Report Writing | 3 |
| ENG 382 | Fundraising and Grant Writing | 3 |
| ENG 385 | Fundamentals of Journalism | 3 |
| ENG 387 | Writing Center Theory and Practice | 3 |
| ENG 390 | Theories of Composition and Language Acquisition | 3 |
| ENG 392 | Introduction to Creative Writing [Topic to be specified] | 3 |
| ENG 393 | Intermediate Creative Writing [Topic to be specified] | 3 |
| ENG 460 | English Grammar for Writers & Future Teachers | 3 |
| ENG 499 | Independent Study | 1-3 |
| THE 342 | Play Creation Lab | 3 |
| ENG 326 | Deaf Memoirs | 3 |
| ENG 367 | Ghost Stories and Haunted History | 3 |
| ENG 366 | Travel Literature [Topic to be specified] | 3 |
| ENG 376 | Comics and Critical Literacy | 3 |
ENG 433 and ENG 435: Topic to be specified
Program Outcomes
SLO 1: Students will use written English and American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate effectively. Aligns with GU SLOs Bilingualism and Wellness
SLO 2: Critical Interpretation of Texts. Students will demonstrate ability to read and interpret texts critically for different tasks and purposes. Aligns with GU SLOs Bilingualism, Digital Awareness, Critical Thinking, and Wellness
SLO 3: Research Competencies. Students will demonstrate knowledge of research competencies and be able to incorporate these in their own texts. Aligns with GU SLOs Ethics, Digital Awareness, Career Readiness, and Science Literacy.
SLO 4: Knowledge of major traditions and contexts of literatures written in English. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the major traditions of literatures written in English in their cultural, historical, critical, theoretical, and linguistic contexts. Aligns with GU SLOs Global Citizenship, Bilingualism.
SLO 1: Language and Communication. Students will use written English and American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate effectively.
Aligns with GU SLOs Bilingualism and Wellness
1.1 Write in English effectively and clearly for various purposes, settings, and audiences in diverse media and genres.
1.1.1 Demonstrate flexibility and range in adapting writing to match the rhetorical, stylistic, critical, and creative demands of the situation and media choice. Bilingualism: Bilingualism competence; Wellness: Wellness behaviors, Wellness: Meaning in life
1.1.2 Demonstrate competence in written English. Bilingualism: Bilingualism competence
1.1.3 Develop, revise, and edit for content and style across both higher-order (e.g. thesis, audience, purpose, organization, structure, paragraphing) and lower-order (grammar and spelling) concerns in a paper. Bilingualism: Bilingualism competence
1.2 Communicate and collaborate effectively and clearly using American Sign Language (ASL) in academic and professional contexts. Bilingualism: Bilingualism composition
1.2.1 Demonstrate flexibility and range in ASL receptive and expressive communication to match the rhetorical, stylistic, critical, and creative demands of the situation and media choice. Bilingualism: Comprehension and summarization; Wellness: Wellness behaviors
1.2.2. Demonstrate competence in academic ASL. Bilingualism: Bilingualism composition
1.2.3 Present content coherently, which involves clarifying points, bringing together information in a well-organized way, and drawing logical connections among ideas. Bilingualism: Bimodal, multimodal communication strategies
SLO 2: Critical Interpretation of Texts. Students will demonstrate ability to read and interpret texts critically for different tasks and purposes. Aligns with GU SLOs Bilingualism, Digital Awareness, Critical Thinking, and Wellness
2.1 Demonstrate ability to read and interpret texts critically—thoughtfully, actively, reflectively, and analytically—for different tasks and purposes and in different contexts. Bilingualism: Articulate the influence
2.1.1 Apply a variety of critical reading strategies to texts. Bilingualism: Comprehension and summarization; Critical Thinking: Analyze arguments, Critical Thinking: Evaluate argument; Wellness: Meaning in life
2.1.2 Identify key elements such as the comprehension of content, language, and formal elements for the purposes of a development of an interpretation or an argument. Bilingualism: Discourse competence
2.1.3 Indicate awareness of a particular text’s genre, purpose, style, and related rhetorical and contextual matters. Bilingualism: Comprehension and summarization; Critical Thinking: Critique and creativity
2.1.4 Identify and work with textual evidence. Bilingualism: Bilingualism Composition; Digital Awareness: Ethical use of data and technology; Critical Thinking: Creative contribution
2.2 Demonstrate ability to watch ASL texts critically—thoughtfully, actively, attentively, reflectively, and analytically—for different tasks and purposes. Bilingualism: Comprehension and summarization
2.2.1 Apply critical receptive strategies to a variety of ASL texts and contexts. Bilingualism: Comprehension and summarization
2.2.2 Identify key elements such as content, language, and formal elements in an ASL text for the purposes of the development of an interpretation or an argument. Bilingualism: Comprehension and summarization; Wellness: Meaning in life
2.2.3 Indicate awareness of a particular ASL text’s genre, purpose, style, and related rhetorical and contextual matters. Bilingualism: Comprehension and summarization; Critical Thinking: Critique and creativity
2.2.4 Identify and work with textual evidence from ASL texts. Bilingualism: Discourse competence; Digital Awareness: Ethical use of data and technology; Critical Thinking: Creative contribution
SLO 3: Research Competencies. Students will demonstrate knowledge of research competencies and be able to incorporate these in their own texts. Aligns with GU SLOs Ethics, Digital Awareness, Career Readiness, and Science Literacy.
3.1 Identify topics and formulate questions for inquiry appropriate for the discipline and writing task. Ethics: Identification of ethical issues.
3.2 Identify and evaluate appropriate methods and primary and secondary sources for research. Ethics: Evaluation and debate; Science Literacy: Evidence of supported decisions
3.3 Incorporate their chosen sources effectively in their own writing. Ethics: Evaluation and debate; Science Literacy: Evidence of supported decisions
3.4 Implement ideas from literary, rhetorical, and cultural criticism in their own reading and writing. Ethics: Codes of behavior; Digital Awareness: Ethical use of data and technology.
3.5 Express ideas as informed opinions that are in dialogue with a larger community of readers and writers. Ethics: Evaluation and debate; Career Readiness: Personal interests.
3.6 Indicate in informal and formal analyses an understanding of how the student’s approach compares to the variety of critical and theoretical approaches available. Ethics: Codes of behavior; Digital Awareness: Ethical use of data and technology
3.7 Cite all sources accurately, ethically, and appropriately. Ethics: Codes of behavior; Digital Awareness: Ethical use of data and technology; Science Literacy: Evidence of supported decisions
SLO 4: Knowledge of major traditions and contexts of literatures written in English. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the major traditions of literatures written in English in their cultural, historical, critical, theoretical, and linguistic contexts. Aligns with GU SLOs Global Citizenship, Bilingualism.
4.1 Read and demonstrate a critical awareness of the structure and history of the English language, major works and materials related to literary periods, genres, and their defining characteristics. Bilingualism: Articulate the Influence; Global Citizenship: Intersection of privilege and oppression, Global Citizenship: Identities/histories shift
4.2 Indicate an awareness of and appreciation for the diversity of literary and social perspectives contained within the major traditions. Bilingualism: Articulate the Influence; Global Citizenship: Working in multicultural groups
4.3 Indicate knowledge of the conventions of both literary and non-literary texts and genres. Bilingualism: Articulate the Influence; Global Citizenship: Civic discourse
4.4 Develop knowledge of the historical, cultural, and linguistic contexts of texts. Bilingualism: Articulate the Influence; Global Citizenship: Identities/histories shift
4.5 Know and identify traditions of cultural and literary theory and be able to apply key components of a particular theoretical approach or methodology. Bilingualism: Articulate the Influence; Global Citizenship: Intersection of privilege and oppression, Global Citizenship: Identities/histories shift
4.6 Indicate awareness of both canonical and non-canonical literatures and writers to appreciate and understand the many contributions diverse and multicultural writers bring to our study of literature and identity in written English literatures. Bilingualism: Articulate the Influence; Global Citizenship: Intersection of privilege and oppression, Global Citizenship: Identities/histories shift.