English Major

Major Requirements

Students earning a major in English choose between two paths: English or Creative Writing. The English path consists of a minimum of ten courses (40 credits) in English, including a capstone experience in literature. The Creative Writing path consists of the requirements for the English major, as defined below under English, plus the use of departmental electives for five creative writing courses (20 credits), including a capstone experience in Creative Writing. For both paths, courses are to be planned and a major plan completed in consultation with an English department advisor and according to the requirements below. Major plan forms are available from the English department coordinator. A shorter explanation of the English major may be found on the department’s website, at www.macalester.edu/english/major.html.

English

Ten courses (40 credits) in English with the following requirements:

One course (4 credits) numbered from 105-194 in order to provide a foundation for the further study of literature. Any one of these courses serves as a prerequisite for literature courses numbered 300 and above. None of these courses may be used to satisfy requirement #2. (Note that although Advanced Placement credit can show up on transcripts as ENGL 125 , it does not count toward the major, nor does it count as a prerequisite for 300-level courses. ENGL 125 taken at Macalester does count toward the major and as a prerequisite for 300-level courses.)
Three courses (12 credits) in British or American literature before 1900, distributed among three of the following four periods: Medieval/Renaissance, 18th Century British, 19th Century British or 19th Century American.
One course (4 credits) focused on literature by U.S. writers of color, or an approved course in postcolonial or diasporic literature.
One Capstone Experience (4 credits). The Capstone Experience requirement may be fulfilled by any one of the following taken at Macalester as a senior:
1. A course in the 400s sequence
2. An Honors Project. See full guidelines on the English Department website.
3. An appropriate independent course developed in consultation with an English department faculty member. Examples of such a project would be an extensive research paper on a literary subject, a portfolio of creative work, a cross-disciplinary project, or a presentation by means of performance, multimedia, or hypertext.

Creative Writing

The Creative Writing path includes the requirements of the English path (see above), plus the use of departmental electives for a minimum of five creative writing courses: ENGL 150 - Introduction to Creative Writing and four intermediate or advanced creative writing courses, one of which must be a capstone experience in Creative Writing taken in the senior year. NOTE: English majors on the Creative Writing path do not have to take a capstone experience in literature.

Note that ENGL 150 - Introduction to Creative Writing , taken at Macalester is the required prerequisite for all further creative writing courses. Creative Writing path English majors may not use ENGL 150 to satisfy the requirement for a gateway course (see 1 above), but must also take a course numbered between ENGL 105 and ENGL 137 as a prerequisite for literature courses numbered 300 and above. Note also that English majors may declare a Creative Writing path, but switch to an English path, or vice versa, at any time before graduation, as long as the relevant requirements are met.

In addition to the extensive course offerings in creative writing, additional creative writing electives may include independent study, tutorials, and internships (with, for example, one of the literary presses in the area). For a list of some such opportunities, see http://www.macalester.edu/english/internships.html and http://www.macalester.edu/english/community.html.