Department Office: 2308 Boylan Hall
Phone: 718.951.5195
Full-Time Faculty
Distinguished Professor(s): Alterman, Lerner
Professor(s): Acosta, Bayoumi, Davis, De La Torre, Entin, Frydman, Henkin, Kim, King, Masciandaro, Natov, Phillips, Pollard, Rutkoski, Steel, Tremper
Associate Professor(s): Burgess, Lutzkanova-Vassileva, Nadell
Assistant Professor(s): Moody
Lecturer(s): Bamert, Diehl, Minter, Nissenbaum, Thomas
The Department of English celebrates the art of reading and the creative act of writing. We introduce our students to a variety of theoretical and critical approaches in the analysis of literary texts as well as to a wide range of writers and geographies, experiences, and sensibilities. The work we study spans the years from 900 to the present in English, and, through our Comparative Literature courses, global literatures accessible in translation - from the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Our courses explore the extraordinary capacity of fiction and non-fiction, poetry and plays to excite and give pleasure to the imagination and to reveal and confront the consequences of white supremacy, racism, belief, gender, and disability discrimination, and environmental degradation in their many manifestations. We are committed to increasing the diversity of voices from under-represented groups and to hearing writers in conversations that address critical issues of aesthetic, social, political, and cultural significance. Our commitment extends to our students, whose diversity we cherish, and to a respect for a plurality of ideas and perspectives. We are dedicated to making our department a supportive community for all.
The structure of the curriculum remains intact:
Period courses–renamed to indicate chronological ranges
Electives
Depending on the degree program, the Standard English or History and Literature, English Teacher, and Creative Writing majors will now require one or two courses from Periods 1-3 and one course from Periods 4-6. All three programs permit additional courses in the later periods under the Electives category.
The greatest change is reflected in III. Electives. In addition to the former requirements of a seminar numbered in the 4000s (for the English Teacher degree a 4000-level seminar or a 3000-level elective) and "free" electives, a student must select one course from Breadth and Depth Area Studies A - addressing race/ethnicity or empire/postcolonialism; one course from Breadth and Depth Area Studies B - a Genre Studies course (e.g., Comedy, the Epic, Lyric poetry), or a Thematic Studies course (e.g., Memory Studies, Migration), or an Interdisciplinary Studies course (e.g., Literature and the Environment).
New courses in Breadth and Depth Area Studies A are "Britain and the Transatlantic World," "Global Romanticism," and African American English (cross-listed with Linguistics and Africana Studies). In Breadth and Depth Area Studies B we have added to our many Genre courses "Aspects of Fiction" and "Genre Fiction," sometimes called popular fiction (e.g., Science Fiction, Afrofuturism, Detective Fiction); to Thematic Studies, "The Literature of Migration" and "Memory Studies"; to Interdisciplinary Studies, "Literature and the Environment." New Period courses are "Twenty-first-Century World Literature," "Twenty-first-Century Innovative Poetries," and "Twenty-first-Century American Literature."
Our students will move forward in their post-college lives as teachers, scholars, lawyers, novelists, poets, playwrights, editors, grant writers, information technology librarians, researchers, publishers, and journalists. They will thrive in fields for which critical thinking and analysis are requisites: business; media; medicine; technology; environmental advocacy. Through the revision and expansion of our curriculum, we hope to prepare them for life in a world much in need of imagination, curiosity, tolerance, empathy, and appreciation for difference and diversity.
English-as-a-Second-Language Program
The Department of English conducts the English-as-a-Second-Language Program.
Writing across the Curriculum
All majors and minors in the Department of English and the English concentration for majors in early childhood education teacher and childhood education teacher fulfill the writing-intensive course requirement for the College.
Department recommendations
Students should consult the deputy chairperson for help in planning a course of study.
Requirements for departmental honors in English
Fulfillment of the requirements of the B.A. in English or English teacher (7–12) or the B.F.A. in creative writing with a B+ or higher average in all advanced work in the major; completion with a grade of B or higher of one writing-intensive seminar numbered in the 4000s; completion with a grade of B or higher of the Senior Thesis courses course or course and course, also with grades of B or higher. While a student may elect to gain honors credit in a specific elective course, in accordance with the description in the “Honors” section in the Bulletin, such honors credit does not constitute departmental honors, which is awarded only upon completion of the Honors Sequence.
Requirements for departmental honors in Comparative Literature
Fulfillment of the requirements for the B.A. in comparative literature with a B+ or higher average in all advanced work in the major; completion of course and course with a grade of B or higher; completion of the Senior Thesis courses course or course and course, with grades of B or higher. While a student may elect to gain honors credit in a specific elective course in accordance with the description in the “Honors” section in the Bulletin, such honors credit does not constitute departmental honors, which is awarded only upon completion of the Honors Sequence.
Recommendations for prospective graduate students
Graduate programs in English require a broad background in English and American literature. Prospective graduate students should take a number of courses in English literature of the period before 1800 and a course in literary theory. Prospective graduate students should develop reading knowledge of French or German through at least course 2010.
Graduate Studies
The English Department offers the following graduate degree programs: master of arts in English, master of fine arts in creative writing, and master of arts, English teacher (7–12). Some courses may be credited toward the CUNY doctoral degree. For information, students should consult the department’s deputy for graduate studies.
Learning Center
Help may be obtained in prewriting, outlining, mechanics of writing, proofreading, revising, or developing a format for any paper. Students may also receive help with such specific tasks as writing essays, research papers, résumés, or laboratory reports. Further information may be obtained at the center, 1310 Boylan Hall, or by calling 951-5821.
Departmental Policies
The department chairperson or designee may allow substitutions consistent with the educational goals of the program for one or more requirements in any concentration.
Adolescence Education: English Teacher BA
English BA
Creative Writing BFA
Creative Writing Minor
Courses
Courses listed below not counted toward the requirement of no fewer than 33 credits in advanced courses for majors in this department.
Independent work means not less than three additional hours each week of conference, research, independent reading, and writing as assigned by the instructor. The student's grade is determined in part by the successful completion of this independent work.
The following inactive course(s) will only be offered if there is sufficient demand:
ENGL. 3130 British Folklore
ENGL. 3309 Theater Workshop
ESLR. 1010 Oral Communication II