Bachelor of Arts in English
Overview
The B.A. in English aims at providing students with a strong liberal arts background and communicative competence in English, and at enhancing their qualification potential for a wide range of career opportunities.
Graduates with a B.A. in English can enter secondary and high school teaching and administration (if they also obtain the Teaching Diploma) or enter M.A. and/or Ph.D. programs in literature, linguistics, translation, comparative studies, law, and other fields in the humanities and social sciences. Graduates can also pursue careers in the arts, media, professional writing, publishing, diplomacy, business, international organizations, consulting, information technology, journalism, and public relations.
Program Objectives
The B.A. in English aims to:
- prepare students for field-related careers in Lebanon and abroad,
- prepare students for graduate programs in English studies, comparative literature and other interdisciplinary fields, and
- equip students with the knowledge, the critical thinking/reading/writing skills, the curiosity, and the creative impulse to pursue meaningful life-long learning.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the B.A. in English, students should be able to:
- analyze texts from multiple points of view in the context of history, society, culture and politics,
- demonstrate the ability to interpret, explain, and appraise the allusive qualities of texts,
- evaluate the principal theoretical assumptions in literature and culture,
- demonstrate knowledge of thematic content and the formal features of discourse,
- interpret a variety of texts from a systematic linguistic perspective,
- demonstrate ability to write for various print, artistic and media genres, and
- produce individual scholarly research projects of significant length.
Curriculum
A total of 92 credits are required to graduate, distributed as follows:
- Program Core Courses (24 credits)
- Program Elective Courses (24 credits)
- LAC Core Courses (13 credits)
- LAC Elective Courses (21 credits)
- Free Elective Courses (10 credits)
A senior project is required of all students in addition to successful completion of the course of study.
Program Core Courses (24 credits)
- ENG213 Introduction to Language (3 cr.)
- ENG216 Introduction to Literature (3 cr.)
- ENG281 Language and Change: Past, Present, & Future (3 cr.)
- ENG303 Literary Linguistics (3 cr.)
- ENG366 Creative Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG372 Comparative & World Literature (3 cr.)
- ENG479 Topics in Literature & Culture (3 cr.)
- ENG499 Senior Study (3 cr.)
Literature Track (3, 6 or 15 credits)
Students must choose 15 credits from the following if Literature is their first option, 6 credits if it is their second option, and 3 credits if it is their third.
- ENG323 Renaissance Drama (3 cr.)
- ENG324 Medieval Literature (3 cr.)
- ENG325 Renaissance Poetry (3 cr.)
- ENG326 Restoration & Neoclassical Literature (3 cr.)
- ENG328 Early Novel (3 cr.)
- ENG336 Romantic & Victorian Poetry (3 cr.)
- ENG339 19th Century British Novel (3 cr.)
- ENG342 Modernism & Beyond (3 cr.)
- ENG345 20th Century British Novel (3 cr.)
- ENG346 Contemporary Culture (3 cr.)
- ENG348 Postcolonial Anglophone Literature (3 cr.)
- ENG351 Early American Literature (3 cr.)
- ENG352 20th Century American Novel (3 cr.)
- ENG354 Theories of Literature & Culture (3 cr.)
- ENG376 Gender in Literature (3 cr.)
- ENG487 Topics in Drama & Theater (3 cr.)
Language Track (3, 6 or 15 credits)
Students must choose 15 credits from among the following if Language is their first option, 6 credits if it is their second option, and 3 credits if it is their third.
- ENG282 Language & the Media (3 cr.)
- ENG283 Language & Gender (3 cr.)
- ENG308 Semantics & Pragmatics (3 cr.)
- ENG380 Language & the Law (3 cr.)
- ENG381 Corpus Linguistics (3 cr.)
- ENG480 Discourse & Power (3 cr.)
Writing Track (3, 6 or 15 credits)
Students must choose 15 credits from among the following if Writing is their first option, 6 credits if it is their second, and 3 credits if it is their third.
Students will ideally choose courses (and a writing internship as well as a senior project) in a consistent fashion that will enable them to specialize in one of four areas: non-fiction writing, creative writing, writing for the media, and writing for organizations.
- ENG301 Food and Travel Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG304 Arts and Fashion Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG305 Music and Performing Arts Criticism (3 cr.)
- ENG331 Poetry Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG333 Fiction Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG335 Playwriting (3 cr.)
- ENG361 Adaptation (3 cr.)
- ENG362 Multi-Media Storytelling (3 cr.)
- ENG366 Creative Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG410 Writing for International Organizations (3 cr.)
- ENG411 Speech Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG412 Grant Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG498 Writing Internship (3 cr.)
- GRDE313 Advertising Design (3 cr.)
- JSC236 Advanced Reporting Skills (3 cr.)
- TRA224 Translation of Journalistic Texts (3 cr.)
- TRA326 Translation of UN & International Conferences (3 cr.)
- TRA328 Translation of Audiovisuals (3 cr.)
- TVF316 Script Writing (3 cr.)
LAC Requirements (34 credits)
Free Electives (10 credits)
Sample Study Plan
The following three-year study plan represents only one of many possible study plans, since each course map — at least with regard to the courses in the major — will correspond to the profile of the individual student.
In the sample case below, the student is most interested in the Literature track, then in writing, and least in language. Thus this study plan presents a total of 92 credits, of which 48 credits are in the major.
- Program Core Courses (24 credits)
- Literature Track (15 credits)
- Writing Track (6 credits)
- Language Track (3 credits)
- LAC (34 credits)
- Free Electives (10 credits)
Year One
Fall (16 credits)
- ENG202 Advanced Academic English (3 cr.)
- ENG213 Introduction to Language (3 cr.)
- ENG216 Introduction to Literature (3 cr.)
- ENG324 Medieval Literature (3 cr.)
- CST2xx Cultural Studies (3 cr.)
- CSC201 Computer Applications (1 cr.)
Spring (16 credits)
- COM203 Fundamentals of Oral Communication (3 cr.)
- ENG281 Language & Change (3 cr.)
- ENG372 Comparative & World Literature (3 cr.)
- ENV200 Intro to Environmental Science (3 cr.)
- ETH201 Moral Reasoning (1 cr.)
- Free Elective (3 cr.)
Year Two
Fall (15 credits)
- ENG303 Literary Linguistics (3 cr.)
- ENG339 19th Century British Novel (3 cr.)
- ARA2XX Arabic Language (3 cr.)
- POL231 Introduction to Human Rights (3 cr.)
- PHL311 Philosophy of Religion (3 cr.)
Spring (15 credits)
- ENG342 Modernism & Beyond (3 cr.)
- ENG345 20th Century British Novel (3 cr.)
- ENG366 Creative Writing (3 cr.)
- ENG479 Topics in Literature & Culture (3 cr.)
- Free Elective (3 cr.)
Year Three
Fall (16 credits)
- ENG336 Romantic & Victorian Poetry (3 cr.)
- ENG361 Adaptation (3 cr.)
- ENG480 Discourse & Power (3 cr.)
- HLT201 Basic Health (1 cr.)
- REL411 Myth & Ritual (3 cr.)
Spring (14 credits)