English and Creative Writing

Chair:  Dr. Barbara Seidman
Transfer Advisor: Dr. Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt
First-Year student contact:  Dr. Barbara Seidman

GUIDELINES FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS

FALL SEMESTER:

• Any INQS 125

SPRING SEMESTER:

• Any INQS 125 (if not completed in the fall) and/or ENGL 250 and/or the following:

• ENGL 250 Poetry, Prose and Plays.  An introductory study of literature through the three main genres cited in the title.  Emphasis on close reading of texts. Organized thematically. 4 credits (CS).
• ENGL 275 Critical Methods of Literary Study. Initiation into the methodology of critical reading across a variety of genres.  Introduction to literary criticism and theory. 4 credits (WI).
• ENGL 285 Survey of U.S. Literature: Beginnings to Present.  Introduction to the sweep of U.S. literary production. 4 credits (CS or US).

The English Department at Linfield College serves two majors--English and Creative Writing--as well as the general student interested in literary study and creation.   All departmental courses explore the power of language to reflect and shape human experience.   Students bring their private encounters with reading and writing into the more public arena of the classroom where, through questioning and discussion, they deepen their understanding of literature, including the contexts provided by literary history and aesthetic sophistication.   This same effort unfolds in individual creative writing courses through a focus on both published and student texts. 
   
Given the breadth of our commitment to the liberal arts vision of the college, the English Department also contributes extensively to several Areas of Inquiry within the Linfield Curriculum:  primarily Creative Studies and the Vital Past, but also Ultimate Questions.   Many classes support the Diversity Studies requirement, both in Global Pluralisms and U.S. Pluralisms.

ADDITIONAL ADVISING INFORMATION

During preregistration, creative writing courses routinely cap at a low number in order to reserve spaces for creative writing majors.  Students intending to major in creative writing should therefore declare the major earlier rather than later.

By the end of the second year, literature majors should have completed ENGL 260 Transatlantic Literature; ENGL 275 Critical Methods of Literary Study; ENGL 285 Survey of U.S. Literature: Beginnings to Present.

By the end of the second year, creative writing majors should have completed ENGL 275: Critical Methods of Literary Study.

Literary Study For Non-Majors

The English Department seeks to cultivate in Linfield students a lifelong appreciation for literature and a respect for (as well as exposure to) the creative process.   To that end the department offers several courses on specialized topics designed to enrich the college literary experiences of the general student:
    
    ENGL 200, 250, 260, and 270 (see above) do NOT require prerequisites.
    ENGL 380 (Lit of Ultimate Questions) contributes to the UQ requirement.
    ENGL 285 (see above), ENGL 301 (Topics in Lit), ENG 305 (Diverse Voices), and ENGL 385 (The Novel in the United States) require an INQS or instructor’s consent.