• Shortly after declaring the major, all English majors must complete a short written plan for how they intend to complete the major. In this plan, students should actively consider how they can most fruitfully explore the broad range of genres, historical periods, and national and cultural traditions that literature in English encompasses, and how they wish to focus upon a particular intellectual interest within English. Students are encouraged to begin discussing the Major Plan with a faculty member as soon as they become interested in the major; junior majors must meet with faculty advisors to revisit Major Plans as they register for courses.

  • At the heart of the major lies the idea that things in the world do not dictate their own descriptions or the stories we tell about them. Any object, person, or event we describe one way we could just as easily have described another. English majors want to know what goes into these competing descriptions and to weigh the consequences of choosing one type of language—or one form of storytelling—over its rivals.