Bachelors in English
The tutorial is the core of the program, with students meeting individually with their tutor in an hour-long session each week. While the tutorial hour focuses on students' interpretations of assigned texts, normally beginning with their essays about those texts, the tutorial centers on the mutual engagement of student and tutor in the study of literary texts, including the historical and cultural contexts of the works.
The tutor may work with the student in evaluating research materials, experimenting with different theoretical models for reading, developing ideas into an essay, or working on improvement of writing skills. The tutor may also prompt students to pursue topics and questions arising out of readings or seminar discussions.
Whatever direction the tutor-student relationship takes, it is intensively collaborative, with an emphasis on the sharing of judgments and perceptions through dialogue. Students are responsible for taking an active part in tutorial sessions.
At the beginning of their fourth year, students select a thesis director from members of the English Department faculty. Each student decides on a thesis topic in consultation with their director, writes a thesis prospectus, including a proposed time line and bibliography, and submits the prospectus to the Director of Studies (DOS) by the last Friday of September. When the DOS approves the prospectus, they will forward it to HTC. Students will register for thesis hours during each semester that they are writing the thesis, not exceeding thirty hours total.
Students electing the creative writing option within the English tutorial program take an additional sixteen hours of creative writing courses, including a four-hour Form and Theory seminar in fiction, poetry, or non-fiction prose and selected workshops in poetry, fiction, or non-fiction prose. Students who wish to write a creative thesis (such as a collection of short fiction, poems, or essays) under the direction of a member of the creative writing faculty must preface their collection with a critical introduction of at least twenty pages.
Students within the Department of English have the opportunity to take additional courses in World Literatures, Women Writers, Rhetoric and Composition, Lesbian and Gay Literature, African American Literature, Shakespeare, Creative Writing, and British and American Literature.
Students may also choose collateral studies (including double majors and study-abroad programs) with the advice and approval of the DOS. The program is flexible enough to give students a fundamental grasp of literary history and conventions while allowing them to complement their knowledge of English with studies in related fields. A variety of combinations is possible in and out of the liberal arts tradition.
The program in English can be coordinated with classics, film, history, modern languages, philosophy, political science, African American studies, or psychology, among others. Outside the liberal arts, it may also be combined with business administration, journalism, or education leading to teacher certification. This flexibility helps students as they move toward vocational plans.
The tutorial is the core of the program, with students meeting individually with their tutor in an hour-long session each week. While the tutorial hour focuses on students' interpretations of assigned texts, normally beginning with their essays about those texts, the tutorial centers on the mutual engagement of student and tutor in the study of literary texts, including the historical and cultural contexts of the works.
The tutor may work with the student in evaluating research materials, experimenting with different theoretical models for reading, developing ideas into an essay, or working on improvement of writing skills. The tutor may also prompt students to pursue topics and questions arising out of readings or seminar discussions.
Whatever direction the tutor-student relationship takes, it is intensively collaborative, with an emphasis on the sharing of judgments and perceptions through dialogue. Students are responsible for taking an active part in tutorial sessions.
At the beginning of their fourth year, students select a thesis director from members of the English Department faculty. Each student decides on a thesis topic in consultation with their director, writes a thesis prospectus, including a proposed time line and bibliography, and submits the prospectus to the Director of Studies (DOS) by the last Friday of September. When the DOS approves the prospectus, they will forward it to HTC. Students will register for thesis hours during each semester that they are writing the thesis, not exceeding thirty hours total.
Students electing the creative writing option within the English tutorial program take an additional sixteen hours of creative writing courses, including a four-hour Form and Theory seminar in fiction, poetry, or non-fiction prose and selected workshops in poetry, fiction, or non-fiction prose. Students who wish to write a creative thesis (such as a collection of short fiction, poems, or essays) under the direction of a member of the creative writing faculty must preface their collection with a critical introduction of at least twenty pages.
Students within the Department of English have the opportunity to take additional courses in World Literatures, Women Writers, Rhetoric and Composition, Lesbian and Gay Literature, African American Literature, Shakespeare, Creative Writing, and British and American Literature.
Students may also choose collateral studies (including double majors and study-abroad programs) with the advice and approval of the DOS. The program is flexible enough to give students a fundamental grasp of literary history and conventions while allowing them to complement their knowledge of English with studies in related fields. A variety of combinations is possible in and out of the liberal arts tradition.
The program in English can be coordinated with classics, film, history, modern languages, philosophy, political science, African American studies, or psychology, among others. Outside the liberal arts, it may also be combined with business administration, journalism, or education leading to teacher certification. This flexibility helps students as they move toward vocational plans.
