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English 200:
The New Required English Class
Starting this semester, the department is offering a new required
class for incoming students- English 200 or Intro to the English
Major. This course is a replacement for the Intro to Research class and will
be offered every spring rotating among department faculty as to who
will teach it. The description on the website states that the course
"should help you become a better writer and thinker, give you a
basic understanding of the vocabulary, concepts, and conventions of
literary analysis and English studies, and give you insight on how
to use these skills and knowledge."
In addition, some of the objectives of the course are to "develop a
reliable writing process, have an awareness of the history of
literary criticism, contemporary literary theory, and English
Studies" as well as create an awareness in students of off-campus
programs and internships.
Some of the assignments
students in the future can expect are 3-4 page essays, an argumentative research paper, and several thesis-focused journals based
on prompts provided by the professor in addition to a comprehensive
exam at the end of the semester. For the research paper, students
will be expected to write an argumentative essay on a poem or short
story by a canonical author citing five to ten sources. The entire
writing and research process for this class is more in depth than
previous research classes, taking two months before the paper and its
findings are presented to the class at the end of the term.
"The course was created to
have a place in our curriculum where we could emphasize writing
more," Professor Rob Hale states. "We felt like students needed to
give more detailed attention to this topic early in their careers so
that they could be more successful in the survey and upper-level
courses. We also wanted to devote more time to developing research
skills."
The website states that, after
beginning the class with the close reading of poetry, the class will
cover Kate Chopin’s The Awakening to "practice close reading
of fiction, to consider the similarities and differences between
closely reading fiction and poetry." It also covers various schools
of twentieth century literary theory.
Shayna Chapman, who took the
course this past semester, described the class, stating, "Basically
the whole class was a writing-intensive class. We did read
some stuff but mostly we worked on how to write better simply by
writing a lot." Yet, despite the intense writing, she enjoyed
the course. "Overall, it was a pretty cool class," Shayna said
when asked to give her opinion on the course.
The intense writing and
reading workout should prepare students of the English major for
anything that comes their way in their four years of study. As
Professor Hale says, "This class is like English boot camp to get
basic skills in shape, but it also gives students a sense of what
other English courses will be like and also what students can do
with degrees in English." |
