B.A. in English

The study of literature offers a schooling in human experience, and its primary use is for the development of those who study it. It is also, of course, good training for any field in which understanding of behavior is valued. The tools used, because they deal with language and the forms of expression, have applicability in any kind of work where precise and effective communication is important. English majors can develop these skills to a considerable degree while undergraduates, and non-majors will find that taking even a few well-chosen courses beyond the Core requirement can widen their knowledge of literature and sharpen their linguistic abilities. The English major at Boston College is designed to introduce students to a wide range of expression in the literary traditions of the past and present. It aims to help undergraduate students develop a strengthened ability to work critically and sensitively with texts in poetry and prose, to write with clarity and grace, and to articulate judgments about literature with an awareness of various critical approaches. English majors will become familiar with some of the major developments in the history of British and American literature and will have the opportunity to choose from an array of courses covering topics from the medieval period to contemporary cultural studies to a range of transnational literatures written in English. By the successful completion of the English major at Boston College, students will be able to demonstrate: •an ability to write clear, coherent, organized, and stylistically correct papers; •an ability to close-read, interpret, and analyze texts (including poetic texts); •a knowledge of literary genres and appropriate use of critical terminology; •a recognition of the historical specificity of literary works and/or other cultural products; •an awareness that there are a variety of critical approaches to literary and cultural texts.