Faculty
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritae/i
Eugene K. Garber, Ph.D.
University of Iowa
Distinguished Service Professor
Ronald A. Bosco, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Maryland
Distinguished Teaching Professor
Judith Fetterley, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
Indiana University
Stephen North D.A.
University at Albany
Professors Emeritae/i
Frances Colby Allee, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Stanley K. Coffman Jr., Ph.D.
Ohio State University
Arthur N. Collins, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Minnesota
Robert A. Donovan, Ph.D.
Washington University
William A. Dumbleton, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
John C. Gerber, Ph.D.
University of Chicago
Walter Knotts, Ph.D.
Harvard University
Edward S. Lecomte, Ph.D.
Columbia University
Eugene Mirabelli, Ph.D.
Harvard University
Daniel W. Odell, Ph.D.
Cornell University
Townsend Rich, Ph.D.
Yale University
Harry C. Staley, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Professors
Judith E. Barlow, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Pennsylvania
Jeffrey Berman, Ph.D.
Cornell University
Donald J. Byrd, Ph.D.
University of Kansas
Thomas D. Cohen, Ph.D.
Yale University
Randall T. Craig, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Gareth Griffiths, Ph.D.
University of Wales (Cardiff)
Judith E. Johnson, B.A.
Barnard College
Pierre Joris, Ph.D.
University at Binghamton
William Kennedy, B.A.
Siena College
Marjorie Pryse, Ph.D.
University of California, Santa Cruz
Martha T. Rozett, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Michigan
Charles Shepherdson, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University
Cary Wolfe, Ph.D.
Duke University
Associate Professors Emeritae/i
Theodore Adams, Ph.D.
Ohio University
Diva Daims, Ph.D.
University of Virginia
Deborah Dorfman, Ph.D.
Yale University
Richard M. Goldman, Ph.D.
Indiana University
Edward M. Jennings, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin
Charles Koban, Ph.D.
University of Illinois
Thomson Littlefield, Ph.D.
Columbia University
Rudolph L. Nelson, Ph.D.
Brown University
David C. Redding, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Barbara Rotundo, Ph.D.
Syracuse University
William Rowley, Ph.D.
Harvard University
Joan E. Schulz, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Illinois
Frederick E. Silva, Ph.D.
Indiana University
Donald B. Stauffer, Ph.D.
Indiana University
Robert E. Thorstensen, M.A.
University of Chicago
Associate Professors
Richard A. Barney, Ph.D.
University of Virginia
Lana Cable, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Lydia Davis, B.A. (Writer in Residence)
Barnard College
Teresa Ebert, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
Helen Regueiro Elam, Ph.D.
Brown University
Donald Faulkner, M.Phil
Yale University
Rosemary Hennessey, Ph.D.
Syracuse University
Lynne Tillman, B.A. (Writer in Residence)
Hunter College
Carolyn Yalkut, Ph.D.
University of Denver
Assistant Professors Emeritae/i
George S. Hastings, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Assistant Professors
Branka Arsic, Ph.D.
University of Belgrade
Bret Benjamin, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Austin
Michael Hill, Ph.D.
SUNY at Stony Brook
Paul A. Kottman, Ph.D.
University of California at Berkley
Mark A. Neal, Ph.D.
University at Buffalo, SUNY
Helene E. Scheck, Ph.D.
State University of New York at Binghamton
Edward L. Schwarzschild, Ph.D.
Washington University
Lisa Thompson, Ph.D.
Stanford University
McKenzie Wark, Ph.D.
Murdoch University Australia
Full-Time Lecturers
Jill Hanifan, D.A.
University at Albany
Anne Sullivan, Ph.D.
University at Albany
Kathleen Thornton, D.A.
University at Albany, SUNY
Mary Valentis, Ph.D.
University at Albany
Kate Winter, D.A.
University at Albany
Teaching Assistants (estimated): 20
Careers for English Majors
The major in English prepares students for any field of work that requires a broad liberal education with special strength in language, critical analysis and research. English graduates find careers in theatre and film, government, counseling, broadcasting, public policy and administration, banking, and retailing and manufacturing as well as writing, editing, publishing, teaching, advertising and public relations. The English major is also excellent preparation for advanced study in such professional graduate programs as law, medicine, librarianship, social welfare and theology.
Curriculum
The curriculum of the Department of English is designed to aid students to write effectively, to read critically, and to acquire a sense of the development of literature written in English and of its relation to society. Within the English major, students may choose to concentrate in the General Sequence or in the Writing Sequence. English majors also have the option of applying for admission to the Honors Program. Students planning to take the GRE for graduate study in English are strongly urged to include course work in pre-1800 generic surveys (e.g., 251, 252, 291, 292, 295, 296). Students may also count up to 6 credits toward their English electives of literature in translation when such courses have received approval by the English department.
Degree Requirements for the Major in English
General and Teacher Education Programs
B.A. General Sequence: 36 credits in English, at least 18 of them in courses at the 300 level or above, including the following in recommended order of study:
3 credits from the following Reading Courses.:
A Eng 121E/L Reading Literature
A Eng 122E/L Reading Prose Fiction
A Eng 123E/L Reading Drama
A Eng 124E/L Reading Poetry
3 credits of:
A Eng 210 Introduction to Literary Study
3 credits from the following Generic Survey Courses:
A Eng 251 British Poetic Tradition I
A Eng 252 British Poetic Tradition II
A Eng 260L Forms of Poetry
A Eng 261 American Poetic Tradition
A Eng 291L English Literary Tradition I
A Eng 292L English Literary Tradition II
A Eng 295L Classics of Western Literature I: Ancient Epic to Modern Drama
A Eng 296L Classics of Western Literature II; Ancient Epic to Modern Novel
A Eng 320 British Novel I
A Eng 321 British Novel II
A Eng 322 British Drama
A Eng 323 Nineteenth-Century American Novel
A Eng 324 Twentieth-Century American Novel
A Eng 325L American Drama
3 credits from the following Author Courses:
A Eng 341 Chaucer
A Eng 344 Early Works of Shakespeare
A Eng 345 Later Works of Shakespeare
A Eng 348 Milton
A Eng 352 Study of a British Author
A Eng 353 Study of an American Author
A Eng 354 Comparative Study of Authors
3 credits from Writing Courses on the 300 level or above:
A Eng 300Z Expository Writing
A Eng 301Z Critical Writing
A Eng 302Z Creative Writing
A Eng 303Z Forms of Argumentative and Persuasive Writing (Rhetoric)
A Eng 304Z Forms of Creative Writing (Poetics)
A Eng 308Z Journalistic Writing
A Eng 403Z Writing Prose Fiction
A Eng 404Z Writing Drama
A Eng 405Z Writing Poetry
3 credits from the following courses in Literature of a Subculture or Cultural Studies:
A Eng 240 Growing Up in America
A Eng 362L Critical Approaches to Women in Literature
A Eng 365 Comparative Study of Minority Literatures
A Eng 366 Minority Writers
A Eng 367 Jewish-American Literature
A Eng 368L Women Writers
A Eng 371 Regional Studies in British Literature
A Eng 374 Regional Studies in American Literature
A Eng 385 Topics in Cultural Studies (subject to approval for major requirement)
6 credits from Period Courses:
A Eng 421 Literature of the Middle Ages
A Eng 422 Literature of the Earlier Renaissance
A Eng 423 Literature of the Later Renaissance
A Eng 425 Literature of the Restoration and the 18th-Century Enlightenment
A Eng 426 The Romantic Period
A Eng 427 The Victorian Period
A Eng 432 American Literature to 1815
A Eng 433 American Literature 1815-1865
A Eng 434 American Literature 1865-1920
A Eng 447 This Historical Imagination
A Eng 447 This Historical Imagination
The remaining 12 credits required for the English Major may be selected either from courses not taken in the above list or from the following:
Electives
Writing
A Eng 102Z Introduction to Creative Writing
A Eng 105Z Introduction to Writing in English Studies
Introductory Literature: Reading
A Eng 144L Reading Shakespeare
Criticism and Theory
A Eng 215L Methods of Literary Criticism
A Eng 310 Studies in Contemporary Theory
Linguistics and Language
(3 credits from this group required for Teacher Ed):
A Eng 216 Traditional Grammar and Usage
A Eng 217M Introduction to Linguistics
A Eng 311L History of the English Language
Literature Electives of General Interest
A Eng 221 The Bible as Literature
A Eng 222L Masterpieces of Literature
A Eng 223L Short Story
A Eng 224 Satire
A Eng 226L Study of a Literary Theme, Form or Mode
A Eng 227 Literature and Technology
A Eng 232L Modern Novel
A Eng 233L Modern Drama
A Eng 234L Modern Poetry
A Eng 241L Popular Literature
A Eng 242L Science Fiction
A Eng 243 Literature and Film
A Eng 243Z Four American Directors
A Eng 289 Topics in English
A Eng 375 The Literature of New York State
A Eng 378 Mythic Concepts in Literature
A Eng 382 Literature and Other Disciplines
A Eng 428 Twentieth-Century British and Irish Literature
A Eng 435 American Literature 1920 to Present
A Eng 439 Contemporary American Novel
A Eng 442 Modern Drama
A Eng 461 Forms of Modern Fiction
A Eng 462 Study of a Literary Movement
A Eng 487 Studies in Literature
(special topics)
A Eng 489 Advanced Topics in English
A Eng 490 Internship in English
A Eng 494 Seminar in English
A Eng 497 Independent Study and Research in English
The Writing Sequence
Admission: Admission: the Writing Sequence is open to freshmen and sophomores: 50 students per year, on a first-come, first-served basis. A number of places in the sequence are also reserved for transfer students. Interested students should contact the English Undergraduate Advisement Office (HU 381). Students must be enrolled in English 202Z before applying for formal admission to the Writing Sequence.
B.A. Writing Sequence: 36 credits in English, including the following 21 credits in this recommended order of study:
3 credits selected from one of the following reading courses, preferably the Writing Intensive version (catalog number with "E" suffix):
A Eng 121E/L Reading Literature
A Eng 122E/L Reading Prose Fiction
A Eng 123E/L Reading Drama
A Eng 124E/L Reading Poetry
A Eng 202Z Introduction to Writing:
Creative and Persuasive (Poetics &
Rhetoric)
A Eng 210 Introduction to Literary Study
May be taken concurrently with
A Eng 202Z.
A Eng 303Z Forms of Argumentative and
Persuasive Writing
A Eng 304Z Forms of Creative Writing
A Eng 350 Contemporary Writers at Work
A Eng 450 Special Topics in Rhetoric
and Poetics
The remaining 15 credits must be taken from English course work outside the writing sequence, including at least 6 credits at or above the 300-level.
Honors Program
The honors program in English is designed to promote intellectual exchange and community among able English majors and to prepare them to do independent work. Successful completion of the Program earns an Honors Certificate in English and nomination for graduation with "Honors in English" from the University.
Admission to the honors program can occur any time after the sophomore year. For admission, students should have completed 12 credits in English, including A Eng 210 and one 300-level course. Students should have an overall average of at least 3.25 and 3.50 in English. The honors coordinator and thesis committee will evaluate students based upon written work, preferably from an English course taken at University at Albany. The honors coordinator/thesis committee may waive the entry requirements where appropriate.
Students in the honors program complete 37 credits as follows:
English 210, English 301Z or 398Z, English 399 or a 500 or 600 level course relevant to the thesis topic to be taken as advised during the senior year; English 498 and 499, and 21 additional credits distributed along the lines laid down for the major. Fulfillment of the honors program waives the regular requirements of the English major. To remain in the honors program students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50 in English courses and a minimum 3.25 overall. Any student who leaves the honors program is held responsible for the English major requirements.
The Departmental Honors Committee reviews applications and admissions, monitors the progress of honors students, and evaluates the honors thesis. Upon students' completion of the requirements, the honors committee recommends candidates for the degree with honors in English.
Honors Seminars
A Eng 398 Honors Seminar I
A Eng 399 Honors Seminar II
A Eng 498 Honors Seminar III
A Eng 499 Honors Seminar IV
Combined B.A./M.A. Program
The combined B.A./M.A. program in English provides an opportunity for students of recognized academic ability and educational maturity to fulfill integrated requirements of undergraduate and master's degree programs from the beginning of their junior year. A carefully designed program can permit a student to earn the B.A. and M.A. degrees within nine semesters.
The combined program requires a minimum of 141 credits, of which at least 32 must be graduate credits. In qualifying for the B.A., students must meet all University and college requirements, including the requirements of the undergraduate major described previously, the minor requirement, the minimum 90-credit liberal arts and sciences requirement, the general education requirements, and residency requirements.
In qualifying for the M.A., students must meet all University and college requirements as outlined in the Graduate Bulletin, including completion of a minimum of 32 graduate credits and any other conditions such as a research seminar, thesis, comprehensive examination, professional experience, and residency requirements. Up to 9 graduate credits may be applied simultaneously to both the B.A. and M.A. programs.
Students are considered as undergraduates until completion of 120 graduation credits and satisfactory completion of all B.A. requirements. Upon meeting B.A. requirements, students are automatically considered graduate students.
Students may be admitted to the combined degree program at the beginning of their junior year, or after the successful completion of 56 credits, but no later than the accumulation of 100 credits. A cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher and three supportive letters of recommendation from faculty are required for consideration. Students will be admitted upon the recommendation of the Graduate Admissions Committee of the department.
