BA in English
Given its history of service to the entire university and its growing triple-tiered, interdisciplinary BA English program – you curate the emphasis of your studies by choosing a combination of literature, language, and creative writing classes – the Department of English stands proudly and stoically as the flagship department of the School of Arts and Sciences. The variety of English courses that may be taken as Liberal Arts and Science (LAS) electives is a core contributor to a well-rounded undergraduate education.
Research culture
Teaching and research in the department cover the entire history of literature in English from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day, along with language, literature in translation, and creative writing studies. The language and writing tracks are structured to have more functional and experiential emphases – to offer you an enhanced and a better focused education.
More recent growth areas in the department – reflected in new course offerings, faculty research, and award-winning student capstone projects – include literary and cultural theory, life writing, postcolonial and world literature, gender and sexuality, corpus linguistics, narrative medicine, English studies of the Arabic novel and discourse and power. We also offer full-fledged undergraduate courses in narrative medicine and the Arabic novel in translation.
Faculty research strengths lie in the sheer variety of outputs, from representations of aging in the Arabic novel, queer readings of home in the diaspora, language and the law, media and politics, Victorian studies, Renaissance criticisms, and ethnographic life writing research.
Student successes
In 2019, three of our students on the BA-ENG cohort were appointed editors of Afkar, an emerging peer-reviewed undergraduate journal of Middle East studies, with links to Yale, New York University, and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
What can you do with your degree?
You can go for careers in professional writing, media, television, international organizations, the arts, publishing, business, translation, consulting, information technology, journalism, and public relations.
You can have a teaching career (if you also get the Teaching Diploma), or opt for graduate studies in a wide variety of fields related to literature, language, creative writing and the humanities and social sciences.
Curriculum
- Includes 48 credits in the major: 24 credits are core requirements, and 24 credits distributed among the 3 options: literature, language, and writing
- Offers courses from all 3 emphases, but you will choose one to specialize in, either in Professional Creative Writing, Literature, or Language
- Allows 10 credits as free electives, or you may target courses in translation, communication arts, design, or fashion, to enrich your specific field of study
- Click here for a suggested three-year study plan.
A senior research thesis is a core requirement for graduation. If you specialize in Professional creative writing, you will complete an internship during your final year.
Regardless of their chosen emphasis, English majors can obtain a Teaching Diploma by taking six designated Education courses (18 credits), including EDU418 Practice Teaching. If you choose any from these six Education courses to satisfy part of the Core Curriculum requirement, you must take the equivalent number of courses/credits, in any field, to be awarded the Teaching Diploma.
Major Core Requirements (24 credits)
| Number | Course | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| ENG213 | Introduction to Language | 3 |
| ENG216 | Introduction to Literature | 3 |
| ENG281 | Language & Change: Past, Present, & Future | 3 |
| ENG303 | Literary Linguistics | 3 |
| ENG366 | Creative Writing | 3 |
| ENG372 | Comparative and World Literature | 3 |
| ENG354 | Theories of Literature and Culture | 3 |
| ENG499 | Senior Study | 3 |
Other Major Requirements (24 credits)
You can choose one of the 6 options below:
- Option 1: Literature: 15 Cr., Language: 6 Cr., Writing: 3 Cr.
- Option 2: Literature: 6 Cr., Language: 15 Cr., Writing: 3 Cr.
- Option 3: Literature: 3 Cr., Language: 6 Cr., Writing: 15 Cr.
- Option 4: Literature: 15 Cr., Language: 3 Cr., Writing: 6 Cr
- Option 5: Literature: 3 Cr., Language: 15 Cr., Writing: 6 Cr.
- Option 6: Literature: 6 Cr., Language: 3 Cr., Writing: 15 Cr.
Literature
| Number | Course | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| ENG323 | Renaissance Drama | 3 |
| ENG324 | Medieval Literature | 3 |
| ENG325 | Renaissance Poetry | 3 |
| ENG326 | Restoration and Neoclassical Literature | 3 |
| ENG328 | Early Novel | 3 |
| ENG336 | Romantic & Victorian Poetry | 3 |
| ENG339 | Nineteenth-century British Novel | 3 |
| ENG342 | Modernism and Beyond | 3 |
| ENG345 | Twentieth-century British Novel | 3 |
| ENG346 | Contemporary Culture | 3 |
| ENG348 | Post-colonial Anglophone Literature | 3 |
| ENG351 | Early American Literature | 3 |
| ENG352 | Twentieth-Century American Novel | 3 |
| ENG479 | Topics in Literature and Culture | 3 |
| ENG376 | Gender in Literature | 3 |
| ENG487 | Topics in Drama & Theatre* | 3 |
*ENG487 can be taken more than once for extra credits if the topics differ.
Language
| Number | Course | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| ENG282 | Language and the Media | 3 |
| ENG283 | Language and Gender | 3 |
| ENG308 | Semantics and Pragmatics | 3 |
| ENG380 | Language and the Law | 3 |
| ENG381 | Corpus Linguistics | 3 |
| ENG480 | Discourse and Power | 3 |
Writing
| Number | Course | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| ENG301 | Food and Travel Writing | 3 |
| ENG331 | Poetry Writing | 3 |
| ENG332 | Life Writing | 3 |
| ENG333 | Fiction Writing | 3 |
| ENG335 | Playwriting | 3 |
Liberal Arts Curriculum requirements (34 credits): divided into Liberal Arts Core Curriculum (13 credits) and Liberal Arts Electives (21 credits)
Free Electives (10 credits)
Duration
This program requires 92 credits, which can be completed in three years by those entering as sophomores. See the suggested three-year study plan.
Location
This program is offered in Beirut and Byblos.
More about this program
Mission, objectives and intended outcomes
