Dec 11, 2024  
2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

English, B.A.


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HEGIS Number: 1599

Curriculum Code: U0323

The English Department houses Old Westbury’s Writing Program and offers the Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. The B.A. in English provides majors with a cutting-edge curriculum in the study of multicultural and world literature, advanced writing and research, and critical thinking and analysis. The English program rigorously cultivates skills in literary analysis, careful reading, and advanced writing through a multicultural and global literary framework. Building on common foundations, this degree offers two upper-level specializations: Multicultural U.S.-British Literature and World Literature.

The English major is designed to give students:

  • Knowledge of the main themes, historical/social backgrounds, periods of development, and genres of British/U.S. and European/World Literature, with specific knowledge of the multicultural and intercultural content of those literatures
  • Ability to interpret literary texts with regard to themes, form, genre affiliations, and social/cultural reference
  • Mastery of English writing skills, including the ability to construct large-scale interpretive-analytical papers that are proficient in grammar, expression, discussion of literary scholarship, and discipline-specific (MLA) documentation
  • Ability to synthesize and integrate knowledge from different courses into an overall conception of the development and importance of Multicultural or World Literature

At the Foundations level, requirements recognize the importance of firm grounding in Language Arts and Literary Interpretation. These emphases correlate with stress on skills foundations in current pedagogy. The Linguistic Foundations requirement recognizes the centrality of strong training in the history and structure of language as well as the formal grammar of English.

The Literary Analysis requirement offers training in literary interpretation, close reading, knowledge of literary genres, social and historical contextualization of literature, and literary theory, today a sine qua non of competitive literature degrees.

A three-course sequence in Literary Traditions includes historical surveys of British, U.S., European, and World literature and selected courses in classical foundations, genres, and such recent topics as postcolonialism.

The Multicultural U.S./British Literature Specialization is rooted in recent trends in literary theory and interpretation, which view U.S./British literature as expressing diverse national, cultural, and gender perspectives within a common tradition. Multicultural U.S./British Literature includes texts from both the U.S. and U.K. by writers of different ethnicities, genders, sexualities, classes, and ability/disability status. Multicultural literature focuses on the complexity of two countries in which people of many different cultures cohabit. Such fields as African American Literature, Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the United States, Women’s Literature, and LGBTQ Literature, increasingly prominent in English studies since 1990, form the core of this specialization. This specialization enhances the competitiveness of students applying to graduate English programs or continuing to a variety of careers.

The World Literature Specialization studies literature in English from outside the U.S./U.K. as well as other literatures in translation. This specialization speaks to the increasing integration of international literary culture and to an increasing emphasis on global culture. It is directly relevant to the sizeable number of Old Westbury students from postcolonial English speaking cultures and to others with an interest in world culture. It helps prepare students for graduate study in such fields as Postcolonial Studies, the Literature of the African Diaspora, and others, and for varied careers.

The Senior Seminar requirement offers an integrated capstone experience for students in this degree program. The Senior Seminar requirement begins with Senior Seminar I-Research and Writing, an intensive preparation for the Senior Thesis including study of advanced research methods, seminar presentations, and a semester-length writing project. Senior Seminar II-Thesis provides a semester-long thesis writing project with a common curriculum of reading and research.

The English Department offers co-curricular, community-building activities and systems of support for our majors through individual academic advising sessions; student publications, round tables and conferences; and workshops, poetry readings, and career networking sessions. The Department publishes Harmonia, a creative writing journal, and Discordia, a literary scholarship journal open to all Old Westbury students. Majors have opportunities to earn course credit as peer mentors and as peer tutors. Internships place students in legal, cultural and publishing venues under the supervision of professionals.

The B.A. Degree in English program prepares majors for entrance into graduate school as well as for employment in fields that require strong proficiency in communication, writing, critical analysis, and intercultural understanding. Our graduates work in fields such as publishing, banking, education, business, library sciences, teaching, and law. Our graduates have continued their education, pursing graduate degrees in English, Education (including Old Wesbury’s Master of Arts in Teaching English Language Arts 7-12), Library Science, Business Law, and other fields of study.

The English Department is equally dedicated to developing the language arts skills of Old Westbury students (including writing, revising, reading, researching, information management, public speaking, and critical thinking) through our offerings of English Composition I and II.

Faculty value involvement in campus life and reflect the College’s mission to promote “intercultural understanding” and to “build a more just world” in our approaches to teaching, service work, and professional development projects.

Evening Students

At this time, completing the major requires predominantly daytime attendance.

Transfer Students

Students can complete the major in a two-year period. Up to twelve transfer credits may apply toward the forty-four credits required for the major.

Requirements for a B.A. Degree in English


(120 credits, 90 in liberal arts):

Liberal Education Curriculum


Refer to the Liberal Education Curriculum Bulletin for specific requirements.

Major Requirements:


All students in the major take a set of platform courses (levels 1 - 3) and complete the Senior Seminar sequence (level 5). Students choose one of two specializations, U.S. -British Multicultural Literature or World Literature, at level 4. Summaries of the areas and credits are as follows:

Prerequisites: EMS for all courses at 3000 level or above.

Distribution Requirements:

  1. At least 2 courses primarily in literature written before 1800 (for the U.S., 1900)
  2. At least 1 course in each of: British Literature; U.S. Literature; and World Literature. Either EL 3500  or EL 3510  may be used to satisfy the British or U.S. Literature requirement, but not both.

Grade Requirement:

A maximum of one grade of C-, and no grade below C-, may be counted toward satisfying the Major requirements.

Note: Not all courses are offered in any semester. Consult course descriptions and online class schedules.

B.A. in English: 44 Credits


  1. Linguistic Foundations 4 credits
  2. Literary Analysis 8 credits
  3. Literary Traditions 12 credits
  4. Specializations 12 credits
    1. U.S.-British Multicultural Literature
    2. World Literature
  5. Senior Seminar 8 credits

Structure and Sequence of Courses:


Linguistic Foundations


Literary Traditions


(select one From Group A, one from Group B, and one from Group A, B, or C)

Specializations: Choose Multicultural U.S.-British Literature OR World Literature


Multicultural U.S.-British Literature Specialization:


World Literature Specialization:


Note: Non-English Literatures are read in translation.

Senior Seminars


1 Prerequisite for EL 5000 : EMS, Senior Standing. Prerequisite for EL 5010 : EMS, Completion of EL 5000 .

General Electives: In consultation with academic adviser, for a total of 120 Credits.


Policy on repeat courses in the English major: No EL course may be taken more than two times without the permission of the chair.

Courses in Composition


The Department of English offers a range of courses in composition. All courses are designed to develop facility in reading and writing and to sharpen critical thinking, listening, oral communication, research and study skills. These English courses fulfill SUNY-mandated General Education requirements in Basic Communication as well as the twocourse Old Westbury collegewide Writing requirement.  EL 1000 - English Composition I: Exposition , concentrates on language development and rhetorical models. For English Composition II: Argumentation/Literary Perspectives, the Department offers a diverse set of thematically organized courses numbered between EL 2200  and EL 2299 . These courses offer further training in expository writing and introduce students to research skills and scholarly documentation. All EL 2200 -EL 2299  courses train students in the same skill sets, while offering variety in literary focus. For students needing additional work in English Composition at either the Composition I or Composition II level, EL 1010 - Writing Workshop  (2 credits), provides practice in effective writing and reading strategies as well as one-onone tutoring sessions with their instructor.

EL 1000  and EL 2200 -EL 2299  also fulfill SUNY-mandated assessment requirements in Oral Communication, Information Management, and Revision.

A grade of C or better is required to pass EL 1000  and EL 2200 -EL 2299 .

Liberal Education Curriculum Courses


Most but not all courses above the 2200 level courses fulfill Liberal Education Curriculum Domain requirements in the areas of Humanities and/or Diversity. Consult the Liberal Education Curriculum Bulletin or speak with a Department adviser for guidance.

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