Department of English
WID Application
March 9, 2014
INTRODUCTION
Students majoring in English will satisfy the WID requirement by taking two courses,
English 29: Issues in Literary Study and English 170: Problems in Literary Theory.
English 29, taken in the first or second year of study, serves as one of two lower-division
“gateway” courses for the major, while English 170, usually taken in the student’s last
year of study, serves as the department’s upper-division literary theory course. (English
167 and English 168, also Upper-division literary theory courses can substitute
for English 170, as long as the chair determines the course is conforming to
the WID parameters established for English 170.) Because of the number of skills
and competencies that our majors must master, the English Department believes that our
students are best served by taking two writing-intensive courses devoted to disciplinary
issues. English 29 provides an introduction to literary theory and to some of the major
issues of the discipline, while English 170 offers students the opportunity to explore one
or more literary theories (such as postcolonial, psychological, or feminist theory) in
greater depth and write an independent research essay that applies that theory or theories
to a text. Both courses provide students with the opportunity to practice the critical
evaluation of texts. More, both courses provide students with library instruction and
practice in doing research in the field.
Transfer of Knowledge from English 5
Both English 29 and English 170 reinforce the skills that students acquired in English 5,
including the ability to identify assumptions, ask meaningful questions, and arrive at
original theses. Building on the critical reading skills developed in English 5, students in
these courses practice the evaluation of sources, both primary and secondary, and the
integration of sources into their writing. Students in these courses also use writing as a
form of intellectual discovery and compose their formal essays through an extended
developmental process. Building on research skills acquired in English 5, students
develop search strategies specific to the discipline and practice their ability to evaluate
disciplinary sources. Both courses also return to the issue of intellectual property and how
to properly and effectively cite the work of others. In order to reinforce the connection
between English 5 and the WID course sequence, both English 29 and English 170
integrate Susan Hubbuch’s Writing Research Papers Across the Disciplines into the
writing and research process, as appropriate.
Disciplinary Content and Rhetoric
For many of our students, English 29 is their first opportunity to encounter different
critical approaches to the text. Therefore, much of the course is devoted to introducing
students to these critical approaches and to how each critical approach positions the
author, the text, and the reader in unique ways. All sections of the course walk students
through major theoretical approaches of the field, including New Criticism, poststructuralism, deconstruction, feminist theory, psychological theory, and
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historical/cultural theory. In English 170, instructors introduce readings that demonstrate
for students the terms, issues, and concerns of the literary theory that is the subject of the
course. Both courses encourage students to adopt and use the language and terms of
literary study.
Informal and Formal Writing
Both English 29 and English 170 use informal, exploratory writing as a means of
teaching students how to analyze texts and apply a theoretical approach to them. In
English 29, students might be asked to adopt a psychological approach to the text and
identify those elements of a story that would be particularly significant to a psychological
critic. Such informal writing allows students to practice their skills as literary critics;
more, such writing allows instructors to gauge their students’ comprehension of the
material. Both courses also use reflection writing as a way to assess students’ own
development as critical voices in the field. For example, students might be asked to write
about their own investment in a particular theory before writing an essay that employs
that theory. Both courses use such informal writing to encourage students to see
themselves as active and vital participants in the field.
Formal writing in English 29 consists of short essays, at least one of which uses
secondary sources provided by the instructor. Each essay assignment is carefully
scaffolded so that students develop their essays through a series of steps that move them
through an intellectual process of increasingly challenging cognitive tasks. Instructors
offer feedback in response to selected stages of this process so that students can benefit
from and respond to such feedback before the final draft is submitted. While students
practice finding appropriate secondary sources in this course, they are not expected to
find their own sources for use in their essay writing. Instead, the instructor provides
secondary sources for use in their essays. This way, students can practice analyzing,
synthesizing, and integrating outside sources in a controlled setting in preparation for the
more extensive independent research essay that they will encounter in English 170.
English 170 culminates in an independent research essay of at least 8 pages that involves
multiple sources located by the student. This essay assignment is also scaffolded so that
students gradually develop the essay over a series of steps that involve increasingly
sophisticated cognitive tasks. As in English 29, the instructor offers feedback in response
to specific developmental stages of this essay so that students can address concerns and
problems before the final version is submitted.
Research
English 29 is designed to be an introduction to research methods and practices in the field.
Toward that end, lessons in research and research-informed writing are spread across the
semester. Instructors plan with Sharon Walters, the English subject librarian, at least one
library day in which students are introduced to specialized databases for the advanced
study of literature. In order to reinforce these skills, students are assigned brief research
assignments to complete either in class or on their own. Such research assignments might
ask students to find an article or essay on a text that has been covered in the course, and
then write a summary and critique of that article or essay. Alternatively, students might
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be asked to find two articles that disagree with one another, and then summarize the
terms of their debate. Students are also asked to practice the proper citation of sources
using the MLA style.
English 170 builds on the research skills acquired in English 29. Instructors plan for at
least one library day with Sharon Walters to allow students the opportunity to find, with
assistance, appropriate sources for their independent research essay. As part of the
research and writing process, and in preparation for the drafting of their independent
research essay, students evaluate and annotate each of their sources.
WID and the English Major
Upon graduation, our majors enter a variety of fields too numerous to list here. Some of
the more common professions that our students pursue include teaching, publishing, law,
and advertising. We believe that our WID courses help our students to become clearer
and more effective thinkers, writers, and communicators. While most of our students do
not use literary theory in their professions, we are confident that all our majors find ready
application for the skills of analysis and interpretation that they gained from these courses.
We are also confident that the writing skills that they developed in their WID courses
serve them well throughout their professional lives.
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