Our literature courses are intended to make available a rich patrimony of Western culture, and to form a Christian perspective on the ways the great writers have used their intellects and imaginations to understand and convey the mystery of man's place in the world. Twenty-seven hours of advanced work, including ENGL 301 Literature of Western Civilization III, ENGL 318 Literary Criticism, ENGL 343 or 344 Shakespeare, and ENGL 512 Senior Thesis, as well as selected course sequences, are required for the major. Normally, only students who have achieved a minimum 3.00 GPA in the lower-division English Language and Literature core courses will be admitted into the Literature major or minor. Most advanced courses are taught in a two-year cycle, so that essential courses will be available to every student, though some courses and sequences are offered only every three or four years. Students should see the department chairman for a list of courses to be offered during the students' two-year matriculation in the major.
Courses carry three semester hours of credit unless otherwise noted.
Required only of students who do not demonstrate sufficient competency in grammatical analysis. This course for freshmen introduces the student to the place of imaginative literature within Christendom College's liberal arts curriculum, and to basic techniques of literary analysis, including accuracy in reading and precision in writing. Through practice in writing essays on specific literary topics, the student is brought to understand the process of composition and the nature of clear, effective, and persuasive writing in any field, including such aspects of good writing as grammar, syntax, diction, orthography and usage. Required of all students. ENGL 102 Composition and Literature II Practice in academic composition continues in this course, which presupposes the basic skills developed in ENGL 101.