“Beyond the English Major” is the capstone course for the Literature, Film, and Cultural Studies concentration, but you might think of it less as a conclusion and more as a gateway to what comes next–whether that is work or graduate study.
During the first half of the course, we will explore current debates about the utility and value of English and the humanities in the wider world beyond the university. As we navigate this reading, we will reflect upon and identify the most useful and relevant skills and dispositions that your English major has given you the opportunity to develop. This background will be crucial as you explore more closely and through collaboration how those skills and dispositions are evidenced in your own work and that of your peers.
The second half of the course will then focus on drawing connections between our work in English, and our work in other areas of academic, professional, and personal interest. This process will involve readings and activities related to interdisciplinarity, professionalization, exploration of career opportunities, and networking with alumni. This portion of the course will also include a remediation project in which you take an existing piece of research-based writing from one of your courses and remix it for a new audience. The work of the course will culminate in the creation of a public ePortfolio of key artifacts–academic and professional–that you can use to showcase and market your skills.
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
(1) Examine the skills, knowledge, and dispositions gained through the English major and through their other academic, professional, and personal pursuits.
(2) Create a range of professional documents that demonstrate how their academic, extracurricular, and professional experiences apply to post-graduation goals.
(3) Adapt a previous research-based project, recasting it in a new genre for a new audience relevant to their academic, personal, and professional post-graduation goals.
Prerequisites
ENGL 299
Required Texts
The required texts are available in the campus bookstore, linked on the course schedule, or available in OAKS.
George Anders, You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a “Useless” Liberal Arts Education, 2017.
Richard Bolles, What Color Is Your Parachute? 2022: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers
Ross Gay, Book of Delights, 2019.
