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008:005
Introduction to the English Major:
The Theory and Practice of Literary Study

This course is an introduction to the history and practice of English as a discipline.  It addresses four central aspects of literary study: 1.) knowledge and use of basic literary critical skills such as formalist reading, genre analysis, and literary critical terms; 2.) insight into the centrality of critical theory and critical debates that are central to the legitimization and transformation of English as a field; 3.) familiarity with the periods of literary history  (such as Medieval, Renaissance, Modernism, post-colonial, etc.) that constitute the English major; 4.) and knowledge of the basic research skills that are essential to the practice of literary criticism.

Our reasons for instituting a new required introductory course are many.  A large introductory or gateway course promises to improve the quality of our English majors.   It will provide a forum for reflection upon the ongoing debates about the history of, and recent transformations in, the discipline of English.   It will provide a new and different teaching opportunity for English Department graduate students who would lead discussion sections and do grading.  It will provide a more overarching picture of the English major, the field, and the profession.  Importantly, as a shared experience common to all majors, it will help to foster a stronger sense of community among English majors at Iowa. The class size will be large -- 150 students -- and the course will be offered once every semester in order to serve 300 English majors per year.  The size and organization of the course is similar to large introductory courses in Theater, History, and Sexuality Studies. It will be taught by a single professor and six TAs each semester.  It will meet on MW for lecture, and in discussion sections on W, TH, and Friday.  The graduate TAs will lead sections of 20-25 students each and do grading.  The gateway course will require two professors and six TAs each year.  The course will be required for all English majors but will not be a required prerequisite for taking other courses in the English Department.  Nor would the course be limited to English majors; undeclared or non-majors would be admitted to the course.    

While the course syllabus may vary from semester to semester in terms of reading and writing assignments, the course requires that every syllabus in every semester teach the four aspects of literary study which are crucial to majoring in English, and which every major must master.

1. Literary critical skills and vocabulary, including close reading skills, genre analysis, basic literary critical terms.  
2. Insight into the impact of theory on literary study.   Specifically, students need to see what different critical methods can do for them as readers and writers; they must learn to recognize that the questions they ask will determine the answers they get.
3. Basic library and research skills.  Since the gateway course cannot do everything, we propose that instead of writing a full research paper, students do exercises leading up to a research paper -- but without actually writing it.   For example, they might learn to use library search tools by creating a short annotated bibliography; by finding and writing a précis of an article xeroxed from a journal; or by writing a paper proposal that would allow them to fashion a research question and describe their critical method.  Apart from these, the task force imagines that writing and course assignments would be highly varied, involving, for example, one 3-5pp close reading assignment, one 5pp paper employing a particular literary methodology or arguing on behalf of one methodology (such as those offered in the Bedford critical-edition format), and one final or midterm examination.  
4. Literary-historical frameworks.  This fourth category of coverage has emerged repeatedly in conversation with majors.  The  new gateway course seems an ideal way to address a literary-history lacuna in the English major as it is presently constituted.  Literary historical frameworks can be addressed in the gateway course in the form of a brief overview of traditional “periods” with a discussion of the limits of periodization, followed by a consideration of two or three works from major periods or sites of literary development.   The selection of literary-historical sites or periods will reflect the areas and literary historical categories that define the English major in the department overall, thus providing students with an overview of the department's offerings and specializations.