English Minor

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English and Writing Department
Stephanie Loos, Administrative Assistant
Old Main, Room 102
Lincoln, NE 68504
(402) 465-2343
sloos [at] nebrwesleyan.edu (sloos[at]nebrwesleyan[dot]edu)

English Minor

Below is the coursework required to minor in English. For an overview of this program, see English Degrees.

The English minor offers students an opportunity to develop their critical thinking, analytic reading, and effective writing skills transferable to many professions or academic fields. Many courses in the minor can be used to satisfy Archway Curriculum requirements.

English Minor (16 hours)
Requirements16 hours
ENG 2000 Introduction to Textual Studies4 hours

8 hours of the 12 elective hours must be in ENG coursework at or above the 2000 level (2000/3000/4000 level). Electives must include at least 4 hours of coursework at the 3000 or 4000 level.

Student may include in their electives any ENG course numbered over 2000

OR

any of these courses:

EDUC 2690 Young Adult Literature

IDS 2940 Creative Comm Partner Internship

SOC 3290 Grant Writing and Evaluation

THTRE 2010 Dramatic Literature: Pulitzer Prize

THTRE 2020 Dramatic Literature: Tony Awards

THTRE 2030 Dramatic Literature: American Comedy

THTRE 2050 Dramatic Literature: Gender and Sexuality

THTRE 2060 Dramatic Literature: Banned and Censored

Please note: Only one Topics in World Literature course (ENG 2200-2300) may be counted towards the English minor.

12 hours

 

First-year writing courses (ENG 1010FYW, ENG 1020FYW, ENG 1030FYW, and ENG 1040FYW) may not count toward an English minor.

EDUC 2690 Young Adult Literature (3 hours)

A survey study of instructional materials of special interest to the junior and senior high school age. Examination of various sources of print and nonprint materials. Includes bibliotherapy, book-talk techniques, notable authors/producers, and prize-winning materials. Discussion of censorship, controversial issues, selection criteria, and the tools to keep abreast of the field. (Normally offered alternate fall semesters.)

Archway Curriculum: Essential Connections: Speaking Instructive
Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Identity Thread
ENG 1010FYW Writing and Language (3-4 hours)

Students in this composition course will develop their skills in academic writing as they learn about topics drawn from the study of language, such as the history of language, language and gender, linguistic diversity and language policies in government and education.
(Normally offered every fall and spring semester.)

Archway Curriculum: First-Year Curriculum: First-Year Writing
ENG 1020FYW Writing and Literature (3-4 hours)

Students in this composition course will develop their skill in academic writing as they respond to and analyze literature.

Archway Curriculum: First-Year Curriculum: First-Year Writing
ENG 1030FYW Writing and the Creative Arts (3-4 hours)

Student in this multi-genre composition and writing course will develop their skill in both academic and creative writing as they explore what it means to be creative across multiple written mediums.
(Normally offered annually in fall or spring semester.)

Archway Curriculum: First-Year Curriculum: First-Year Writing
Archway Curriculum: Foundational Literacies: Creative and Performing Arts
ENG 1040FYW Writing and Identity (2 hours)

Students in this composition course will develop their skill in academic writing as they explore the relationship between academic discourse and the evolution of identity.

Archway Curriculum: First-Year Curriculum: First-Year Writing
Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Identity Thread
ENG 2000 Introduction to Textual Studies (4 hours)

This course will introduce new English majors and minors to the critical methodologies, concepts, and terminology needed for the analysis and discussion of literature and other cultural texts and to the kinds of research and scholarship they will be asked to do in their later coursework. Students will also learn about a range of career paths open to those with a background in English.
(Normally offered every spring semester.)

IDS 2940 Creative Comm Partner Internship (1-3 hours)
In this course students gain leadership and curriculum development knowledge in their area of study. Students receive mentorship and learning opportunities in their time with the instructor and then put that knowledge into practice as leaders of creative clubs in local elementary and middle schools on a weekly basis. Each semester culminates in a presentation at the relevant school for the community, as well as a presentation of the student's own learning and reflections. Participating students also learn about important aspects of entrepreneurship, such as filing taxes with 1099 income, seeking out other opportunities like these after the end of the internship, and learning more about nonprofit organizations and LLCs. Students can take this class more than once for up to 3 credits total. Pass/Fail only.
Archway Curriculum: Essential Connections: Experiential Learning: Intensive
Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Innovation Thread
SOC 3290 Grant Writing and Evaluation (3 hours)

Open to students from any major, this course builds practical skills in grant writing, fundraising, and campaign management. Students will learn techniques for proposal development, creative campaigns, donor communication, annual giving, and digital fundraising while exploring ethical and global dimensions of non-profit work. Working directly with the instructor and a local nonprofit partner, students will connecy theory with practice, experiencing all three components- grant writing, fundraising, and donor communication-in real time. By the end, students will have the skills needed for advancing careers in nonprofits, businesses, and other organizations. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

THTRE 2010 Dramatic Literature: Pulitzer Prize (3 hours)

The Pulitzer Prizes are regarded as one of the most prestigious awards that a writer or composer can win. The Pulitzer Prize in Drama is awarded "for a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source, and dealing with American life". Given the emphases on American authorship and American life, this speaking-instructive dramatic literature course examines Pulitzer Prize winning plays such as Angels in America, The Kentucky Cycle, Topdog/Underdog, Disgraced and others to investigate questions about the features of a democracy and what it means to be a citizen of a democracy. The plays also serve as the basis for a series of oral presentations. The course also asks: To what extent is the representation of democratic principles and ideas a contributing factor in what plays win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

Archway Curriculum: Essential Connections: Speaking Instructive
Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Democracy Thread
THTRE 2020 Dramatic Literature: Tony Awards (3 hours)

Dating from 1947, the American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards have been presented annually to honor excellence in commercial theatre on Broadway. It is a high honor for a writer or composer to win the award for Best Play or Best Musical, and usually results in financial and career gains. This speaking instructive dramatic literature course examines this U.S. awards tradition, considering how the procedural structures incorporate elements of democratic ideals and principles. Students will read examples of Tony Award winning plays and musicals in order to consider how democratic ideals are represented in those plays and will consider whether such representation is contributing factor in what works with the awards. The plays also serve as the basis for a series of oral presentations.

Archway Curriculum: Essential Connections: Speaking Instructive
Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Democracy Thread
THTRE 2030 Dramatic Literature: American Comedy (3 hours)

Is nurturing the subversive comic impulse in expression vital to a democracy? This speaking-instructive dramatic literature course examines the comic tradition in U.S. dramatic writing, focusing primarily on how democratic principles and ideals have been represented. One primary topic to be considered involves the ways that comic plays, whether overtly or subversively, can serve as a contributing factor to stimulate political change in a democracy. A range of plays from early national to contemporary will be read and discussed to draw conclusions about features of a democracy and what it means to be a citizen of a democracy. The plays will also serve as the basis for oral presentations.

Archway Curriculum: Essential Connections: Speaking Instructive
Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Democracy Thread
THTRE 2050 Dramatic Literature: Gender and Sexuality (3 hours)

This speaking-instructive dramatic literature class examines how varieties of feminisms and cultural diversity have been represented in dramatic literary works. By reading, discussion, reflecting in writing and making oral presentations about a variety of dramatic works drawn from diverse perspectives students will utilize recent scholarship in gender and sexuality studies to analyze how assumptions about gender and/or sexualities have contributed to inequalities, choices, biases, oppression and/or empowerment in the culture and time periods in which the plays were written and produced.
Cross listed with GEND-2050.

Archway Curriculum: Essential Connections: Speaking Instructive
Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Gender and Sexuality Thread
THTRE 2060 Dramatic Literature: Banned and Censored (3 hours)

Why does censorship occur in democracies that champion freedom of expression as an ideal? What are the tipping points that trigger the impulse to ban and/or censor? Does censorship or the threat of censorship present an obstacle to full participation of writers and readers in a democracy? Students seek the answers to these and other questions in this speaking-instructive dramatic literature course by looking at example of dramatic works that have been banned or censored in democratic nations. The selected texts will also serve as the basis for a series of oral presentations and will be utilized to discuss how the defining features of a democracy and the meaning of what it means to be a citizen in a democracy are represented in dramatic texts, as well as the broader question of how the arts shape how a nation defines itself as a democracy.

Archway Curriculum: Essential Connections: Speaking Instructive
Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Democracy Thread