Literary & Cultural Studies
Students in the Literary & Cultural Studies track hone their skills as attentive readers of literature (poems, plays, literary fiction and nonfiction) and other media (films, comics, television shows, songs, and websites, for example), and as writers engaged in literary analysis and cultural criticism. Our students gain knowledge of literary language, form, genres, and histories through study of national, ethnic, and world literatures. They also sharpen their skills as critical thinkers by drawing on various literary, cultural, and interdisciplinary theories—from psychoanalytic theory and post-structuralism to queer theory and the digital humanities—to analyze texts. In doing so, they engage issues involving culture, identity, language, ethics, race, gender, class, and globalism, among many others.
Critical thinking, close reading, and reflective, analytic, and persuasive writing are among the vital skills you can acquire as an LCS student and readily apply to your other courses and your career. Our students also get practice in conducting effective research, which becomes central to projects undertaken in our senior capstone seminars. The typical LCS course strongly encourages a substantial amount of discussion among students as well as with the teacher. Graduates from our program pursue successful careers in areas such as law, education, writing and editing, publishing, library sciences, arts administration, social justice work, public relations, business, and any field where careful and critical reading and effective communication are valued.
Requirements
Literary & Cultural Studies Checklist
This electronic requirement checklist can be completed and used during advising sessions or utilized to track the progress toward your degree.
- A minimum of 36 credit hours is required, with at least 15 hours in the chosen track.
- Only courses listed on this checklist count toward the major. If you wish to substitute a course, before taking it you must submit a petition to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
- English Composition (ENGL 1001) is prerequisite to any Literary and Cultural Studies coursework.
- Although not required, it is highly recommended to complete the composition sequence (ENGL 2089: Intermediate Composition or equivalent) prior to beginning Literary and Cultural Studies coursework.
Reading & Research
- ENGL 2100 Ways of Reading Literature
Writing Foundations (choose one)
- ENGL 3076 Writing With Style
- ENGL 3046 Modern English Grammar
Culture & Diversity (choose one)
- ENGL 2025 Catholic Themes in Literature
- ENGL 2026 Introduction to Disability Literature
- ENGL 2028 Theater & Performance Studies
- ENGL 2029 Literature and Gender
- ENGL 2030 Lit. & Environment
- ENGL 2031 Film & Environment
- ENGL 2032 Ecocriticism
- ENGL 2041 21st Century American Drama
- ENGL 2045 Queer Literatures
- ENGL 2046 Social Justice & Literature
- ENGL 2051 Outrageous Writings by Women
- ENGL 2054 Women’s Literature
- ENGL 2056 Holocaust Literature
- ENGL 2073 Writing for Justice
- ENGL 2074 Social Media & Society
- ENGL 2080 Ethnic Literatures of the U.S.
- ENGL 2083 African American Literature Survey I
- ENGL 2084 African American Literature Survey II
- ENGL 2093 Cross Cultural Communication
- ENGL 2130 Study Abroad Topics in English
- ENGL 2141 Introduction to American Ethnic Literature
- ENGL 2142 Topics in American Ethnic Literature
- ENGL 2144 Social Media for Social Justice & Activism
- ENGL 2161 Black Women Writers
- ENGL 2179 Modern Asian Fiction
- ENGL 2193 Intro. to Environmental Writing
- ENGL 3049 Creative Writing & Social Change
- ENGL 3079 Creative Writing and the Environment
- ENGL 3081 Romanticism & the Invention of Nature
- ENGL 3082 Environment in Literature & Film
- ENGL 3083 Environmental Health Literature
- ENGL 3103 Creative Writing & the Community
- ENGL 3104 Poetic Justice
- ENGL 3127 Intro. to Critical Race Theory
- ENGL 3137 Queer Theory
- ENGL 3177 Global English Fiction
Literary Traditions (choose one)
- ENGL 2007 American Literature Survey I
- ENGL 2008 American Literature Survey II
- ENGL 2134 English Literature Survey I
- ENGL 2135 English Literature Survey II
- ENGL 2087 Pre-20th Century Literature
- ENGL 2021 World Literature I
- ENGL 2022 World Literature II
- ENGL 2078 Bible Literature I
- ENGL 2079 Bible Literature II
- ENGL 3006 Introduction to Shakespeare
Fields of English (choose one from outside of your track)
Literary and Cultural Studies (LCS) (for Creative Writing and RPW students)
- ENGL 2035 Contemporary Novel
- ENGL 2046 Social Justice & Literature
- ENGL 2067 Topics in Film
- ENGL 2184 Comics/Graphic Novel
- ENGL 3090 Literature & Medicine
Creative Writing (for LCS and RPW students)
- ENGL 2010 Intro to CW Multi
- ENGL 2011 Intro to CW Fiction
- ENGL 2013 Intro to CW Nonfiction
- ENGL 2015 Intro to Screenwriting
- ENGL 2017 Intro to CW Poetry
- ENGL 2027 Intro to CW Drama
- ENGL 3085 Forms of Poetry
- ENGL 3086 Forms of Fiction
- ENGL 3087 Forms of Literary Nonfiction
- ENGL 3096 Creative Writing & Literary Publishing
Rhetoric and Professional Writing (RPW) (for LCS and Creative Writing students)
- ENGL 2159 Intro to Professional Writing
- ENGL 2070 Desktop Publishing
- ENGL 2074 Social Media and Society
- ENGL 2093 Cross Cultural Communication
- ENGL 2193 Intro to Environmental Writing
- ENGL 3072 Multimedia Writing
- ENGL 4091 Business Writing
- ENGL 4092 Technical and Scientific Writing
- ENGL 4093 Environmental Writing
Literary and Cultural Studies Track Requirements
- ENGL 3125 Intro to Critical Theory
- ENGL 3006 - Introduction to Shakespeare
- Take One:
ENGL 2007 American Literature Survey I
ENGL 2008 American Literature Survey II
ENGL 2083 African American Literature Survey I
ENGL 2084 African American Literature Survey II
- Take One:
ENGL 2134 English Literature Survey I
ENGL 2135 English Literature Survey II
ENGL 2021 World Literature I
ENGL 2022 World Literature II
- One ENGL Elective 2000 level or above
- One LCS Elective 2000 level or above*
- One LCS Elective 3000 level or above* - You may take more than one Capstone (ENGL 4100). The second Capstone will count as an LCS Track elective. See the list below for courses frequently offered.
- ENGL 4100 LCS Capstone (Offered in Spring Only) - Prerequisites for the capstone are ENGL 3000 or 2100, ENGL 3125, 6 hours of LCS coursework at the 3000 level or above and at least 75 total credit hours (UC +transfer credit if any).
*See full list of LCS Electives below.
- ENGL 2001 Topics in Lit
- ENGL 2002 Topics in Lit
- ENGL 2003 Harry Potter
- ENGL 2006 Topics in Med Hum & Lit
- ENGL 2009 American Authors
- ENGL 2023 Afrofuturism
- ENGL 2026 Introduction to Disability Literature
- ENGL 2024 Literary History of Drama
- ENGL 2025 Catholic Themes in Lit
- ENGL 2026 Introduction to Disability Literature
- ENGL 2028 Theater and Performance Studies
- ENGL 2029 Lit and Gender
- ENGL 2030 Literature & Environment
- ENGL 2031 Film & Environment
- ENGL 2032 Ecocriticism
- ENGL 2033 British Lit Pre1780
- ENGL 2034 Contemporary World Drama
- ENGL 2035 Contemporary Novel
- ENGL 2036 Contemporary Lit Short
- ENGL 2037 Contemporary World Poetry
- ENGL 2038 British Lit Since 1780
- ENGL 2040 Topics in Drama
- ENGL 2041 21st Century American Drama
- ENGL 2042 Apocalypse v sustain CL
- ENGL 2045 Queer Literatures
- ENGL 2046 Identity, Politics & Literature
- ENGL 2049 Hemingway
- ENGL 2051 Outrageous Writings by Women
- ENGL 2052 Cinematic Storytelling
- ENGL 2054 Women's Lit
- ENGL 2055 Science and Literature in the Renaissance
- ENGL 2056 Holocaust Literature
- ENGL 2057 20th Cent Women AU
- ENGL 2059 American Jewish Lit
- ENGL 2061 Fantasies Child Lit
- ENGL 2063 African Fiction
- ENGL 2064 African Drama
- ENGL 2065 Fiction of William Faulkner
- ENGL 2066 Topics in Musicals & Lit
- ENGL 2067 Topics in Film
- ENGL 2068 US New Wave Cinema
- ENGL 2076 Old Test Lit
- ENGL 2077 New Test Lit
- ENGL 2078 Bible and Lit I
- ENGL 2079 Bible and Lit II
- ENGL 2080 US Ethnic Lit
- ENGL 2081 Amish Experience
- ENGL 2082 African American Poetry
- ENGL 2083 African Am Lit I
- ENGL 2084 African Am Lit II
- ENGL 2085 Pop Fiction
- ENGL 2087 Pre 20th Century Literature
- ENGL 2088 20th and 21st Century Literature
- ENGL 2090 Intro to Nat American Lit
- ENGL 2101 Topics in Cult Studies
- ENGL 2105 Films of John Huston
- ENGL 2106 Classic Film Comedy
- ENGL 2107 American Lit and Film
- ENGL 2108 Film Noir and Neo Noir
- ENGL 2109 Western Films
- ENGL 2110 Films of Alfred Hitchcock
- ENGL 2111 Genres of Film
- ENGL 2112 Major Film Directors
- ENGL 2113 The Horror Film
- ENGL 2114 Abnormal Psych & Lit
- ENGL 2115 Human Values in Lit
- ENGL 2118 Intro to Game Studies
- ENGL 2141 Intro to American Ethnic Lit
- ENGL 2142 Topics in American Ethnic Lit
- ENGL 2161 Black Women Writers
- ENGL 2170 Irish Literature
- ENGL 2179 Modern Asian Fiction
- ENGL 2184 Comics/Graphic Novels
- ENGL 3009 Early American Fiction
- ENGL 3010 American Fic 1860-1910
- ENGL 3012 Early American Lit
- ENGL 3013 19th-C American Poetry
- ENGL 3014 20th-C American Poetry
- ENGL 3016 American Fic 1910-1960
- ENGL 3018 American Dram & Perf
- ENGL 3019 Contemporary American Poetry
- ENGL 3020 Contemporary American Fiction
- ENGL 3028 Memoir as Lit
- ENGL 3132 Toni Morrison
- ENGL 3043 Race in African American Lit
- ENGL 3044 Interracialism
- ENGL 3045 Mod American Drama
- ENGL 3047 Jews and Race
- ENGL 3048 Appalachian Lit
- ENGL 3052 Advanced Topics in Film Study
- ENGL 3057 Poetry Cult Studies
- ENGL 3058 West Traditions in Lit II
- ENGL 3061 Romantic Literature
- ENGL 3063 Merchant of Venice
- ENGL 3064 Victorian Poetry
- ENGL 3065 Victorian Age
- ENGL 3073 Modernism
- ENGL 3081 Romanticism & Invention of Nature
- ENGL 3082 Environment in Literature & Film
- ENGL 3083 Environmental Health Lit
- ENGL 3088 American Women Writers Pre 20th Century
- ENGL 3089 American Women Writers Post 1900
- ENGL 3090 Literature and Medicine
- ENGL 3094 Issues in Film Studies
- ENGL 3095 Race, Ethnicity, and Film
- ENGL 3097 Book Arts
- ENGL 3110 History of the Book
- ENGL 3112 Uncanny Legends
- ENGL 3114 18th Cent British Fiction
- ENGL 3115 19th Cent British Fiction
- ENGL 3116 20th Cent British Fiction
- ENGL 3117 Gothic Literature
- ENGL 3121 Female Coming of Age Novel
- ENGL 3126 Intro to Cultural Studies
- ENGL 3127 Intro Critical Race Theory
- ENGL 3128 Topics in Theory
- ENGL 3130 Humanities/Rights
- ENGL 3131 Milton
- ENGL 3132 Toni Morrison
- ENGL 3137 Queer Theory
- ENGL 3138 Intro Medieval Lit
- ENGL 3148 Shakespeare's Colleagues & Rivals
- ENGL 3152 Age of Donne
- ENGL 3157 Western Traditions in Lit I
- ENGL 3160 Lit African Diaspora
- ENGL 3162 Performing Race
- ENGL 3163 African Lit
- ENGL 3166 Caribbean Lit
- ENGL 3167 Modern British Poetry
- ENGL 3168 Modern British Fiction
- ENGL 3169 Modern British Drama
- ENGL 3174 Contemporary British Fiction
- ENGL 3175 Contemporary British Poetry
- ENGL 3177 Global English Fiction
- ENGL 3178 Transnational American Lit
- ENGL 3180 Modern Poetry
- ENGL 3181 European Fiction
- ENGL 3182 Modern World Fiction
- ENGL 4004 AFAM: Major Authors
- ENGL 4005 Topics African American Lit
- ENGL 4006 Advanced Topics in Med Hum & Lit
- ENGL 4008 Native American Women
- ENGL 4029 Gender/Sex/Culture
- ENGL 4035 Lesbian Lit and Psych
- ENGL 4060 Seminar: 20th/21st Century American Lit.