Last Thursday, at a mandatory meeting for all English majors, the English department announced significant revisions in requirements for the major. The new major requirements, which have been in development for the past two years, are designed to encourage professor-student discussion, promote focused learning and allow for more independent work.
The dissatisfaction of graduating students was the main inspiration for this change, which has already been implemented.
“Seniors were a little unsatisfied with the lack of focus in the major,” senior Rachel Epstein, the English department’s student representative, said. “In general, Oberlin English majors aren't prepared for graduate school; extra studying is necessary.”
The newly structured major is intended to resolve these problems. English Majors will no longer be able to graduate without studying most of the great canonical writers.
“It is going to be much more streamlined, much more satisfying…and good for grad school,” Epstein said.
The distribution requirements have changed to comply with the department’s new goals. Now, instead of the old genre requirement (at least one poetry, one drama, and one fiction class), a variety in genre is only recommended.
The new requirements will help students focus on their specific interests within the discipline by forcing students to take courses with different historical and cultural backgrounds. All majors must take pre-1700, 1700 to 1900, and 1900 to present literature courses and at least one course in American, British and diversity literature.
The most drastic change will be in seniors’ curricula. In place of seminars, majors will be required to take a senior tutorial. Senior tutorials will group three students with similar interests in a class that will, ideally, meet once a week. Students will choose a focus, read relevant material and finally complete the class by presenting what they learned. English majors can only apply for Honors after taking this mandatory class.
“Our hope here is that it’s going to let students get the benefit of really small group work with a professor,” English Department Chair Nick Jones said.
Although the department will continue to pay significant attention to first-year seminars, it has also developed large 100-level courses for non-majors. These courses are geared to juniors and seniors who have not fulfilled their humanities requirement but do not wish to tackle advanced courses.
Majors are also required to take Gateway Courses. These are similar to the 200-level courses currently offered, but each Gateway Course will have a unique approach to its subject matter. Classes that are now 400-level will be slightly altered and become 300-level. All majors are still required to take four 300-level classes.
For students who have already declared an English major, this new system is optional. But unless the paperwork was completed by last week all students will have to adhere to the new requirements. Despite professors’ reassurances that the switch will not have any enormous effect on credits, many students are concerned.
“I think there is going to be a lot of grumbling about it. Ultimately it’s going to be simpler to figure out than the [system] now,” Rachel Epstein assured.
By fall registration, classes will be designated according to the new system. Students will be able to determine which requirements they have already filled.
“If an old course was pre-1700, it’s still going to count for that,” Jones said. “We are really happy to have made this change. We know that we are launching a new method of teaching and learning.”