Minutes: Major Program Committee
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Major Program Committee Minutes
August 31, 2016 at 9:00 am in Commons Room, Newton Bldg, 3rd Floor
The MPC dealt with the following topics at this meeting:
1. A discussion introduced by Mary Villeponteaux about ENGL 5336, a course previously taught as 20th C. American Literature but which was never entered officially into the University Catalog of English courses. The MPC approved the course for addition to our Major Program listing, but the committee also approved changing the course title to “Modern and Contemporary American Literature.”
2. A discussion concerning the directive from the Dean’s office about identifying superfluous course in the Major Program that should be eliminated because they are no longer taught. The MPC identified four such courses – ENGL 1230, Reading Fiction; ENGL 1231, Reading Drama; ENGL 1232, Reading Poetry; and ENGL 3338, Irish Cultural Identities – as superfluous courses and recommended they be removed from the University Catalog of English courses. Other courses that have been infrequently taught the past six years were noted but no action was taken on them at this time.
3. A preliminary discussion began on reducing the English Major Essay SLO’s from 8 to 5, and on modifying the SLO’s for the Senior Seminar Presentation. This work will be continued at the next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 am.
Respectfully submitted,
Tim Whelan, Chair
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Minutes of the Major Program Committee Meeting, 11 March 2015
Members attending: Dr. Keeley, Dr. Costomiris, Dr. Dudley, and Dr. Thomson
Dr. Villeponteaux tasked the MPC to devise a two-year course rotation for courses in the undergraduate English major. The committee worked with a copy of the previous two-year rotation, which bore marks of heavy emendation due to several necessary factors in scheduling (such as faculty on leave and needed coverage of Areas I-IV). Dr. Dudley, who as previous Chair has extensive knowledge of the previous rotation and its various revisions, volunteered to provide a clearer and more workable spreadsheet of the courses offered during the last 4 years. Once that document is supplied, the MPC will meet again to devise a two-year rotation for the 2016-2017 calendar years.
The committee did offer one recommendation. Due to the addition of English 2132 (Writing and Literary Research) and its being offered every semester (beginning the Fall or Spring semester of 2016), the committee recommends that only one of the American Literature survey courses (ENGL 2331 or 2332) be offered each semester. The rationale: adding 2132 brings the total number of 2000-level (non- World Literature) English classes to 5: 2131, 2132, 2231, 2232, and 2331 OR 2332. If both American Literature surveys were to be offered in the same semester, that number would rise to 6 and may create problems in terms of enrollment and faculty teaching assignments.
Minutes of 2 Meetings of the Major Program Committee
February 3, 2014, 4:00
Members present: Anderson, Costomiris, Cyr, Thomson
February 17, 2014, 4:00
Members present: Anderson, Costomiris, Cyr, Thomson. Guests: Associate Dean Chris Ludowise and Christy Curley, Adviser for English majors
Both meetings featured a wide-ranging discussion on the topic of prerequisites for the major and revisions of Area F in our curriculum. The committee also discussed problems with the course requirements for the English minor: the course catalogue misleadingly designates 2131 as the only prerequisite for the minor but ignores the fact that upper-division courses require completion of three surveys to enroll in 3000-, 4000-, and 5000-courses. The committee finally decided on a “scaffolding” approach to revising major and minor course requirements. For example, a student wishing to take the upper-division course in Chaucer would need as prerequisites just two courses, 2131 and 2132, British Literature I (not all three surveys). Dustin Anderson and Doug Thomson agreed to create a draft of this new approach to present to the committee at its next meeting (tba).
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Major Program Committee Meeting on November 13, 2012
Members present: Tim Whelan, Robert Costomiris, Marc Cyr, Doug Thomson
The committee made the following recommendations concerning courses and coursework in the major program:
- The committee recommends standardizing what we teach in ENGL 2131 (Introduction to Literary Studies). English 2131 should cover the following areas: 1) a study of the three major literary genres (poetry, drama, fiction) and the terminology germane to those genres; 2) a beginning introduction to literary theory through the use of a casebook that applies theoretical interpretations to a specific text. From the beginning to the end of the course, instructors should stress the importance of writing in the discipline: shorter response papers can be used during the study of genre; a 3-5 page paper (required around mid-term) should focus on interpretation of a primary text, with attention to summarizing, paraphrasing, and quotation and to incorporating language of the primary text into the student’s essay; a final 5 page minimum critical argument should engage secondary sources by drawing upon interpretations, whether from independent sources or from the casebook (the casebooks provide a bibliography of those “independent sources”). [This recommendation specifically addresses two student learning outcomes (SLO’s]: “The ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate a variety of texts.” “The ability to incorporate, engage, and utilize well-planned and executed research.”]
- The committee recommends that two well-prepared GA’s be assigned (8 hours a week for each) as tutors for English majors enrolled in the 2000-level course (especially, but not limited to, those with grammar problems). We need to find a room or office from which they could post available hours and offer tutoring services.
- The committee recommends that the department develop a web site designed to provide on-line resources for our majors (for example, glossaries of literary terms, elements of style, MLA guidelines, etc.). As some faculty already provide students with access to these resources, we invite suggestions of what to include on this site. Doug Thomson has volunteered to create this site.
- The committee recommends that a research paper or documented critical essay should not be a requirement of the 2000-level British and American survey courses. One aim of the survey should be to provide study of the widest possible range of primary texts for the period covered.
- The committee recommends the requirement of an 8 page (minimum) paper in upper-division courses.
- The committee recommends a 12 page (minimum) length essay for the Senior Seminar. [This could be the place Rebecca Zigler plays an important role.]
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Major Program Committee Minutes
The Major Program Committee met on September 10, 2010, at 1:00 p.m.
Present were Dustin Anderson, Marc Cyr, Julia Griffin, Tomasz Warchol, and Mary Villeponteaux (committee chair).
David Dudley attended the meeting and suggested several things he would like this committee to consider doing this year:
- Helping to formulate a three-year hiring plan for the Lit/Phil Department. The Dean wants this by the end of the semester.
- Promoting undergraduate research.
- Holding a workshop for English majors considering graduate school.
- Perhaps bringing in the new Career Resource Specialist to talk to majors about careers one can pursue with an English major.
- Calling for course descriptions.
- Reviving and updating our Facebook page for majors.
- Planning an end-of-year reception or something similar for our graduating English majors.
- Planning a reception for English majors as part of Honors Day.
After Dr. Dudley left, the committee discussed all of these proposals and decided to focus on several of them. To that end, we all took tasks: exploring the data to see what hiring we should recommend; trying to find out more about the number of majors we have and how many we might expect to graduate in Spring 2011; researching restaurants and costs for a possible end-of-year banquet; planning a workshop on applying to graduate school; sending out a call for course descriptions to our faculty.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Mary Villeponteaux
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The Major Program Committee met on Tuesday, September 29, to discuss a new rotation plan for major courses at the 3000 level and above. Lloyd opined that at 50 we have far too many such courses on the books but that course combinations or reductions practically speaking are not an option. Of 9 3000+ courses this semester 3 have enrollments below the 15 minimum set for future semesters by Dean Smith; a fourth is at fifteen counting graduate and undergraduate students. The committee discussed a “wheels within wheels” rotation schedule that was concocted by Lloyd to facilitate discussion, not be acted on. The majority of courses were on a three year rotation with others (depending on function and need) in two and one year rotations, with a Senior Seminar each semester. The committee discussed the need to place some courses on less than three year rotations. This took up much of the meeting. The question was raised as to whether we are allowed to place courses on three year rotations. [After the meeting, David Dudley checked up the line and advised the committee that there should be no procedural problem]. The committee goal is to have a course rotation to present to the Department before Thanksgiving.
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Attending: Lloyd, Griffin, Costomiris, Whelan, Kundu
The committee met to discuss the new senior seminar which is to be offered as part of the revision of the English major. The committee was charged (after the department meeting of 24 October 2008) with developing more concrete guidelines and outcomes for the senior seminar in order to insure a consistent experience for students. The committee unanimously agreed to recommend the following guidelines for the senior seminar.
A) Guidelines at the Departmental Level:
1) Only 12 students will be allowed in each section of the senior seminar. If necessary, up to 15 students per seminar are permissible. If a sufficient number of students wishes to enroll in a senior seminar in a given term, the chair may offer a second section if someone is available to teach it.
2) At least one section of the senior seminar will be offered in both Fall and Spring semesters.
3) Students may take the senior seminar only after completing 18 hours of upper division English courses.
4) Advisors will monitor students’ progress to assure that they take the senior seminar at the appropriate time in their course of study.
5) The department chair will establish and publicize a tentative rotation of courses (including seminar topics) 1-2 years in advance so that students and faculty will know ahead of time what senior seminars will be offered in the coming 12-24 months.
6) Success of the senior seminar experience will be assessed by the professor responsible in a brief report submitted to the chair. Such reports should help the department chair in SACS program review.
7) As many tenured and tenure-track faculty as possible should participate in teaching the senior seminar.
B) Guidelines for the Seminar:
1) Students will make two presentations to the seminar consisting of the following.
a) A short (of 10-15 minute duration) critical analysis of an academic essay, a book, a primary text, or other course-relevant material assigned by the professor. This should occur early in the term as a prelude to the student’s own research later in the term.
b) A short oral version of the student’s “in-progress” seminar paper. This will occur at the end of the term.
Before the presentation, professors will provide students with a rubric detailing the required structure and format. They will also advise students on how to conduct themselves during the presentation and on how they will be evaluated.
2) In the process of researching the seminar paper, students will consult a sufficient number of primary and secondary sources (approved by the professor) in order to demonstrate their competency in the subject.
3) Students must meet with the professor to discuss their progress on the seminar paper.
4) Class will meet in seminar format, i.e, once per week for 150 minutes.
5) Class will meet every week for the first nine weeks of the semester during which time the primary texts will be discussed and the critical issues adumbrated. During weeks 10-12 the seminar will not meet formally, rather students will meet with the professor to discuss their own research projects. During weeks 13-15 the seminar will meet again to allow students to present their short oral versions of the seminar paper.
6) To encourage a significant level of participation and engagement with all of the works on the syllabus, students will be evaluated not only on their seminar papers and oral presentations, but also on a number of short reaction papers to the works presented and discussed in the first nine weeks of the term. The final grade should be broken down in roughly the following way: final paper 75%; presentations and short reaction papers 25%
7) There will be no final exam in this course.
C) Outcomes:
1) Students will demonstrate the ability to use a style guide to correctly document their work in MLA style.
2) Students will demonstrate mastery of literary/textual analysis, research methods, and resources (both electronic and paper) appropriate to the discipline.
3) In a 15-20 page research paper (not counting notes and Works Cited pages), students will identify a critical problem in a literary work, demonstrate their understanding of the critical debate related to this problem, and arrive at a satisfying synthesis of the critical heritage and their own original thesis on the subject.
4) Students will demonstrate proficiency in publicly presenting their work via oral presentations to the seminar.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 19 September 2008
Attending: Lloyd, Griffin, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: Kundu
The committee met to discuss the new senior seminar which is to be offered as part of the revision of the English major. Those attending the meeting unanimously recommend that the department adopt the following guidelines for the senior seminar.
1) 12 students per seminar is ideal. No more than 15 students in any instance. If more than 15 students enroll in a seminar, another section will be opened.
2) One senior seminar / semester will be offered for a total of two / year.
3) Students may take the senior seminar only after completing 18 hours of upper division English courses.
4) Advisors will monitor students’ progress to assure that students take the senior seminar at the appropriate time.
5) The department chair will establish a rotation of courses 1-2 years in advance so that students and faculty will know what senior senior seminar topics will be offered during the next 12-24 months.
6) Minimum requirements for students in the senior seminar:
1) a 15-20 page research paper based on original research.
2) Students must identify a critical problem and demonstrate their understanding of the critical debate about this problem.
7) Success of the senior seminar experience will be assessed by the professor in a brief report submitted to the chair. Such reports should help the department chair in SACS program review.
8) In order to demonstrate the accomplishments of the department as a whole, all tenured and tenure-track faculty should participate in teaching the senior seminar.
9) Proposed topics for the senior seminar will be presented to and approved by the department
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 10 September 2008
Attending: Lloyd, Kundu, Griffin, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee met to discuss how to configure the new senior seminar which is to be offered as part of the revision of the English Major. No recommendation was reached.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 3 September 2008
Attending: Lloyd, Kundu, Griffin, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee met to discuss the progress on the paperwork involved to complete the revisions to the English major.
The number of units required for the English minor was also discussed and no change was recommended.
At the request of Dr. Dudley, the committee also discussed how the American Dream course might continue to be offered via UGA distance learning.
To: Faculty of the Department of Literature and Philosophy
From: Major Program Committee
Subject: Response to Faculty Suggestions Regarding the English Major Proposal Presented to the Department on 2/8/08
Date: 3 April 2008
Preamble:
After presenting the proposal to revise the English Major to the department on 2/8/08, the committee solicited comments from the faculty. Six people responded with comments ranging from very particular issues to entirely different revision schemes. The committee met 5 times to discuss these suggestions and offers its response below. We have tried to address all the suggestions that came in and provide a rationale for all of our decisions. The committee appreciates the department’s contribution to this process. We believe the new proposal is stronger as a result and one that the department can embrace.
I. Concerning the Composition of Area F
A) Number of British and American Surveys
Some members of the department advocated requiring students to take only one each of the British Literature and American Literature surveys. The committee considered this recommendation but, after canvassing other members of the department and examining the issue again, we decided to keep the requirement that students take both British Literature surveys and one of the American surveys. This is our current practice so, in effect, we are not changing anything here.
Our decision is based on the following:
1) Familiarity with the full range of British literature is important to the study of all literature in English.
2) The longer chronology of British Literature means that both semesters of Brit Lit cover a longer span of years than either of their American Lit counterparts. As a result, a student who takes only one Brit Lit survey misses exposure to relatively greater swath of literary history than a student who takes only one American survey.
3) Students have more exposure to American literature in high school than they do to British literature
4) Students going to graduate school or becoming high school teachers are usually expected to demonstrate a knowledge of the full range of British Literature.
B) Prerequisites for the British and American Surveys
The committee agreed with the suggestion that Engl 1101 and 1102 should be prerequisites to taking Brit/Amer surveys, but recommends that Engl 2111 and 2112 no longer be prerequisites for the Brit/Amer surveys once they become 2000 level courses.
C) Anglophone Literature instead of American and British Surveys
The committee does not recommend substituting two surveys titled Anglophone Literature for the more traditional British and American Literature surveys. No other university in the state treats the surveys in this manner and students might find it difficult to transfer such course credits to other institutions who continue to use more traditional nomenclature.
D) Place of British and American Surveys within a Student’s Course of Study
The committee recommends that two of the three Brit/Amer surveys serve as prerequisites for upper division coursework in place of our current practice which uses the World Literature surveys as prerequisites for upper division coursework. The introductory nature of the Brit/Amer surveys suggests that students should take them before embarking on more in-depth upper division coursework. Taking these surveys before upper division courses will also give a student some insight in selecting elective courses.
English 2111 will still be part of a student’s Area F requirements and English 2112 will still be part of Area C, but a student need not complete them before enrolling in upper division courses
E) Courses within the Area F Grab Bag
The committee accepted the recommendation that we remove Psychology from the grab bag and replace it with Introduction to Religion (RELS 2130). The committee felt that current emphases in the field of psychology are not as relevant to literary study as they once were and that Introduction to Religion would be more beneficial our majors overall.
II. Concerning Introduction to Literary Studies
A) Placement of Course
Some members of the department advocated moving Intro to Literary Studies to Area F in conjunction with requiring only one British and one American survey. Our recommendation to require three surveys necessitates leaving Introduction to Literary Studies as part of the major requirements if we are to maintain any degree of choice for students from the grab bag part of Area F.
B) Numbering of Course
In an effort to achieve some of the goals of those who advocate placing Introduction to Literary Studies within Area F, the committee recommends that we NOT make this a 3000 level course as we first proposed, but instead keep it as a 2000 level course even though it will fall within the major requirements. This is actually our current practice and affords us the benefit of allowing students to take an additional English course at the 3000 level and above, and still not exceed the CLASS limit of 30 hours devoted to Major Requirements.
C) Title of Course
The committee supports keeping the title to this course as is. This title is common amongst English majors at other universities yet sufficiently vague to allow for a variety of emphases according to the professor teaching it.
D) Prerequisites for Course
The committee decided to remove any prerequisites for this course other than English 1101 and 1102 in order to encourage students to take this course early in their careers.
III. Concerning the Major Requirements
Suggestions regarding the Major Requirements centered on two issues: how the courses were distributed across the four recommended areas, and the number of required courses. We received two competing suggestions: one suggested requiring only one course, reducing the number of course offerings in Areas 1, 2, and 3 and greatly expanding the courses and hours devoted to Area 4; another suggested spreading all of our courses more evenly across three broad areas while also increasing the number of elective hours. The committee recommends taking a middle path that will maximize student choice in all of the areas while still affording the student a lot of latitude to choose elective courses. It will be helpful to look at the attached spreadsheet of distribution requirements when reading the committee’s response to this section.
A) American Realism and American Romanticism
The committee continues to recommend two 19th century American Literature courses. American Realism and American Romanticism are commonly found in other English majors in the state of Georgia and offer students more choice within Area 3.
B) British Novel and American Novel Courses
One colleague suggested that the American and British novel courses be moved to Area 4 on the grounds that they are genre courses and not historical surveys. The committee feels, however, that when these courses are provided with definable periods that they will effectively serve a survey type function. Taking these courses out of Areas 2 and 3 also reduces the overall number of courses within these areas and thus limits students options to choose within those areas.
C) Studies in Drama Courses
In a concomitant development, the committee has adopted the scheme found in one of the proposals that keeps drama courses an integral part of the literary periods comprising Areas 1, 2, and 3. Thus we recommend three classes as follows: in Area 1, Studies in British Drama up to the Restoration; in Area 2, Studies in British Drama from the Restoration to the Present; and in Area 3, Studies in American Drama. This change would move some courses out of Area 4 by eliminating English 5333, Studies in British Drama, and English 5335, Modern Drama. Only English 5330, World Drama, would remain in Area 4. This change would also offer students more choice within Areas 1, 2, and 3.
D) Multi-Cultural Lit Course
In response to the suggestion that the department offer a multi-cultural American Literature course, the committee recognizes that such a course might be desirable but recommends that such a course first be offered as a Selected Topics course before it becomes a regular part of the rotation.
E) Placement of Single Author Courses
The committee continues to recommend that the single-author courses of Shakespeare, Milton, and Chaucer remain in Area 1. Although these courses have no direct parallel in Areas 2 and 3, the Medieval and Early Modern periods are traditionally heavy in single-author courses and such courses are usually placed in the Early British literature areas of other English majors in the state.
F) Senior Seminar
The committee recommends that the senior seminar be a separate class and not conflated with a single author course. The committee believes that if the senior seminar is to successfully do service as a SACS assessment tool, its distinctive nature should be clear to both faculty and students. Although the structure and desired “outcomes” of the senior seminar await a lengthier discussion by the English faculty, the committee wishes at this point to stress the importance of maintaining a small seminar environment with a maximum of 12 students in order to insure that the class is clearly a “capstone” experience.
G) Clarification of Hours Applicable to Each of the Four Areas.
Because there was some confusion about how many hours a student may apply to each of the four areas, the committee has placed a minimum and maximum number of hours at the head of each of the four areas. We hope that this change will make clear that a student who wishes to take twelve hours from Area 4 may do so, but also that a student must take at least six hours from that area.
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English Major Program Committee
Recommendations for Area F Requirements, 18 hours total
April 11, 2008
|
Current Area F |
Revised Area F Approved by the Dept 10/20/06 |
Recommendation for Area F |
| Foreign Language through FORL 2002(3-12 hours) | Foreign Language through FORL 2002(3-6 hours) | Foreign Language through FORL 2002(3-6 hours) |
| Second World Lit Survey (3) | English 2111 (3) | Brit Lit I (3 hours) |
| ENGL 18**–Writing about Literature (3) | Brit Lit II (3 hours) | |
| ENGL 18**–Critical Approaches to Literature (3) | American Lit I or II (3 Hours) | |
| Select three (3) of the following: | Select one (1) of the following if you have not already taken ENGL 2111 as part of Area C. If you have already taken ENGL 2111 you must select two (2) of the following: | If you have already taken ENGL 2111 as part of Area C then you may select one course below. If you have not taken English 2111 as part of Area C, then select it from the classes below. |
| JOUR 2331 – Intro to Journalistic Writ | ENGL 1230, or ENGL 1231, or ENGL 1232 (Reading Fiction, Reading Poetry, Reading Drama) | ENGL 1230, or ENGL 1231, or ENGL 1232 (Reading Fiction, Reading Poetry, Reading Drama) |
| HIST 1111 – World Hist I | HIST 1111 – World Hist I | HIST 1111 – World Hist I |
| MUSC 1100 – Intro to Music | MUSC 1100 – Intro to Music | MUSC 1100 – Intro to Music |
| PHIL 1030 – Intro to Phil. | PHIL 1030 – Intro to Phil. | PHIL 1030 – Intro to Phil. |
| PSYC 1101 – Intro to Psych | PSYC 1101 – Intro to Psych | RELS 2130 – Introduction to Religion |
| ART 1000 – Art in Life | ART 1000 – Art in Life | ART 1000 – Art in Life |
| COMM 1101 – Public Speaking | THEA 1100 – Theatre Apprec. | FORL – Additional FORL class at 1000-2000 level in a DIFFERENT language |
| FORL – Additional FL at beginning or intermediate level | FORL – Additional FORL course at 3000 level or above in same language OR a 1000-2000 level course in a DIFFERENT language | PHIL 2232 – Critical Thinking |
| PHIL 2232 – Critical Thinking | ENGL 2112 – World Lit II | |
| WRIT 1120 – Grammar and Punct | ENGL 2111 – World Lit I | |
| THEA 1100 – Theatre Apprec. | ||
| ENGL 2422 – Language of Film |
Recommended English Major Distribution Requirements as of 4/11/08
- 30 hours total, 27 hours at the 3000-4000-5000 level
- two of the British and American Literature surveys that are part of Area F are prerequisites to upper-division coursework
- ENGL 2131 is a co-requisite to upper-division coursework
- BLUE or BOLD font indicates new courses or modifications to existing courses
| Required Courses (9 hours) | AREA 1 (3 hours minimum, 9 hours maximum: 3 minimum hours may not overlap with hours taken for required single author course | AREA 2 (3 hours minimum, 9 hours maximum) | AREA 3 (3 hours minimum, 9 hours maximum) | AREA 4: column 1 (6 hours minimum, 12 hours maximum from columns 1 and 2 of Area 4) | AREA 4 : column 2 | Courses that will not be part of the Major Requiremsents |
| 2131 Introduction to Literary Studies | 4135 Chaucer | 5134 British Neo-Classical Lit (add dates, clarify title) | 5230 Colonial American Lit. | 5090 Selected Topics | 5438 Modern Poetry to 1945 (add starting date to title) | 5436 Spirit of Place |
| 4*** Single Author (4135 Chaucer, 4337 Shakespeare, 5434 Milton, or 4435 other) | 5136 Medieval Lit (not Chaucer) | 5131 British Romanticm | 5*** American Romanticism | 5130 20th C Irish Lit (push starting date back to 1880) | 5430 Contemporary Poetry (add dates to title) | 3238 Amer. Dream |
| 4*** Senior Seminar | 5434 Milton (no longer including Donne) | 4133 British Novel (add 18th & 19th C) | 5*** American Realism | 5530 Bible as Lit | 5534 Literature for Adolescents | 3338 Irish Cultural Identities (see Area 4) |
| 4337 Shakespeare | 5139 Victorian Prose and Poetry | 4237 Amer Novel (add dates) | 5536 Post-Colonial Lit | 5535 Children’s Lit | Special Topic (now with Selected Topics) | |
| 5138 Poetry and Prose of English Renaissance | 5*** 20th C British Lit | 5*** 20th C American Lit | 5135 Teaching Lit to MS/HS Students | 4538 Literary Criticism | 2434 Lang of Film (course remains as part of Area F) | |
| 5*** Studies in British Drama to 1660 | 5*** Studies in British Drama since 1660 | 5*** Studies in American Drama | 5*** Irish Lit I: from the earliest lit to 1880 (replaces Irish Cultural Identities) | 3535 Patterns in Film and Lit | ||
| 3237 Women and Lit | 5330 World Drama | |||||
| 3231 African-American Lit | ||||||
| 5539 Lit by Women | ||||||
| 5538 World Fiction since 1900 | ||||||
| 5234 Southern Lit |
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 26 March 2008
Attending: Lloyd, Kundu, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee wrapped up its discussion of recommendations by faculty members to change the proposal to revise the English major. The committee is working to revise the set of documents to present to the department and hopes to convene a departmental meeting no later than mid-April.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 10 March 2008
Attending: Lloyd, Kundu, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris
Absent: Whelan
The committee discussed recommendations by faculty members to change the proposal to revise the English major. We focused on the Major Distribution Requirements.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 5 March 2008
Attending: Lloyd, Kundu, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris
Absent: Whelan
The committee discussed recommendations by faculty members to change the proposal to revise the English major. We focused on the Major Distribution Requirements.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 27 Feb 2008
Attending: Kundu, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Lloyd
Absent: Whelan
The committee discussed recommendations by faculty members to change the proposal to revise the English major. We especially focused on Area F.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 20 Feb 2008
Attending: Kundu, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Lloyd
Absent: Whelan
The committee discussed recommendations by faculty members to change the proposal to revise the English major. We especially focused on Area F.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 30 January 2008
Attending: Kundu, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris
Absent: Whelan, Lloyd
The committee discussed how to compose a questionnaire for graduating English majors. We began by looking at an old questionnaire no longer in use and agreed that all committee members would examine that document, salvaging what seemed good and adding questions as necessary.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 23 January 2008
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris
Absent: Whelan
Visitor: Dudley
The committee discussed how the proposal to revise the English major will be presented to the department. The committee agreed that we will provide written copies of the proposal to the department one week before our presentation on February 8, 2008.
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Major Program Committee Meeting
Meeting Date: 8 am, 5 November 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
Guest: Dudley
The committee unanimously approved a plan to revise the English Major and to bring it to the department at the earliest opportunity during Spring semester 2008. The documents pertinent to the proposed revision will be provided to the department at least one week before the proposed meeting.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 4 pm, 22 October 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee continued to discuss the major program requirements.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 4 pm, 17 October 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee discussed the major program requirements.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 4:30 pm, 10 October 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee discussed the major program requirements.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 8 am, 19 September 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee continued to discuss how to configure Area F as well as the English Major Requirements.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 4 pm, 12 September 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee continued to discuss how to configure Area F as well as the English Major Requirements.
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Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 8 am, 5 September 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee continued to discuss how to configure Area F as well as the English Major Requirements. The committee agreed to meet again at 4 pm on 12 September to continue this discussion.
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 4 pm, 29 August 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris, Whelan
Absent: none
The committee continued to discuss how to configure Area F in light of possible changes to the English Major Requirements. The committee agreed to meet again at 8 am on 5 September to continue this discussion.
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Minutes
Meeting Date: 8 am, 22 August 2007
Attending: Kundu, Lloyd, Griffin, Villeponteaux, Costomiris
Absent: Whelan
The committee reviewed the changes made to Area F during the last academic year and, in light of those changes, discussed a variety of possible changes to the configuration of the English Major Requirements. The committee agreed to meet again at 4 pm on 29 August to continue this discussion.
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Meeting Minutes of 6 April 2007
Attending: Costomiris, Schille, Whelan
The committee met to discuss three proposals sent to the committee by Doug Thomsom. Two were adopted by the committee and recommended for approval by the department.
1) Constitution of Search Committees and Conduct of Faculty Searches
The department Chair will appoint from the other members of the department the chair of the search committee and at least three other members. After the interview process, the chair of the search committee will solicit written comments about the candidates from all faculty. The department will also meet to discuss the group of candidates (for each position) who have visited the campus. Drawing on this information and its own experience with the candidates, the committee will submit its recommendation and the written comments of the faculty to the Chair of the department.
2) Admission to the Department of Tenured and Tenure-Track faculty
Whenever the department is considering the admission of a new faculty member with tenure or on the tenure track, the department will meet to discuss the candidate and vote on the candidate’s application.
Submitted by R. Costomiris
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Meeting Minutes of 26 January 2007
Attending: Costomiris, Town, Schille, Whelan
The committee was prompted to meet by David Robinson’s proposal to teach American Lit 2 on line. We discussed the nature of and need for on-line courses. The committee was evenly split on the need for such courses and decided to refer the matter to the department as a whole.
Submitted by R. Costomiris
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Meeting Minutes of 20 October 2006
Attending: Costomiris, Dudley, Schille, Whelan
Following the departmental meeting of October 4, 2006 the committee continued to discuss possible changes to the Area F requirements for the English Major and arrived at the following recommendation for the department. See next page.
Submitted by R. Costomiris
Current Area F Proposed Area F
(as of 10/1/06) Proposed Area F
(Revised 10/20/06)
Foreign Language through FORL 2002
(3-12 hours) Foreign Language through FORL 2002
(3-6 hours) Foreign Language through FORL 2002
(3-6 hours)
Second World Lit Survey (3) Second World Lit Survey (3) ENGL 2111 (3)
ENGL 12**–Writing about Literature (3) ENGL 18**–Writing about Literature (3)
ENGL 12**–Critical Approaches to Literature (3) ENGL 18**–Critical Approaches to Literature (3)
Select three (3) of the following: Select one (1) of the following: Select one (1) of the following if you have not already taken ENGL 2111 as part of Area C. If you have already taken ENGL 2111 you must select two (2) of the following:
JOUR 2331—Intro to Journalistic Writ
ENGL 1230, or ENGL 1231, or ENGL 1232 (Reading Fiction, Reading Poetry, Reading Drama) ENGL 1230, or ENGL 1231, or ENGL 1232 (Reading Fiction, Reading Poetry, Reading Drama)
HIST 1111—World Hist I HIST 1111—World Hist I HIST 1111—World Hist I
MUSC 1100—Intro to Music MUSC 1100—Intro to Music MUSC 1100—Intro to Music
PHIL 1030—Intro to Phil. PHIL 1030—Intro to Phil. PHIL 1030—Intro to Phil.
PSYC 1101—Intro to Psych PSYC 1101—Intro to Psych PSYC 1101—Intro to Psych
ART 1000—Art in Life ART 1000—Art in Life ART 1000—Art in Life
COMM 1101—Pub. Speak. THEA 1100—Theatre Apprec THEA 1100—Theatre Apprec.
FORL—Additional FL at beginning or intermediate level FORL—Additional FORL course at 3000 level or above in same language OR a 1000-2000
level course in a DIFFERENT language FORL—Additional FORL course at 3000 level or above in same language OR a 1000-2000 level course in a DIFFERENT language
PHIL 2232—Critical Thinking
WRIT 1120—Grammar and Punct
ENGL 2112—World Lit II
N.B. In this revision we have changed the following:
1) We require students to take ENGL 2111 and make ENGL 2112 optional because we are asking them to take all 4 British and American Surveys.
2) We have changed the numbering of the proposed courses to 18OO to differentiate them from ENGL 1101/1102 and our own new courses.
3) We have added some courses to the grab-bag. These are in italics
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Meeting Minutes of 13 October 2006
Attending: Schille, Town, Costomiris, Dudley, Whelan
Following the departmental meeting of October 4, 2006, the committee continued to discuss changes to the Area F requirements for the English Major, how to utilize the surveys of British and American literature, and how to utilize the World Literature surveys. We also discussed whether Shakespeare should be a required course.
Submitted by R. Costomiris
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Minutes
The Major Program Committee met on Wednesday, September 28, from 10-11:30. The following members were present: Professors Lloyd, Paige, Schille, and Womack.
The committee again discussed the motion concerning English 2131 that the department sent back during its May 2 meeting. Lloyd thought of bringing a wooden stake and silver bullet to the meeting, but decided against.
Lloyd reported that Ann Montalvo, the Assistant Registrar, said there was no mechanism for making the course a co- or pre-requisite for English majors and minors but not for everyone else.
MOTION # 1 The committee voted unanimously that the pre- and co-requisitite
requirement be scrapped due to the negative effect it would have on
non-majors taking 3000 and above courses.
MOTION #2 The committee unanimously passed a motion that the
catalogue description of ENGL 2131 be changed to the following:
“An examination of the fundamental principles of literary study, with special attention to writing in the discipline, major schools of criticism, research and documentation, and key literary terms.”
MOTION #3 The committee voted unanimously that the following concerning the course be placed in the department manual:
By the end of English 2131 students will demonstrate competence in the following:
Critical approaches to literature
Basic literary terms essential to reading and interpreting literature
Genres and modes
Written explications of prose and poetic texts
The production of a literary research paper of at least 5-8 pages that follows proper MLA documentation procedures.
Faculty should enforce these outcomes throughout all 3000 and above courses whether or not students have taken English 2131.
Teachers should require that students in English 2131 purchase a copy of the MLA Handbook.
[Members of the committee will compile lists of recommended literary terms and critical approaches for inclusion on this page.]MOTION #4 The course description of English 3121/3121S should be changed to the following:
A study of British literature and literary history from the Old English Period through the pre-Romantics, focusing on literary types, themes, and responses to historical, political, and cultural circumstances. Prerequisite: ENGL 2111 or 2112.”
The motion passed unanimously. Rationale: the present British literature survey catalog course descriptions omit most of the 18th century.
MOTION #5 Sections of English 3121, 3122, 3131, and 3132 should cover all centuries and major literary movements contained within the catalogue course descriptions.
The motion passed unanimously. Rationale: The catalogue description is a legal document; we owe it to our students.
Lloyd’s argument: We should address the question of outcomes and coverage in the British and American literature survey courses, our idiosyncratic substitutes for the historical and genre distribution requirements used by most literature departments in the state system. One reason: our B.S.Ed. students are doing poorly on 2 of 8 sections of the Praxis II exam, “Grammar” (average 61) and “Identifying major works and authors of American, British, and World Literature / Situating and interpreting texts within their historical and cultural contexts” (average 66). The other six scores were over 70 (there were 26 2003-2004 test takers). Given the survey emphasis in our major, this should be embarrassing. By the way, the legal and administrative responsibility for Praxis II scores shifts from Education to Literature and Philosophy with the phasing out of the B.S.Ed. for English teachers.
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Meeting Minutes of 22 September 2006
Attending: Town, Whelan, Costomiris, Dudley
Absent: Schille
The committee continued to discuss possible changes to the Area F requirements for the English Major and arrived at the following proposal to present to the department.
Current Area F Proposed Area F
Foreign Language through FL 2002
(3-12 hours) Foreign Language through FL 2002
(3-6 hours)
Second World Lit Survey (3) Second World Lit Survey (3)
ENGL 12**–Writing about Literature (3)
ENGL 12**–Critical Approaches to Literature (3)
Select three (3) of the following: Select one (1) of the following:
JOUR 2331—Intro to Journalistic Writ
ENGL 1230, or ENGL 1231, or ENGL 1232 (Reading Fiction, Reading Poetry, Reading Drama)
HIST 1111—World Hist I HIST 1111—World Hist I
MUSC 1100—Intro to Music MUSC 1100—Intro to Music
PHIL 1030—Intro to Phil. PHIL 1030—Intro to Phil.
PSYC 1101—Intro to Psych PSYC 1101—Intro to Psych
ART 1000—Art in Life ART 1000—Art in Life
COMM 1101—Public Speaking THEA 1100—Theatre Appreciation
FORL—Additional FL at beginning or intermediate level FORL—Additional FL course at 3000 level or above in same language OR a 1000-2000 level course in a DIFFERENT language
Submitted by R. Costomiris
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Meeting Minutes of 15 September 2006
Attending: Town, Whelan, Costomiris, Dudley
Absent: Schille
The committee met and discussed possible changes to the Area F requirements for the English Major. The committee agreed that some changes were appropriate such as reducing the number of foreign language credits to a maximum of six and including more 2000 level and 1000 level English courses into the mix. The committee also discussed changing English 2131 to a two course sequence to allow time for more literary criticism.
Submitted by R. Costomiris
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Meeting Minutes of 1 September 2006
Attending: Town, Whelan, Costomiris
Absent: Dudley, Schille
Item 1: What should English majors know?
Town suggested we ask Dudley about the goals outlined by the Department Welfare Committee.
The question of whether students should be familiar with literary history was discussed.
Town suggested that we perhaps survey faculty about this.
Whelan was concerned that strict requirements might force an undesirable expectation of departmental accountability.
Item 2: What should we do with area F?
Dealing with Area F might be one way to begin rethinking the major. All in attendance agreed that the department is not using Area F effectively.
We discussed a variety of possible ways to configure Area F such as moving the British and American surveys there and putting intro to Literary Studies in Area F.
We agreed to pursue both of these issues more at the next meeting.
Submitted by R. Costomiris
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Minutes
The Major Program Committee met on Monday, March 6 from 1-1:50 p.m.
The following members were present: Katy Gee, student representative, and Professors Lloyd, Paige, and Womack. Regrets: Professor Schille. Guests: Professors Dudley and Town.
The committee discussed setting up a track for English majors who plan to pursue careers in middle and high school teaching. Caren Town addressed those present about changes in the education curriculum including the abolition of the B.S.Ed for middle and high school teachers and the creation of the M.A.T in education, which will consist entirely of education courses. She also explained the ENGL, WRIT, and READ courses that will be required for admission to the M.A.T and non-degree certification programs. The Praxis exams will be replaced later this year by the GACE test, which is supposed to be more student-friendly. Its contents will be more accessible to professors than the security-shrouded ETS/PRAXIS exams. In assembling the final track we have the option of stipulating that one or more courses be required where there are multiple alternatives (see the ENGL 5534, WRIT 5330, and READ 3330 lines below). But otherwise students are constrained by the state mandated “content” course requirements. Faculty may wish to refer to the College of Education Homepage for more information about changes in the education programs, which may noticeably impact ENGL enrollments at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Major courses – 30 hours
_______ ENGL 2131 Introduction to Literary Studies (must be taken before or at the
same time as 3000 and above ENGL courses)
_______ ENGL 3121 British Literature I
_______ ENGL 3122 British Literature II
_______ ENGL 3131 American Literature I
_______ ENGL 3132 American Literature II
_______ ENGL 4435 Single Author (Includes single author course, Shakespeare,
Chaucer, or Donne and Milton)
_______ ENGL 5534 Literature for Adolescents OR ENGL 5135 Teaching Literature
for Middle Grades and High School Students. Both courses may be taken, the
second as a major elective.
ENGL Electives (3 courses 3000 and above)
_______
_______
_______
Minor – 15 hours Free Electives — 15 hours
_______ _______
_______ _______
_______ _______
_______ _______
_______ _______
Courses needed for meet content requirements for admission to the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or a non-degree certification program. READ 3330 or READ 4131 must be taken as a Free Elective. The others may be taken as Free Electives or as part of a Writing minor.
_______ WRIT 5330 History of the English Language OR LING/WRIT 3430 Linguistics
and Grammar for Teachers OR WRIT 5130 Modern English Grammar.
_______ WRIT 3131, The Teaching of Writing.
_______ READ 3330 Content Literacy OR READ 4131 The Teaching of Reading.
The following education courses may also be taken as free electives:
EDUF 2120 Foundations of Education
EDUF 2121 Human Growth and Development
SPED 2120 Introduction to Special Education
ITEC 2120 Instruction in Technology
COED 2110 PPB Practicum
PRAXIS I and PRAXIS II examination and 2.5 cumulative GPA requirements must be met for certification program admission and should be considered during enrollment in the bachelor’s program. PRAXIS exams will be replaced by the new GACE exam as of November 2006.
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Minutes
The Major Program Committee met on Wednesday, September 28, from 10-11:30. The following members were present: Professors Lloyd, Paige, Schille, and Womack. The committee again discussed the motion concerning English 2131 that the department sent back during its May 2 meeting. Lloyd thought of bringing a wooden stake and silver bullet to the meeting, but decided against. Lloyd reported that Ann Montalvo, the Assistant Registrar, said there was no mechanism for making the course a co- or pre-requisite for English majors and minors but not for everyone else.
MOTION # 1 The committee voted unanimously that the pre- and co-requisitite requirement be scrapped due to the negative effect it would have on non-majors taking 3000 and above courses.
MOTION #2 The committee unanimously passed a motion that the catalogue description of ENGL 2131 be changed to the following:
“An examination of the fundamental principles of literary study, with special attention to writing in the discipline, major schools of criticism, research and documentation, and key literary terms.”
MOTION #3 The committee voted unanimously that the following concerning the course be placed in the department manual: By the end of English 2131 students will demonstrate competence in the following:
Critical approaches to literature
Basic literary terms essential to reading and interpreting literature
Genres and modes
Written explications of prose and poetic texts
The production of a literary research paper of at least 5-8 pages that follows proper MLA documentation procedures.
Faculty should enforce these outcomes throughout all 3000 and above courses whether or not students have taken English 2131.
Teachers should require that students in English 2131 purchase a copy of the MLA Handbook.
[Members of the committee will compile lists of recommended literary terms and critical approaches for inclusion on this page.]MOTION #4 The course description of English 3121/3121S should be changed to the following: A study of British literature and literary history from the Old English Period through the pre-Romantics, focusing on literary types, themes, and responses to historical, political, and cultural circumstances. Prerequisite: ENGL 2111 or 2112.”
The motion passed unanimously. Rationale: the present British literature survey catalog course descriptions omit most of the 18th century.
MOTION #5 Sections of English 3121, 3122, 3131, and 3132 should cover all centuries and major literary movements contained within the catalogue course descriptions.
The motion passed unanimously. Rationale: The catalogue description is a legal document; we owe it to our students.
Lloyd’s argument: We should address the question of outcomes and coverage in the British and American literature survey courses, our idiosyncratic substitutes for the historical and genre distribution requirements used by most literature departments in the state system. One reason: our B.S.Ed. students are doing poorly on 2 of 8 sections of the Praxis II exam, “Grammar” (average 61) and “Identifying major works and authors of American, British, and World Literature / Situating and interpreting texts within their historical and cultural contexts” (average 66). The other six scores were over 70 (there were 26 2003-2004 test takers). Given the survey emphasis in our major, this should be embarrassing. By the way, the legal and administrative responsibility for Praxis II scores shifts from Education to Literature and Philosophy with the phasing out of the B.S.Ed. for English teachers.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Major Program Committee met on Monday, April 4, from 12-1 p.m.
The following members were present: Professors Lloyd, Keeley, Paige, Schille, and Thomson. Regrets: Travis Tarver
The meeting was dominated by a single agenda item, the status of English 2131, “Introduction to Literary Studies.”
The committee unanimously passed a motion to change the course description and establish a set of outcomes for the course, which we hope faculty will agree to enforce in all 3000 level and above ENGL courses whether or not students have taken ENGL 2131.
Included in the motion was the following language:
“Students who declare the English major must take English 2131 before or at the same time they take major courses at the 3000 level and above. The Department Chair can make exceptions to this policy in special situations.”
The course description for ENGL 2131 will be as follows:
“An examination of the fundamental principles of literary study, with special attention to writing in the discipline, major schools of criticism, research and MLA documentation, and key literary terms. Required of all majors before or at the same time they take ENGL courses at the 3000 level and above.”
The Present catalog description is as follows:
“An examination of the fundamental principles of literary study, with special attention to critical approaches to language and literature, bibliography and research, and writing in the discipline. Required of all majors.”
The committee agreed that we should collectively enforce the following outcomes throughout all 3000 and above courses through strict grading policies as defined by the faculty member.
Competence will be expected in each of the following:
1. Critical approaches to literature (e.g., formalism, deconstruction, and gender studies)
2. Basic literary terms (e.g., irony, metaphor, and iambic tetrameter) essential to the reading and interpretation of literature.
3. The ability to conduct independent research on literary topics.
4. Proper MLA documentation procedures.
The Major Program Committee decided not to pursue a proposal that literary content in another department’s course offerings be evaluated and responded to. This is a matter best negotiated by the Chair with the Dean, who is responsible for exercising appropriate oversight.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Major Program Committee met on Wednesday, February 23, from 12-1 p.m.
The following members were present: Professors Lloyd, Keeley, Paige, and Thomson, and Travis Tarver, student representative. Regrets: Candy Schille.
Guests included Bruce Krajewski and Kurt Frederick.
The minutes of the October 4, 2004, meeting were accepted.
The meeting was dominated by a single agenda item, Kurt Frederick’s proposal for an “Adventure Literature” course. Mr. Frederick, who holds an M.A. in English from Georgia Southern, has run the Outdoor Adventures program at the RAC for six years, which takes about 200 students per year on outing trips as far away as California and Hawaii. Mr. Frederick has taught GSU 1210. His slide presentation of the proposal impressed the committee. But committee members concluded that the course should best be presented to the General Program Committee, chaired by David Dudley, which is in the process of developing 1000 level courses that will appeal to a wider constituency at Georgia Southern and perhaps attract new majors and minors. Lloyd agreed to arrange a contact between Mr. Frederick and that committee.
For the Major Program Committee,
Tom Lloyd
* * * * * * * * * *
The Major Program Committee met on Monday, October 4, 2004 from 12:00-1:00.
The following members were present: Professors Lloyd, Keeley, Paige, Schille, and Thomson. The meeting was open to the department. No one else was physically present, but Professors Costomiris, Cyr, and Robinson offered written input. The following three items were on the agenda:
1. The proposal to change the division of ENGL 3121 and 3122, which was brought before the Department on 20 February, 2004, when the “faculty decided that the matter should be returned to the Major Program Committee so that the Committee could hold an open meeting about the matter.” Before the meeting Lloyd checked a number of B.A. degree programs in literature across the state system: UGA, Georgia State, Valdosta, Georgia College and State University, West Georgia, Kennesaw State, and North Georgia. After providing the committee with relevant documents he reported that only one, Georgia College and State University, ends the first part of a two-part British literature survey after 1700. Georgia State and West Georgia have a single British literature survey. Only Valdosta State and Georgia Southern teach British or American literature surveys at the major program level as opposed to Area F/2000 level. All the other programs also have historical distribution requirements.
The emphasis on survey courses at the 3000 level and the absence of a historical distribution requirement for major electives may warrant future study: or perhaps not.
After discussion the committee approved a motion 5-0 that English 3121 and 3122 continue to be divided according to the correct catalog description. Reasons given included the absence of support on the committee, or widespread support out of it, to recommend the originally proposed change.
2. The committee approved by a vote of 5-0 a motion to recommend that the Department approve RELS 3330, a new course called “Introduction to the Old Testament” proposed by Professor Goff, pending minor changes in wording and in the justification box.
3. After discussion the Committee approved by a vote of 5-0 a motion that students entering the major will not be required to take the required British and American Literature surveys concurrently with upper-level electives in the major or as prerequisites. The Committee tabled for future consideration the question of whether to require that students take Introduction to Literary Studies (2131) as a prerequisite or co-requisite for the upper-level electives. Reasons given included problems with filled classes and with students entering or declaring the major late in college. The Committee recommended that advisers redouble their efforts to steer students into English 2131 and the surveys early in the major, and that the importance of doing so be emphasized on the Department website.
For the Major Program Committee,
Tom Lloyd
* * * * * * * * * *
Minutes (tentative): Major Program Committee
Meeting 31 March 2003
Present: David Dudley, Matthew Goff, Fred Sanders, Tim Whelan
Guests: Robert Costomiris, Linda Rohrer Paige
The following two items were brought before the Committee:
1. A proposal from Robert Costomiris (carried over from a previous meeting) asking that the present division of the British Literature surveys be revised by moving the Restoration-Eighteenth Century literature section of British Literature I (ENGL 3121) to British Literature II (ENGL 3122).
With this change, British Literature I (ENGL 3121) would end with Milton.
RATIONALE: This change will provide a better balance of emphasis between the literature of the earlier and later centuries. It will allow more time for the study of important works of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, so that English majors will bring greater familiarity with the literature of the earlier periods to their decisions about other course choices in the major. It will be one way to help strengthen enrollments in the medieval and Renaissance literature courses.
Moving Restoration-Eighteenth literature to British Literature II will also provide students an essential context for the study of the literature of the Romantic movement in the same course.
Discussion focused primarily on the feasibility of the proposed change given the way British Literature anthologies are typical divided.
The Committee unanimously approved in principle Robert’s proposal. The Committee also agreed with David Dudley’s suggestion to invite all professors who teach the British Literature surveys to meet for a discussion of this proposed change since it would involve textbook issues among other concerns, before bringing the proposal to the Department for a vote.
2. A proposal from Linda Paige asking that Women in Literature (ENGL 2335) be changed to a 3000-level course so that it may be cross-listed as a credit course in the Women and Gender Studies Minor program.
RATIONALE: The Women’s and Gender Studies Minor requires credit courses in the Minor be numbered 3000 and above.
With its “2000″ catalog number, ENGL 2335 Women in Literature cannot be taken for credit in the WGST Minor. It is the introductory course in women’s literature offered by our department. Other departments at GSU offer beginning courses cross-listed with the WGST Minor at a 3000 level. If the Women in Literature catalog number is not changed to a 3000 number, the course seems destined to a slow “studentless” death, thus curtailing the effectiveness of the WGST Minor and limiting the exposure of students of all majors to the world of women’s literature.
Discussion included clarification of differences in the content of the Women in Literature course and the Literature by Women course (ENGL 5539) which already carries credit in the WGST Minor. Also discussed were two questions reflecting continuing concerns about balancing the number of English majors with the number of major courses offered: how frequently will each course be offered, and will a student be able to take both courses in the English Major. Dr. Paige explained that each course is offered every two years. Discussion of the second question was limited by the time available for the meeting.
On the basic request in the proposal, the Committee unanimously recommends that the catalog number for Women in Literature (ENGL 2335) be changed to a 3000 number.
* * * * * * * * * *
MINUTES: Major Program Committee meeting 26 March 2002
Present: Fred Sanders, Acting Chair; Maria Adamos; Candy Schille; Doug Thomson. Guest: Robert Costomiris.
Robert brought three proposals to the committee for consideration:
1. A request that the name of English 5136, currently titled “English Medieval Literature,” be changed to “Chivalric and Christian Literature: Knights, Ladies, and Priests.”
Rationale: The new title combines elements of the middle ages familiar to most students (knights, ladies, and chivalry) with an aspect of medieval literature of interest to many Georgia Southern students (Christianity), and should communicate more clearly than the present title what is actually studied in the course.
The committee voted to support this proposal.
2. A request that English Majors be required to take the British Literature surveys before they begin taking upper division electives.
Rationale: Students need to be exposed to the broad chronology of British Literature early in the major program so that they will have the knowledge they need to make informed choices about the electives they take in the major. They may be inclined to try something outside of what they already know. They may find the courses in Medieval and Renaissance literature that are often undersubscribed actually would interest them. Overall in the department fewer courses may be cancelled because of low enrollment.
Much discussion followed: While agreeing that the basic point of the proposal was sound, the committee raised questions about (1) the effect on courses offered every two years; (2) the impact on the English minor, and electives taken by students outside the department; (3) the effect of adding another “prerequisite” requirement to the major.
As a possible way to address the issue raised by this proposal, the committee recommended wording be adopted specifying the following:
“English majors enrolling in upper-division electives (courses numbered 3231 and above) must already have taken or be concurrently enrolled in at least two of the required survey courses (3121; 3122; 3131 or 3132). This requirement does not apply to Minors in English or to students with other majors who wish to take upper-division English classes.”
3. A request that for better balance, the British Literature surveys be divided so that the first course ends with Milton and the second course begins with the Restoration.
Rationale: At present British Literature I covers about 1000 years of literature and British Literature II covers only 220 years. Although both surveys cover a wealth of material, the present arrangement makes doing a good job in British Literature I almost impossible.
Discussion was limited because of time, but the committee did note the proposed change would, at the very least, require a consideration of available texts to match the chronology. The committee agreed to table this proposal for future discussion.
Before adjourning, the committee divided the labor of reviewing catalogs of other colleges and universities for equivalent courses in English that would have approved transfer credit at GSU.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Major Program Committee met on Friday, 28 September 2001, and dealt with two issues:
(1) the committee passed a course proposal for Selected Topics ENGL 5090G/5090S titled “British Manuscripts, 1780-1830,” a course designed for a Study Abroad at Oxford which will be led by Tim Whelan; and (2) the committee passed the following resolution advocating that the English Department remove the current restriction on English majors not being allowed to minor in Writing:
The Writing Minor was formally approved in 1993, at which time the University policy was that only 45 quarter hours could be earned by a student within his major field of study. Since the writing courses at that time were still listed as ENGL, the minor was denied English majors, not by a decision of the English Department, but as a result of University policies. When the Writing Department became its own entity some years later, there was still concern among members of the University about allowing English majors to minor in Writing. Even though the departments were now separated, and the Writing courses were no longer listed under ENGL, the fact remained that they had once been English courses (i.e, the previous year), and to some the designation change did not warrant a significant enough reason to change the existing policy. However, the Major Program Committee of the English Department would like to have the issue considered once again, with the belief that now the University will indeed consider the courses as separate from the English major. It is the desire of the Major Program Committee that English majors be allowed to minor in Writing. This will also necessitate a change in the current English major, and that is that English majors will no longer be allowed to count any Writing courses toward the major. They will be allowed to minor in Writing, and they can take Writing courses as part of the 15 hours of free electives, but they cannot include any Writing courses among the 30 hours required for the major. Currently English majors can include up to two Writing courses as part of the 30 hours for the major. With this decision, that proviso will be eliminated from the catalogue.
Tim Whelan, English Department, Georgia Southern University
* * * * * * * * * *
Major Program Committee Meeting on January 22, 2015
Minutes of the Major Program Committee Meeting, January 22, 2015: 1:30-2:30
Members present: Robert Costomiris, Christy Curley, Howard Keeley, Doug Thomson, and Tim Whelan
Business items:
1. 2015-2016 Curriculum Checklist. Thomson distributed the revised checklist provided by Curley; it will go into effect summer term 2015. Costomiris provided the following stipulation for Area F: “Students who have already satisfied one or both of the FORL requirements in Area F must substitute one or two lower division courses appropriate to the major and chosen in consultation with their advisor.”
2. African-American Literature and Southern Literature: Area III or Area IV? The committee favored keeping ENGL 3231 and 5234 in Area IV. Whelan offered background on this arrangement and noted that maintaining the two courses in Area IV will result in students taking at least one of the American literature survey courses in Area III.
3. Course Rotation. Dr. Villaponteaux asked the committee to consider creating a three-year course rotation, noting that it would be a good thing for faculty and students alike but also indicating that the rotation has historically been subject to major changes. The committee agreed to work on a course rotation and charged Thomson to provide a copy of the most recent 3 year rotation.
Respectfully submitted, Doug Thomson
Last updated: 9/6/2016
