Exploring the English Department at Grinnell College: A Comprehensive Guide

The English Department at Grinnell College offers a comprehensive and flexible curriculum designed to provide students with a strong foundation in literary analysis, exposure to diverse literary traditions, and opportunities for ambitious research projects. The department's offerings span American, British, Irish, and postcolonial literatures, encouraging students to explore these areas from various critical and theoretical perspectives.

Curriculum Overview

The English curriculum is designed to guide students through a progressive exploration of literary studies, starting with foundational skills and culminating in advanced research and writing. The curriculum is structured to allow students to develop their unique interests and questions within the field.

Foundational Courses (100-Level)

The major begins with a 100-level course, Literary Analysis (ENG 120), or Introduction to Shakespeare (ENG 121), in which students develop their analytical skills by paying close attention to texts and developing an awareness of contemporary approaches to literary study. The content of each ENG 120 section is determined by the professor, so students should read the course descriptions to determine which section to take. ENG 120 and 121 are typically offered every semester and they serve as prerequisites for 200- and 300-level classes in English.

Intermediate Courses (200-Level)

The 200 level includes courses that introduce students to:

The practices of creative and argumentative writing (e.g., ENG 205 The Craft of Fiction, ENG 206 The Craft of Poetry, ENG 207 Craft of Creative Nonfiction).
The traditions of American, African-American, ethnic American, British, Irish, and postcolonial literatures (e.g., ENG 223 Tradition of English Literature I, ENG 224 Tradition of English Literature II, ENG 225 Introduction to Postcolonial Literature, ENG 227 American Literature Traditions I, ENG 229 Tradition African American Literature, ENG 325 Studies in Ethnic American Literature, ENG 329 Studies African American Literature).
The theoretical tools of historical linguistics and gender studies (e.g., ENG 273 Transnational and Postcolonial Feminism, ENG 290 Introduction to Literary Theory).

These courses provide the necessary background for the more advanced 300-level seminars.

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Advanced Seminars (300-Level)

Courses at the 300 level require more advanced work in literary study and creative writing. These courses train students in advanced skills of self-directed research and writing. Every English major completes three 300-level seminars. Examples of recent seminars include:

ENG-325-01 Studies in Ethnic American Literature: Studies in Ethnic American Literature - H. Phan.
ENG-329-01 Studies African American Literature: Studies African American Literature - M. Lavan.
ENG-332-01 The Victorians: Going to Town: Urbanization and Victorian Literature. This course explores the impact of rapid urbanization and industrialization on Victorian society, focusing on class and gender dynamics in literature from the period. Key texts include Charles Dickens's Bleak House and Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South.
ENG-337-01 The British Novel I: Reading Jane Austen. This seminar delves into Jane Austen’s novels, considering their historical context, scholarly debates, and popular reception, including film adaptations and fan communities.
ENG-346-01 Studies in Modern Prose: James Joyce’s Ulysses. An intensive examination of James Joyce's Ulysses, including critical responses addressing gender, sexuality, and race, alongside literary responses such as Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home.
ENG-360-01 Seminar in Postcolonial Literature: The Sea is History: Postcolonial Seascapes and Ocean Worlds. This course studies postcolonial ocean worlds, seascapes, and novels by the sea, exploring how oceans connect continents differently than land and revealing alternative maps of trade, migration, and slavery.
ENG-386-01 Ekphrasis Beyond The Museum: Traditionally, “ekphrasis” refers to literature written about visual art, such as a photograph, a painting, or a sculpture. But poets have also written about other kinds of art, including art that engages the non-visual senses, such as music, architecture, and even perfume. In this course, we will consider poetry written about these four kinds of art, and you will write some of your own. In the process, you’ll practice description, analysis, and evocation in your own writing, and we’ll explore what happens when literature encounters a work of art in another medium.

Complementary Studies

To complement this intensive study of English as a discipline, English majors also complete at least an introductory study of a foreign language and one course that involves an interdisciplinary approach to humanistic inquiry. Majors must also demonstrate at least introductory knowledge of a non-native language either by completing second-semester coursework in a non-native language or passing an examination at Grinnell that demonstrates equivalent competence.

Course Examples for Fall 2025 and Spring 2026

To provide a clearer picture of the department's offerings, here's a list of courses scheduled for Fall 2025 and Spring 2026:

Fall 2025

ENG-120-01 Literary Analysis - E. Simpson
ENG-120-02 Literary Analysis - E. Simpson
ENG-120-03 Literary Analysis - S. Kapila
ENG-120-04 Literary Analysis - T. Arner
ENG-121-01 Introduction to Shakespeare - H. Eklund
ENG-121-02 Introduction to Shakespeare - H Eklund
ENG-205-01 The Craft of Fiction - B. Dantas Lobato
ENG-205-02 The Craft of Fiction - B. Dantas Lobato
ENG-206-01 The Craft of Poetry - Staff
ENG-210-01 Studies in Genre - M. Lavan
ENG-223-01 Tradition of English Literature I - H. Eklund
ENG-225-01 Introduction to Postcolonial Literature - S. Kapila
ENG-229-01 Tradition African American Literature - M. Lavan
ENG-290-01 Introduction to Literary Theory - S. Andrews
ENG-325-01 Studies in Ethnic American Literature - H. Phan
ENG-329-01 Studies African American Literature - M. Lavan
ENG-332-01 The Victorians - C. Jacobson
ENG-337-01 The British Novel I - E. Simpson
ENG-385-01 Writing Seminar: Fiction - B. Dantas Lobato
ENG-386-01 Ekphrasis Beyond The Museum - L. Webb

Spring 2026

ENG-120-01 Literary Analysis - E. Simpson
ENG-120-02 Literary Analysis - M. Lavan
ENG-120-03 Literary Analysis - M. Lavan
ENG-120-04 Literary Analysis - H. Phan
ENG-121-01 Introduction to Shakespeare - T. Arner
ENG-205-01 The Craft of Fiction - B. Dantas Lobato
ENG-207-01 Craft of Creative Nonfiction - L. Webb
ENG-207-02 Craft of Creative Nonfiction - L. Webb
ENG-224-01 Tradition of English Literature II - C. Jacobson
ENG-227-01 American Literature Traditions I - S. Andrews
ENG-273-01 Transnational and Postcolonial Feminism - S. Kapila
ENG-295-01 Special Topic: Shakespeare and Succession - T. Arner & K. Herold
ENG-295-02 Special Topic: Introduction Art Literature Translation - B. Dantas Lobato
ENG-295-03 Special Topic: Literature and Environment - H. Eklund
ENG-310-01 Studies in Shakespeare - H. Eklund
ENG-346-01 Studies in Modern Prose - E. Simpson
ENG-349-01 Medieval Literature - T. Arner
ENG-360-01 Seminar in Postcolonial Literature - S. Kapila
ENG-388-01 Writing Seminar: Screen TV - Staff

Specific Course Examples

To further illustrate the diverse topics covered, here are detailed descriptions of some specific courses:

ENG-329-01 Studies African American Literature - M. Lavan: Black Speculative Fiction

This course explores the tradition of Black Speculative Fiction, encompassing science fiction, fantasy, cyberpunk, and Afro-futurism. It examines how Black writers, filmmakers, and musicians use speculative methods to challenge assumptions about race, class, gender, and disability. The course considers whether this tradition challenges basic assumptions of identity or works to normalize them.

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ENG-310-01 Studies in Shakespeare - H. Eklund: Shakespearean Natures

This seminar explores the concept of “nature” in Shakespeare's era, examining how people understood their relationship to geographic, climatic, social, and cultural environments. It analyzes how categories of humanity and nonhumanity are mapped onto observations of a changing globe. The course reads four plays (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, King Lear, and The Tempest) and considers how Shakespearean natures are informed by classical, Medieval, and contemporaneous sources, and how scholars read Shakespeare in the midst of unfolding environmental crises today.

Declaring an English Major

The process of becoming an English major involves several steps:

Choosing an Advisor: Students should ask a member of the English faculty to become their academic advisor, ideally someone they have already studied with. If needed, the chair of the English department can provide suggestions.
Developing a Plan: With the advisor, students develop a plan for completing their major, using the "Plan for the English Major" form. This form addresses the student's future plans, the department's learning goals, and the major requirements.
Completing College Forms: Students must also fill out the College Declaration of Major and Comprehensive Academic Plan, obtained from the Registrar’s Office. This form requires a rationale for the student's liberal arts education and their goals for the remaining semesters.
Obtaining Signatures: The plan must be reviewed and approved by both the new advisor and the chair of the English department, indicated by their signatures on the Declaration of Major and Comprehensive Academic Plan.

Students should begin this process well before the declaration deadline.

The Value of Studying English

Contribution to Liberal Arts

Courses in the English Department help students engage with several of the college's "Six Elements of a Liberal Arts Education." Most English classes involve writing and communication and creative expression as both objects of study and skills to develop. Literature represents and interrogates human behavior and society. For nonnative speakers of English, courses provide opportunities for language study.

Skills Developed

The study of literature often involves discussions of important and controversial real-world issues. The foundation of literary study is close reading. The discipline has benefited from and contributed to various theoretical approaches, including feminism and gender studies, critical race studies, postcolonialism, psychoanalysis, and Marxism.

Career Paths

English majors go on to pursue advanced degrees or careers in fields such as education, library science, publishing, journalism, law, and public relations.

Additional Opportunities

Off-Campus Study

Many English majors have studied in the Grinnell-in-London program. Recently English majors have also studied abroad in Dublin, Oxford, and Athens.

Writing Contests

The English department sponsors writing contests for poetry, short stories, and critical essays.

Diversity in the Program

During the 2021-2022 academic year, 30 English language & literature majors earned their bachelor's degree from Grinnell. Of these graduates, 27% were men and 73% were women. The majority of bachelor's degree recipients in this major at Grinnell are white.

Tuition and Fees

During the 2022-2023 academic year, part-time undergraduate students at Grinnell paid an average of $2,010 per credit hour. The average full-time tuition and fees for undergraduates are shown in the table below.

	In State	Out of State
Tuition	$64,342	$64,342
Fees	$520	$520
Books	$800	$800
Room & Board	$15,878	$15,878
Other Expense	$1,950	$1,950

tags: #grinnell #college #academics #departments #english