English minors at Ozarks study great authors and works of American and British literature, and they may explore new and emerging literatures as well. Students learn to critically read and think about the major genres of literature, and they are introduced to literary theory and research. Along the way, our minors explore all aspects of the life of the mind–in research at the library, poetry readings on campus, and literary discussions in the coffee house.
Degree Outcomes
In the tradition of a Liberal Arts education, our minors become better writers, thinkers, communicators, and problem solvers.
The English minor offers a range of knowledge and skills that greatly enhance other majors, such as Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Psychology.
Students who graduate with a minor in English also pursue graduate school.
Example Courses
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ENG 2013: Themes in Literature
This variable-topic course introduces students to literature while focusing on a particular theme or topic. In it, students will explore at least two literary genres, lyric poetry and either prose fiction or drama. While doing so, they will learn to analyze and evaluate various elements of literature: plot, character, setting, symbolism, imagery, metaphor, sound, rhythm, form. Recent offerings include Modern African-American Literature, Literature and Place, Women and Literature, Modern Southern Literature, and Yeats and Ireland. -
ENG 2313: Introduction to Literary Theory
This course introduces students to major critical approaches to literature and to the theory that underpins them. These include New Criticism, Marxist criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, structuralist criticism, reader-response criticism, feminist criticism, deconstruction, New Historicism, and postcolonial criticism. Criticism and theory are viewed in the context of the institutional changes of English as a discipline. -
ENG 3243: Contemporary Literature
This course treats literature written since the Second World War. Students may repeat the course for credit provided the topic is different. Topics might include the literature of a particular time period, the literature of a particular ethnic group, and the literature of a particular literary movement. Offerings may focus exclusively on American literature, on British literature, or on postcolonial literature of the British Empire; or they may draw on various combinations of these literary traditions.
