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The College of Saint Rose |
English Graduate Student Handbook 2006
The purpose of this handbook is to provide information about the Master of Arts in English program. Part I includes information and forms in relation to the requirements of the program. We hope that Part II will help you make a smooth transition from undergraduate to graduate English study by explaining the materials you'll need and the expectations of teachers in graduate English classes. In Part III, we offer some suggestions about student services provided on campus. Part IV contains materials in relation to advanced projects.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES The English graduate program aims to provide content and learning experiences that will ensure the following in those who complete the Master of Arts:
1. Knowledge and ability to respond critically and aesthetically to a broad range of literature;
2. Ability to engage in literary scholarship and to apply literary theory and criticism to the study of specific historical periods and specific texts;
3. Mature skills in critical and creative writing;
4. Well-honed skills in analysis of texts;
5. Respect for and collaboration in a community of learners, researchers, communicators;
6. Experience in reading and responding to different kinds of discourse produced by voices diverse in gender and culture; and
7. Active engagement in the larger literary community and in its social, political, and ethical concerns.
I. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS/OPTIONS (All courses must be completed with a grade of B or better to count toward the degree.)
A Program Planning Sheet is included in this packet (pp. 3-4 ) which lists all of the requirements for the program as well as a tentative schedule of courses for the next few years. Use this to plan your courses and to keep track of fulfilling your requirements. You are encouraged to take ENG 589 as early as possible in your program. Ordinarily, all courses applied to this degree will be graduate English courses.
A. Choice of Concentration In consultation with the English Graduate Coordinator and advisor, Dr. Barbara Ungar (ungarb@strose.edu or 458-5385) you will choose either the Literature Concentration or the Writing Concentration when entering the program. You may change this concentration at any time before you complete 12 credits by simply notifying your advisor during the advisement period. After you have completed 12 credits, you will need the permission of the English faculty to change your concentration. If you are entering the program unsure which concentration you want, try to take courses in both literature and writing early on to help you make this decision.
B. Advanced Projects (ENG 591 and 592) 1. Students in the literature concentration must complete ENG 591; students in the writing concentration must complete ENG 592.
2. These courses are taken during the last 15 credit hours of the English MA program. Ordinarily, this project is completed in your final semester, but since you cannot complete a project during the summer sessions, you need to plan ahead to make sure that you arrange to complete your project before your projected graduation date. Advanced project topics will always be contingent upon the availability of appropriate English faculty mentors. Consult with your graduate advisor if you need information regarding faculty expertise.
3. Faculty mentors will ordinarily undertake no more than 3 Advanced Projects in any one semester, provided those projects all involve similar topics and/or genres of writing; or no more than 2 Advanced Projects if those projects involve different topics and/or genres.
4. Students must make arrangements for their Advanced Project the semester before the course is to be taken. Both the mentor's and reader's signatures are needed prior to the English Graduate Coordinator signing the registration form for either ENG 591 or ENG 592. Online registration is not available for these two courses.
5. These courses will require substantial independent work on the part of the student; students and faculty mentors will meet on a monthly basis.
6. These courses represent advanced level graduate work and students will be graded accordingly. If a student receives a failing grade, the course may be repeated once, contingent on the availability of a faculty mentor. A grade of Incomplete may only be given if the faculty mentor is willing to continue the project into the next semester.
7. See Part IV (pp. 8-10) for a full explanation of the procedures and requirements for ENG 591 and 592.
C. Thesis
You are not required to write a thesis, but you may do so for three credits, if you choose. Ordinarily, your thesis would be an extension of your advanced project for either ENG 591 or 592. Students who wish to expand their advanced projects into theses must receive a grade of at least A- in ENG 591 or 592. Consult the Graduate Catalogue for full details about procedures for arranging to do a thesis.
PROGRAM PLANNING SHEET FOR MA IN ENGLISH
NAME DATE OF ENTRY_________________
LITERATURE OR WRITING CONCENTRATION (Circle one.)
TRANSFER CREDITS _________________________
LITERATURE CONCENTRATION (Total=36 credits)
6 literature courses 18 credits
2 theory courses 6 credits
3 electives 9 credits
(May include a mixture of literature, writing, and thesis)
ENG 591: Advanced Literary
Research Project: 3 credits
WRITING CONCENTRATION (Total=36 credits)
4 literature courses 12 credits
4 writing courses (must include 559) 12 credits
1 theory course 3 credits
2 electives 6 credits
(May include a mixture of literature, writing, and thesis)
ENG 592: Advanced Writing
Project: 3 credits
THESIS:
Topic
Director
Readers
PROJECTED SCHEDULE OF COURSES
Fall 2006 : Spring 2007 : Summer 2007
556 Victorian Fiction
543 Af Am Lit
559 Wrtg Workshop
589 Lit Theory 565
Fall 2007 : Spring 2008 : Summer 2008
541 Native Am Lit 573
581 Modernism 576
559 Wrting Workshop
589 Lit Theory
Fall 2008 : Spring 2009 : Summer 2009
537 Mod Drama
520 Ren Lit 579
559 Wrtng Workshop
565 Comp Theory
N.B. Events over which the College has no control may
result in changes in course schedules. The most recent information can be obtained
from the office of the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and from the
semester brochure.
PART II. SUGGESTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS
A.
Books/Reference tools
·
Current edition of MLA Handbook
·
A recent, comprehensive dictionary and
thesaurus
·
A word processing software program that
allows for standard
·
academic format
·
A comprehensive dictionary or glossary
or handbook of literary
·
terms, such as The Princeton Encyclopedia
of Poetics, Abrams'
·
Glossary of Literary Terms, or Holman's A Handbook to Literature.
B. Teachers? expectations re: students in graduate
classes
·
Graduate classes require thorough preparation,
consistent attendance, and informed participation.
·
Reading assignments are necessarily longer
and more demanding
·
than undergraduate assignments.
·
The level of discussion requires an approach
to the material that
·
goes beyond personal reactions.
·
Assignments must be completed on time.
C. Expectations re: research skills
·
Advanced library research skills, using
both print and electronic
·
sources
·
The ability to analyze/utilize/evaluate
research
·
Critical reading skills
·
Familiarity with a variety of primary
and secondary materials
D. Expectations re: general knowledge of literary
terminology
·
Technical understanding of forms/genres
·
Knowledge of the terminology of literary
criticism.
·
Willingness to think about current literary
academic issues.
E. Expectations re: creative writing
·
Versatile writing skills
·
Wide reading in the genre under consideration
·
Knowledge of theory regarding the genre
·
Willingness and ability to participate
in informed, practical
·
criticism of one's own and classmates'
work
·
Willingness to produce multiple revisions
of each piece of writing
·
Willingness to imitate models and to experiment
with new forms
F. Expectations re: writing papers
1. Short Pointers
·
Composition skills: basic organizational
mastery of standard
English
·
Knowledge of basic and more formal expository
forms
·
Experience with citation and presentation
of quoted materials
·
A willingness to proofread and edit
2. Longer Description
Most literary research papers include many of the following
components:
Introduction
to one or more of the following:
·
The particular topic
·
The time period/social and literary milieu
·
The work
·
The author
Survey
of critical viewpoints: establishes critical consensus (or lack of) about the work/author/topic.
This discussion may form part of the introductory section, may follow the introduction
as a discrete examination, or may be interwoven with the major points in the body
of the paper.
Tightening
of focus and statement of thesis: This portion of your paper will probably
form part of the introductory material. It may unfold as an ongoing formulation
of your stance in introduction and survey sections, but should occur early.
Only writers with a great deal of control over their prose and ideas can afford
to suspend their thesis statements while working their way to it through a leisurely
discussion. Writers often find that they have reached a sort of "cumulative"
thesis over the process of their draft, and that their conclusion finally articulates
it clearly. When this happens, the writer needs to transport that articulation back
to the beginning of the paper.
Support:
Explanation of your argument and your reasoning about your argument. This section
lays out your major points and then provides examples from the text; discusses particular
passages or examples; cites relevant historical information; cites appropriate critical
commentary.
Treatment of critical commentary may consist of quotations
from critics who support your arguments or whose points you wish to challenge, revise,
or extend. Note: many fine analyses are based on developing a particular argument
in a more comprehensive or focused way than an earlier critic has. When this is
what you are engaged in, be sure to make clear the distinction between the critic's
work and your own. For example: "Critic X has accurately demonstrated that
the relationship between characters A and B represent the problems of dominance
and submission inherent in Victorian class-based society. However, this analysis
of power relations is even more significant when one considers the relationship
between characters A and C, a consideration which also brings in gender issues that
critic X has not addressed."
Also important in dealing with critical commentary:
when discussing a critic's points it is often necessary to explain briefly the bases
for her/his arguments. Especially when dealing with controversial interpretations
or speculations, you must refer to the kind of evidence the critic cites rather
than just tossing in " so and so says," and leaving it at that.
Summation:
This section should present final conclusions that encompass all your major
points and show the ultimate development of the ideas you've been working with.
Sometimes people get short-sighted by the end and conclude with a discussion of
only the last point they've been treating. The conclusion should be a synthesis.
Transitions
throughout: Look for appropriate places to include internal summaries and both "forward"
and "reverse" transitions. Although you should avoid redundancy, internal
summaries occur at key points where you wish to reiterate, interpret, and clarify
what you have said so far, before going on. Forward transitions look forward to
connect with the next point; reverse transitions act as brief internal summaries,
commenting further on where you have been as a way of leading in to a new, but related,
point. All of these transitions can assist you in making the logic of both
your argument and your organization clear to the reader.
Research:
Should be recent and relevant. Much change has occurred in critical approaches in
the last two decades. Depending on your topic, you may find that nothing published
earlier than the 1980's is "recent" enough. Some earlier sources, however,
are still considered authoritative. It is best if the majority of your sources are
from the last decade, with a few earlier ones mixed in, rather than vice versa.
Be aware of the critical orientation of your source--is the approach predominantly
Marxist, feminist, New Historicist, etc.?
A. Career Center Services
The Career Center is located in St. Joseph Hall, 985
Madison Avenue. The professionals there offer career counseling and information
from a large variety of print and electronic sources to help you to find a career
or to redefine your career path. You are also encouraged to open a career file in
the Career Center and get recommendations from your professors while you are studying
at Saint Rose. The Career Center will send out your credentials to any positions
for which you apply. In all, it's a fine service provided to you as a Saint Rose
student and one which the English faculty strongly urge you to start benefiting
from as soon as possible. Call them at 454-5141 or stop in to start your career
file.
B. Writing Center
The Writing Center, part of the Academic Support Center,
also located in St. Joseph Hall, is available for collaborative work on the draft
of papers as well as help with organizational or grammatical problems. This service,
provided by graduate interns, is available by individual appointment. To make an
appointment, call 458-5483.
PART IV
ADVANCED PROJECTS
A.
Specifications for ENG 591 Advanced
Literary Research Project
1. Proposal Preparation:
Write a brief (3-4 page) reflective essay describing
what your project will entail and how it relates to one or more courses you have
taken during your graduate study. Explain how specific course materials, research,
and/or papers you have written have contributed to your readiness to do advanced
research, theorizing, and criticism in relation to the writer, work, literary theory
(or combination of these) that you plan to focus on in your Advanced Literary Project.
Explain why you have chosen to continue to research this particular topic and how
this project will represent an advanced level of research, theorizing, and criticism
on the topic. Briefly explain what the focus of the project will be as you envision
it at this point.
Attach two bibliographies to your essay:
1) An annotated bibliography of relevant critical and
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