The English Minor

All students should meet with an adviser in their college or school, their Major Department Adviser, as well as an English Department Minor Adviser. This information refers only to the requirements for the English minor.

All minors are strongly encouraged to see a minor adviser to register for the program. Registration gives priority to students during their Tele-Bears appointments. Students must meet with an adviser upon completion of the minor program, or during their last semester at Berkeley.

The English minor requires the completion of five upper-division courses taken for a letter grade, of which at least three must be taken at Berkeley with a gpa of at least 2.0. It is strongly recommended that at least 3 of the upper-division courses fall within one of the areas of concentration outlined below or within an area of concentration designed by the student in consultation with a minor adviser.

For questions regarding areas of concentration, transfer courses or courses taken in other departments, please see the Minor Adviser.

English majors may not complete a minor in the English Department.

Areas of Concentration:

  1. An Historical Period.
    Literature written in English during a particular era in history. In the five areas specified below, national boundaries are subordinated to historical periods and trends; for example, courses in both 19th c. English and 19th c. American literature will fulfill requirements for area 1D. (Please note that English 107, "The English Bible as Literature," may be counted in any of these 5 areas.)
    Each of these historical periods constitutes one area of concentration:

    • 1A. Medieval (Literature in English through 1485)

      Standard course offerings in area 1A include English 105, 107, 110A, 110B, 111, 112.

    • 1B. Early Modern (Renaissance through Milton)

      An upper division Shakespeare course may be included in area 1B AND will also satisfy the Shakespeare requirement. Standard course offerings in area 1B include English 107, 114A, 114B, 115A, 115B, 116, 117A, 117B, 117J, 117S, 118.

    • 1C. Enlightenment (Late 17th c. through early 19th c.)

      Standard course offerings in area 1C include English 107, 118, 119, 120, 121, 125A, 130A.

    • 1D. Nineteenth Century (Early 19th c. through early Modern)

      Standard course offerings in area 1D include English 107, 121, 122, 125B, 130B, 130C.

    • 1E. Twentieth Century (Early Modern through Contemporary)

      Standard course offerings in area 1E include English 107, 125D, 126, 127, 130D, 134, and frequently English 135, 138, 139.
  2. Anglophone and Multicultural Studies.
    African American, Asian American, Native American, and Chicano literatures, as well as (post-)colonial or "world" literatures written in English. Standard course offerings in area 2 include English 133, 135, 138, 139.
  3. Genre Studies.
    Literary genres, e.g. narrative, poetry, drama. Many different kinds of courses may fulfill requirements in area 3. For example, in poetry, both 180L (The Lyric) and English 121 (Romantic Period) would be appropriate, as would a course in the theory of genre. Standard course offerings in area 3 include: for poetry, English 180L, 121, 127, 131; for narrative, English 180N, 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, 132; for drama, English 114A, 114B, 117A, 117B, 117J, 117S, 128. Note: With the approval of a major adviser, students may designate other genres: satire, epic, autobiography, etc.
  4. Sexual Identities/Gender Studies.
    Literature as a cultural site on which gender identity and the discourse of sexuality is produced. Standard course offerings in area 4 include English 152, 171.
  5. Literary Theory.
    Theoretical models of literary interpretation. Standard course offerings in area 5 include English 161 and 177.
  6. Folklore, Popular Culture, and Cultural Theory.
    Folk cultures, popular culture (including film) and cultural studies generally in relation to literary study. Standard course offerings in area 6 include English 136, 173, 176, 178.
  7. Linguistics/The English Language.
    Structure and history of the English language. Standard course offerings include English 101, 102, 105.

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Last modified: October 09, 2006