Program Critique
Jumping into the English major as I did, I eluded its basic structure slightly, perhaps to my advantage. After studying English for a year, discussing literature with students from other universities and taking classes at other schools, I see some facets of Alma’s approach to literary study could change for the better.
Survey courses should be akin to those lightning tours of Europe—the kind that offer six countries in seven days. Just as those tourists “do Paris” or “do Rome,” survey courses should allow a student to say he has “done Wordsworth” or “done Existentialists.” These classes form the backbone of the major because they allow students to have a context where they can begin to discuss literature in a knowledgeable way. In contrast, Introduction to Analysis my first year reviewed the standard tools of analysis covered in my high school English class. Understanding Freytag’s pyramid is a basic concept most Major’s need to know even if they do not get it in high school; non-Majors require immersion into important texts. Survey courses should be offered at the 100-level and fulfill distributive requirements; they are the most important classes a non-major could take.
While non-canonical literature is important to an English major or minor’s understanding of a time period, it has less importance to those uninterested in further literary study. Those who take the course from outside of their department need a foundation—authors and titles that they will recognize throughout their lives, and a basic knowledge about the critical debates surrounding these works.
Other departments also have a “weeder class,” a rigorous lower-level class that determines whether a student should continue study in that discipline. My first year, almost all of my friends began their term as pre-med, but a few, after failing Bio 121, realized another course of study would probably suit them better. While the demand for room in the English department is presumably not as high as aspiring medical school students or lawyers, those on a graduate track should realize early on what they are deciding. Lower-level English courses are fairly formulaic: surveys trace historical periods and intellectual movements, while introduction to literature offer little intense analysis. The first true intellectual challenge comes with Critical Theory. Many students take this course their junior or senior year—often too late to change majors or seek teaching certification.
While Critical Theory as it stands might send all aspiring English majors packing if they were forced to take it within their first three terms, an introduction to theories of criticism would help young majors realize that scholarly study requires more than simply reading books and saying how they make you feel.
Taking Advanced Rhetoric my first year completely changed the way I write and think about writing. It forced me to think about my essays on the sentence and word levels, something I had never done before. High standardized-test scores allow students to opt out of College Rhetoric, and majors have the option of taking creative writing workshops or Linguistics in lieu of Advanced Rhetoric, which is a shame. Every major should take this course. Every student should take this course, but I doubt the College or the students would appreciate any more forced writing proficiency. Creative workshops at Alma College, despite their goals, are not writing-intensive; they encourage creative thought and artistry, but do not lead to clean, clear and concise writing near the level of Advanced Rhetoric.
In addition, creative writing at Alma College needs a complete overhaul. Currently students like myself can almost double-major in English and receive no recognition of their extra work. With three faculty now teaching creative writing, the department should at least offer a minor in creative writing: 24 credits including 190; 200 or 220; four credits of 290, 291, 292 or 299; 390, 391 or 392 and 399. Workshops should be only two credits, meet once a week and truly workshop already written work in addition to generating new writing. Students should also be able to take these courses at the 300-level, which would require an extra project or deeper focus in addition to pre-submitting a piece of writing to form the basis of the workshop class. Currently at Alma, poetry workshops are merely an extension of the introduction class, and fiction workshops include more literary study than actual workshopping.
Although my experiences may be biased, I believe study abroad should be very strongly encouraged. The English department offers excellent overseas spring term courses and Alma already has programs at three English-speaking universities, where students should take a literature course.
Finally, I am a strong advocate of something most literature students choose English to avoid: tests. Part of literary study should encompass the ability to recognize major works and authors and be able to talk about them, especially in survey classes. Testing in this manner prepares students to engage in literary discussions at any time, and—especially for students looking to graduate school—standardized testing of literature. Lawrence Lipking, a professor at Northwestern University, admitted that students from small, private colleges usually suffer in that they do not get the same great books upbringing that students from a large program receive. Alma College must be cognizant of this deficiency and work to avoid it. Implemented properly, final exams could aid the process of learning, although students may whine.