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M.A. Program in Literary and Cultural Studies
Course Distribution for all Literary and Cultural Studies students Required Courses One course in
Literary Criticism and Theory Both required courses must be at the 5000 level. No directed readings allowed. The course in C/R/L may be either in teaching composition or in history of rhetoric and rhetorical theory. Elective Courses Six courses, elected as follows: (a) Four courses in Literary and Cultural Studies chosen from four different Areas among the following. One of the Areas is required to be the Area of Concentration.* American Studies *This requirement does not apply to students working under the Creative Thesis option. Additional requirements for students working in the area of Creative Writing are found in the Thesis Options section. (b) Two other courses, at least one of which must be in the declared Area of Concentration, and one of which may be in any of the Department's areas or in a related area outside the Department. At least four of the six Electives must be at the 5000 or 6000 level. At most, two of these Electives may be at the 4000 level. The two Area of Concentration courses among the Electives must be at the 5000 or 6000 level. Only one Elective may be a directed reading. An elective outside the Department cannot be a directed reading. Total credit for Required and Elective courses: 27 hrs Thesis Options for Literature and Cultural Studies Only M.A. students with a 3.5 GPA in the first 18 hours of their graduate coursework in the program can take these options. 1. Critical Thesis. This Thesis Option is available to students who have declared one of the following as their Area of Concentration: American Studies In addition to the Required Courses and the first seven Elective Courses, a student in the Non-Thesis Option must take: (a) one additional course in the Area of Concentration and (b) the M.A. Examination. The additional course must be in addition to, and other than, the Required and Elective Courses done in the first 27 credit-hours. The additional course in the Area of Concentration must be at the 5000 or 6000 level and cannot be a directed reading. Thesis Committee. In the final semester of coursework, the student must constitute a three-member Thesis Committee. Two members must be from the declared Area of Concentration and one from any other Area. One of the members in the Area of Concentration will serve as the chair of the Thesis Committee. All committee members must have the appropriate graduate faculty status. Thesis Proposal. Early in the semester immediately after completing coursework, the student will meet with the Thesis Committee and obtain its approval of the the Thesis Proposal. A Proposal approved by a Committee will contain: (a) a cogent,
substantive overview of topic and research; Thesis Defense. After the student has completed the thesis, he or she must defend it in an oral examination administered by the Thesis Committee. Credit for Required
and Elective Courses: 27 hrs 2. Creative Writing Thesis. A student in this Area of Concentration must complete all the Required Courses and the first five Elective Courses, as specified for the M.A. in Literary and Cultural Studies. In addition to those 21 credit hours, he or she must take at least two creative writing courses: one must be a 5000-level creative writing seminar and the other may be a 4000-level creative writing course. In addition to these Required and Elective Courses, a student in this option must apply, receive approval, and complete a Creative Thesis. Thesis Application. At least two semesters before graduation, a student must submit a manuscript sample to the Creative Writing Committee for admission to the Creative Writing Thesis Option and be admitted. Thesis Committee. Two members of the Thesis Committee must be published creative writers. The third will be a member who is not a creative writer. One of the creative writers will serve as the chair of the Committee. All the committee members must have the appropriate graduate faculty status. Thesis. The Thesis will consist of (i) a significant collection of short stories, poems, or plays, or a work of creative prose; and (ii) a critical introduction to the work by the author, situating it in its historical and generic contexts. Thesis Defense. After the student has completed the thesis, he or she must defend it in an oral examination administrated by the Thesis Committee. Non-thesis Option in Literary and Cultural Studies In addition to the
Required Courses and the first seven Elective Courses, a
student in the Non-thesis Option must take (a) one additional course in
the Area of Concentration and (b) the M.A. Examination. b) M. A.
Examination The M. A. Examination will have two portions: written as well as oral. The exam should preferably be taken in the semester immediately after the one in which course work is completed, and no later than the second semester after completion of course work. As early as possible in their career, but not later than the semester prior to that in which the examination is taken students in the Non-Thesis Option should develop with their advisor: (1) two Areas in literary and cultural studies, one of which must be the declared Area of Concentration; (2) a three-member Comprehensive Examination Committee; in particular students in literary and cultural studies should have two members from the Area of Concentration and one from the other Area, and with one member in the Area of Concentration serving as chair. It should be noted that this committee functions very much like the Thesis Committee for students pursuing the Thesis Option; and (3) a reading list of 30 items from the Area of Concentration/focus area and 10 items from the other Area, with a balanced selection of book-length primary texts and scholarly books and articles. Specifically, Masters Non-Thesis candidates will draft three exam questions for the Primary Area and two questions for the Secondary Area and submit them to their Committee. These questions should exhaust the materials on the reading lists, but they need not necessarily "cover" the whole increased list. Students will still be responsible for books not discussed in the written exams in their orals. The Examination will require three essay-type answers, two of which will be on two different topics in the Area of Concentration, and one of which will be in the other Area. No answer should exceed 10 double-spaced typed pages (approximately 2500 words). Once the Committee approves final versions of the questions, the exam must be taken no more than 30 days later. The Committee will choose two questions from the Primary Area and one question from the Secondary Area of exam questions for the exam. The exam shall be presented to the student at 8am on a workday morning and the written answers to their questions shall be returned to the Graduate Office at or before 5pm on a workday two consecutive days following the day the exam was received (for a total of 3 consecutive days). Students who prefer a weekend exam may obtain the exam at 5pm on Friday and must return the exam by 1pm on Monday. Oral Component During the semester in which the student schedules the Masters Non-Thesis Exam, he or she will register for a directed reading (3 credit-hours) in the Area of Concentration with the faculty member serving as the chair of the Examination Committee. The Masters Non-Thesis Examination will be graded Fail, Pass, or Pass with Distinction. Students are allowed only two attempts at the Examination, in successive semesters. Credit for Required and Elective Courses: 27 hours • Teaching College Composition and Literature • Teaching Technical Writing • Film • Women Writers • Literary Criticism • Contemporary Cultural Studies • Native American Women Writers • Native American Fiction • Native American Poetry • Native American Non-Fiction and Criticism • Special Topics in Native American Literature • Issues in Composition Rhetoric and Literacy • History of Modern Composition Studies • Classical Rhetorical Theory • 18th and 19th Century Rhetoric and Composition • 20th Century Rhetoric and Composition Theory • Rhetoric and Technology • Women’s Rhetorics and Writing Practices • Rhetorical Perspectives on Literacy • Medieval Language and Literature • 16th Century English Literature • 17th Century English Literature • Postcolonial Theory and Writing • 18th Century English Literature • 19th Century English Literature • 20th Century English Literature • 20th Century American Literature • Blackness, Coloniality, Gender • Methods of Graduate Study • Advanced Fiction Writing • Advanced Poetry Writing • Advanced Creative Nonfiction Writing • Research Seminars in Composition, Rhetoric, or Literacy • Introduction to Research Methods in Rhetoric and Composition • Issues in Contemporary Theory and Cultural Studies • Research Seminar on Women’s Writing • Research Seminar in Medieval Literature • Seminar in the Renaissance • Research Seminar in American Literature Before 1900 • Research Seminar in American Literature After 1900
Literary and
Cultural Studies
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