Skip to main content
Scenes from the University of Rhode Island

English

outcomes curriculum map reports

Outcome Statements for English Majors

1. Knowledge

The English major aims to increase students’ familiarity with:

a. modes, terms, forms, and genres of literary and visual culture;
b. a range of texts and authors exemplifying major traits and periods in literary and visual culture;
c. the history of literature, criticism, theory, and visual culture;
d. disciplinary specific principles of argument, research, and reference.

2. Skills and Abilities

The English major aims to improve students’ ability:

a. to master texts from a range of historical periods and cultures and to relate them to each other formally, thematically, culturally, historically, and politically;
b. to reflect critically on the cultural, psychological, and aesthetic bases of literary
response;
c. to write effectively and persuasively;
d. to find, assess, and correctly utilize an array of research materials from both print and electronic media;
e. to produce original poetry, prose fiction, creative nonfiction, or scripts;*
f. to synthesize a range of primary and critical materials to produce a coherent and original argument.

3. Perspectives

The English major aims to increase students’:

a. aesthetic pleasure in literature and visual culture;
b. desire to engage with a range of intellectual, cultural, or ethnic perspectives;
c. awareness of the possibility of self-transformation through literary and visual culture;
d. sense of responsibility with regard to intellectual honesty and integrity in the use of sources;
e. confidence in critical thinking and analytic skills;
f. willingness to embrace intellectual challenge;
g. engagement with a dynamic world in which they are citizens.

*will be true of students taking creative writing courses; will not be true of all English majors.