American Literature Concentration

As an English major, you design your own concentration — a program of study based on your areas of interest, organized around a controlling theme or topic — with the help of your advisor. Below are some recommendations for students interested in this area.

Download PDF  About Literary and Cultural Studies

Recommended Courses

  • ENGL 260/261: American Literature to/since 1865
  • ENGL 302/302A/302B: Modern Poetry/Poetry since 1945/Contemporary Poetry
  • ENGL 332/333: American Authors to/since 1900
  • ENGL 333A: Willa Cather and Her World
  • ENGL 334: American Literary Traditions
  • ENGL 402: American Poetry
  • ENGL 403: American Short Story
  • ENGL 405M/N: American Novel I & II
  • ENGL 411: Plains Literature
  • ENGL 432/433: American Authors to/since 1900
  • See also courses offered (all levels) focusing on U.S. ethnic literary traditions

Recommended Experiences

Internships, Volunteering, Publishing, etc.

Recommended Reading

  • Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
  • Willa Cather, My Ántonia
  • Charles Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition
  • Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Who Would Have Thought It?
  • Ella De Loria, Water Lily
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
  • Catharine Sedgwick, Hope Leslie
  • Collected poetry of Emily Dickinson
  • Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn
  • Octavia Butler, Kindred

These suggestions reflect the research and teaching interest of our faculty in American literature - ask them for more suggestions!

Career Opportunities

(May require Graduate of Professional School)

  • Editing and Publishing
  • Teaching
  • Writing (journalism, corporate communications, grant writing)
  • Graduate or professional school (law, literature, librarianship, etc.)
  • Museums and cultural institutions