English Gateway Development Web Site
This web site is devoted to the continuing development of the English Department Gateway courses. It is meant to be a public resource not only for instructors teaching courses in the English Department but also for faculty in other Georgetown departments developing gateways for their own disciplines or English gateway equivalents.
Follow the links below for information on the following topics:
What are gateway courses?
Gateway courses serve two purposes:
1) Gateway courses can serve as the second of two Humanities and Writing Courses required of all undergraduate students as part of their General Education courses, beginning in Fall 2005. All Georgetown students are required to take one course in each of the following two categories:
2) Gateway courses can also serve at the same time as an introduction to a discipline, that is, to a major. The design of these courses as an introduction to a major will differ from discipline to discipline, and will be determined by the individual academic departments.
Benchmark Criteria for English Gateway Courses
The English Department offers four English gateway courses as outlined below (ENGL 040 - 043). Majors are required to take one gateway from ENGL 040 or 041 and one from ENGL 042 or 043. All students, majors and non-majors, must take at least one gateway as a prerequisite to taking upper level English courses. The Department adopted a set of benchmark criteria for its gateway courses in the Fall of 2004. These are recorded below. They provide a broad framework for the design of the four English gateways. The Department assumes that the shaping and refining of these courses is a communal and ongoing responsibility of the faculty as a whole, and that the gateway courses will offer relative commonality in their goals, but not their content. There will be continuing opportunities for exchange of ideas and teaching strategies through workshops and Web resources pertaining to gateway courses.
I. Introduction to Issues in Literary and Cultural History: ENGL 040 - 042
II. Introduction to Critical Methods: ENGL 043
ENGL 043 will emphasize the skills necessary for:
Course Portfolios for English Department Gateway Courses
Links to course syllabi, assignments, and in some cases, course portfolios:
ENGL 040 Medieval and/or Renaissance Literatures and Cultures
ENGL 041 Eighteenth and/or Nineteenth Century Literatures and Cultures
ENGL 042 Modern and/or Post-Modern Literatures and Cultures
ENGL 043 Introduction to Critical Methods
English Gateway Equivalents taught in other Departments
I. Policy
As a matter of course, it will be left to the professional judgment of colleagues in other departments to discern if a course meets the benchmark criteria of the English Department. There will be no formal approval or vetting process for listing other department courses as gateway equivalents. If a faculty member in another department believes that a course meets the benchmark criteria and would like a course listed as a gateway equivalent, then an email indicating such, along with a syllabus or course description or reading list, should be sent to the Chair of English (szittyap@georgetown.edu) within the first three weeks of the semester prior to the semester in which the course would be taught. If there are significant questions about the fit with the criteria, the Chair or designee, such as the DUS, in consultation with the Executive Committee, might communicate with the faculty member. If differences between a proposed course and the benchmark criteria cannot be resolved, the Chair, in consultation with the Executive Committee, might not allow that course to count as an equivalent.
II. Examples
Last updated: March 25, 2008
Follow the links below for information on the following topics:
- What are gateway courses?
- Benchmark Criteria for English Gateway Courses (ENGL 040-043)
- Course Portfolios for English Department Gateway Courses
- English Gateway Equivalents taught in other Departments: Policy and Examples
- Link to the the Humanities and Writing Course Development web site
What are gateway courses?
Gateway courses serve two purposes:
1) Gateway courses can serve as the second of two Humanities and Writing Courses required of all undergraduate students as part of their General Education courses, beginning in Fall 2005. All Georgetown students are required to take one course in each of the following two categories:
Humanities and Writing I. An intensive-writing seminar (enrollment of no more than 20) centered on the analytic study of complex cultural texts. These courses will be taught in English and will be offered only by language and literature departments in Georgetown College. Students should take this course as early as possible and no later than the end of the sophomore year.
Humanities and Writing II. An introduction to a humanities discipline other than Philosophy, Theology, and History, taught in English, with a writing component, and ordinarily capped at not more than 35. For students in the College, SFS, and MSB, these courses will be taught by faculty in English; Classics; Art, Music and Theater; and the modern languages. Courses offered by appropriate interdisciplinary programs can also satisfy this category of the requirement. Students in Nursing and Health Studies must take courses offered by the English Department.
For more information about the Humanities and Writing requirements, with a particular emphasis on the integration of writing assignments and writing instruction into these new courses, please see the Humanities and Writing Course Development page.
There is also a link on Writing Program to the official "Guidelines for the College Humanities and Writing Requirements," developed by the College Curriculum Committee and approved by the College Executive Committee.
Humanities and Writing II. An introduction to a humanities discipline other than Philosophy, Theology, and History, taught in English, with a writing component, and ordinarily capped at not more than 35. For students in the College, SFS, and MSB, these courses will be taught by faculty in English; Classics; Art, Music and Theater; and the modern languages. Courses offered by appropriate interdisciplinary programs can also satisfy this category of the requirement. Students in Nursing and Health Studies must take courses offered by the English Department.
For more information about the Humanities and Writing requirements, with a particular emphasis on the integration of writing assignments and writing instruction into these new courses, please see the Humanities and Writing Course Development page.
There is also a link on Writing Program to the official "Guidelines for the College Humanities and Writing Requirements," developed by the College Curriculum Committee and approved by the College Executive Committee.
2) Gateway courses can also serve at the same time as an introduction to a discipline, that is, to a major. The design of these courses as an introduction to a major will differ from discipline to discipline, and will be determined by the individual academic departments.
Benchmark Criteria for English Gateway Courses
The English Department offers four English gateway courses as outlined below (ENGL 040 - 043). Majors are required to take one gateway from ENGL 040 or 041 and one from ENGL 042 or 043. All students, majors and non-majors, must take at least one gateway as a prerequisite to taking upper level English courses. The Department adopted a set of benchmark criteria for its gateway courses in the Fall of 2004. These are recorded below. They provide a broad framework for the design of the four English gateways. The Department assumes that the shaping and refining of these courses is a communal and ongoing responsibility of the faculty as a whole, and that the gateway courses will offer relative commonality in their goals, but not their content. There will be continuing opportunities for exchange of ideas and teaching strategies through workshops and Web resources pertaining to gateway courses.
I. Introduction to Issues in Literary and Cultural History: ENGL 040 - 042
ENGL 040: Medieval and/or Renaissance Literatures and Cultures
ENGL 041: Eighteenth and/or Nineteenth Century Literatures and Cultures
ENGL 042: Modern and/or Post-Modern Literatures and Cultures
In their respective chronological periods, ENGL 040, 041, and 042 will each introduce students to the following issues: ENGL 041: Eighteenth and/or Nineteenth Century Literatures and Cultures
ENGL 042: Modern and/or Post-Modern Literatures and Cultures
Text: A continued emphasis on the close reading and formal written analysis of literary texts and cultural texts, some or all of which were written or produced originally in English. Literary and cultural texts might also be drawn from works in performance, film, or other media.
History: Provide historical context for the literary texts covered by the course by including on the syllabus cultural and non-literary texts from the period in which the texts were produced and/or recent scholarship by critics and historians on the period in which the texts were produced
Criticism and Theory: Introduce and encourage students to enter into the larger critical and theoretical conversations about the texts and culture covered by the course by reading and responding to critical and theoretical essays. This would involve considering the theoretical background of criticism and the critical application of theory.
History: Provide historical context for the literary texts covered by the course by including on the syllabus cultural and non-literary texts from the period in which the texts were produced and/or recent scholarship by critics and historians on the period in which the texts were produced
Criticism and Theory: Introduce and encourage students to enter into the larger critical and theoretical conversations about the texts and culture covered by the course by reading and responding to critical and theoretical essays. This would involve considering the theoretical background of criticism and the critical application of theory.
II. Introduction to Critical Methods: ENGL 043
ENGL 043 will emphasize the skills necessary for:
Reading theory, by focusing on close reading and formal written analysis of critical and theoretical texts with careful attention to the specific features of analytic language.
Situating theory, by introducing one or more theoretical perspectives for analyzing texts, cultures, and/or creative practices and encouraging students to think about the methodologies that they use in a deliberately self-conscious way. A course could offer an exploration of diverse and competing critical methods or focus on just one, but some attention should be paid to situating this theoretical approach in relationship to other possible analytic models in order to encourage students to enter into larger theoretical conversations in the discipline.
Applying theory, by giving students practice in understanding and applying critical methods (for example, to the analysis of literary or cultural texts or performance) that rely on the primary theoretical framework(s) of the course.
Situating theory, by introducing one or more theoretical perspectives for analyzing texts, cultures, and/or creative practices and encouraging students to think about the methodologies that they use in a deliberately self-conscious way. A course could offer an exploration of diverse and competing critical methods or focus on just one, but some attention should be paid to situating this theoretical approach in relationship to other possible analytic models in order to encourage students to enter into larger theoretical conversations in the discipline.
Applying theory, by giving students practice in understanding and applying critical methods (for example, to the analysis of literary or cultural texts or performance) that rely on the primary theoretical framework(s) of the course.
Course Portfolios for English Department Gateway Courses
Links to course syllabi, assignments, and in some cases, course portfolios:
ENGL 040 Medieval and/or Renaissance Literatures and Cultures
- Lindsay Kaplan, Religion, Race and Gender in Medieval and Early Modern English Culture
- Penn Szittya, Medieval Literature and Cultures
ENGL 041 Eighteenth and/or Nineteenth Century Literatures and Cultures
- Patrick O'Malley, Novel and Nation in Nineteenth-Century Britain
- Gay Cima, Performance, Religion, and 'Race' in American Women's Anti-slavery Texts
ENGL 042 Modern and/or Post-Modern Literatures and Cultures
- Christine So, Reading 20th Century U.S. Literatures
- Eddie Maloney, Self-Conscious Fictions: from Modernism to Post-Modernism
ENGL 043 Introduction to Critical Methods
- Patricia O'Connor, Introduction to Critical Methods: Narratology
- Angelyn Mitchell, Introduction to Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory
English Gateway Equivalents taught in other Departments
I. Policy
As a matter of course, it will be left to the professional judgment of colleagues in other departments to discern if a course meets the benchmark criteria of the English Department. There will be no formal approval or vetting process for listing other department courses as gateway equivalents. If a faculty member in another department believes that a course meets the benchmark criteria and would like a course listed as a gateway equivalent, then an email indicating such, along with a syllabus or course description or reading list, should be sent to the Chair of English (szittyap@georgetown.edu) within the first three weeks of the semester prior to the semester in which the course would be taught. If there are significant questions about the fit with the criteria, the Chair or designee, such as the DUS, in consultation with the Executive Committee, might communicate with the faculty member. If differences between a proposed course and the benchmark criteria cannot be resolved, the Chair, in consultation with the Executive Committee, might not allow that course to count as an equivalent.
II. Examples
- CPLT 043 Nicoletta Pireddu, Introduction to Comparative Literature
- CULP 043 Lalitha Gopalan, Introduction to Culture and Politics
Last updated: March 25, 2008
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