Students are expected to consult with their advisor about how best to organize the choices built into the major, which allow for many combinations in a do-it-yourself fashion. However, the English department also provides the following pathways, each of which offers a set of courses that students can use toward particular goals.
Creative Writing: You learn to attend closely to the world, both as it is and as you might want it to be. You experience literature from the inside, by writing it. You gain an active knowledge of forms, genres, and tropes (metaphor, metonymy, and so forth). You share your work with audiences of other writers in workshops. This pathway prepares you for careers in writing, publishing, law, advertising, social activism, or any other field where an expansive and creative view of the world is necessary. Finally, you gain pleasure in your life by learning how, in the words of Emily Dickinson, to “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant.”
Recommended courses:
ENG 311: Autobiographical Writing
ENG 313: Types of Creative Writing
ENG 410: Form and Theory of Poetry
ENG 411: Poetry Workshop
ENG 412: Non-fiction
ENG 413: Form and Theory of Fiction
ENG 414: Fiction Workshop
ENG 416: Studies in Creative Writing
Literary Histories and Genres: This pathway gives you a solid grounding in the diversity of literary forms and the complexity of literary history. Alongside refining critical thinking and analytical skills, this pathway will cultivate your ability to read across diverse forms – such as poetry, drama, the novel, and nonfiction – and understand their formal nuances. It will also deepen your understanding of how literature has developed over time and how it is produced by specific social and cultural contexts. Alongside cultivating the practical skills of writing, critical thinking, and close reading, as well as sensitivity to cultural and linguistic difference, you will develop a firm grasp of the connection between literary forms, content, and history. This pathway is ideal for students who want to advance to graduate studies in literature or a related field, yet it is also useful for careers in which strong writing and critical thinking skills are desirable, such as law, government, or business.
Recommended Courses:
ENG 321: Backgrounds of Western Literature
ENG 326: Literatures of the World
ENG 330: Medieval Literature
ENG 331: Renaissance British Literature
ENG 332: Restoration/18th Century British Literature
ENG 333: 19th Century British Literature
ENG 335: British Literature After 1900
ENG 336: American Literature to Mid-19th Century
ENG 337: American Literature Mid-19th to Mid-20th Century
ENG 338: American Literature Since Mid-20th Century
ENG 361: Poetry
ENG 362: Drama
ENG 364: Non-fiction
ENG 365: Fiction
ENG 370: Literatures of Hawai’i
ENG 371: Literature of the Pacific
ENG 372: Asian American Literature
ENG 373: African American Literature
ENG 374: Race, Ethnicity, and Literature
ENG 375: Philippine Contemporary Literature in ENG
ENG 376: Philippine Literature and Folklore in Translation
ENG 378: Native Hawaiian Literature in ENG
ENG 380: Folklore, Wonder Tales, and Oral Traditions
ENG 382: Gender, Sexuality and Literature
ENG 383: Children’s Literature
ENG 385: Fairy Tales and Their Adaptations
ENG 388: Literature and the Environment
ENG 401: Theories and Methods of English Studies
ENG 420: Studies in Literature and Culture
ENG 421: Studies in Comparative Literature
ENG 430: Studies in Medieval Literature
ENG 431: Studies in 16th and 17th Century Literature
ENG 432: Studies in 18th Century Literature
ENG 433: Studies in 19th Century Literature
ENG 434: Studies in 20th and 21st Century Literature
ENG 440: Single Author
ENG 442: Geoffrey Chaucer
ENG 445: William Shakespeare
ENG 447: John Milton
ENG 464: Studies in Life Writing
ENG 467: Studies in Literary Forms, Genres, and Media
ENG 470: Studies in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Literatures
ENG 471: Studies in Postcolonial Literature
ENG 474: Studies in Hawaiian and/or Pacific Literatures
ENG 480: Studies in Literature and Folklore
ENG 481: Studies in Literature and Popular Culture
ENG 482: Studies in Literature and Sexuality and Gender
Cultural and Literary Geographies: Our ability to imagine physical geography is arguably being eroded as we become more and more attuned to traveling and navigating the world through the internet, geolocation devices, and other forms of technological mediation. The goal of this pathway is for you to think about alternative ways of mapping the world through cultural and literary forms that delineate their own relationships between place and time, and how cultural memory and literary art produce their own sense of history and belonging. This pathway is ideal for students planning graduate studies in literature, as well as in other fields like history, geography, sociology, ethnic studies, political science, and the natural sciences. It is also useful for careers in media, translation, urban planning, tourism, or any industry that demands critical thinking about globalization, global capitalism, social justice, and the modern search for meaning.
Recommended Courses:
ENG 330: Medieval Literature
ENG 331: Renaissance British Literature
ENG 332: Restoration/18th century British Literature
ENG 333: 19th century British Literature
ENG 335: British Literature After 1900
ENG 336: American Literature to Mid-19th Century
ENG 337: American Literature Mid-19th to Mid-20th Century
ENG 338: American Literature Since Mid-20th Century
ENG 370: Literatures of Hawai’i
ENG 371: Literature of the Pacific
ENG 372: Asian American Literature
ENG 373: African American Literature
ENG 374: Race, Ethnicity, and Literature
ENG 375: Philippine Contemporary Literature in ENG
ENG 376: Philippine Literature and Folklore in Translation
ENG 378: Native Hawaiian Literature in ENG
ENG 380: Folklore, Wonder Tales, and Oral Traditions
ENG 381: Popular Literature
ENG 404: English in Hawai’i
ENG 455: U.S. Women’s Literature and Culture
ENG 470: Studies in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Literatures
ENG 471: Studies in Postcolonial Literature
ENG 472: Studies in Cultural Identities and Literature
ENG 473: Studies in Cultural and Literary Geographies
ENG 474: Studies in Hawaiian and/or Pacific Literatures
ENG 480: Studies in Literature and Folklore
ENG 481: Studies in Literature and Popular Culture
ENG 482: Studies in Literature and Sexuality and Gender
Composition, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy: The courses in this pathway aim to give you a comprehensive grounding in the histories, theories, and practices of rhetorical action, scholarship, and writing instruction. This pathway gives you the opportunity to study the relationships between language, thought, and public action and to explore how these relationships are inflected by the cultural diversity of Hawaiʽi. Courses in composition and rhetoric will prepare you for careers in editing, publishing, journalism, digital media, marketing, public relations, law, education, writing program administration, and college or university teaching.
Recommended Courses:
ENG 300b: Introduction to Rhetoric: Classical – Renaissance
ENG 300c: Introduction to Rhetoric: Enlightenment – Contemporary
ENG 306: Argumentative Writing I
ENG 307: Rhetoric, Composition, and Computers
ENG 308: Technical Writing
ENG 311: Autobiographical Writing
ENG 405: Teaching Composition
ENG 406: Argumentative Writing II
ENG 407: Writing for Digital Media
ENG 408: Professional Editing
ENG 409: Studies in Composition/Rhetoric/Language
ENG 495: Internship
Writing, Editing, and Digital Media: The courses in this pathway aim to make you an effective writer in a variety of media and for a wide range of audiences. You will learn the principles of clear, engaging, and persuasive communication, and you will build essential skills in editing, researching, critical thinking, and collaborating. In courses focused on digital media, you will develop the flexibility and creativity that will allow you to adapt as digital technologies and social media platforms evolve. All the courses will deepen your understanding of writing as a social act with ethical and political consequences, and many of your assignments will give you the opportunity to explore particular issues that are important to you. This pathway prepares you for a career in many different domains, including journalism, publishing, private industry, the non-profit sector, government, and law.
Recommended Courses:
ENG 300b: Introduction to Rhetoric: Classical – Renaissance
ENG 300c: Introduction to Rhetoric: Enlightenment – Contemporary
ENG 302: History of the ENG Language
ENG 303: Modern ENG Grammar
ENG 306: Argumentative Writing I
ENG 307: Rhetoric, Composition, and Computers
ENG 308: Technical Writing
ENG 311: Autobiographical Writing
ENG 406: Argumentative Writing II
ENG 407: Writing for Digital Media
ENG 408: Professional Editing
ENG 409: Studies in Composition/Rhetoric/Language
ENG 412: Nonfiction Writing
ENG 495: Internship