Department of English
Bachelor of Arts in English and African American and African Diaspora Studies
Students on Summer 2023, Fall 2023, or Spring 2024 requirements ENGAAADBA
Requirements
The major requires at least 40 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- English Courses.
- Introductory Course. One (1) course:
- ENG-L 260 Introduction to Advanced Study of Literature
ENG-L 260 Introduction to Advanced Study of Literature
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- Completion of the English composition requirement
- Notes
- R: Completion within the first 9 credit hours of the major
- Description
- Introduces four principles essential to advanced study of literature: attention to language and varieties of figurative language, analysis of generic forms and modes, awareness of historical context and mediation of forms, and facility with traditional and contemporary theories of literature.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Introductory Genre Course. One (1) course:
- ENG-L 203 Introduction to Drama (must be approved for CASE Intensive Writing)
- ENG-L 204 Introduction to Fiction (must be approved for CASE Intensive Writing)
- ENG-L 205 Introduction to Poetry (must be approved for CASE Intensive Writing)
- ENG-L 206 Introduction to Prose (Excluding Fiction) (must be approved for CASE Intensive Writing)
ENG-L 203 Introduction to Drama
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Acquaints students with characteristics of drama as a type of literature through the study of representative significant plays. Readings will include plays from several ages and countries.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-L 204 Introduction to Fiction
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Representative works of fiction; structural techniques in the novel. Novels and short stories from several ages and countries.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-L 205 Introduction to Poetry
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Kinds, conventions, and elements of poetry in a selection of poems from several historical periods.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-L 206 Introduction to Prose (Excluding Fiction)
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Varieties of nonfictional prose, such as autobiography, biography, and the essay. Representative works from several periods and countries.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Literary History Courses. Three (3) courses:
- ENG-L 310
- ENG-L 312 Literary History 2: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
- ENG-L 316
ENG-L 312 Literary History 2: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- Completion of the English composition requirement
- Notes
- R: Completion within first 21 credit hours of major
- Description
- A broad overview of the development of British and American literature in the era of empire, industry, and revolution. Tells the story of the expansion of English language and literature.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Critical Practices. One (1) course:
- ENG-L 371 Critical Practices
ENG-L 371 Critical Practices
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ENG-L 260 with grade of C- or higher
- Description
- Study of and practice in using contemporary critical methodologies; can be focused on specific topics.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Introductory Course. One (1) course:
- African American and African Diaspora Studies Courses.
- Introductory Course. One (1) course:
- AAAD-A 150 Survey of the Culture of Black Americans
AAAD-A 150 Survey of the Culture of Black Americans
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- Required for the major
- Description
- Explores the culture of Blacks in America viewed from a broad interdisciplinary approach, employing resources from history, literature, folklore, religion, sociology, and political science.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
- African American History. One (1) course:
- AAAD-A 355 African American History I
- AAAD-A 356 African American History II
AAAD-A 355 African American History I
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- History of blacks in the United States. Slavery, abolitionism, Reconstruction, and post-Reconstruction to 1900.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of AAAD-A 355 or HIST-A 355.
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
AAAD-A 356 African American History II
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: AAAD-A 355
- Description
- 1900 to the present. Migration north, NAACP, Harlem Renaissance, postwar freedom movement.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of AAAD-A 356 or HIST-A 356.
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
- African American Literature. One (1) course:
- AAAD-A 379 Early Black American Writing
- AAAD-A 380 Contemporary Black American Writing
AAAD-A 379 Early Black American Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- African American writing before World War II, with emphasis on critical reactions and analyses. Includes slave narratives, autobiographies, rhetoric, fiction, and poetry.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
AAAD-A 380 Contemporary Black American Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: AAAD-A 379
- Description
- The black experience in America as it has been reflected since World War II in the works of outstanding African American writers: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
- Electives. Three (3) courses:
- AAAD-A 249 African American Autobiography
- AAAD-A 283 Blacks in American Drama and Theatre, 1767-1945
- AAAD-A 384 Blacks in American Drama and Theatre, 1945-Present
- AAAD-A 479 Contemporary Black Poetry
- AAAD-A 480 The Black Novel
- AAAD-A 493 Senior Seminar in African American and African Diaspora Studies
AAAD-A 249 African American Autobiography
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- A survey of autobiographies written by black Americans in the last two centuries. The course emphasizes how the autobiographers combine the grace of art and the power of argument to urge the creation of genuine freedom in America.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
AAAD-A 283 Blacks in American Drama and Theatre, 1767-1945
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Images of blacks as reflected in American drama from 1767 to 1945. Selected dramas of both white and black playwrights, such as Isaac Bickerstaffe, William Wells Brown, Eugene O\'Neill, and Richard Wright, who depicted blacks on the stage.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of AAAD-A 283 or AAAD-A 383.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
AAAD-A 384 Blacks in American Drama and Theatre, 1945-Present
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Images of blacks as reflected in American drama from 1945 to the present. Emphasis on the contributions of black playwrights such as Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, Imamu Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Ted Shine, and Ed Bullins.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
AAAD-A 479 Contemporary Black Poetry
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An examination of black poetry from Dunbar to the present, emphasizing the emergence, growth, and development of black consciousness as a positive ethnic identification.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
AAAD-A 480 The Black Novel
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: AAAD-A 379 or AAAD-A 380
- Description
- Analysis of the African American novel from the Harlem Renaissance to the present: genesis, development, and current trends. Emphasis on traditions arising out of the black experience and on critical perspectives developed by black critics and scholars.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
AAAD-A 493 Senior Seminar in African American and African Diaspora Studies
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- African American and African Diaspora Studies major; and senior standing
- Description
- Lecture/discussions on African American studies as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry and scholarship. Students will develop individual or group projects that synthesize their experiences as majors by demonstrating the interrelated nature of the department's concentration areas.
- 300–499 Level AAAD Courses. 12 credit hours:
- AAAD-A 355 African American History I
- AAAD-A 356 African American History II
- AAAD-A 379 Early Black American Writing
- AAAD-A 380 Contemporary Black American Writing
- AAAD-A 384 Blacks in American Drama and Theatre, 1945-Present
- AAAD-A 479 Contemporary Black Poetry
- AAAD-A 480 The Black Novel
- AAAD-A 493 Senior Seminar in African American and African Diaspora Studies
AAAD-A 355 African American History I
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- History of blacks in the United States. Slavery, abolitionism, Reconstruction, and post-Reconstruction to 1900.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of AAAD-A 355 or HIST-A 355.
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
AAAD-A 356 African American History II
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: AAAD-A 355
- Description
- 1900 to the present. Migration north, NAACP, Harlem Renaissance, postwar freedom movement.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of AAAD-A 356 or HIST-A 356.
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
AAAD-A 379 Early Black American Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- African American writing before World War II, with emphasis on critical reactions and analyses. Includes slave narratives, autobiographies, rhetoric, fiction, and poetry.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
AAAD-A 380 Contemporary Black American Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: AAAD-A 379
- Description
- The black experience in America as it has been reflected since World War II in the works of outstanding African American writers: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
AAAD-A 384 Blacks in American Drama and Theatre, 1945-Present
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Images of blacks as reflected in American drama from 1945 to the present. Emphasis on the contributions of black playwrights such as Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, Imamu Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Ted Shine, and Ed Bullins.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
AAAD-A 479 Contemporary Black Poetry
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An examination of black poetry from Dunbar to the present, emphasizing the emergence, growth, and development of black consciousness as a positive ethnic identification.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
AAAD-A 480 The Black Novel
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: AAAD-A 379 or AAAD-A 380
- Description
- Analysis of the African American novel from the Harlem Renaissance to the present: genesis, development, and current trends. Emphasis on traditions arising out of the black experience and on critical perspectives developed by black critics and scholars.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE DUScourseFall 2024CASE DUScourse
AAAD-A 493 Senior Seminar in African American and African Diaspora Studies
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- African American and African Diaspora Studies major; and senior standing
- Description
- Lecture/discussions on African American studies as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry and scholarship. Students will develop individual or group projects that synthesize their experiences as majors by demonstrating the interrelated nature of the department's concentration areas.
- Introductory Course. One (1) course:
- Major GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Major GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the major—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Major Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the major.
- Major Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed at the 300–499 level.
- Major Residency. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
- College Breadth. At least 38 credit hours must be completed in courses from College of Arts and Sciences disciplines outside of the major area.
Major Area Courses
-
Unless otherwise noted below, the following courses are considered in the academic program and will count toward academic program requirements as appropriate:
- Any course at the 100–499 level with the
AAAD or ENG
subject area prefix—as well as any other subject areas that are deemed functionally equivalent - Any course contained on the course lists for the academic program requirements at the time the course is taken—as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent—except for those listed only under Addenda Requirements
- Any course directed to a non-Addenda requirement through an approved exception
- Any course at the 100–499 level with the
Exclusions
The following courses cannot be applied toward major requirements or the College Breadth requirement (unless otherwise noted) :
- AAAD-A 141 Introduction to Writing and the Study of Black Literature
- AAAD-A 142
- ENG-W 170 Introduction to Argumentative Writing: Projects in Reading and Writing *
- ENG-W 131 Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I *
- ENG-W 202 English Grammar Review
AAAD-A 141 Introduction to Writing and the Study of Black Literature
- Description
- A composition and literature course that teaches the skills of writing. Structuring of ideas through analysis and practice of various techniques of paragraph and essay development. Reading and discussion of representative Afro-American writings including poetry, short story, sermons, novel, drama.
- Additional information
- Credit hour, prerequisite, and other information cannot be displayed for this course. If this is a course outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, please see the appropriate school's bulletin for additional information.
ENG-W 170 Introduction to Argumentative Writing: Projects in Reading and Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An alternative to ENG-W 131, this freshman composition course offers a challenging sequence of projects in reading and writing. Topics and approaches vary by section; the focus, however, is on projects that encourage sustained inquiry into complex problems or significant issues.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ENG-W 131 or ENG-W 170.
ENG-W 131 Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Teaches skills of critical reading, thinking, and writing to help students meaningfully engage artifacts, events, and issues in our world. The course builds students' abilities to read written and cultural texts critically; to analyze those texts in ways that engage both students' own experiences and the perspectives of others; and to write about those texts for a range of audiences and purposes as a means of participating in broader conversations. Assignments emphasize the analysis and synthesis of sources in making and developing claims.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ENG-W 131 or ENG-W 170.
- Spring 2025CASE ECcourseFall 2024CASE ECcourse
ENG-W 202 English Grammar Review
- Credits
- 1
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- No authorization is required for this course. Does not count in the major or minor
- Description
- This 1-credit, eight-week course provides a basic understanding of grammatical terms and principles sufficient to enable students to edit their own prose with confidence. Despite the course title, no prior knowledge of grammar assumed or required.
Courses marked with an asterisk (*) will count toward the College Breadth requirement.
Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to the minimum credit hours required in the major:
- No more than 3 combined credit hours of the following may count toward the major:
- ENG-X 373 Professional Practice in English
- ENG-X 471 Teaching Internship in English
- ENG-X 473 Internship in English
ENG-X 373 Professional Practice in English
- Credits
- 1–6 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- English major; 12 credit hours in English at 200-level or above (including ENG-L 260); good academic standing; and consent of department
- Notes
- Only 3 credit hours from a combination of ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398 may count toward the major
- Description
- Supervised, career-related work experience in cooperating institution, agency, or business. Evaluation by employer and Department of English.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398.
- Grading
- S/F grading.
ENG-X 471 Teaching Internship in English
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- English major; minimum GPA of 3.000; 12 credit hours in English at the 200-level or above (including ENG-L 260); and prior arrangement with faculty member
- Notes
- Only 3 credit hours from a combination of ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398 may count toward the major
- Description
- Supervised experience in teaching an undergraduate English course. Students are not involved in grading.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398.
- Grading
- S/F grading.
ENG-X 473 Internship in English
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- English major; minimum GPA of 3.000; 12 credit hours in English at the 200-level or above (including ENG-L 260); and prior arrangement with faculty member
- Notes
- Only 3 credit hours from a combination of ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398 may count toward the major
- Description
- Supervised experience with a departmentally based journal or allied publication.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398.
- Grading
- S/F grading.
This program of study cannot be combined with the following:
- Bachelor of Arts in African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADBA)
- Bachelor of Arts in African American and African Diaspora Studies and English (AAADENGBA)
- Bachelor of Arts in African American and African Diaspora Studies and History (AAADHISTBA)
- Bachelor of Arts in African American and African Diaspora Studies and Religious Studies (AAADRELBA)
- Bachelor of Arts in African American and African Diaspora Studies and Sociology (AAADSOCBA)
- Bachelor of Arts in English (ENGBA)
- Bachelor of Arts in History and African American and African Diaspora Studies (HISTAAADBA)
- Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and African American and African Diaspora Studies (RELAAADBA)
- Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and African American and African Diaspora Studies (SOCAAADBA)
- Minor in African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADSMIN)
- Minor in Communication and Public Advocacy (COPUADVMIN)
- Minor in Creative Writing (CRWRTMIN)
- Minor in English (ENGMIN)
Exceptions to and substitutions for major requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Bachelor of Arts degree requires at least 120 credit hours, to include the following:
- College of Arts and Sciences Credit Hours. At least 100 credit hours must come from College of Arts and Sciences disciplines.
- Upper Division Courses. At least 42 credit hours (of the 120) must be at the 300–499 level.
- College Residency. Following completion of the 60th credit hour toward degree, at least 36 credit hours of College of Arts and Sciences coursework must be completed through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
- College GPA. A College grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.000 is required.
- CASE Requirements. The following College of Arts and Sciences Education (CASE) requirements must be completed:
- CASE Foundations
- CASE Breadth of Inquiry
- CASE Culture Studies
- CASE Critical Approaches: 1 course
- CASE Foreign Language: Proficiency in a single foreign language through the second semester of the second year of college-level coursework
- CASE Intensive Writing: 1 course
- CASE Public Oral Communication: 1 course
- Major. Completion of the major as outlined in the Major Requirements section above.
Most students must also successfully complete the Indiana University Bloomington General Education program.