Program Requirements
Students who wish to study at the Honours level in two Arts disciplines may apply to combine Joint Honours program components from two Arts disciplines. For a list of available Joint Honours programs, see "Overview of Programs Offered" and "Joint Honours Programs". Applications to do a Joint Honours program in English and another subject in the Faculty of Arts should be submitted once a minimum of 9 credits, and no more than 18 credits, have been completed in English. There are normally two possible application dates for Joint Honours in English: either by the end of January (by which time first-term courses are completed and the grades are available), or at the same time as the Honours application date, typically in mid-April. (Only students who will have completed more than 18 credits in English by the end of January may apply in the Fall.) Applications will be considered by the Department's Honours Committee on the basis of the student's program GPA, at a minimum of 3.50. The application form is available in the Department's General Office (Arts 155), and the specific submission requirements are described by that form.
The maintenance of a 3.50 program GPA is required for continuation in Joint Honours. Graduation with Joint Honours requires a minimum CGPA of 3.00, a minimum program GPA of 3.50, and a minimum mark of B+ on the Honours Essay. Graduation with First Class Joint Honours in English requires a minimum CGPA of 3.50, a minimum program GPA of 3.70, and a minimum mark of A on the Honours Essay.
Each academic year, there is a special adviser for Joint Honours students, and the receptionist in the General Office can provide their name and contact information. The Department's website http://www.mcgill.ca/english/ provides additional information on the Joint Honours program and applications, and this website should also be consulted prior to contacting the Adviser.
Required Courses (9 credits)
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ENGL 275 Introduction to Cultural Studies (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A survey of cultural studies, its history and subject matter, presenting key interpretive and analytic concepts, the aesthetic and political issues involved in the construction of sign systems, definitions of culture and cultural values conceptualized both as a way of life and as a set of actual practices and products.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
Required of all U1 Cultural Studies students
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ENGL 277 Introduction to Film Studies (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : An introduction to key concepts in film studies. Exemplary works from the history of film will be studied to introduce students to such topics as the aesthetics of film; sound's production of meaning; film as narrative; film and genre; period and national cinemas; film's role in culture.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
Restriction: Cultural Studies Major and Honours program students.
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ENGL 359 The Poetics of the Image (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : This course examines contemporary debates about the aesthetic dimensions as well as social roles of pictorial, theatrical, cinematic, and other representations, the meanings, effects, and aesthetic significance of which depend on their having visually recognizable features.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
Restriction: Limited to students in the English Major Concentration, Cultural Studies Option
Complementary Courses (27 credits)
27 credits selected as described below.
In addition to the 6-credit requirement for Advanced Study described below, all Joint Honours students' programs of study shall include 6 credits of study at the 400 level or above. Students are encouraged to take courses at the 300 level and above. In addition to the Advanced Study requirement, 3 of the remaining 21 Complementary Course credits must be completed at the 500 level. A maximum of 9 of the 27 credits are allowed at the 200 level, none in the final year of the program.
Note on Topics Courses: The Department of English offers courses which change topic from academic year to academic year. Depending on the topic in a specific year, these courses may count toward different program requirements. At the time they register for a topics course, students should confirm with their program adviser the program requirement it fulfils for that academic year.
Advanced Study
6 credits of advanced study, in one of the following two forms A or B, in order of preference:
A) 6 credits of honours essay:
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ENGL 491D1 Honours Essay (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Supervised research essay on an approved topic.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall and Winter
Students must register for both ENGL 491D1 and ENGL 491D2.
No credit will be given for this course unless both ENGL 491D1 and ENGL 491D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
ENGL 491D1 and ENGL 491D2 together are equivalent to ENGL 491
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ENGL 491D2 Honours Essay (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Supervised research essay on an approved topic.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Prerequisite: ENGL 491D1
No credit will be given for this course unless both ENGL 491D1 and ENGL 491D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
ENGL 491D1 and ENGL 491D2 together are equivalent to ENGL 491
B) Two 3-credit 500-level courses selected in consultation with the student's adviser(s).
(In very rare cases, a third alternative may be approved at the discretion of the Joint Honours Adviser, but only when it is formally recommended for the joint subject according to the description of that Joint Honours program found in the Arts section of the eCalendar. For example, Joint Honours with Anthropology allows the option of combining 3 credits of essay work with 3 credits in the joint subject to create a joint essay.)
Major Figures
3 credits from a list of courses on Major Figures in Cultural Studies:
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ENGL 315 Shakespeare (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A study of the major works of Shakespeare.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
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ENGL 381 A Film-Maker 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film: the works of a major director. Topic varies each year.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
Restriction: Limited to students in English Major programs
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ENGL 409 Studies in a Canadian Author (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Advanced study of a significant author in Canadian literature.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
Prerequisite: previous work in Canadian Literature
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ENGL 416 Studies in Shakespeare (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A study of the works of Shakespeare.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
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ENGL 417 A Major English Poet (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A study of the works of a mahor English poet.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
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ENGL 418 A Major Modernist Writer (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Intensive study of a writer important for Modernism, such as James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
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ENGL 481 A Film-Maker 2 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
Restriction: Permission of instructor required
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ENGL 516 Shakespeare (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A seminar on the works of Shakespeare.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
Theory
3 credits from a list of courses on Theory:
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ENGL 317 Theory of English Studies 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Philosophical approaches.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs
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ENGL 318 Theory of English Studies 2 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Socio-Historical approaches.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs
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ENGL 319 Theory of English Studies 3 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Cultural theory now.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs
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ENGL 322 Theories of the Text (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : A course focusing on textuality (as opposed to, say, intentionality and interpretation) and on how specific effects are made - how texts work and produce meaning, including rhetoric and form.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.
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ENGL 346 Materiality and Sociology of Text (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Writing, printing, distribution, marketing, and placement within canon-making institutions; the influence of material forms of production and transmission on the creation and reception of literature, film, and theatre.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.
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ENGL 352 Theories of Difference (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Introduction to a selection of theories that have influenced thinking about difference across the humanities and social sciences, including gender, sexuality, race, class and hierarchical structures, language, religion, ethnicity, and personal identity.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.
Historical Dimension
3 credits from a list of courses in Cultural Studies with an historical dimension:
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ENGL 350 Studies in the History of Film 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Developments in proto-cinema and early cinema through the silent era.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
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ENGL 351 Studies in the History of Film 2 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Developments in the Hollywood Studio Era, including rivals, imitators, and alternatives.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
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ENGL 363 Studies in the History of Film 3 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Developments in post-1958 cinema, from the European New Waves to contemporary global and independent cinemas.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
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ENGL 374 Film Movement or Period (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Study of a significant movement or period in film history.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
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ENGL 451 A Period in Cinema (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : In-depth examination of a significant historical period in cinema's development, early silent era to present.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
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ENGL 480 Studies in History of Film 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Fall
400-Level Theory
3 credits from a list of 400-level courses in Cultural Studies with a theoretical component:
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ENGL 454 Topics in Cultural Studies and Gender (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Current studies focusing on the gendered dimensions of cultural life, including the production and reception of mainstream, avant-garde, and alternative cultures.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
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ENGL 479 Philosophy of Film (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Philosophical approaches to and topics in the study of cinema.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
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ENGL 483 Seminar in the Film (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : In-depth study of a topic related to film. Topic varies by year.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
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ENGL 484 Seminar in the Film (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : In-depth study of specific topics related to the film, which vary from year to year.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Restriction: Permission of instructor required
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ENGL 489 Culture and Critical Theory 1 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Intensive study of advanced theoretical topics in the study of culture.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
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ENGL 490 Culture and Critical Theory 2 (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Intensive study of advanced theoretical topics in the study of culture.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
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ENGL 492 Image and Text (3 credits)
Overview
English (Arts) : Study of the relationship between verbal and visual aspects of a range of cultural artifacts. Topics may include iconography; illuminated manuscripts; book illustrations; cartoons and caricature.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.
Winter
Departmental Offerings
9 additional credits of English (ENGL) courses, preferably courses at the 300 level or above.
