ENGLISH GRADUATE STUDIES

The Master of Arts in English at Trinity College is designed to provide an MA to a diverse set of graduate students, ranging from full-time teachers and professional employees living within the three state area of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island to recent college and university graduates contemplating a Ph.D. in English.  This program offers courses in four semesters a year -- the fall and spring semesters and two summer terms.  All courses are taught in the evening.  The program offers continuing and returning graduate students the option of two concentrated tracks:

1.  Literary Studies:

This concentration is for diverse students interested in deepening their understanding of literature as a written medium and in comprehending how literature reflects and interacts with the various cultures that produce it.  The requirement for this track is the successful completion of ten credits:  8 courses, including English 892, and a two-credit thesis.  Of the 8 required courses, at least one course must concentrate in English literature and one in American literature and at least one course must place emphasis on cultural contexts.   Courses will be so designated in their descriptions.  The remaining four courses are electives.  Students may choose electives from all courses offered in the English program, whether designed for Literary Studies or Writing, Rhetoric, or Media Arts.. Students are encouraged, however, to think about the way in which course selections impact the focus of their overall studies, and especially how they ultimately reinforce and provide background for the choice of a thesis topic. The topic should be chosen and a thesis proposal drafted in the semester before a student begins work on the thesis.    Students will take the non-credit bearing thesis colloquium in the fall term of their thesis year.  Each course taken in the program will help to develop skills required for writing the thesis.

2.  Writing, Rhetoric, and Media Arts:

This concentration is designed for students interested in the arts of writing , rhetoric, and the visual media, including film and the mixed modes of the Internet.  It provides courses that explore various forms of language, logic, persuasion, and communication. The track focuses on the rhetorical strategies that writing and media arts draw upon to construct and contest ideas and values. For this track students must complete ten credits:  8 courses, including English 890 and 892, and a two-credit thesis or final project.  Of the 6 elective courses, students will choose at least two courses specifically designated for the Writing, Rhetoric, and Media Arts track.  The remaining four electives may be taken from any of the English program offerings.  For students interested in developing their own abilities as writers, we will offer periodic workshop courses in various genres of writing. Two writing workshops may be counted toward the 8 course requirements. For their final project, students will have the option of writing a two-credit thesis, presenting a two-credit project, or a one-credit project with a one-credit paper defining and explaining the evolution of the project. Students interested in filmmaking should note that this program focuses on the study and analysis, rather than the production, of film and other media arts.  However, with special permission, students may produce a one-credit film or media project, accompanied by a one-credit paper.

TRACKS AT A GLANCE:  HERE ARE THE REQUIREMENTS SET OUT ABOVE

I.  Literary Studies -- requiring 10 credits, as follows:
1 credit English 892
1 course in English literature
1 course in American literature
1 course emphasizing cultural contexts
2-credit thesis
4 electives (taken from courses offered for either track)

2.  Writing, Rhetoric, and Media Arts -- requiring 10 credits, as follows:
1 credit English 890
1 credit English 892
2 additional courses designated for this track
2-credit thesis or project
4 electives (taken from courses offered for either track)

 Please note that the requirements for "Literary Studies"  will replace the current distribution requirements for the English Graduate Degree (in literary history, author-centered study, and literary theory).  Students currently enrolled in the graduate program will have a choice of distribution requirements.  All students entering in the fall of 2004 and beyond will follow the new distribution requirements.  Courses will be so listed beginning in 2004-2005.

Course required of all English graduate students in both concentrated tracks:

ENGL 892:  Methods and Theories of Literary Studies

This seminar is designed to develop graduate level competence in close reading of literary and theoretical texts, research methods for critical literary analysis, and advanced composition strategies for critical essays.  Emphasis will be on improving critical reading and writing skills, as well as on introducing students to the contemporary theory and its application to literary studies.  The course will also include a basic introduction to the concept of media arts. Students will generate close reading essays and an annotated bibliography of critical sources, participate in peer review and revision workshops, and as a culmination of their reading and research process throughout the semester, produce a substantial critical essay.

ENGL 892 is a REQUIRED COURSE for all English MA students and we recommend that entering students enroll in this course during their first year of graduate study. 

Course required of English graduate students in the concentrated track: Writing, Rhetoric, and Media Arts

ENGL 890:  Theory and Practice of Rhetoric

Aristotle defined Rhetoric over 2,000 years ago as “the art of discovering, in any given case, the available means of persuasion.”  This course is designed to introduce students to the theoretical traditions of this art of persuasion and its transmission from classical to contemporary times.  We will test theory against practice as we examine speaking, writing, and multimedia images in oral, print, and electronic cultures.  Emphasis will be placed on exploring the effects of rhetorical action and interaction on individuals and communities, along with analyzing the dynamics of evolving cultural concepts of author, audience, purpose, and genre—ranging from classical orations to personal essays to hypertext webs.  Students will have an opportunity to experiment with as well as study genres of interest to them.