The Literature and Writing Requirement of the Core Curriculum

As a Catholic university, St. Thomas seeks to foster in its students a deeper understanding of the totality of life and its purposes and to instill in its graduates an appreciation for the life of the mind and the joy of learning. To encourage this development, St. Thomas requires that all of its undergraduates, regardless of their major, complete coursework in nine curricular areas and two competency areas.

The Literature and Writing requirement is fulfilled with 8 credits of work in English. This sequence of courses develops students' critical awareness of language by helping them to recognize the relationship between their own experience and the interpretive possibilities of literature. Attention is paid to the integration of the individual's composing process and the process of reading and understanding texts. These courses foster attentive reading, careful thinking, and effective writing.

There are two ways to fulfill this requirement. The majority of students will fulfill it by taking the following two core courses:

ENGL 111 Critical Reading and Writing I: Fiction and Nonfiction Prose (4 credits)
and
ENGL 112 Critical Reading and Writing II: Drama and Poetry (4 credits)

Students with qualifying ACT scores can complete the core requirement in literature and writing by taking the following sequence:

ENGL 190 Critical Reading and Writing: Major Genres (4 credits)
and
one additional 4-credit core-area literature course in English numbered above 200, (includes ENGL 205, 211, 212, 214, 215, 217, 218, 220, 221, 222, 297, 324, 325, 334, 337, 341, 360, 361, 362, 364, 365, 366, 367, 370, 371, 372, 373, 390, and 395) or two 2-credit ENGL 295 courses during J-Term