At U of C, there is no universal writing or literature course
requirement. There is a requirement to pass a writing test, and
students can be exempted from this requirement by getting a high mark on
high school English or a B- on any University English course, among
other exemptions, so there is a sort of background de facto English
requirement. The course does not have to be a writing course, and in
fact none of our first year English courses explicitly teaches writing
(one reason why I'm in Communication and Culture rather than English).
Betsy Sargent wrote:
> Dear Inkshedders,
>
> Here at U of A some major revisions to the core curriculum in the Faculty
> of Arts are being considered. Our department is meeting this Thursday
> (i.e., less than 48 hours from now) to develop our response to the
> current
> version of the proposal, and I was hoping to get some very brief input
> from
> as many of you as possible.
>
> Circulating with the proposal has been a cut-and-paste overview of basic
> core curriculum requirements for a BA degree from a wide range of
> Canadian
> post-secondary institutions. Skimming through this long and somewhat
> patchy, confusing .pdf file, one receives the distinct impression that
> hardly any writing, literature or English courses are required for
> earning
> a BA in Canada (with the clear exception of UBC which lists 6 hours
> required in English and 6 additional hours in literature--in any
> language--though even there, it's unclear if the English course is
> primarily writing or something else). A few places do list a required
> Writing Intensive course (in any discipline and, as far as I can make
> out,
> at any level).
>
> If you can grab a minute or two to just e-mail what, if any, core
> requirement in writing, literature or English exists at your institution
> for earning a BA or BS degree, it would help a lot! Here are the main
> things I'm looking for:
>
> 1. Is there a specific English requirement (or just a requirement for so
> many credits to be taken in a humanities course, which would allow
> English
> as one of many possible choices)? And if there is an English
> requirement,
> is it in literature or writing or both? If both, does a certain
> percentage
> of the course have to focus on writing instruction? (at present here, the
> first-year lit course has to devote 30% of instructional time to
> writing).
>
> 2. Is there a specific literature requirement? (and if so, can it be in
> any language, only in certain ones, only in English, ...)
>
> 3. Is there a specific writing requirement? And if so, is it
> specifically
> for a writing course or a Writing Intensive course in any discipline or a
> mixture of the two? Can this writing requirement be met at any level or
> are there certain sequences or set levels required? (For instance, some
> places require a first-year writing course taught in an English Dept or
> Writing or Communications Program, to be followed by an upper-level
> writing-intensive course in one's major).
>
> 4. For all of these, how many hours or credits are required? (6--a
> full-year writing course? 3--half-year? something else?)
>
> Please forgive me if this information has been posted on the CASLL list
> recently. I've been saving all Inkshed e-mails in a folder since last
> January when I sank into a hole and became a little machine that did
> nothing but meet publisher deadlines--which I'm still doing now, but only
> for going through proof pages, etc., so I get to come up for air now and
> then (mainly to teach!). If this info has been circulated since Jan
> 2004,
> maybe someone can give me a rough idea when and I'll go back and go
> through
> my folder of unread Inkshed messages. I apologize for being out of the
> conversation for so long--today marks the beginning of my attempt at
> gradual re-entry!
> Thanks--Betsy Sargent
>
> M. Elizabeth (Betsy) Sargent
> Associate Professor
> Department of English and Film Studies
> University of Alberta
> Edmonton, AB T6G 2E5
> (780) 492-0457
> Office hours Fall 2004: Tues 11-12, Wed 5:30-6:30
>
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>
> For the list archives and information about the organization,
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> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
--
Dr. Doug Brent
Associate Dean (Academic)
Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary
2500 University Drive N.W.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
Voice: (403) 220-5458 Fax: (403) 282-6716
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dabrent
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL command to
[log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]
For the list archives and information about the organization,
its newsletter, and the annual conference, go to
http://www.stu.ca/inkshed/
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