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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>
Hello, Betsy.
I'm so glad you've posted this question; in another few months I would
probably have been posting the same one. Now maybe I won't have to!
Currently at Memorial University of Newfoundland, undergraduates in all
fields except Engineering are required to take two first-year English
courses in order to graduate (in Engineering they must take one). Each
is a 3-credit course taking one term (13 weeks) to complete. English
1080 - "Critical Reading and Writing I" - is compulsory for all
students (except, as of this past year, for ESL students, who have an
alternative option). I would characterize English 1080 as primarily a
literature course, although it is understood that significant attention
is supposed to be devoted to students' writing abilities, as well.
The second required English course can be either a writing or a
literature course - although, as there are a number of literature
courses and only one writing course, and as very few tenured faculty are
willing to teach the writing course, for most students the second course
is necessarily in literature.
Beyond this, all candidates for a B.A. must take two, 3-credit
"Research/Writing" courses. The intent is that they take them early in
their program, but many wait until near graduation to do so. Various
courses in Arts and Humanities have been developed as Research/Writing
courses, and the idea is that 60% of the evaluation for these courses
should be based on students' research and writing. My understanding,
though, is that the Research/Writing requirement is currently under
review and may evolve into something else before too long.
Aside from what I've described above, there is no specific writing
requirement at Memorial.
I hope this helps - and I hope there'll be other responses to your
query. I'm saving them as they appear, to help me as my own "time of
need" draws near!
Ginny Ryan
Memorial University Writing Centre
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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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