Literature and Writing Studies, B.A.

Program of Study

The Literature and Writing Studies Program provides instruction in both literature and writing. Students continuing in prior catalogs may contact the Department Chair or the Department Academic Advisor for old and new course equivalencies. The LTWR 300A and LTWR 300B sequence is required, and students are urged to enroll in LTWR 300A and LTWR 300B the first year they begin work on their upper-division coursework. Three- and four-hundred level courses may be taken with junior standing (or with consent of the instructor) and in any order, although higher-numbered courses may presume more background than those with lower numbers. Five-hundred level courses are graduate level but may also be taken by advanced undergraduates.

Department Mission Statement

The Literature and Writing Studies Department is a scholarly community of students and faculty committed to innovative teaching and learning. Critical reading, writing, and thinking occur in and serve a range of communities: local, regional, global, and historical. Therefore, we value the following principles:

Cultural Studies and Diversity Studies: Cultural studies and diversity studies are central to our community. These two interdisciplinary approaches to the study of texts include consideration of perspectives such as gender, class, sexuality, disability, nationality, ethnicity, and race. Cultural studies and diversity studies are fundamental to literary and writing studies and provide intellectual tools that enrich our analysis of texts within and across cultures.

Canon Formation: Cultures, local and international, contemporary and historical, create canons. Canons are a significant result of each culture’s literary community. Therefore, comprehending canons, canon formation, and non-canonical texts is essential to understanding and contributing to literary and writing traditions.

Theory and History: Theory and history serve as tools to help us explore and demonstrate our understanding of texts within and across cultures. A range of theoretical approaches and historical knowledge provide us with necessary thinking tools.

Reading: Meaningful analysis requires careful reading. Engaging in close reading makes it possible to take into account rhetorical, prosodic, and other formal features. It also provides a careful grounding in the ideological, cultural, and institutional contexts in which meaning is produced, deepening our understanding of texts and the cultures from which they come.

Writing: Creating and presenting texts and related media in a variety of genres enriches our understanding of the constructed nature of literary materials. The ability to produce clear and compelling communication in writing is fundamental to literary and writing studies.

Translations and Changing Meanings: Understanding that the translation of texts across languages changes the meanings of these texts is crucial to building interpretive skills. A reading knowledge of at least one language other than English is desirable for an advanced understanding of literature and writing in a global context.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students in the Department of Literature and Writing Studies develop critical reading and writing skills and learn to recognize that effective thinking and writing about texts must be informed by knowledge about relevant local, global, and disciplinary contexts. We have designed our departmental curricula to help students who graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Writing Studies to develop and demonstrate the following abilities.

Students who graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Writing Studies will:

Create clear and compelling communication in writing, speech, and other media;
Closely analyze texts, applying critical and theoretical approaches;
Identify and describe literary canons and alternative traditions and the process of their formation; and
Distinguish the local and global contexts of multicultural and international texts and apply those contexts in textual analysis, utilizing relevant theoretical frameworks.

Assessment of these learning outcomes occurs in a variety of ways: students are asked in our classes to complete many different kinds of writing assignments, including short essay exams, in-class responses, reading journals, research papers, thesis-driven essays, oral reports, and collaborative writing projects.

Special Conditions for the Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Writing Studies

Courses taken to satisfy General Education requirements may not be used to satisfy the requirements in the major.
Courses may be used to satisfy only one requirement in the major (Coverage, Distribution, or Elective); courses cannot be applied to more than one requirement (Coverage, Distribution, or Elective) in the major.
Credit/No Credit grading may be counted toward the major only for LTWR 495 and 499.
Elective units in literature and writing studies may be used toward a minor in another discipline. Consult the appropriate program coordinator or faculty advisor for further information.
Course substitutions must be approved by petition to the Literature and Writing Studies Curriculum Committee.
All courses counted toward the major, including Preparation for the Major courses, must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Educational and Career Opportunities

The Literature and Writing Studies major prepares students to think, speak, and write effectively. These skills are essential for many occupations including marketing, editing, reporting, creative and technical writing, business management, library science, medicine, public relations, teaching, social work, banking, government work, and law. LTWR students pursue a range of advanced degrees. We encourage majors to consider an internship during their senior year. For more information about internships and career opportunities visit our website at www.csusm.edu/ltwr. Students are also invited to speak with LTWR faculty about educational and career opportunities in literature and writing.