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Literature

The Literature Graduate Program in English begins with a course in the fundamentals of research and bibliography.  Working closely with their advisory committee, students devise an individualized curriculum that reflects their own intellectual interests. The program offers seminars in all historical periods of Anglophone literature from medieval to contemporary.  Classes focusing on an individual genre or author,multicultural and gender studies, and literary theory are regularly scheduled.  

 

Many graduate students teach writing classes and participate in workshops on pedagogy. Opportunities to teach other courses and to work as research assistants are periodically available for distinguished students.  The combined emphasis on research and practical teaching experience enables new PhDs to compete for a variety of faculty positions at colleges and universities throughout the country. 

 

A number of fellowships and teaching assistantships are given to new and continuing students, in addition to essay prizes and awards.  The department provides some travel support for students to deliver papers at professional conferences. 


Requirements

The BA in English at OSU requires 40 hours of general education courses, 54 hours within the major, and 10 hours of elective coursework. Literature is one of four paths available for the major coursework.

More Information about the BA Degree 

MA students complete 30 hours (including 6 thesis hours), write a thesis, and demonstrate reading knowledge of one foreign language.

More information about the MA Degree Requirements

Doctoral students earn a total of 60 hours (including 18-20 dissertation hours) beyond those required for the MA; take PhD exams in two subject areas; write and defend a dissertation; and demonstrate a reading knowledge of two, or mastery of one, foreign language. 

More information about the PhD Degree Requirements

Faculty

Andrew Belton

  • African American Literature
  • Aesthetics
  • Comparative Literature

William Decker

  • American literature colonial to contemporary
  • Ethnicities and color lines
  • Critical Race Theory

Richard Frohock

  • Early American Literature
  • Early Caribbean Literature
  • 18th-Century British Literature 

Elizabeth Grubgeld

  • Modern British and Irish literature
  • Autobiography/ Life Writing
  • Critical Disability Studies

Cailey Hall

  • 18th and 19th-century British literature
  • Romanticism
  • Food Studies

Katherine Hallemeier

  • Postcolonial literature and theory
  • Contemporary Anglophone African fiction
  • Studies in Cosmopolitanism and Human Rights

Lisa Hollenbach

  • Post-1900 American Literature
  • Poetry and Poetics
  • Sound Studies

Alyssa Hunziker

  • Native American and Indigenous Literatures
  • U.S. Empire
  • Transnational American Studies

Edward Jones

  • John Milton and the English Civil War
  • 17th-Century British Literature
  • Archival Records of the English Church, State, and Parish

Tim Murphy

  • Modern & contemporary fiction
  • Critical Theory (Post-Structuralism, Modernism/Postmodernism, Marxism, Globalization Studies)
  • Science Fiction & Fantasy

Chelsea Silva

  • Middle English literature
  • Medical humanities
  • Disability studies

Lindsay C. Smith

  • American Indian Studies
  • Global Indigenous Studies
  • Racial Healing

Lindsay Wilhelm

  • Victorian literature
  • Aestheticism and Decadence
  • History of Science

Learn more about other OSU faculty on the profile pages.

 

Courses

Find out about course offerings at the Course Offerings Page. 

 

Exam Clusters

Students may use the below research groupings to facilitate the formation for their exam and dissertation committees. These clusters are intended to be suggestive, not definitive or restrictive.

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