Not enough English Lit coursework?

[semicolon2013]

I am an English major at a SLAC, about to graduate in about a month.  I will be applying in the fall to English PhD programs, but lately I have been worried that I do not have enough English coursework despite the major.  My department only requires 9 classes for the major, one of which can be from the world lit or a foreign lang. department.  I have only taken the minimum (8 English courses, one world lit course counted as English, plus an honors thesis).  I do have about 4-5 additional lit classes in French and World Lit.  I have also worked as a research assistant for lit professors, but not English lit.    

 

Maybe I am worried over nothing, but I know other undergrad departments often require at least 10 courses for their major, and "strong" majors at my school tend to take more than the minimum requirements.

 

My main issues:

1) I think my literary analysis skills are strong, but I have numerous holes in my knowledge of "the canon."

2) Most importantly  I have never officially taken an contemporary American lit class, and I think I want to specialize in this area in graduate school ( my thesis is in this area, and I have done my own reading, but no coursework).  

 

Should this be a concern for me?  If so, how do I overcome this at this point in the game?

[ProfLorax]

I don't think this should be a huge concern. Most of us are entering a grad program with huge holes in knowledge. I am applied to rhet/comp programs, and I have only taken one rhet course and one comp course. I literally have no idea who Kenneth Burke is. But my writing sample and SoP both demonstrated my ability and eagerness to work within the field, so I fared well this season, despite my relative newness to the field.

[ghijklmn]

My situation was actually very similar to the OPs. I did the bare minimum for an English major at my school (8 courses) so that I could add two other majors. I didn't take a single survey course, and my knowledge of the canon is also very spotty. 

 

I also took very few courses in the area that I wanted to specialize in, and it worked out fine for me. (Then again, I applied for Comp Lit, so maybe my story doesn't work 100% for you.)

 

Good luck!

[toasterazzi]

I don't know how each program works, but a lot of the ones I've looked at tend to advise somewhere around 25-35 credit hours of English study in undergrad, while also mentioning that they do make exceptions for qualified people who might have less than what they advise. 

 

As for holes in your education, as others have said, we all definitely have gaps. I'm almost at the end of the first year of my MA, and there's still all sorts of things I know I'm missing. I just had my first ever real theory class this semester, and I've never taken one of those classes that only focuses on ONE author for the entire semester.

[blakeblake]

I would not worry about the gaps in your theoretical knowledge.  Everyone has them.  If you didn't, you'd have your PhD already. ;-)

 

However, it seems very strange that you haven't taken a single course in the area where you hope to specialize.  Would it be possible for you to take some Contemporary Am Lit classes in the summer or the fall before you have to apply?

 

Another concern: It is good practice to write your grad school writing sample/try to publish articles about literature in your field.  If you have not taken any classes in your field, then you have much less essay material to function in these capacities.  You'll probably want to write some new essays in Comtemporary Am Lit before your applications are due.  (These papers may not be easy to write if you lose the ability to check out books, interlibrary loan, and request articles from your university library after graduation!)

 

At any rate, you will likely have to explain your lack of classes in your field in your sop.  Otherwise, the AdComm will wonder why someone who claims to love Contemporary American couldn't be bothered to take a single class in the area.

[semicolon2013]

Thanks for the responses!

 

blakeblake - I have taken Early American lit, but I have not taken the 20C survey course or any other contemporary courses.  This is because of schedule conflicts/study abroad.  I go to a small liberal arts college, and we have few class options (there are two American classes, early and 20C, and occasionally an elective).  The Contemporary American survey course is only offered one semester a year, and there is only 1 section.

 

As for the writing sample, I will be using a chapter from my thesis, which is on contemporary African American literature, so that should be covered.  Alums also have library access while in town here and I will be around during the summer.  

 

That considered, does anyone think it would be worth it to try to take an American lit course elsewhere this summer?  It would be expensive.

Edited March 29, 2013 by semicolon2013

[toasterazzi]

I don't know how much Contemporary Lit is offered in Open Courseware, but you could always look into that to fill in some of your gaps.

[AurantiacaStella]

Great idea, reluctantmidwesterner! Here's a link: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/literature/

[champagne]

I'm wondering what kind of witchcraft OP used to copy and paste my research and transcript history to this thread.