1.5.1 Career prospects for Bachelor of Arts Degree holders in English include professional employment in the fields of:
a) Education, teaching at secondary and tertiary levels or in the field of curriculum development in the Ministry of Education,
b) Print and Electronic Media,
c) Publishing,
d) Public Relations,
e) The Civil Service.
1.5.2 Training in English studies provides the recipient with the kind of adaptable mind that enables him/her to fit, with some additional training, into a wide range of managerial and administrative positions, including posts in financial and business institutions.
1.6.1 Courses in the Department of English shall be offered at Levels 100 to 400 for the undergraduate programmes as outlined below.
1.6.2 In addition to the Department’s courses, an undergraduate candidate majoring in English shall take General Education Courses (GECs) and electives in accordance with General Regulation 00.2124.
Core Courses
ENG121 Introduction to English Language Description and Usage (3)
This course provides an overview of basic grammatical concepts and terms that students can apply to particular examples and difficulties of usage.
ENG113 Introduction to Literature: Prose (3)
This course is designed to introduce first-year students to the literary aspects of the essay and (auto) biography, and to the structure and components of the novel and short story.
General Education Courses
COM111 Communication and Academic Literacy Skills I (Humanities) (3) CORE
ICT121 Computer Skills Fundamentals 1 (2) CORE
Core Courses
ENG131 Writing in English (3)
This course familiarises students with various rhetorical principles and examines various features of discourse types specific to particular genres.
ENG123 Introduction to Literature: Drama and Poetry (3)
This course introduces students to the literary and theatrical aspects of drama, and to the structure and literary strategies of poetry.
GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES
COM112 Communication and Academic Literacy Skills II (Humanities) (3) CORE
ICT122 Computer Skills Fundamentals 2 (2) CORE
Core Course
ENG211 The Pronunciation of English (3)
This course introduces students to articulatory processes and the description of English sounds.
Optional Courses
ENG212 Introduction to English Literature: The Novel (3)
This course introduces students to the development of the English Novel from its infancy in the 18th Century to modern times. The course broadly examines the emergence of the English Novel and the conditions under which it emerged.
ENG213 Prose Literature of Southern Africa (3)
This course introduces students to the prose literature of the Southern African region, covering various historical, political and social topics as they are written about in the literature of the region.
ENG223 The Drama of Southern Africa (3)
This course introduces students to the drama of Southern Africa, covering the genesis and development of Southern African drama, identifying a dramatic form that is Southern African, and relating, comparing and contrasting such a dramatic form to those from other parts of Africa.
Core Course
ENG221 Introduction to English Linguistics (3)
This course is an introductory over-view of Descriptive Linguistics, viewed as a foundation for the study of English Language and Linguistics courses.
Optional Courses
ENG222 Introduction to English Literature: Poetry and Drama (3)
This course introduces students to some of the major poets and dramatists in English Literature. It examines the works of some of the major poets and dramatists in English Literature from Chaucer up to the present time.
Band C: African Literature
ENG233 The Poetry of Southern Africa (3)
This course introduces students to the poetry of Southern Africa. While focusing on the modern written forms, it also points to the living, everyday experience of oral traditions of poetry. The course is broadly representative of the countries, themes and forms of poetic expression in the region.
Band G: Theatre Studies
ENG217 Theatre History (3)
This course introduces students to the study of Theatre from a historical perspective. The course traces developments in Theatre across the world, highlighting the circumstances that have either helped develop or stifle it.
Core Course
ENG351 Phonology of English (3)
This course introduces students to some of the phonological theories on the pronunciation of English and other languages known to them. In addition, it gives students the opportunity to apply this knowledge to some data to enhance their understanding of the theories.
Optional Courses
ENG341 Introduction to Sociolinguistics (3)
This course introduces students to the relationship between language and society. It focuses in particular on the description of varieties of English and their use in various contexts, and on the analysis of and solutions to language problems, especially in developing countries.
ENG441 Introduction to Pragmatics (3)
This course introduces students to Pragmatics, a discipline which studies various factors involved in the appropriate use and understanding of language. It looks at factors such as the speaker’s intentions and how they are surmised by the addressee, the speaker’s and addressee’s background attitudes and beliefs, their understanding of the context in which the utterance is made, and their knowledge of how language can be used for a variety of purposes.
ENG352 The Metaphysical Poets (3)
This course charts the development of Metaphysical poetry during the 16th-17th Centuries through its chief practitioners: Donne, Herbert, Vaughan and Marvell. It studies poetic devices, styles and subjects that link together these writers as Metaphysical poets.
ENG332 English Romantic Poetry: The Early Romantics (3)
This course deals with the early part of the literature that came to be known as English Romantic Poetry. Focus is on Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge.
ENG342 Elizabethan and Jacobean Literature: Drama (3)
This course is a study of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama as a significant literary, cultural, political and religious expression of the age.
ENG412 Introduction to Shakespeare (3)
This course deals with the achievement of Shakespeare as the hallmark of the English literary tradition through an exploration of three of his more famous plays and a selection of his most popular poems.
ENG333 Critical Issues in Modern African Literature: Phases of Modern African Literature (3)
This course is an examination of the major critical issues and trends in Modern African literature using both creative materials and critical works of African authors.
ENG353 Currents of Thought in the Literature of the African Diaspora: African-American Literature (3)
This course is a survey of African-American literature from slave narratives to contemporary works.
ENG363 Oral Literature (3)
This course acquaints students with orality as a cultural process. It develops an appreciation of verbal art and examines the fundamental sources and bases of the forms and structures of African and European literature.
ENG373 Botswana Literature (3)
This course is a critical study of the novel, poetry, short story and drama of Botswana. It also traces the development of the literature. The course focuses on stylistic, thematic and generic differences and similarities in the works.
ENG334 Commonwealth Literature (3)
This course studies a selection of works of prose, fiction, drama, poetry and essays drawn from a number of literary traditions in The Commonwealth. The choice of texts for study will help students to reflect on the problematic use of the English language as a medium of literary expression in all Commonwealth societies.
ENG415 Readings in Literary Theory 1 (3)
This course surveys the changing conceptions of the nature and function of literature in the Western tradition, from Plato and Aristotle in the Classical period to Tolstoy and Marx in the nineteenth century.
Band G: Theatre Studies
ENG317 African Drama (3)
This course offers students an opportunity to critically look at a representative selection of African dramatic literature. The course helps students to identify and appreciate the various themes explored in drama, its various styles and techniques and its role in society.
ENG327 Practical Theatre (6, 2 Semesters)
This course is an introduction to the practice of theatre. It involves such processes as script analysis, research, rehearsal, stagecraft and performance. The course offers students an opportunity to approach theatre holistically and to understand the relationships between the various arts that go into its making.
Core Course
ENG311 Modern English Grammar (3)
This course is a detailed description and analysis of modern English grammar: the meaning of grammar, English word classes, phrase types and sentence structure.
Optional Courses
ENG321 Usage in English (3)
This course examines common problems associated with word class usage (noun/pronoun agreement, tense and voice in verbs, comparative and superlative forms in adjectives and adverbs) and sentence usage, including modification, coordination, subordination and fragmentation.
ENG361 Morphology of English (3)
This course provides students with an understanding of the morphological structure of English and their own languages. It also teaches students how to analyse any language morphologically.
ENG312 Milton (3)
This course is a detailed study of the seminal poetical writings of John Milton. It places Milton in the context of the tradition of world Epic poetry and of English 17th Century poetry, and systematically explores Miltonic ideas about literary genre, politics, religion and philosophy.
ENG362 English Romantic Poetry: The Later Romantics (3)
This course attempts to establish the relationship between the Early Romantics and the Later Romantics in terms of theme and style. Focusing on Keats, Shelley and Byron, it attempts to place the Later Romantics in their proper literary and socio-political context.
ENG372 Elizabethan and Jacobean Poetry (3)
This course examines how Elizabethan and Jacobean writers employed the poetic mode to express views on private and personal feelings, and on social and public issues.
Band C: African Literature
ENG383 Critical Issues in Modern African Literature: Critical Debates in African Literature (3)
This course continues the discussion of the major issues and trends in Modern African Literature using both creative works and critical writings of African authors.
ENG343 Modern African Poetry (3)
This course deals with the modes, styles and themes of modern African poetry, and the socio-political and cultural influences that have shaped it. The traditions of modern African poetry are studied across periods and regions.
ENG393 Currents of Thought in the Literature of the African Diaspora: African-Caribbean Literature (3)
This course is a critical study of Caribbean literature within the context of the forces and conditions that occasioned its advent, and continue to impact its survival and future.
ENG324 Twentieth Century American Literature (3)
This course is a critical examination of twentieth-century American literature using representative texts of various genres/types: fiction, drama and poetry.
ENG327 Practical Drama (6, 2 Semesters)
This course is an introduction to the practice of theatre. It involves such processes as script analysis, research, rehearsal, stagecraft and performance. The course offers students an opportunity to approach theatre holistically and to understand the relationships between the various arts that go into its making.
Core Course
ENG421 Approaches to Syntax (3)
This course provides students with the knowledge of various approaches to syntax with specific emphasis on functional approaches.
Optional Courses
ENG331 Language Acquisition (3)
This course introduces students to the principles that govern how humans acquire a first language, and a second and/or an additional language. Important aspects of the course include the role of the brain and other speech organs in language acquisition and processing, and learner strategies in Second Language Acquisition.
ENG471 Introduction to Literary Stylistics (3)
This course introduces students to a range of linguistic theories on which they will draw in their analysis of selected literary texts.
ENG422 The Development of the English Novel: The Early English Novel (3)
This course is a chronological study of the development of the English Novel from its 18th Century inception by Defoe through to Romantic conceptions of the form. It considers the novel’s evolution as a form of social commentary and its response to diverse social and political pressures.
ENG432 Victorian Poetry (3)
This course is a study of 19th Century English Victorian poetry. It identifies the important themes and the characteristic poetic features of the age. It considers the Victorian concerns about death, love, religious faith, marriage, the position of women and the great growth and optimism of the age.
ENG442 Modern English Prose Fiction: 1900-1930 (3)
This course is an intensive study of a major work by each of the following writers: Joseph Conrad, E.M. Forster, D.H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. Students will explore and analyse the way these works relate to the intellectual, cultural and social concerns of the period.
ENG452 Shakespearean Drama (3)
This course considers a selection of Shakespearean tragic, comedic and historical texts, as well as their cultural setting, historical context and literary environment.
ENG413 The African Novel 1 (3)
This course is a study of the African novel written in English or translated into English from indigenous and other languages of the continent of Africa. This study concentrates on the characteristic themes and concerns of the African novel.
ENG433 Introduction to Gender Issues (3)
This course combines theoretical and practical approaches to literature in order to clarify how, and the extent to which, feminist criticism can be applied to analyse literary texts.
ENG424 The Novel in the Modern World (3)
Focusing on major novels published since 1950, this course provides an overview of how novelists from different parts of the world have developed the form as a means to address important social, cultural and political issues.
ENG416 Research Essay (6, 2 Semesters)
This course offers the student the opportunity to conduct supervised research which should result in the submission of an essay of 5000 - 7000 words.
ENG417 Theory and Practice of Drama (6, 2 Semesters)
This is a course designed for students with an interest in the practice of theatre. It is intended to deepen students’ practical theatre skills and some important theories underlying the skills of acting, directing for the stage, set design, lighting, and script-writing.
ENG427 Dramatic Literature (3)
This course explores the importance of play texts in the development of theatre traditions around the world. It is designed to help students appreciate the difference between drama as literature and drama as theatre.
Core Course
ENG451 Introduction to Semantics (3)
This is an introductory course to Semantics which promotes an understanding of a framework for conceptualising meaning leading to clear and logical thinking.
Optional Courses
ENG411 Form, Function and Variation in English (3)
This course focuses on the practical analysis of texts against a background of various theoretical approaches to Stylistics.
ENG431 Introduction to Discourse Analysis (3)
This course introduces students to Discourse Analysis, a discipline which is concerned with how language users produce and interpret language in situated contexts and how these constructions relate to social and cultural norms, preferences, and expectations. Among other things, the course focuses on the nature and structure of written and spoken discourse and attempts to link the characterization of speaker/writer meaning and its explanation in the context of use.
ENG481 Language and Gender (3)
This course introduces students to a range of gender-related theoretical and analytical issues in the structure and use of English, and examines the current trends in gender-related language reform.
ENG462 Shakespearean Poetry (3)
This course explores a selection of Shakespeare’s Sonnets and excerpts from the longer poems, focusing on major themes of Elizabethan poetry such as love, time, death, religion and politics.
ENG472 The Development of the English Novel: The Victorian English Novel (3)
This course is a chronological study of the traditional English novel from the Romantic Movement to the end of the reign of Queen Victoria. The problems the novel addresses include the decline in religious faith due to Darwinism, and the social pressures of the increase of urbanisation and industrialisation.
ENG482 Modern English Drama (3)
This course is an exploration of the stylistic and thematic advances made by British playwrights at the beginning of the 20th century and their imprint on the development of drama during the rest of the century.
ENG492 Modern English Poetry (3)
This course studies the poetry of Hopkins, W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot and the poetry of WW1. The poetry explores the material and spiritual dislocations that were signs of the break-up of Western Civilisation.
Band C: African Literature
ENG443 The African Novel II (3)
This course is a study of the design and technical innovations to be seen in the African novel written in English or translated into English from indigenous and other languages of the continent of Africa.
ENG463 Gender Issues in African Literature (3)
Requiring a comprehensive reading of feminist theory and some literary texts, this course encourages students to draw on different disciplines to explore representations of motherhood and fatherhood in nationalist politics and literature, visual representations of female and male sexuality, mainstream feminist criticism and “womanism”.
ENG453 Bessie Head (3)
This course focuses on Bessie Head as one of the major writers to emerge from Botswana and Africa.
ENG434 Non-European World Literature (3)
This course provides an overview of the literatures of unfamiliar cultures, covering topics such as classical Asian poetry, the novel in China and Japan, magical realism in Latin America, identity and social status in multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies and the problem of translation.
ENG435 Readings in Literary Theory II (3)
This course surveys the various and sometimes conflicting twentieth-century approaches to literature from Russian Formalism to the more recent Feminist and Postcolonial arguments.
ENG425 Seminar on Feminist Literary Theory (3)
Although this course demands an in-depth reading of feminist theory, emphasis is also placed on interdisciplinary approaches. Students are encouraged to consider how theoretical statements affect their own thinking and ideologies.
ENG416 Project/Essay in either Language or Literature (6, 2 Semesters)
This course offers the student the opportunity to conduct supervised research which should result in the submission of an essay of 5000 - 7000 words.
ENG417 Theory and Practice of Drama (6, 2 Semesters)
This is a course designed for students with an interest in the practice of theatre. It is intended to deepen students’ practical theatre skills and some important theories underlying the skills of acting, directing for the stage, set design, lighting, and script-writing.
General Education Courses
GEC268 Literature of Liberation (2)
This course covers creative work, biographies, autobiographies and other digestible historical and social texts that relate to the liberation of Africa and of all the peoples of African descent.
1.7.1 In each semester at Level 100 English shall comprise 6 credits made up of 1 core course in Language (3 credits) and 1 core course in Literature (3 credits).
1.7.2 In each semester at Level 200 English shall comprise 6 credits made up of the following:
a) A core course in Language, and
b) A Literature course selected from the available options.
1.7.3 In a Combined Degree (Major/Major) Programme, English shall comprise the following at Level 300: In each semester, 6 credits made up of the core Language course and one Literature course selected from any of the bands.
1.7.4 In a Combined Degree (Major/Major) Programme, English shall comprise the following at Level 400: In each semester, 6 credits made up of the core Language course and one Literature course selected from any of the bands.
1.7.5 In a Combined Degree (Major/Minor) Programme, where English is the Major subject, English shall comprise the following at Level 300:
a) In each semester, 9 credits made up of the core Language course, one Literature course, and either another Language course or another Literature course from a different band;
b) Over the two semesters, a student may only take a maximum of 9 credits in Language.
1.7.6 In a Combined Degree (Major/Minor) Programme, where English is the Major subject, English shall comprise the following at Level 400:
a) In each semester, 9 credits made up of the core Language course, one Literature course and another Language or another Literature course, provided it is from a different band;
b) Over the two semesters, a student may only take a maximum 9 credits in Language.
1.7.7 In a Combined Degree (Major/ Minor) where English is the Minor subject at Level 300: In each semester English shall comprise 3 credits selected in consultation with the Head of Department from the Department’s course offerings from Level 300 and above.
1.7.8 In a Combined Degree (Major/Minor) where English is the Minor subject at Level 400: In each semester, English shall comprise 3 credits selected in consultation with the Head of Department from the Department’s course offerings from Level 300 and above.
1.7.9 In a Single Major Programme at Level 300, English shall comprise the following in each semester: 15 credits made up of:
a) The core Language course, one optional Language course, two Literature courses selected from different bands and another Language or Literature course also from a different band.
b) Over the two semesters, a student must take at least 12 credits, the equivalent of 4 courses, in Language.
1.7.10 In a Single Major Programme at Level 400: In each semester, English shall comprise 15 credits made up of the following:
a) A core Language course;
b) One optional Language course;
c) Two optional Literature courses provided that each course is from a different band;
d) A project or long essay in either Language or Literature (6 credits over two semesters).
1.7.11 In a Multidisciplinary Programme at Levels 300 and 400, the student shall, in consultation with his/her tutor and the Head of Department, select for credit relevant courses from the Departmental offerings. Such courses shall normally be at Level 300 and above.
Student performance in each course shall be evaluated by taking into account continuous assessment and final examination, except in the case of ENG416: Research Essay, where the completed essay will take the place of a final examination.
In order to proceed from one semester to the next, a student must maintain a cumulative GPA in accordance with General Regulation 00.9.