Language, Media, and Communication

The English major track in language, media, and communication (LMC) allows students to build their major around the department's multi-faceted offerings in areas such as rhetoric, media studies, film, language studies, nonfiction writing and journalism, and public speaking, as well as courses on related topics offered by other departments.

This track may be of special interest to students who are contemplating careers in such areas as law, nonfiction writing, publishing, print journalism, or electronic journalism, though its emphasis is critical, theoretical, and historical as much as practical.

Major Requirement

As of July 1, 2014, the requirements for the language, media, and communication track are as follows:

  • A minimum of ten, 4-credit courses are required for the major (for a minimum total of 40 credit hours). At least seven of the courses must be at the 200 or 300 level.
  • The upper-level writing requirement is fulfilled by completion of the major.
One Introductory Course

One of the following:

  • ENGL 117: Introduction to the Art of Film
  • ENGL 118: Introduction to Media Studies
Six Core Courses

Students must choose six core courses. Up to three of these courses can be chosen from approved courses taught in other departments. No more than two can be 100-level courses. The list below is not comprehensive, and students should consult with the director of undergraduate studies if they have questions regarding appropriate courses for the major

I. Journalism and Nonfiction Writing:

  • ENGL 105: Intro to Rhetoric
  • ENGL 126: Creative Nonfiction
  • ENGL 131: Reporting and Writing the News
  • ENGL 132: Feature Writing
  • ENGL 133: Editing Practicum
  • ENGL 138: Journalism Case Studies
  • ENGL 281: Advanced Feature Writing
  • ENGL 281: Journalistic Writing (Topics)
  • ENGL 283: Journalism and Media (Topics)

II. Media and Cultural Studies:

  • ENGL 117: Introduction to the Art of Film
  • ENGL 118: Introduction to Media Studies
  • ENGL 119: Comics and the Moving Image
  • ENGL 212: Environmental Literature: Memory and Modernity
  • ENGL 250: Food Justice, Urban Farming, Social Practice
  • ENGL 255: Film History: Early Cinema
  • ENGL 259: Italian Neorealist Directors
  • ENGL 260: Studies in Film History
  • ENGL 261: Classical Film Theory
  • ENGL 262: Post War Italian Directors
  • ENGL 263: Topics in Television and other Media (can be taken more than once with different topics)
  • ENGL 264: Studies in Director
  • ENGL 265: Race and Gender in Popular Film
  • ENGL 283: Media ABC (no longer offered after Spring 2024)
  • ENGL 267: Intro to Literary Publishing

III. Rhetoric and Language:

  • ENGL 134: Public Speaking
  • ENGL 135: Intro to Debate
  • ENGL 200: History of the English Language
  • ENGL 240: Literary Criticism and Theory (Topics)
  • ENGL 242: Authors, Editors, and the Literary Marketplace
  • ENGL 249: Gender, Writing, and Representation (Topics)
  • ENGL 280: Topics in Debate
  • ENGL 282: Humor Writing
  • ENGL 284: Orality, Language, and Literacy
  • ENGL 285: Advanced Writing and Peer Tutoring
  • ENGL 286: Presidential Rhetoric

IV. Approved Courses from Other Departments*:

  • AHST 100: Introduction to Visual and Cultural Studies
  • AHST 209: Writing about Art
  • AHST 217: Art, Science, and Visual Representation
  • LING 103: Language and Sexuality
  • LING 105: Language and Advertising
  • LTST 200: Studies in Translation
  • PHIL 247: Philosophy of Language
  • PSCI 202: Argument in Political Science
  • EHUM 268: Food Media Literature
  • EHUM 267: EcoMedia
  • EHUM 240: Enviromental Apocalypse and the Anthropocene

*Please check with the director of undergraduate studies about these and other possibilities, which are approved on a case-by-case basis.

Students can also substitute an additional section of ENGL 380 for one of the above required courses, if it takes up a relevant subject (for instance, ENGL 380: Assimilating Literary Language).

Two Literature Courses

Choose two literature courses, at least one of which must be at the 200 or 300 level. These classes should be taken before the senior year and cannot be primarily focused on film or media.

The following are some of the classes that can be used to fulfill this requirement. See the director of undergraduate studies for questions about what other classes can be used.

  • ENGL 200: History of the English Language
  • ENGL 201: Old English Language and Literature
  • ENGL 203: Medieval Drama
  • ENGL 204: Chaucer
  • ENGL 206: Topics in Medieval Literature
  • ENGL 207: English Renaissance Literature (Topics)
  • ENGL 208: Renaissance Drama 
  • ENGL 210: Shakespeare
  • ENGL 211: Milton
  • ENGL 215: Eighteenth-Century British Literature (Topics)
  • ENGL 216: Topics in Literary & Textual Recovery
  • ENGL 220: Romantic Literature
  • ENGL 221: Nineteenth-Century British Literature (Topics)
  • ENGL 223: Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature (Topics)
  • ENGL 225: American Romantics
  • ENGL 226: American Realists 
  • ENGL 227: American Moderns
  • ENGL 228: Topics in African-American Literature

  • ENGL 230: Topics in American Literature
  • ENGL 231: Twentieth-Century British Novel
  • ENGL 233: Modern Poetry
  • ENGL 234: Aesthetics
  • ENGL 235: Post-1800 Drama (Topics)
  • ENGL 236: African Diasporic Literature (Topics)
  • ENGL 238: Studies in Modern and Contemporary Literature
  • ENGL 240: Topics in Literary Criticism and Theory
  • ENGL 241: Lyric Poetry

  • ENGL 242: Literary Topics Across Historical Periods
  • ENGL 244: Topics in Poetry
  • ENGL 245: Literary Modes (Topics)
  • ENGL 247: Science Fiction
(Topics)
  • ENGL 248: Contemporary Women's Writing
  • ENGL 249: Gender, Writing, and Representation (Topics)
  • ENGL 251: Literature and Medicine (Topics)
  • ENGL 252: Theater in England

  • ENGL 254: Arthurian Literature

One Advanced Seminar

Take one of the following:

  • ENGL 380: Advanced Seminar
  • ENGL 396: Honors Seminar

The department recommends taking this course senior year.

Internship or Independent Study

Students are encouraged to take an approved ENGL 394: Internship in English or ENGL 391: Independent Study.

The department has sponsored internships with:

  • Open Letter Press
  • The Blake Archive
  • Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly
  • METS
  • The Chaucer Bibliographies
  • The UR Press
  • The Public Relations Office
  • Rare Books

Internships within the Rochester-area community include working with local newspapers and television/radio stations, advertising agencies, BOA Editions, and Writers and Books.

Students wishing to discuss internships applicable to the LMC major should contract the director of undergraduate studies.

More information can be found on our internship page. All internships must be approved in advance, during the semester prior to the one in which you plan to do the internship.