This version of the McGill Department of English, Undergraduate Studies site is deprecated but has been preserved for archival reasons. The information on this site is not up to date and should not be consulted. Students, faculty, and staff should consult the new site using the link below.
NB: Students in an English program who wish to take an introductory Shakespeare course must take ENGL 315 and not ENGL 215. If you took ENGL 215 prior to declaring your English program on Minerva, however, that course may count retroactively towards your program requirements in one of: pre-1800 courses; Major Author; Shakespeare; Renaissance.
Theory and Criticism
- ENGL 317 Theory of English Studies 1 (Winter)
- ENGL 319 Theory of English Studies 3 (Fall)
- ENGL 346 Materiality and Sociology of the Text (Fall)
Major Author Courses
- ENGL 315 Shakespeare (Fall)
- ENGL 316 Milton (Fall)
- ENGL 345 Literature and Society: How Shakespeare Created Modern Society (Fall)
- ENGL 405 Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature 2: The Brontës (Winter)
- ENGL 409 Studies in a Canadian Author: Alice Munro (Winter)
- ENGL 416 Studies in Shakespeare (Politics of the Past: Writing the Nation in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries) (Winter)
- ENGL 417 A Major English Poet: Spenser (Winter)
- ENGL 418 A Major Modernist Author: The Writings of Virginia Woolf (Fall)
- ENGL 418 A Major Modernist Author: T.S. Eliot (Winter)
- PLAI 500 Advanced Interdisciplinary Humanities Seminar: Playing Shakespeare: Theory and Practice of Theatrical-Musical Transformation (Winter)
Literature before 1800
- ENGL 300 The Seventeenth Century (Winter)
- ENGL 301 Earlier 18th-Century Novel (Fall)
- ENGL 304 Later Eighteenth Century Novel (Winter)
- ENGL 305 Renaissance English Literature 1: Sixteenth Century Non-Dramatic Literary Culture (Winter)
- ENGL 307 Survey of 17th Century Literature (Fall)
- ENGL 315 Shakespeare (Fall)
- ENGL 316 Milton (Fall)
- ENGL 342 Introduction to Old English (Fall)
- ENGL 358 Chaucer - Troilus and Cresyde (Fall)
- ENGL 403 Studies in the Eighteenth Century (Winter)
- ENGL 416 Studies in Shakespeare (Politics of the Past: Writing the Nation in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries) (Winter)
- ENGL 447 Crosscurrents of English Literature and European Literature 1 (Fall)
Canadian Literature
- ENGL 327 Canadian Prose Fiction 1 (Fall)
- ENGL 328 Development of Canadian Poetry (Winter)
- ENGL 333 Development of Canadian Poetry 2 (Fall)
- ENGL 409 Studies in a Canadian Author: Alice Munro (Winter)
- ENGL 410 Theme or Movement in Canadian Literature (Fall)
American Literature
- ENGL 324 20th C. American Prose (Winter)
- ENGL 326 19th-Century American Prose (Fall)
- ENGL 414 Studies in 20th-Century Literature 1 (Winter)
- ENGL 525 American Literature (Fall)
Backgrounds of English Literature
- ENGL 347 Great Writings of Europe 1 (Winter)
- ENGL 348 Great Writings of Europe 2 (Winter)
- ENGL 447 Crosscurrents of English Literature and European Literature 1 (Fall)
Old English
- ENGL 342 Introduction to Old English (Fall)
Medieval
- ENGL 348 Great Writings of Europe 2 (Winter)
- ENGL 356 Middle English (Winter)
- ENGL 358 Chaucer: Troilus and Cresyde (Fall)
- ENGL 447 Crosscurrents of English Literature and European Literature 1 (Fall)
- ENGL 452 Studies in Old English: Reading Beowulf (Winter)
- ENGL 456 Middle English (Winter)
- ENGL 500 Middle English (Winter)
Renaissance
- ENGL 300 The Seventeenth Century: The 1590s (Winter)
- ENGL 305 Renaissance English Literature 1: Sixteenth Century Non-Dramatic Literary Culture (Winter)
- ENGL 307 Survey of 17th Century Literature (Fall)
- ENGL 315 Shakespeare (Fall)
- ENGL 316 Milton (Fall)
- ENGL 345 Literature and Society (Fall)
- ENGL 416 Studies in Shakespeare (Politics of the Past: Writing the Nation in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries) (Winter)
- ENGL 417 A Major English Poet (Winter)
- ENGL 501 The Sixteenth Century (Fall)
Restoration
- ENGL 310 Restoration & 18th Century Drama (Fall)
18th-Century Literature
- ENGL 301 Earlier 18th-Century Novel (Fall)
- ENGL 304 Later Eighteenth Century Novel (Winter)
- ENGL 403 Studies in the Eighteenth Century (Winter)
Romantic
- ENGL 331 Literature of the Romantic Period 1 (Fall)
- ENGL 332 Literature of the Romantic Period 2 (Winter)
- ENGL 504 19th Century: Reading Don Juan (Winter)
Victorian
- ENGL 330 English Novel of the Nineteenth Century 2 (Fall)
- ENGL 394 Popular Literary Forms (Fall)
- ENGL 404 Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature 1: Theory of the Novel (Winter)
- ENGL 405 Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature 2: The Brontës (Winter)
- ENGL 423 Studies in 19th-Century Literature: Literature of the British Empire (Winter)
- ENGL 504 19th Century: Reading Don Juan (Winter)
19th-Century American
- ENGL 326 19th-Century American Prose (Fall)
Early 20th Century
- ENGL 328 Development of Canadian Poetry (Winter)
- ENGL 335 The 20th C. Novel 1 (Fall)
- ENGL 414 Studies in 20th-Century Literature 1 (Winter)
- ENGL 418 A Major Modernist Author: T.S. Eliot (Winter)
Modern
- ENGL 314 20th Century Drama (Winter)
- ENGL 324 20th C. American Prose (Winter)
- ENGL 335 The 20th C. Novel 1 (Fall)
- ENGL 418 A Major Modernist Author: T.S. Eliot (Winter)
- ENGL 430 Studies in Drama: Modernism in the Theatre (Fall)
- ENGL 545 Topics in Literature and Society: Reading the Landscape (Winter)
Postmodern
- ENGL 320 Postcolonial Literature: Postcolonial Encounters (Winter)
- ENGL 333 Development of Canadian Poetry 2 (Fall)
- ENGL 336 The Twentieth Century Novel 2: The Novel in South Asia (Fall)
- ENGL 376 Scene Study: Multiculturalism and North American Drama (Winter)
- ENGL 385 Topics in Literature and Film: Science Fiction (Winter)
- ENGL 421 African Literature (Fall)
- ENGL 545 Topics in Literature and Society: Reading the Landscape (Winter)
Contemporary
- ENGL 320 Postcolonial Literature: Postcolonial Encounters (Winter)
- ENGL 333 Development of Canadian Poetry 2 (Fall)
- ENGL 336 The Twentieth Century Novel 2 (Fall)
- ENGL 376 Scene Study: Multiculturalism and North American Drama (Winter)
- ENGL 409 Studies in a Canadian Author: Alice Munro (Winter)
- ENGL 410 Theme or Movement in Canadian Literature (Fall)
- ENGL 492 Image and Text: The Graphic Novel (Fall)
- ENGL 525 American Literature (Fall)
Courses on Shakespeare
- ENGL 315 Shakespeare (Fall)
- ENGL 345 Literature and Society: How Shakespeare Created Modern Society (Fall)
- ENGL 416 Studies in Shakespeare: The Politics of the Past: Writing the Nation in the Drama of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries (Winter)
Cultural Studies ( as Literature Honours requirement)
Any course on the Complementary Course List for Cultural Studies fulfills this requirement.
Drama and Theatre (as Literature Honours requirement)
Any course on the Complementary Course List for Drama and Theatre fulfills this requirement
Additional courses from the Literature Option’s offerings
This category includes all the courses listed above except required courses, as well as the courses listed below.
Note that any English course not on this list — such as courses in Cultural Studies — may not count towards your Literature program.
- ENGL 438 Studies in a Literary Form: The Literary Fairy Tale (Winter)
- RUSS 454 Narratives of Desire (Winter)
- ENGL 460 Studies in Literary Theory: Theorizing the Comic (Fall)
- ENGL 464 Creative Writing – Richler Writer in Residence
- ENGL 568 Studies in Dramatic Form: Contemporary Tragedy (Winter)