T

he program in Modern Studies is intended for those students who wish to concentrate in literature of the modern period (1789 to the present) and who also desire to combine literary study with work in other fields. The guiding idea is that an interdisciplinary approach will lead the student to a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the modern world. Accordingly, students in the program develop a curriculum that will permit them to situate literature in relation to other areas of modern culture, such as philosophy, religion, political science, psychology, history, or the other arts.

Modern Studies is a two-year program. Students usually apply in the spring semester of their second year at the University, though some decide to apply at the close of their first year. Transfer students who arrive at Virginia at the beginning of their third year and who wish to apply to Modern Studies should see the program director within the first week of the fall term.

For information on how to apply, or an application, click here.

Requirements

After being admitted to the program, a student must declare a major in English. The requirements for Modern Studies differ, however, from the requirements for a standard English major. For a Modern Studies major, 30 credit hours in the English Department are required. They must include:

* ENGL 381 (History of Literature in English I)
* One course pre-1800
* One course pre-1900 (this may include ENGL 382)
* Two Modern Studies Seminars (ENMC 483 and ENMC 484)

In addition, Modern Studies students are permitted, but not required, to count a total of five Modern and Contemporary courses (rather than the standard three) towards their major.

Modern Studies Seminars: Each year two seminars (ENTC 483 and 484) are offered on various aspects of modern literature and culture. Enrollment in the seminars is guaranteed to members of the Modern Studies program. Much of the strength of the program derives from the collegiality and intellectual community fostered in these small-group contexts. In addition to offering intensive study of the modern period and the nature of interdisciplinary work, the seminars provide occasions for students to come to know and to learn from one another. Recent seminar topics include "Crises of Faith," "Faces of the Avant-Garde," and "Women and Modernity."

Interdisciplinary Work: In addition to English courses, students in Modern Studies must take twelve further hours of courses outside the department. These courses are chosen in consultation with the program director. What they consist of depends on the student's particular interests, though considered as a group the courses should possess an intellectual coherence. Occasionally, students will take twelve hours in a single department; more often, though, they will pursue a topic or question across several disciplines. In recent years students have designed programs of study on topics such as "The City in Modern Life," "Gender and Modernity," "Crises of Faith in the Twentieth Century," and "Existentialism and the Modern Novel."

Thesis: A thesis is not required for the degree in Modern Studies, though many students elect to write Honors theses in their fourth year.