English Language/Literature - Christopher University

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE/LITERATURE

Background Information on the Department

The Department of English was among the pioneer departments in the School of Humanities (SOHUM) and it was one of the four start-up departments in the School of Humanities, Christopher University. The Department currently runs one degree programme i.e. B.A (Hons) Degree in English/Literature.

The B.A. (Hons) Degree in English/Literature is a four-year programme for UTME candidates and three-year for Direct Entry candidates. The programme provides graduates with a broad-based background in preparation for a successful career in a variety of occupations as outlined in the philosophy and objectives. They are also to provide in the process a solid academic base upon which to build more advanced degrees (M.A. & Ph.D), if so desired.

The Department’s philosophy is to produce graduates that are relevant to the needs of the economy and can develop on their own enterprises that are sustainable and adaptable to the changes in the economic demand of the country. This leads the Department to develop programmes that have the necessary capacity to enhance self-reliance in students and stimulate their interest toward entrepreneurship development.

It is the desire of the Department that graduates from the Department will imbibe self-discipline, integrity and competency. The Department aims to be a model in the field of entrepreneurial study in Nigeria and to produce the prototype model of entrepreneurial study that is adaptable to the Nigerian context.

Philosophy, Aims and Objectives of the Degree Programme

English Language

The Bachelor’s degree programme combines both English Language and Literature courses with an approved B.A English Language/Literature.

Philosophy of the programme:

In a country where English is an official language, and the language of instruction, a high level of proficiency is required from graduates of Christopher University. A higher level of competence and communicative skills are expected even more from graduates of English. Therefore, there is the need to devote greater attention to the achievement of improved knowledge of English and the acquisition of adequate oral and written skills in it. English graduates from Nigerian universities should be clearly and positively identified with adequate proficiency in pronunciation, articulateness in speech, correctness of grammar and usage, elegance and style in diction in the choice of an appropriate variety of English for use in the various administrative and professional job opportunities available in the labour market, in literary and creative writing domains, and in postgraduate studies in language and literature. The approach to teaching and in-depth exploration of English language structure and the nature, functioning, and manifestations of the literary value is hinged on the idea that this knowledge is irreplaceable for language and literary workers. Thus, exposed to the working of language and literature the student grows in clarity of thought and perception, and develops the minds creative capabilities. This is one of the reasons why the graduates of English language find employment in a vast range of activities in the service industry as well as in the management and productive sectors of the economy.

Aims and Objectives of the programme:

To train students to acquire adequate communicative competence in both the spoken and written varieties of the English language, thereby giving them a good grounding and effective mastery of the Language in its various applications to achieve adequate self-expression and self-actualisation
To equip the students with the knowledge of the forms and features of the varieties of English used in different professional domains such as business communication, legal communication, electronic broadcast media, print journalism, advertising and sports commentaries, book publishing, and biography writing
To equip the students with adequate linguistic knowledge of the English Language through a detailed study of its sound system, its lexicon, its syntax, semantics and usage.
To adequately prepare the students to pursue postgraduate studies in English Language, Linguistics, and to take up teaching and research at the appropriate level of education.
To orient students towards self-employment by a focus on skills such as writing (e.g. of articles in newspapers/magazines, of speeches; designing and presenting special programmes on radio or TV, designing and publishing magazines etc.), creative writing, and other kinds of original output through independent thought, inventiveness and creativity.
To enable students to overcome deficiencies in their English.
To instil in the students the valuable skills of critical thinking, scholarly rigour and good writing.

Admission and Graduation Requirements

English Language

UTME

(i) Five (5) credit level passes in the SSCE/NECO/GCE (O/L) examinations in relevant subjects including English Language, Literature in English and Mathematics for the 4-year (8 Semesters) programme.

(ii) A minimum of two (2) GCE (Advanced Level) passes in Arts subjects one of which must be English and O’Level requirement of credit pass in English Language, Literature in English and Mathematics for the 3-year (6 consecutively-run semesters) programme.

B.A English

100 Level English

100 Level First Semester

S/N.	Course Code	Course Title	Credit Unit	Status
1	ENG 111	A Survey of the English Language	2	C
2	ENG 112	Introduction to English Grammar	2	C
3	ENG 113	Spoken English	2	C
4	ENG 114	Practical Criticism I	2	R
5	ENG 115	Introduction to Drama & Theatre in English	2	C
6	ENG 116	Introduction to English Poetry	2	C
7	ENG 117	Practical English Grammar	2	C
8	FRN 111	Communication in French I	2	R
9	GST 111	Communication in English I	2	C
10	GST 112	Logic, Philosophy & Human Existence	2	C
11	GST 113	Use of Library, Study Skills & ICT	2	C
TOTAL			22

100 Level Second Semester

S/N.	Course Code	Course Title	Credit Unit	Status
1	ENG 121	English Composition	2	C
2	ENG 122	Introduction to Nigerian Literature in English	2	C
3	ENG 123	Theatre Workshop	2	C
4	ENG 124	Practical Criticism II	2	C
5	ENG 125	Introduction to Prose Literature	2	C
6	ENG 126	Introduction to Creative Writing	2	C
7	FRN 121	Communication in French II	2	R
8	COM 121	Introduction to Computer	2	R
9	GST 121	Communication in English II	2	C
10	GST 122	History and Philosophy of Science	2	C
11	GST 123	Nigerian Peoples and Culture	2	C
TOTAL			22

200 Level English

200 Level First Semester

S/N.	Course Code	Course Title	Credit Unit	Status
1	ENG 211	Introduction to English Poetry	2	C
2	ENG 212	An Introduction to Syntactic Models	2	C
3	ENG 213	Introduction to General Phonetics & Phonology 1	2	C
4	ENG 214	Advanced English Composition 1	2	C
5	ENG 215	Varieties of World English	2	C
6	ENG 216	Language & Society	2	R
7	ENG 217	An Introduction to Morphology & Syntactic Models	2	R
8	ENG 218	Creative Writing I	2	E
9	ENG 219	The African Novel	2	E
10	GST 211	Health Awareness & Env. Sustainable Development	2	C
11	GST 212	Introduction to Entrepreneurial Studies	2	C
TOTAL			22

200 Level Second Semester

S/N.	Course Code	Course Title	Credit Unit	Status
1	ENG 221	Introduction to General Phonetics & Phonology II	2	C
2	ENG 222	History of the English language	3	C
3	ENG 223	Advanced English Composition II	2	C
4	ENG 224	Literature, Popular Culture & Mass Media	2	C
5	ENG 225	English Morphology	3	C
6	ENG 226	The English Novel from the 19^th Century	3	C
7	ENG 227	English Drama from Shakespeare to the present	3	R
8	ENG 228	Creative Writing II	2	E
9	GST 221	Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution	2	C
TOTAL			22

300 Level English

300 Level First Semester

S/N	Course Code	Course Title	Credit Unit	Status
1	ENG 311	Contemporary English Usage	3	C
2	ENG 312	Phonology of English	3	C
3	ENG 313	Introduction to Applied Linguistics	3	C
4	ENG 314	Introduction to Semantics	3	C
5	ENG 315	Modern African Prose Fiction	3	C
6	ENG 316	Modern African Poetry	2	C
7	ENG 317	African Oral Literature in Translation	3	C
8	ESP 311	Introduction to Entrepreneurial Skills	2	C
TOTAL			22

300 Level Second Semester

S/N	Course Code	Course Title	Credit Unit	Status
1	ENG 321	Research Methods	3	C
2	ENG 322	The English Language in Nigeria	3	C
3	ENG 323	Discourse Analysis	3	C
4	ENG 324	The Socio-Linguistics of English	3	C
5	ENG 325	Introduction to Literary Criticism/Theories	3	R
6	ENG 326	Folklores in African Literature	3	R
7	ENG 327	Modern African Drama	2	E
TOTAL			20

400 Level English

400 Level First Semester

S/N	Course Code	Course Title	Credit Unit	Status
1	HDS 411	History of the Commonwealth	2	R
2	HDS 412	The European Union and the Developing Countries	2	C
3	HDS 413	The OAU and the AU in African International Relations	2	C
4	HDS 414	Multilateral Institutions in World Politics and Economy	2	C
5	HDS 415	The United Nations and World Affairs	2	C
6	HDS 416	Foreign Policies and Diplomatic Practice of African States	2	C
7	POS 316	Politics of Development & Underdevelopment	2	E
8	POS 331	Politics of Francophone Africa	2	E
9	LAW 411	Diplomatic and Consular Law	2	E
TOTAL			18

400 Level First Semester

S/N	Course Code	Course Title	Credit Unit	Status
1	ENG 421	English for Specific Purposes	2	C
2	ENG 422	Psycholinguistics	2	C
3	ENG 423	English Stylistics	2	C
4	ENG 424	African-American Literature	2	C
5	ENG 425	Speech Writing	2	R
6	ENG 426	Language and National Development	2	E
7	ENG 427	English Language Skills for Print & Media Writing	2	E
8	ENG 499	Project/Original Essay	6	R
TOTAL			20

B.A Literature in English

100 Level Literature in English

Level: 100
Common Courses:
Introduction to Literary Studies: 2
Introduction to Fiction in English: 2
Introduction to Poetry in English: 2
Introduction to Drama and Theatre in English: 2
Practical English Grammar: 2
Spoken English: 3
Use of English I: 2
Philosophy and Logic: 2
Nigerian Peoples and Culture: 2
History and Philosophy of Science: 2
Citizenship Education: 2
Use of English II: 2
Total Credit Units: 29

200 Level Literature in English

Common Courses:
Survey of Epochs in literature in English: 3
Introduction to English Poetry: 3
The English Novel from the 19th Century: 3
African Oral Literature in Translation: 3
Literature, Popular Culture and the Mass Media: 3
English Drama from Shakespeare to the present: 3
Advanced English Composition I: 3
Advanced English Composition I: 3
History Theatre: Aeschylus to Shakespeare: 3
Modern Comedy: Moliere-Soyinka: 3
Total Credit Units: 30

300 Level Literature in English

Common Courses:
Nigerian Oral Literatures in English Translation I: 3
African Written Fiction: 3
African Written Poetry: 3
African Written Drama: 3
Nigerian Oral Literatures in English Translation II: Field Work Project: 3
The English Language in Nigeria: 3
Discourse Analysis: 3
Introduction to Computers: 3
Application of Computers to Arts: 3
Total Credit Units: 27

400 Level Literature in English

Common Courses:
Literary Theory and Criticism: 3
Commonwealth Literature: 3
African-American and Caribbean Literature: 3
Research Methods: 3
Project: 6
Stylistics: 3
Electives Courses: 9
Total Credit Units: 30

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