would love to major in English but I hate history?

Question

I took history for only one year in highschool and I hated it, but I like to major in English, do you think there would be a lot of history and this kind of stuff in an English major?
another question.........what kind of questions do I expect in semester exams and other exams if I major in English.........it sounds naive but can you give me an example? :)
another one :) does this major require lots of studying? like how many hours a day? I'm not lazy or anything,I just have a part time job and can't find enough time to study a lot.

thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hello Biscuit,
I am guessing by the tone of your letter that you haven't started college yet? Maybe I can help you a little.

1. History
I disliked history too, but now I have a MA in English with a master's minor in history. No joke. In high school, I slept through most of the classes, bored to tears. I discovered that in college, history is much more exciting and, suprisingly, more truthful than the history they teach you in high school. As far as there being a lot of history in the English field, well, yes, there is. You will be expected not only to read poems, novels, and short stories, but to know when they were written and what was going on in the world at the time they were written. The reason behind that is to help you determine why a writer might take the point of view he or she takes, and knowing what was going on in his or her world helps you make that observation.

If, however, you choose to major in composition and grammar, versus literature, you will merely be learning the rules of writing, punctuation, and a lot of theory. (Very little history, as you think of history). Nevertheless, the theory can be very tiresome. (Give me history any day!)

2. Whoa! Slow down just a little. After your first two or three courses in rhetoric and comp (required freshman courses), you will get a little bit of an idea about requirements, The freshman courses are designed to introduce you, little by little, to each and every field out there. Don't feel pressured to declare a major right away. But, if declaring a major is necessary, remember that you can change it at any time. I was a psych major and switched to English after two years.

3. The questions will not be difficult to answer, if you do your part of the work. By the time you take classes in your major field, you will be prepared by your professor to answer all the test questions. Basically, you have to read what is assigned, take good lecture notes, and pay attention in class. Early on, questions will be questions about the short story you just read, for example (so the prof can determine if you read). Then, after a time of studying irony or satire (etc.) (your prof will make sure you know what this is) you might be asked, "what is satiric about Gulliver's belief that his small size..." or "what makes Ester Prynne's opinion ironic?" and so on..... There is nothing difficult that a reasonably alert student cannot do in English class.

4. As far as studying, well, you might ask yourself 'Just how much time do I want to devote to college?' or 'Am I ready to make the sacrifices it takes to be a good student?' or 'Do I want to be a good student or just get through school?' Many people with the attitude of just biding their time and making the least possible passing grade find that during their 3rd and 4th years, college is not really for them, and they leave. You will, of course, have to read what is assigned (besides doing work in your other classes). Studies show that you should be able to make passing grades, if you devote at least two hours a day to each classes. (something like that, anyway). So, if you don't have a lot of time, I would not recommend taking a lot of classes. Being an English major is easy--if that is what you love to do. If not, then, you will be in hell until you find your niche in the world of upper education. I wish you the best.

Answer 2

English is the study of the english language and its literature. I know it sounds obvious but your question led me to believe that you might not realize that. There is some history involved, since profs usually want you to have context for the situations in which pieces are written.

As far as studying .... English is by nature a reading and writing major. You won't see very many multiple choice, short answer, or true/false questions on tests. You might not see any tests at all. English profs will want you to write essays and read A LOT. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, don't go there. Get a business major.

Answer 3

It actually sounds like you like Anthropology more than History. Most colleges offer majors in Anthropology. You can certainly take some history classes as well and maybe minor in that, but if you want to know more about world cultures, definitely stick with Anthro. P.S. Just a little sidenote: most librarians are English majors. I was. It definitely helps with the literature background, and I have frequently used that knowledge in my current library job. But it's also interesting to have a different perspective, so Anthro could be good in that respect.

Answer 4

You can't judge history by one teacher you had in high school. Don't let history throw you off of an English major, if presented in a way that relates to a subject your interested in you may find it more interesting.

An English major most likely requires a heavy amount of reading. If you find you have too much homework you may have to cut back on other things you do in your spare time.

Answer 5

Take a class that you're intrigued by, like modern American Lit, or Creative Writing, and there's bound to be some small portion of history involved, that will help ease you into other classes you'll have to take down the road. You might be pleasantly surprised; if you get a good professor you may even start to enjoy history!

Answer 6

I felt the same as you once upon a time, and then I realized that English majors don't have to take ANY history classes at all. Of course you will have to learn historical stuff if you go into analyzing literature from that theoretical approach, which leads me to the fact that you have to learn the history of literary theory and criticism in order to fully understand your own methods for analyzing literary works to the best of your abilities... but you don't have to take actual history classes if you don't want to. Go for it. english requires ungodly amounts of studying, research, preparation - and careers are very limited once you have your degree because it's such a popular field. Here's a sample final exam question from one of my old finals:

"What critical theory do you feel is best suited to the study of children’s literature? Why? Choose two works of children’s literature and show how your selected theory helps enlighten or inform the text. Use specific ideas from critical theorists to demonstrate the connections between theory and your chosen literature."

This is typical. but more often then not you're going to have an essay (12-15 pages) as your final rather than a test... the thing is, you MUST read the literature, or you're not going to do well. You also MUST do your research and write your own papers, because english profs are VERY good at spotting plagiarism. it's alot to think about... do you love reading and understanding literature? as in, when you read something, do you think "wow, the social ramifications of the implied courses of the characters in this book were quite engaged with philanthropic misnomers..." or do you think, "I liked that." - if it's the first one, go into english... if it's the second, find another field. GOOD LUCK

Answer 7

English Literature is inextricably linked to English History and the forces that shaped it. The History will seem more interesting in that context. Don't let a high school course influence the rest of your life.

Answer 8

There very little history in English classes. Most of your time will be spent trying to keep up in all of the reading. All of your intro courses will be a lot of multiple choice, memorization of quotes, etc for exams. As you get into more difficult classes, they'll do essay exams and long essays for grades.

Answer 9

Why are you majoring in high school subjects in college, instead of whatever you have in mind for your career (if I understand this correctly)?