<p>I wanted to know what people here think about Harvard's English curriculum, as that's my intended major. I have my interview tomorrow and realized that I don't really have any specific knowledge of what sets the Harvard English department apart from any other celebrated school, and all I've been able to find online is the fact that the college is proposing to remove two required courses on British literature in order to give undergraduates more choice.</p>
<p>So can anyone more familiar with the subject help me out, please? :)</p>
<p>Forget curriculum, what Harvard has is people. Stephen Greenblatt, the founder of new historicism. Helen Vendler, probably the best close reader of classic poems around; her books on Keats' odes and Shakespeare's sonnets are amazing. Henry Louis Gates, the man on African-American literature and culture. Louis Menand. Jorie Graham. Barbara Johnston. Denis Donoghue. Marjorie Garber. Leo Damrosch. And many more, I'm sure; I don't pay THAT much attention. I don't know about the younger people, but the senior faculty is the best in the world right now.</p>
<p>I remember reading in the Crimson that the English department had overhauled its requirements but I did not pay much attention. JHS is right that the faculty is terrific, and that is far more important than any curriculum.</p>