{"id":14457,"date":"2025-11-24T16:04:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T22:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/?page_id=14457"},"modified":"2025-12-09T16:42:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T22:42:50","slug":"plan-a-preliminary-exam-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/students\/graduate\/graduates-resources\/grad-handbook\/preliminary-examination\/plan-a-preliminary-exam-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan A Preliminary Exam Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The preliminary exam for Plan A doctoral students will have the following three parts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Major field of literature and culture [approx. 50% of total number of texts]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Field of cultural theory [25% of total number of texts]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Field developed by the student and committee (e.g. subfield to contextualize probable dissertation topic; additional field of literature and culture or theory; or field defined by genre) [25% of total number of texts]<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Regarding the \u201cmajor field of literature and culture\u201d (1) and the field of \u201ccultural theory\u201d (2), students will select from among the following areas set out by Plan A faculty. A minimum of half of each bibliography (of primary and contextual materials) will be selected from a list of recommended texts designed in advance by faculty with expertise in these fields and up to half may be developed by the student. The third reading list will be left to students and advisors to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-major-fields-of-literature-and-culture\">Major Fields of Literature and Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_African_American_Lit.pdf\">African American Literature<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Asian_American_Lit.pdf\">Asian American Literature<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Irish_Studies.pdf\">Irish Studies<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_NA_Indigenous_Lit.pdf\">North American Indigenous Literature<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Postcolonial_Lit.pdf\">Postcolonial Literature<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Transnatl_World_Lit_post-1850.pdf\">Transnational and World Literature, post-1850<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-for-british-literature-and-culture\"><em>For British Literature and Culture<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_British_Early_Modern.pdf\">Early Modern<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_British_Restoration_18th_C.pdf\">Restoration and 18th Century<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_British_19th_Century.pdf\">19th Century<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_British_20th_Century.pdf\">20th Century<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_British_Late_20th_21st_Century.pdf\">Late 20th and 21st Century<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-for-american-literature-and-culture\"><em>For American Literature and Culture<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Early_American.pdf\">Early American<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_American_19th_Century.pdf\">19th Century<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_American_20th_Century.pdf\">20th Century<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_American_Late_20th_21st_Century.pdf\">Late 20th and 21st Century<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-writing-by-women-a-specialization-possible-in-any-of-the-above-fields\"><em>Writing by Women (a specialization possible in any of the above fields)<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Writing_Women.pdf\">Description<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-fields-of-cultural-theory\">Fields of Cultural Theory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Modern_Lit_Theory.pdf\">Modern Literary Theory<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Queer_Theory.pdf\">Queer Theory<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Feminist_Theory.pdf\">Feminist Theory<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Critical_Race_Theory.pdf\">Critical Race Theory<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Cultural_Studies.pdf\">Cultural Studies<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Marxist_Critical_Theory.pdf\">Marxist and Critical Theory<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Postcolonial_Theory.pdf\">Postcolonial Theory<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Transnationalism_Globalization.pdf\">Transnationalism and Globalization<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Theories_Modernism_Modernity.pdf\">Theories of Modernism and Modernity<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Affect_Theory.pdf\">Affect Theory<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/whttps:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Media_Theory.pdfp-content\/uploads\/sites\/781\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Media_Theory.pdf\">Media Theory<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2014\/10\/PlanA_Political_Theory_Philosophy.pdf\">Political Theory\/Philosophy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The preliminary exam for Plan A doctoral students will have the following three parts: Regarding the \u201cmajor field of literature and culture\u201d (1) and the field of \u201ccultural theory\u201d (2), students will select from among the following areas set out &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19040,"featured_media":0,"parent":1681,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"class_list":["post-14457","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>English<\/title>\n<meta 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