English

The faculty of the English Department brings to its teaching a wide range of experience, training, and perspectives; students benefit from exposure to a variety of teaching styles and approaches to the reading, writing, and enjoyment of literature. Each member of the department brings his or her passions into the classroom: we are all active writers—and remain active in the larger community of writers and scholars—presenting or publishing scholarship, poetry, fiction, drama, or essays. In addition to offering the University community the work of visiting writers, the department also presents public readings and lectures by noted visiting poets, essayists, and novelists.

Students may choose to major or minor in literature or creative writing, as well as minor in the interdisciplinary editing and publishing program. These emphases encourage students to do work across disciplines and to recognize the connections between the study of literature in English and the work that they do in other fields as they seek a liberal arts education. Creative writing majors and minors are required to take part in editing and publishing PLUM, the University literary magazine, and Silk Road, the international journal edited by our undergraduate and graduate writing students. We encourage literature majors and minors, as well as other students, to take advantage of the opportunity to produce literature. Our majors in both literature and creative writing frequently go on to study in graduate school; teach in high schools and colleges; and use their thinking and writing skills in law school, medical school, television, technical writing, publishing, library science, special education, and social work, among others. They also go on to publish their own works and to present public readings.

The English Department offers students guidance in acquiring and developing the skills of interpretation, critical thinking, and clear writing. For students choosing to specialize in literature or creative writing, the curriculum offers the opportunity to engage the literary traditions of Britain and the United States, as well as world literatures, and to enter into the theory and practice of literature itself. We also welcome non-major or minor students to explore the world of letters in any courses the department offers, provided they have fulfilled departmental prerequisites for these courses.

Program Learning Outcomes

The English Department teaches students to develop the following skills, which are relevant to most contemporary careers:

to understand and to engage the principles of literary analysis and the evolving tradition of literature and writing in English
to engage in reflective critical reading
to articulate their responses, ideas, and analyses clearly and powerfully
to cultivate speaking skills in both formal and informal settings
to recognize the various contexts that shape texts and our responses to them
to examine how meaning is constructed in various genres, traditions, periods, and cultures
to consider the ethical questions that confront the writer and reader as creators and consumers of texts and as members of society
to apply these skills in graduate school and in a variety of careers

English Department Program Goals

Develop working knowledge of the principal works, authors, genres, and periods of American and British literatures.
Possess an awareness of alternatively defined traditions and/or genres, such as women’s literature, postcolonial literature, world literature, or Native American literature.
Understand texts in their cultural and historical contexts.
Demonstrate an awareness of, and an ability to apply, various critical and interpretive methods.
Analyze literature using appropriate terminology and rhetorical figures.
Demonstrate effective use of secondary material and appropriate documentation.
Demonstrate awareness of different critical approaches.
Perform compelling close readings of texts.