The Department of English introduces students to the study of literature, rhetoric and composition, and how reading and writing together actively produce knowledge. The department's mission is to instill a love of language and literature in students by deepening their sense of the reciprocal and complementary relationship between reading and writing.
The department views reading and writing as historically and culturally situated and interdependent activities; students develop an increasingly complex sense of what reading and writing entail. The program in English provides a solid background in literary theory and in the history of literature, rhetoric and writing. Students learn to analyze, interpret and write about literature by studying a variety of literary periods, genres, major authors and rhetorical strategies. The trajectory of the curriculum progresses from the instruction of critical and creative reading techniques and introductory critical analysis in English 101 and 102, to the study of at least four periods of English and American literature, ending with a capstone Senior Seminar in literature.
Classroom instruction follows the belief that a thorough knowledge of literature and a complex understanding of a range of writing strategies are both requisite for graduate study in such fields as education, law and business or employment in English-related areas. The faculty believes that graduating Quinnipiac English majors should be thoroughly grounded in expository and argumentative writing strategies, should know how to read and think carefully about a variety of texts using a variety of critical and theoretical approaches, and should possess the basic skills necessary to conduct research.
The program prepares graduates who—in both their jobs and in their lives—are skilled writers, critical readers and thinkers, and avid students of literature.
The Department of English supports four programs: the first-year writing program, the English major, the English minor and the BA/MAT Secondary Education in English program. Students usually apply to the chair of English for the major or minor during their freshman year or early in their sophomore year.
Students who meet the academic criteria can join Sigma Tau Delta, an international honor society for English majors and minors. The department also supports the Quinnipiac Literary Society, an organization for students interested in English, and Montage, the undergraduate literary journal.