Read classic and modern literature with some of the best critical minds and teachers. Discover feminist criticism, reader-response theory, and poststructuralism and prepare yourself for many careers that require sharp reading, analytical expression, and superior writing skills.
English majors investigate literature from the medieval period to the present while honing writing and critical-thinking skills. Introductory courses provide students with essential tools and a critical vocabulary to analyze, discuss, and write about texts through different lenses—cultural, political, social, and personal. With a critical eye, students read key British, American, and postcolonial literature and employ various strategies of interpretation. Students can also choose to explore in depth topics such as Shakespeare, African-American women writers, or environmental writing. Small classes, intimate discussions, and close student-faculty interaction are hallmarks of the department.
For students interested in creative writing, the Creative Writing Program offers a concentration and a minor, as well as classes in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, environmental writing, playwriting (through the Theater and Dance Department), documentary radio, and, on occasion, the gendered memoir and the graphic novel.