Overview

About English

We are dedicated to the teaching of careful reading, creative and analytical writing, critical thinking, a historical and global appreciation of literature, and astute cultural awareness.

You'll learn to appreciate literature in its own right and explore literature as a reflection on the political, social, and aesthetic values of the periods in which works were written. You'll gain skills in creative writing, critical reading and thinking that are useful for careers in business, journalism, law, health, information technology, civic engagement, and education.

Visit Department Website

CLASSES OF NOTE

Introduction to Film

Covers the fundamental concepts for analyzing the formal elements as well as the social and political elements of film. Students will study how to break down a scene, appreciate generic conventions, and describe a narrative. They will gain awareness of the changes in technology and business practices.

Southern Women Writers

Explores the work of important American writers from the South, including Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Katherine Anne Porter, Carson McCullers and Alice Walker. Their regional perspectives underpin a unique sense of place and a rootedness in tradition that permeate their work.

Aliens, Cyborgs and Time Travel in Literature and Film

Science fiction not only helps us imagine beyond our current circumstances, but also helps us analyze pressing present problems. We will discuss aliens, time travel, robots/cyborgs, and planetary cataclysms. We will also examine the roles of government, families and societies in shaping and reshaping individuals and worlds.

Beyond the Classroom

Internships

  • Medium Rare Publishing
  • Random House Publishing
  • PR Newswire/Multivu
  • Cosmopolitan Magazine

Research

  • “Liberation through Literacy: Jamaica Kincaid's Presentation of Antiguan Libraries as a Counteracting Force Against Colonial Education”
  • “Jim Crow, Racial Oppression and Sexual Relationships in The Bluest Eye, The Color Purple and Native Son
  • "Vampires as Home-wreckers in Dracula, 'Carmilla,' and Coraline