English
What is English Studies?
English Studies explores the rich variety of ways in which readers, writers, texts, and the relationships among them, have been conceptualized. What it means to be a reader or a writer or an author, what the activity of reading or writing involves, whether texts are alive or artifacts, whether the relationship of readers and writers and texts is interactive or static, whether reading and writing are to some degree interdependent interpretive acts—these and similar matters have consequences for how we approach reading and writing and also for our understanding of the nature of knowledge and human experience.
What are the goals of the English major?
The English major is designed to encourage the development of critical perspective and scholarly method in the study of literature and composition. Goals of the English curriculum include fostering independent, analytic and creative thinking; understanding of the component parts of a language; sensitivity to the uses of language and the ability to employ language to communicate effectively; and awareness of the various conventions of mainstream and non-traditional literatures.