The Study of Wholeness

The study of literature is different from many other college programs. It is concerned not only with how you read and write, how you think and analyze and how you understand and communicate, but also how you feel and believe. The successful study of literature requires the involvement of the whole person. Thus, studying literature helps you to explore and discover that whole person. It engages you in highly personal ways and asks you to respond fully and honestly to the most complex and complete human experiences.

We have organized the English major to provide the widest possible range of courses and experiences in pursuit of that wholeness. You will notice in the course list inside that there are a number of courses with illustrative headings underneath the general title. Here and in "Topics" courses, the specific material will vary from year to year as a greater range of materials is explored than would be possible with fixed courses. Similarly, the Senior Seminars are new each year, discovering new areas of study.

The department also emphasizes writing. A series of creative writing courses is offered, and other writing forms are addressed in other courses. In addition, there is a carefully structured sequence of writing experiences in the major culminating in the Senior Portfolio course, an individualized exploration of your particular writing abilities and accomplishments.

Faculty and students work together, building from solid foundations in both literary history and criticism, to create a complete, effective and lifelong engagement with the finest expressions of the human spirit.

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