Department of English

Welcome!

The English Department prepares students to consider difficult questions facing us in the twenty-first century. Our vibrant, experienced, and dedicated faculty offer courses that engage students’ creativity and curiosity and enable them to express ideas in a variety of genres. We consider how literature, rhetoric, creative writing, technical communication, and visual texts affect how we view the world, as well as imagine and act for a better future.

From novels, poetry, and drama to films, comics, social media and software digital media design, students develop their interpretive and creative skills through rigorous attention to a capacious variety of works. Regardless of the material, we keep issues of diversity and inclusion at the core of our values. Our innovative classes provide opportunities to collaborate, problem-solve, and become clear and effective communicators, whether examining early medieval epics, graphic novels, television, or Chicanx literature. Our approaches range from close readings to engaging theories, such as critical race theory, rhetorical theory, LBGTQ studies, activity and technological theories, and narrative theory.

In addition to the diverse courses offered in our undergraduate English Major and Minor, we also offer undergraduate degrees with emphases in Creative Writing, Film, Writing and Rhetoric, and Teacher Certification. Our graduate programs include the M.A. in Literature, Technical Communication, Rhetoric and Composition, and an MFA in our nationally acclaimed Creative Writing Program.