Department of English and Writing

Faculty: Associate Professor Dooghan, Chair; Dana Professor Morrill; Professors Hollist, Ochshorn, Putnam, Tillman; Associate Professors Dawson, Lauro, Letter, Reamer, Whiteside, Wollenberg; Assistant Professors McIlvain, McIntosh, Nelson; Associate Teaching Professors Fryett, Hovanec, Overaa, Restrepo; Assistant Teaching Professors Class, Elliot, Hinton, Kanjilal, Lakoff, Mollmann, Schrag, Waggoner.

The English major grounds students in the humanistic study of literature and language. Students will study past and present responses to enduring political and cultural questions, and learn to formulate their own responses informed by the reading and analysis of literature and scholarship. Students will cultivate professional research and communication skills by applying their critical and literary knowledge in progressively more ambitious writing projects.

The major in writing educates students in the art and craft of written communication, combining liberal arts ideals with practical, real-world applications. Students in the program can concentrate on creative writing (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and other imaginative forms) and/or professional and technical writing.

English and writing majors engage both breadth and depth of study of literary traditions, and students extend their knowledge through study of multi-ethnic literature, oral traditions, avant-garde and countercultural expression, and major contemporary voices and practices in creative and professional writing.

Courses taken as part of a student’s designated major in the Department of English and Writing may not be used to satisfy requirements for the general curriculum distribution.