students in an American literature class recreate a “busk,” a Thoreau tradition based on Native American cultures.

English

Students in English learn to appreciate the artistry of novels, plays, poems, and stories; to understand the play of themes and ideas in literature; and to be sensitive to the complex relationship between literature and the society it reflects.

Overview

Most students who become majors simply enjoy reading, discussing, and writing about challenging and inspiring works of the imagination. But the skills students develop in studying English—the ability to think sensitively and creatively, to make and evaluate critical arguments, and to write clearly and convincingly—prepare students for a wide array of rewarding and profitable careers.

With small classes and a caring, distinguished faculty, students in English learn to enter sympathetically into the worlds that writers create — from the harsh world of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf to the haunted milieu of William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury and beyond. In addition to introductory courses, the program’s offerings in literature include courses on such authors as Austen, Chaucer, Dickinson, Faulkner, Melville, Shakespeare, and Woolf; and on such topics as African-American literature, early English novels, Irish literature, modern poetry, poetry by women, Shakespeare and film, Southern literature, and 21st-century literature. Except for junior and senior seminars, all English courses are open to all students without special permission.

Your Major Took You Where?

English majors have gone on to a variety of graduate programs and careers.

Employers

  • Brevard Music Festival
  • James Graham Brown Foundation
  • Portland Stage
  • Southwest Times Record
  • Wesleyan School

Postgraduate Study

  • Belmont University School of Law
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Lipscomb University
  • University of Kentucky
  • Wake Forest University
  • Xavier University

Curriculum

Students who wish to major or minor in English usually begin with surveys of British and American literature, which introduce them to methods of literary scholarship and give them a foundation in literary history. They then choose from an array of upper-level courses in all periods and genres, as well as classes in creative writing and film.

Major Requirements

Minor Requirements

Experiential Learning

Students engage in hands-on learning experiences and reflection to develop skills and increase knowledge retention.

Junior and senior seminars offer an intimate, in-depth study of a particular literary topic from a variety of critical perspectives. Several have included trips to literary sites around the country.

Internships

We're committed to helping students find quality internship experiences in the career area of their choice.

Internships have been available with such employers as varied as Host Communications, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, WSB-TV, and Tin House books.

Careers

Our extraordinary liberal arts and sciences education prepares students for meaningful lives and careers.

English majors pursue careers in diverse fields such as journalism, corporate communications, desktop publishing, business, marketing, teaching, public service, arts management, insurance, investments, and social work.

English Faculty

John Kinkade headshot

John Kinkade

  • Professor of English • Brown Fellows Campus Coordinator
Mark Lucas headshot

Mark Lucas

  • Alfred P. and Katherine B. Jobson Professor of English
azita

Azita Osanloo

  • Associate Professor of English
  • Writing Center Director
Stacey Peebles

Stacey Peebles

  • NEH Professor of Humanities, Associate Professor of English • Chair of Film Studies • Chair of the English Program
rasmussen

Mark Rasmussen

  • Charles J. Luellen Professor of English
  • Chair of the Linguistics Program
Lisa Williams headshot

Lisa Williams

  • Charles J. Luellen Professor of English • Director of Creative Writing Program

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