All graduating English majors, of either track, will be able to do the following:

  1. Analyze and appreciate literature from the earliest periods to the present by British, American, and Anglophone authors.
  2. Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of methodological perspectives with an understanding of the historical and political dimensions of discourse related to race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and disability.
  3. Write clear and compelling prose appropriate to the intended readership.
  4. Make cogent oral presentations responsive to an audience.
  5. Assess and conduct research using both print and digital sources, and articulate one’s own ideas together with the appropriately cited work of others.
  6. Create a substantial work of critical or creative writing through sustained reflection, composition, and revision.
  7. Engage in thoughtful discussion about discourse that is inclusive of the literature and experience of historically marginalized groups.
  8. Think creatively and critically about anything made of language.

Diversity Goals: REC (Race, Empire, Colonialism) Tag

Our commitment to diversity in the study of literature and culture is partially expressed by our requirement for students to take at least two courses in the literature, literary history, or critical methodologies produced by historically marginalized authors or intellectuals. The goals listed here are explicit in courses designated with REC and implicit in other courses in the curriculum. Students will do the following:

  1. Learn the theoretical and analytical methods necessary to understanding the complexity of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and disability in order to gain cultural and literary competence in an evolving global and American culture.
  2. Acquire knowledge of historically marginalized writers in English.
  3. Learn to engage in intellectual discussions that are inclusive of the literature and experience of historically marginalized groups.