English Minor

In English, students study literature and language, including their development over time and contemporary significance. Courses for both majors and non-majors offer a wide range of approaches and topics. Some courses focus on single authors, genres, or historical periods; others emphasize social contexts of literature, investigate representations of race or gender, or explore literary perceptions of the environment. Still, others cover film, creative writing, and contemporary popular literature.

The curriculum introduces students to the main literary genres and important historical periods and movements in English; to representative works of British, American, and Anglophone literature; and to methods of critical interpretation. Students engage in critical reading, oral, and written analysis of texts, formal argumentation, and research.

English classes tend to be small and conversational. Students collaborate with one another by discussing subtle and complex texts while discovering their own interpretive voices by writing clear and persuasive essays.