English and Creative Writing (BA, Minors)

English and Creative Writing courses offer all students the opportunity to expand their knowledge of literature and to write critically and creatively.

English Literature

The BA in English Literature and Creative Writing joins the advanced study of literature with training in analytical and creative forms of writing. The major prepares students to become innovative, ethical, and human-centered thinkers and communicators in an increasingly global, networked, and digitally-mediated world. The curriculum emphasizes the study of diverse literatures in English– from British to American, multiethnic literature, diasporic to postcolonial, as well as global literatures in translation–across a range of historical periods and grounded in critical theoretical frameworks in areas including gender, race, and sexuality studies; disability studies; performance studies; narrative medicine and health humanities.

All majors take 28 units of required courses that balance literary analysis and critical theory and creative praxis. Students then choose electives to concentrate in either Literature or Creative Writing. In their senior year, Literature concentrators develop a sustained work of literary criticism for the Capstone project, and Creative Writing concentrators develop an original work in a chosen genre, such as fiction, poetry, drama, a screenplay, memoir, or other creative non-fiction. Creative Writing students also have the opportunity to complete an accelerated track to the MFA program.

The program’s flexibility also affords students the opportunity to gain practical skills in the media arts (e.g., making films and other digital productions) by taking courses in related departments such as art and communications-- potentially completing a double major or minor in these areas. In recent years, English and Creative Writing majors have also elected to double major in areas like History and Political Science, and Psychology.

Minors in English Literature and Creative Writing

The minors in English Literature and in Creative Writing, with their emphasis on careful analysis and clear writing, are valuable complements to majors in any discipline; they prepare students for further study and for employment in fields such as education, academia, politics, advocacy, speechwriting, the film industry, business and marketing, digital content creation, politics, public relations, and legal professions.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:

Advanced Literacy. Close read and apply critical theory to written, verbal, and visual texts; write expository essays in Standard English that have focused theses, clear organization, and integrated secondary sources
Knowledge of Literary Forms and Concepts. Identify and analyze the literary elements and forms of major genres including fiction, poetry, drama, and film, and to recognize hybrid forms
Digital and Multimedia Application. Critically evaluate and effectively communicate through digital and other multimedia forms in a complex, polymodal world
Awareness of Historical and Cultural Contexts. Make connections between texts and their historical and cultural contexts; identify, define, and analyze diverse literary canons
Scholarly Inquiry. Focus and sustain an evidence-based argument relating to literary works; synthesize research and critically analyze both primary and secondary sources
(Creative Writing Concentration) Literary Craft. Produce a focused and sustained creative writing portfolio, interrelating form and technique appropriate to a specific genre or genres