The Department of English fosters intellectual inquiry into language, literature, composition, and aesthetics. As a dynamic community of teacher-scholars, the English faculty is committed to teaching students to engage in rigorous analysis of a significant body of literature; to learn the uses of language and the rhetorical purpose and structure of texts; to understand the importance of diverse historical and cultural contexts; to appreciate the philosophical and ethical implications of literary portrayals of human behavior; and to take pleasure from the power of the literary arts.

Through courses in writing and literature, students learn the skills necessary to express their insights in reasoned and well-crafted oral and written discourse. They learn to be creative, independent, ethical, and flexible thinkers, and to experience college as a gateway to the joys of lifelong learning.

(Revised, February 2013)