English Department

Through your English department degree, we will:

• initiate you in the discussion of great literature 

• provide the tools to succeed in academic conversations

• provide a solid foundation in literary criticism, creative writing, and rhetoric

• prepare you to pursue graduate school

• prepare you to teach in the public school system

• prepare you for a career in writing, editing, or communication

• prepare you for any vocation that requires critical thinking and effective communication skills

Our community extends beyond the classroom with social events and extracurricular educational opportunities:

• Roundtable discussions of literature or film planned by faculty and students together

• Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society

• Trips to plays in the area, such as to The Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta

• Montage, Emmanuel University’s literary magazine, which publishes student and faculty poetry, prose, and art, and

• Montage by Moonlight, one of the most popular yearly events on campus, where we unveil the magazine

• Study abroad opportunities

“In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1), and in addition to revealing Himself incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, God chose to reveal Himself through words: the prose, poetry, parables, and narratives of Scripture. God’s truth has been communicated, demonstrated, and debated through the written word through the ages, and we in the English department invite you into a community learning to appreciate and experience the power of words.

Goals and Outcomes

The English program is designed to prepare well-rounded students who are familiar with all areas of literature and writing. As a result, all students take courses in British, American, and Western and non-Western world literature as well as various writing courses including expository, creative, and technical writing.

Goals

The specific course requirements in sophomore, junior, and senior level English courses are designed to accomplish three goals:

• Provide a solid base of understanding of major literary works written in English and the complexity of ideas expressed in them.

• Provide a basic understanding of the history of the English language and the grammatical structure of English.

• Provide the skills needed to use written English effectively.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the English programs offered by the School of Arts and Sciences should possess the following knowledge and skills:

English graduates should know the following:

• Fundamental literary devices, themes, forms, and genres.

• Major periods, movements, authors and works in British, American, and World literature.

• The basic structures and terminology of Standard English grammar.

• Influences, changes, forms, and terminology of linguistics and the history of the English language.

• The history, terminology, and theory of literary criticism.

English graduates should be able to do the following:

• Employ research methods appropriate to academic studies and incorporate research into writing.

• Analyze literature by forming a thesis about a literary text and arguing persuasively for that thesis in a well-supported essay.

• Write clearly and fluently, organize coherently and logically, and edit writing to conform to standard usage.