We offer undergraduate majors and minors in English and Film Studies and graduate study in English. Undergraduate concentrations and graduate specializations highlight the flexibility of our degree programs.
We foster thinking hypothetically about the world across time and location—which we call imaginative reasoning—through the study of literature and film, the critical analysis of language, and the generation of creative work, which enables students to thoughtfully engage across cultures.
The study of English is about reading and writing—and much more. Our aim is that students will better understand the world, develop critical thinking and analytic skills, and write in ways appropriate to multiple contexts and audiences. They engage with literature—and history, popular culture, digital media, and film—imaginatively, studying genre and craft to create and improve their work.
Film studies centers on a core curriculum of five courses in the language of cinema, ethnicity and film, gender and sexuality in film, film history, and film theory and criticism. The world of cinema is presented in all its forms—from the classical period to the contemporary moment, from Hollywood cinema to international traditions, and from a variety of historical, aesthetic, and critical approaches. Students should better understand the histories of cinema, interpret the films in more complex ways, and make film culture part of their lives.