English

Why read and study Shakespeare, or Keats, Jane Austen, Cormac McCarthy, science fiction, or comic books? Literature (books, movies, poems, blogs, etc.) is the story we tell ourselves about others and ourselves. It is a way to imagine and cognize, individually and collectively, our past, present, and future.

To read a book is not only to read the world but also to reconstruct it. To study literature is to begin not only to interpret the world, but, paradoxically, also to enter it. This is because reading is a communal act; that is, the meaning of a book, poem, or movie is co-created between the author, the reader, and his or her particular culture and society. Engaging literature in a humanities classroom means thinking and feeling together with Emily Dickinson or James Baldwin in a historically and critically informed way. Doing this in a classroom with other students — arguing, listening, sharing, and learning — produces new forms of knowledge, and suggests new ways of being in the world.

This kind of thinking prepares students — not only as teachers, creative writers, editors, journalists, lawyers, and activists — but also as people, as citizens, as life-long learners. Perhaps it is for this reason that English majors do better financially than other comparable humanities and social science majors ten years out from graduation; it might also explain why so many English major graduates are at the center of movements for social, culture and political change.

The writing, rhetoric and literacy (WRL) specialization lets you read and write the world around you.

As a flexible, practical specialization for active people interested in making a difference in their world, WRL lets you apply your love of reading and writing to more than the next college essay. You understand plot and character motivation — want to apply that to human society? You love a good sentence — want to use that skill to get a job? How about to change the world? Graduates of our specialization are equipped for public- and private-sector careers that require knowledge of advanced communication and writing skills. Our graduates work in editing and publishing, public advocacy, public relations, teaching, social media, law, business, library science, museum curation, or pretty much any other field. They go to graduate school or start a business. Audience-centered writing is the basis of modern society — we teach you to use your talents.

And do you love literature? So do we! WRL is a balanced specialization, with half or more of your classes in literature and the other half in the theory and practice of written communication in all its settings — from ancient texts to tomorrow’s social media platform.