English, B.A.

English Mission Statement
Westminster’s English programs prepare students for success in a broad range of careers through the study and creation of stories, images, and arguments in fiction, poetry, film, plays, essays, podcasts, and hybrid genres. Students majoring in English may pursue a concentration in Writing or Literary Studies. Both concentrations acquaint students with traditions in literature and theory, teaching them to read widely and critically, to approach texts with a healthy humanistic skepticism, to identify and solve problems, to write and speak clearly and effectively, to understand and appreciate diversity, and to be empowered by confidence in their knowledge and abilities. Our program encourages students to become self-reliant learners with the ability to write creatively, analyze carefully, and think independently about literature, the world, and themselves. The major succeeds in its mission when it graduates adaptable learners with broad research capabilities who can speak and write with facility about the historical, cultural, and theoretical questions they ask about texts and who can probe the connections between their questions and the questions asked by other disciplines and cultures.

Learning Outcomes

1. analyze diverse texts of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, film, drama, criticism, and theory
2. apply knowledge of literary tradition, the historical and cultural contexts of literature, and literary theory to textual analyses
3. employ writing skills of clarity, concision, style, and organization with accuracy and purpose
4. produce and revise original work in creative and professional writing genres in preparation for presentation or publication
5. integrate primary and credible secondary source material competently into arguments that synthesize texts; and
6. design and deliver effective presentations of original creative or critical writing and research.