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Transy’s English program offers a wide range of courses in both traditional and contemporary literature, as well as in film and popular culture. Each will help you read critically and creatively, with awareness of social and cultural histories. Each will draw you in to explore questions at the heart of what it means to be human.

When you enter the major and minor, our courses will help you develop your interpretive and writing abilities.

You can then choose from introductory surveys or a variety of elective courses with special focus, such as traditions of women's literature, African American literature, literature about the natural environment—or courses on various aspects of film and popular culture.

Upper-level courses will let you explore in depth the rich history of British and American literature. Poetry and fiction workshops offer a chance to learn these forms by producing your own poems and short stories. 

We know that an ability to use language well provides a powerful advantage in any profession or business. The analytic thinking and presentational strategies you develop in the major and minor prepare you especially well for such professions as law, administration, public relations, and journalism.

Yet an English major offers you more than good preparation for careers. Your years of thinking about literature as it engages with history will help you think through some of the deepest questions we face together. They will enrich your self-understanding and enhance your sense of how to contribute responsibly to the world you inherit.