The World of Words

With its focus on reading and writing, inquiry and insight, English is an ideal major for anyone seeking the skills essential for success. No major offers a more practical preparation for diverse careers.

Nor, for the student who loves literature, is there a more rewarding major. Lafayette’s curriculum covers all the major periods, authors, and forms, from ancient myth to interactive fiction. You’ll find innovative courses on contemporary writers, literary theories, creative writing, and literature in its cultural contexts.

As an English major, you’ll join a lively community of students and teachers. The department’s professors, like all Lafayette faculty members, are committed to teaching. Trained in distinguished graduate programs, they are active scholars with many awards for excellent teaching. Through office conferences and classes of modest size, you’ll have daily opportunities to work closely with these dedicated professionals.
 

After Graduation

Some English majors enter graduate programs leading to careers in law, medicine, college teaching, and business management. Others go directly into advertising, public relations, journalism, publishing, marketing, scriptwriting, television, theater, and other fields that set a high value on literacy, imagination, analysis, communication skills, and an understanding of human motivation.

Recent graduates have pursued advanced degrees in English at Boston University, Chicago, and NYU; in creative writing at Iowa, Alabama, and Sarah Lawrence; in law at Fordham, Harvard, Rutgers, and Vanderbilt; in journalism at Columbia, NYU, and Northwestern; in theater at Tulane and the University of Washington; in education at Harvard, Pennsylvania, and NYU; and in linguistics at Georgetown.

Among the Class of 2001, 59 percent of English graduates accepted fulltime jobs, 3 percent went to law school, 10 percent enrolled in other graduate programs, and 17 percent chose volunteering, travel, and part-time employment.

Courses

Most courses are writing-intensive, with enrollment limited to 20; many are seminars. The major begins with Literary Questions, a course focusing on fundamental issues in understanding literary texts.

Intermediate-level courses include surveys of British and American literature and topics such as Creative Writing, Film and Literature, Literary Women, Contemporary Fiction, Introduction to Theater, Native American Literature, Introduction to the Study of Film, and Black Writers.

The more than 20 advanced courses typically emphasize a particular period of British or American literature, a genre (fiction, poetry, drama, film), an author, or an ethnic/ cultural environment (for instance, London High and Low Life or African Literature). The Seminar in Literary Criticism examines various schools of literary theory.

Students do independent research on a wide range of critical and creative topics in independent study or honors thesis. A sampling of recent topics include African American travel writing on Africa, appearances of the dead in Medieval and Victorian literature, Eugene O’Neill’s women, gender in the films of Howard Hawks, and the Gothic strain in 19th-century Scottish fiction. Creative thesis projects include assembling a portfolio of poems, making a film, and directing a play.

Writing

All Lafayette students take College Writing and writing-intensive courses throughout the curriculum. The English department offers both a writing concentration within the English major and a writing minor. Courses include creative writing, journalism, and such non-fiction genres as life writing, travel writing, and science writing, taught by publishing writers who are also skilled mentors. The department also sponsors poetry competitions, poetry and fiction readings, and workshops with visiting writers.

Internships are available with newspapers, magazines, advertising and public relations agencies, and television stations. Campus publications provide a wealth of writing opportunities.

Drama and Theater

The English department offers both a drama/theater concentration within the English major and a drama/theater minor. Courses in the drama of various periods and in acting, directing, and stagecraft may be supplemented by independent work and theater internships. London Theater and New York Theater courses are taught in those cities during the January interim session.

College Theater offers rich opportunities for acting and technical experience. The Williams Center for the Arts features a 400-seat theater and a “black box” for studio theater and student-produced plays. An annual Fringe Festival showcases student performances in various media.

Special Opportunities

Strong writers may win appointment as Writing Associates in the College Writing Program. Students interested in assisting faculty members with their research may become Excel Scholars. Both positions, which are paid, can deepen your education and broaden your preprofessional experience.

Noted writers, lecturers, and performers visit the campus throughout the year; recent visitors have included poets Marie Howe, Tino Villanueva, and Yusef Komunyakaa, novelists Peter Carey, Toni Morrison, and John Updike, playwright Tony Kushner, performance artist Danny Hoch, and critics Mary Louise Pratt and Frank Lentricchia.

Faculty & Professional Staff

Mary Armstrong, Associate Professor and Chair of Women's and gender studies. Women's and gender studies, nineteenth-century British fiction; has published on feminist theory and practice, queer theory and practice, and British Literature.

Steven Belletto, Assistant Professor. Ph.D., University of Wisconsin at Madison. Twentieth-century American literature. Has published on literature of the Cold War, the Beat Poets, and Vladimir Nabokov.

Deborah Byrd, Associate Professor. Ph.D., Emory. Romantic and Victorian poetry, women's studies, and Irish literature; is writing a book on Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Paul A. Cefalu, (Home Page), Associate Professor. Ph.D., Chicago. 17th-century studies, Milton; has published on literature, ethics, and economics in the Early Modern period.

Patricia Donahue, Professor and Director of the College Writing Program. Ph.D., California-Irvine. Rhetorical theory, critical theory, and Renaissance literature; has published a book on critical theory and pedagogy.

Bianca Falbo, (Home Page), Associate Professor and Director of the College Writing Program. Ph.D., Pittsburgh. Composition theory and pedagogy, 19th-century literature; has published on cultural identity and personal writing.

David R. Johnson, Professor and Associate Provost. Ph.D., Pennsylvania State. American literature and culture; has published on Ernest Hemingway and Harold Frederic; author of a biography of Conrad Richter.

Mary Jo Lodge, Assistant Professor. Ph.D., Bowling Green State University. Acting, voice, choreography, and theater for young audiences. Has published on women in theater and American musicals.

Alix Ohlin, (more), Assistant Professor. M.F.A., University of Texas at Austin. Creative writing. Author of a forthcoming novel and collection of short stories.

Michael C. O'Neill, Associate Professor and Director of Theater. Ph.D., Purdue. Modern theater and theatrical production; has directed plays here and abroad; playwright and novelist.

Christopher N. Phillips, Assistant Professor. Ph.D., Stanford. American literature and culture to the Civil War, history of the book, law and literature, epic literature; has published on Melville and on American epic poetry.

Carrie Rohman, Assistant Professor. Ph.D., Indiana. British modernism, animal studies, posthumanism; author of a book on discourse of species in literary and cultural modernism in Britain

Andrew M. Smith, Assistant Professor and Chair of American Studies Program. Ph.D., University of New Mexico. American literature, American Studies, film; writing on 19th-century American literature and photography.

Ian Smith, Associate Professor and Acting Head, Sem. II. Ph.D., Columbia. Early modern and postcolonial literature; has published on Shakespeare and Caribbean literature and is writing a book on "race" in the Renaissance.

Lee Upton, Writer-in-Residence and Professor. Ph.D., State University of New York-Binghamton. Modern and contemporary poetry; author of four books of poetry and four of criticism.

Carolynn Van Dyke, Francis A. March Professor of English. Ph.D., Yale. Medieval literature, the English language, and women's studies; author of a book on allegory.

Bryan R. Washington, Associate Professor. Ph.D., Harvard. American literature, black literature, and narrative theory; author of a book on F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and James Baldwin.

Suzanne Westfall, (Home Page), Professor and Head. Ph.D., Toronto. Drama; acting theory and practice; author of two books and numerous articles on Renaissance and contemporary theater; directs College Theater productions.

James Woolley, Frank Lee and Edna M. Smith Professor. Ph.D., Chicago. 18th-century literature and culture; author of books and articles on Jonathan Swift and related figures; coeditor, Swift Poems Project.

Suzanne Westfall
Head, English
(610) 330-5249
westfals@lafayette.edu

For general information:
Office of admissions
Lafayette College
Easton, PA 18042
(610) 330-5100
FAX (610) 330-5355
admissions@lafayette.edu