Graduate Program Structure

Introduction

To meet the varied goals of its students, the program offers small evening classes taught by faculty who are both committed classroom teachers and active literary scholars. Varied course offerings—American, British, and multicultural, focusing on both canonical and emergent literatures, and including a range of theoretical approaches—along with a generous allocation of electives and opportunities for independent study allow students to tailor the program to their individual needs. Balancing scholarly rigor with flexibility, the program is designed to help students pursue a range of intellectual and professional aspirations in the area of literary studies.

Graduate Program Objectives

1. Improve understanding of the power of language to shape ideas, individuals, values, and societies
2. Foster scholarly habits of critical thinking in speaking, reading, and writing
3. Promote an awareness of current issues and theoretical approaches in the discipline of literary and language studies
4. Cultivate an independent ability to read texts responsibly, comprehensively, and imaginatively
5. Formulate sophisticated generalizations about writers, genres, and literary influences and periods
6. Refine the ability to communicate ideas in clear, engaging, and convincing prose
7. Offer an opportunity for sustained engagement with the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of literature, and of writing in general