The English department believes that the study of language and literature has the power to elevate our minds, animate our imaginations and enlarge our capacity to understand one another. We offer courses in British, Irish and American literatures, postcolonial literatures, film and the history and structure of the language, as well as a full range of courses in creative writing.
Our literature courses include broad surveys of British and American writers, focused surveys of African-American women writers, Irish literature and postcolonial literatures. Upper-level courses cover specific periods and genres such as romantic poetry and postmodern fiction. The English Department offers single-author courses about such figures as Geoffrey Chaucer and Jane Austen and topics courses that can be tailored to the current interests of an individual faculty member.
The English department offers concentrations in English literature and in English literature-creative writing. There is also a six-course English minor. In addition, a student may design an interdisciplinary major with a specific concentration; for example, medieval studies or American studies.
What will I study?
All English majors sample courses from three areas of literature: medieval and early Renaissance, late Renaissance through Victorian and modern and contemporary. Each major also takes a foundation course, Perspectives on Literature, which presents an overview of historical and theoretical outlooks, and a capstone colloquium, which allows graduating seniors to study a specific issue in depth, usually across historical periods (for example, Forms of Comedy or The Figure of the Artist.) English majors also take creative writing courses, both to develop their own talents and to gain an additional perspective on the study of literature.
Our creative writing program offers introductory courses, advanced workshops and independent studies in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and dramatic writing (taught by the theatre program faculty). The English-creative writing major, like the English literature major, obtains a good background in literary study but also takes courses in at least two creative forms, and she may do a creative project as an independent study.
English majors are encouraged to study abroad during their junior year and to participate in internships during their senior year. A wide variety of internship possibilities is available in Atlanta and elsewhere. (See Internships, below.)
Why should I study English at Agnes Scott?
- Faculty
Department faculty are scholars in specific fields of English literature, but are also liberal arts teachers who are interested in helping students make connections between fields and see their literary studies in wider contexts.
- City of Atlanta
Atlanta provides a wide variety of activities, including a nationally recognized theatre company, the Alliance; readings and lectures at the many colleges and universities in town; concerts of all types of music; open-mic nights at local coffee houses; an excellent bookstore, Charis, dedicated to women’s issues; and an active arts scene in general, which sustains a variety of mainstream, alternative and underground newspapers and literary journals.
- Internships
Atlanta offers a variety of internship possibilities, including jobs at literary magazines, neighborhood newspapers, film production companies, activist organizations, law firms, advertising agencies and marketing firms. Students may also find summer internships in other cities.
- The Writers’ Festival
This annual gathering has been in existence since 1972 and is the oldest continuous literary event in the state. It was named Best Literary Event of 2001 by Atlanta’s Creative Loafing magazine. The festival revolves around a statewide college and university literary competition in poetry, short fiction, personal essay and one-act play. It brings to campus nationally recognized writers like John Updike, Rita Dove, Joyce Carol Oates, Sharon Olds and Michael Harper. Each year, the guest writers give public readings, judge finalist entries in the contest and hold workshops for finalists in each contest category. Agnes Scott students selected as finalists are invited to these workshops and to a luncheon where they meet the guest writers and other student writers from across the state. All Agnes Scott students have the opportunity to hear, meet and talk with the guest writers, and during fall term all students in first-year English classes read works by the writers who will be on campus for the festival the following spring.
- On-Campus Opportunity
In addition to the Writers’ Festival, the College events series brings to campus artists of all kinds. Recently it has featured readings by poets Nikki Giovanni and the late Gwendolyn Brooks, among others. Aurora is the college literary magazine, funded by the Student Government Association and run entirely by students. The student newspaper, The Profile, and the yearbook, Silhouette, are also independently run. English majors have played important roles in the success of all three publications. English majors can work with the College’s Writing Center as course tutors or as tutors to individual students seeking help with the writing process.
What can I do with this degree?
Agnes Scott graduates who decide to go on to graduate study in literature or creative writing have an impressive record of admission to top M.A., M.F.A., and Ph.D. programs. From there, graduates go on to careers as teacher-scholars, editors and writers.
The degree in English is extremely versatile, and graduates also go on to graduate study in other disciplines and to careers in law, print and broadcast journalism, elementary and secondary teaching, business, government and private nonprofit organizations. Two recent graduates have gone on to be singer-songwriters with their own rock bands.