English
Mission Statement
The English major at La Salle focuses on the study of literature but complements such study with additional attention to examining the various modes of writing (through courses in creative, professional, business, legal, and Web-based writing) and to considering the role language plays in everyday life and in the continuing history of literature (through courses in grammar, the history of language, and language and prejudice). In so doing, the major prepares students for a number of careers, including teaching at the secondary level, for graduate and professional education, and for a variety of roles in which they can prove themselves responsible, contributing members to society as a whole.
The English major at La Salle provides students with contexts, frameworks, and opportunities to read widely and deeply in a variety of literatures in English and translation; to write well in academic, creative, and professional modes; and to make connections between what they read and the communities in which they live. In doing so, the English major participates in La Salle’s broader mission “as a Catholic university rooted in the liberal arts tradition” that “challenges students to contemplate life’s ultimate questions as they develop their faith, engage in a free search for truth, and explore their full human potential.”
Department Goals
- Maintain and support a faculty whose teaching, research, and professional development facilitate and enrich our undergraduate program.
- Ground students firmly in canonical and non-canonical American, British, and world literatures.
- Introduce students to competing theories of literary criticism and develop student awareness of the history, structure, and cultural power of language.
- Enable students to address a variety of audiences using different modes of writing.
- Foster interdisciplinary approaches to help students to see the connection that the study of literature, writing, and language has with new media, film, cultural studies, and public discourse.
- Prepare students for post-graduate studies, careers, and life-long learning that will allow them to contribute meaningfully to the many communities with which they will interact