Why Choose the English Department at Eastern?
The English Department at Eastern University is dedicated to the ideas, creativity, and writing of students because both practical skills and intellectual insights lead to personal and social transformation. We are inspired by our transformation in Christ: "we will be changed, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye", and seek to envision and enact justice in our world. To this end, we discuss conventional and oftentimes controversial issues surrounding gender, race, religion, class, and culture in our literature, journalism, and writing classes. Thus, the development of critical thinking and an inquisitive character as well as poetic compassion to feel the mystery of language are equally emphasized in our program.
There are two concentrations within the English Major: Literature and Writing. Courses in English cultivate the ability not only to write at the level of grammar, but also to become informed readers of a diversity of texts, authors, and newsworthy events. Some courses focus on the literary text in its cultural and historical context; some courses focus on a specific genre of literature, while others combine blogs, fiction, essay, autobiography, poetry, drama, and film. The ability to evaluate information, research ideas, and clearly express your own views and even the contrary views of others is highly valued. In all of our classes, a sense of community is formed and service to the world is emphasized.
“I chose English as my major so I can teach others how to advocate for themselves through writing. I love English classes, such as Post-Colonial Women’s Novels and Global Fiction, that highlight diverse writers and provide unique perspectives on what it means to be human.”
Majors & Programs
Mission Statement
The mission of the English Department is to help students develop their God-given gifts of creativity and understanding and to apply those gifts in furthering the Kingdom of God. Specifically, our aims are to teach students to read, write, and think at a critical and sophisticated level; to prepare our students for graduate or professional school, for teaching, for careers in writing, or for other careers where these skills are required; to help students appreciate the transformative power of the written word and to recognize diverse voices in literature.
“I write to imagine things differently and in imagining things differently the world will change. . . . I write because it is dangerous, a bloody risk, like love, to form the words, to say the words, to touch the source, to be touched, to reveal how vulnerable we are, how transient. I write as though I am whispering in the ear of the one I love. ”