Department of English

DIVISION OF LIBERAL ARTS

UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY

English majors at Upper Iowa benefit from small classes and individuated attention as they read, discuss, and analyze literature from many periods and genres.  Beyond simply preparing for the Graduate Record Exam or the C-BASE test, students in English classes get to experience a Great Books curriculum on their own terms: they create individual frameworks and follow their own ideas as they synthesize and write about the readings.  They are encouraged to go beyond the texts to judge the historical evolution of contemporary American culture, views, and aesthetic values, and in this way come to understand the fundamental myths that structure their views of the world.

All majors take Introduction to Literature, American Literature I & II,   British Literature I & II, and Shakespeare.  Further, in conjunction with a faculty advisor, every senior designs and produces an original capstone research project that may be scholarly, pragmatic, or creative.  Outside of the English Core, electives include courses in African American literature, television, film, the novel, women and literature, literary criticism, and the literature of the American Midwest.

English majors (and minors) may choose careers in any field that values the ability to read, write, and analyze text and other data. Some go on to graduate school in order to pursue a career in academe; others choose professions such as education, law, professional writing, library science, and journalism—just to name a few.

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