As an English major, you will have the opportunity to take classes in classical and contemporary world literature with a focus on American and British authors. You'll study literary figures such as Shakespeare, Chaucer and C.S. Lewis, as well as topics like romanticism, the Victorian period, multi-ethnic literature and literary criticism. What's more, your English curriculum will strengthen your writing skills through composition, grammar, fiction, non-fiction and poetry writing classes. And seminars in travel writing, utopian fiction, Russian novelists, women writers of America and other topics are periodically offered.
At Asbury University, you will learn from Christian scholars and published authors who specialize in a wide variety of emphases, including American, British and Victorian literature; 16th, 17th and 18th century literature; Shakespeare; linguistics; creative writing; rhetoric; and composition theory. In and out of the classroom, these dedicated men and women will help you realize your fullest potential—preparing you to have an impact on your career, family and community for Christ and His Kingdom. Nearly all full-time faculty members in the English Department hold earned doctorates. Committed to encouraging and equipping their students, they inspire a friendly community of scholarship among English majors and minors.
The Asbury University English and Education departments work cooperatively to ensure that you are proficient in both your subject matter and teaching skills. In addition to the required English classes in literature and writing, you'll take classes in learning theories, classroom management, methods and materials, writing for teachers and adolescent literature, among others. The capstone of your education will come at the end of your training when you student teach for one semester at a local school.
Enjoy writing? Join the university newspaper or yearbook staff. Like acting? Perform a Shakespearean sonnet in Reader's Theatre or try out for one of the dramatic productions of the theatre program.
You can choose to be as active outside the classroom as you wish. Some students present papers at scholarly conferences. Others have been invited to share their work at regional poetry and fiction readings. Several times a year, the department gathers at professors' homes for informal get-togethers.
Furthermore, overseas and domestic travel opportunities provide students with first-hand knowledge of that which has captured the hearts and imaginations of writers worldwide. For example, journey to New England?s literary landmarks, like Walden Pond and New Bedford. Or visit the estate of Leo Tolstoy and the haunts associated with Mikhail Bulgakov in Russia. Professors also lead literary journeys to England, Italy, the Thomas Wolfe homestead in Asheville, NC, and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada.
In addition to the wealth of books read in class, the University library houses an extensive collection of American, British and international literature. For those wishing to sharpen their writing and teaching skills, a writing center allows upper-class English majors to tutor freshman composition students in sentence structure, grammar, exposition and style. Connections to study-abroad programs enable students to study at Oxford University in England or teach English to children in China.