Our goal is for all students who graduate from our department to demonstrate the skills of reflective reading, critical thinking, effective speaking, compelling writing, and engaged citizenship.

Reflective readers:

• Analyze literary and cultural texts through close reading
• Gain broad knowledge of several fields of literature
• Grasp formal elements of key literary genres
• Learn to read comparatively to illuminate aesthetic, social, cultural contributions of texts

Critical thinkers:

• Approach texts with a spirit of critical inquiry and flexibility
• Formulate productive questions
• Use textual evidence to support individual interpretations
• Draw upon several different critical approaches to literature in English

Effective speakers:

• Express opinions about the texts they read through discussion and written assignments
• Listen respectfully to others’ opinions
• Work in class—whether through active listening or discussion—to learn by synthesizing a range of texts, insights, and opinions

Compelling writers:

• Express their ideas in clear, fluent, and lively prose
• Organize their ideas effectively
• Use textual evidence to illustrate and support their insights and arguments
• Demonstrate the ability to write in different modes that are appropriate to particular contexts
• Engage properly with relevant scholarship and creative work
• Use research skills that include understanding of methods, technology, and conventions

Engaged world citizens:

• Communicate respect and understanding for the literatures and cultures of diverse historical periods, geographical regions, and cultures
• Explore ethical issues raised by literature
• Reflect on the ways that literature addresses issues of social justice
• Use reading, speaking, and writing skills to engage with the ethical concerns raised by literature in their daily and professional lives