Dr. Dabney A. Bankert, Department Head
Phone: (540) 568-6170
Email: bankerda@jmu.edu
Location: Keezell Hall, Room 215
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/english
Professors
D. Bankert, M. Favila, A. Federico, J. Gabbin, B. Johnson, L. Kutchins, R. Majors, D. Mookerjea-Leonard, A. Morey, M. Parker, M. Rebhorn
Associate Professors
P. Bogard, K. Castellano, E. Cavanagh, S. Cote, A. Fagan, R. Gaughran, D. Goode, B. Hefner, L. Henigman, M. Rankin, M. Thompson, S. White
Assistant Professors
D. Babcock, M. Godfrey, D. Lo, S. Samatar, G. Wrenn
Mission
The Department of English offers to all students, wherever their professional and vocational interests lie, skills in critical thinking, analysis and writing along with an appreciation of the great literary heritage of Western civilization, with particular emphasis upon British and American literature. The program also promotes global awareness and the appreciation of cultural diversity through numerous opportunities for world or multicultural studies.
Our goal is that, through the humanistic study of a variety of literature, students will obtain a better understanding of themselves, their culture and other cultures with which they must invariably come into contact.
A senior requirement ensures that each major will have a final capstone experience through courses designed to integrate earlier training and focus it toward postgraduate needs and opportunities.
Goals
To build upon the skills introduced in the General Education program, the Department of English strives to:
- Provide students advanced instruction in writing styles ranging from expository and creative writing to literary criticism.
- Help students master advanced skills in analytical and critical thinking.
- Develop skills in research and information access.
Career Opportunities
Careers that involve critical thinking, document analysis or oral and written communication such as:
- Career counseling
- Corporate recruiting
- Consulting
- Editing
- Educational administration
- Film and food critic
- Graduate school in English, creative writing, law and library science
- Human resources
- Insurance underwriting
- Intelligence analyst
- Law school
- Library science (librarian, archivist, preservationist)
- Literary agent
- Literacy instructor
- Lobbyist
- Magazine writing and editing (print and online)
- Marketing
- Newspaper reporting/foreign correspondent
- Non-profit advocacy and administration
- Public relations and public affairs officer
- Publishing
- Research
- Speech writer
- Stockbroker
- Teaching
Co-curricular Activities and Organizations
- Sigma Tau Delta (the National English Honor Society)
- gardy loo! (a literary magazine)
- Sister Speak (JMU’s feminist journal)
- MacGuffin Film Journal
- Cinemuse Film Club
- Hopscotch (children’s literature magazine)
Ms. Laurie L. Kutchins, Coordinator, Fall 2017
Email: kutchill@jmu.edu
Dr. Paul Bogard, Coordinator, Spring 2018
Phone: 540-568-6860 Email: bogardpw@jmu.edu
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/english/undergraduate/minors.shtml
The cross disciplinary minor in creative writing is designed to encourage students to develop their writing talents across a number of literary forms and communication contexts.
Course offerings in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, scriptwriting, screen and playwriting give students the opportunity to shape the minor to suit a variety of artistic interests and professional objectives. With the choice of at least one course from a group involving advanced topics, narrative and poetic forms, media criticism and film analysis, students will gain informed perspectives on current issues affecting readers, viewers, writers and their creative works. These courses support the core workshop courses and are vital to competence in the field.
The minimum requirement for a minor in creative writing is 18 hours. Two courses may be double-counted between the minor and the major. Students electing this minor may acquire more information from the creative writing adviser of the Department of English, the School of Media Arts and Design or the School of Theatre and Dance.
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