The Mission and Role of the Department of English is found below. This section of the website also contains information on
memorials,
advancement, and
assessment.
Mission
The Department of English engages students and faculty in the public presentation of ideas. By studying how individuals in specific historical, cultural, and rhetorical circumstances present their ideas to others through the medium of language, our students learn how to present their own ideas persuasively. They learn to raise key questions, gather relevant information, reach well-reasoned conclusions, weigh alternative systems of thought, and communicate effectively with others. The means by which they develop these abilities range from analyzing and creating literary works through presenting ideas in the classroom to composing professional documents and conducting cultural analysis. But, whatever the means, we are a department unified in the belief that articulating ideas is the most intense form of critical and creative thinking, and these, in turn, are the core of a university education.
Role
As the largest arts and humanities unit on the USU campus, the Department of English has an important role in providing liberal arts education. It offers academic programs for majors on the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, and it supplies courses that meet communication and humanities requirements for University Studies. As a unit in the state's land-grant university, the department supports an outreach program that includes distance education, opportunities for professional training, and the dissemination of research and creative activity to academic and community audiences.
Academic programs for majors at the baccalaureate level include
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Literary Studies, giving students knowledge of the texts and writers in American, British, and world literature and their cultural contexts;
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Professional and Technical Writing, preparing students for various communication careers in nonprofit organizations, business, industry, and government;
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Creative Writing, offering students the opportunity to learn the craft of literary writing and to develop critical, cognitive, and writing skills applicable in numerous professional fields;
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English Teaching, preparing students for teaching on the secondary school level of the public school system;
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American Studies, providing students an interdisciplinary perspective on American culture and preparing them for careers in teaching and public service.
On the graduate level, master’s specializations are offered in
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Literature and Writing, a flexible program enabling students to acquire professional training in the areas of advanced literary study; rhetoric and professional communication; and English teaching;
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Technical Writing, an online program for students with established careers in non-academic workplaces who wish to improve their understanding of the field and progress beyond editing and writing into the development and management of technical publications.
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American Studies, an interdisciplinary program for students wishing to specialize in American literature and culture;
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Folklore, an interdisciplinary program preparing students for teaching and research in an academic setting as well as for jobs in government, arts administration, and museum management.
On the doctoral level, the PhD is offered in Theory and Practice of Professional Communication. The program is designed to meet the interests and needs of students who aspire to conduct advanced study of and research into the communicative practices of organizations and the professions. The program offers the opportunity to study professional communication, technology, and culture in a department with a long history of expertise and achievement in writing and technology.
The department offers minor options in English emphasizing either Teaching or Nonteaching tracks. In addition, three interdisciplinary minors are available, in American Studies, in folklore, and in British and Commonwealth Studies (jointly operated with the Department of History). The English Department also helps support the linguistics minor in the Languages, Philosophy, and Speech Communication Department by providing a full range of linguistics courses through the USU Online Linguistics Program.
The department contributes extensively to University Studies by offering English 1010 (Introduction to Writing: Academic Prose) and 2010 (Intermediate Writing: Research Writing in a Persuasive Mode) in both face-to-face and online formats as well as an array of Breadth and Depth courses in literature, writing, and humanities for non-majors. In addition, the department maintains various teaching, research, and support facilities for the benefit of its students and faculty: