The Literary Studies program invites students to explore literature as a field of diverse representations that give shape and meaning to human experience. Currently, we have over 100 undergraduate majors studying the complex relationship between language and life.

Our liberal arts program combines the pleasure of reading literature with the challenge of mastering valuable skills--writing, editing, speaking, logical and critical analysis, argumentation, research--that prepare our students for successful careers and a lifetime of thinking and learning.

In developing and sharing ideas about literature with one another, our majors learn to respect, appreciate, and synthesize differences of opinion and perspective, preparing them to be open-minded and productive citizens of our diverse society.

Recognized for innovative teaching, our faculty offers courses that range from Beowulf to Virginia Woolf, from Shakespeare to Salman Rushdie, from American colonialism to film noir. In classes of no more than 30 students, our undergraduate majors enjoy the opportunity to work closely with their teachers.

The Literary Studies faculty consistently publishes original scholarship with the finest academic presses and journals. Our majors therefore encounter the most exciting ideas about literature and engage directly with the most current critical debates.

We invite interested students to explore this web site, where we explain both the requirements and the rewards of Literary Studies.