The traditional strengths of the Department include a strong writing program; both survey and specialized courses ranging from Old English to contemporary writing; and a vital and growing creative writing concentration. Required courses in literary theory and multiculturalism ensure that the all majors become aware of the most recent developments in our discipline. In addition to required courses, the major includes five electives. Students are encouraged to use those electives to focus on such areas as world literature in English and cultural studies. Students may also take courses in advanced writing or creative writing and pursue internship opportunities.

The field of English studies has grown rapidly over the course of the last half century. Today, English scholars read and discuss works written in the English language from across the globe—novels, plays and poems written by women as well as by men and by members of many widely varying cultures. We explore the social contexts in which each work was written and the impact it had in (and on) its time. We have widened our horizon to include the study of film as well as of written texts, and we have come to recognize the overall importance of minor literary figures as well as the traditionally acclaimed giants.

In the classroom, teachers ask students to act scenes from plays; they show videotapes, assign field trips to local museums and galleries, and encourage the students they advise to consider internships in companies that value language skills. Our goal is to equip students with practical skills, while opening up for them the exciting world of the literary imagination.

At Loyola, we pride ourselves on maintaining the best of a long tradition of English studies in the Jesuit mold. We have areas of considerable strength in Shakespearian criticism and in the Medieval period, and we teach all periods of British and American literature. But we have also kept pace with the changes that have had an impact on the entire field. We teach the works of African and Asian authors, as well as those of African and Asian Americans. We see writing of all kinds—the writing of poetry and of fiction, as well as writing in the professions and for general purposes—as one of our most important concerns. Our courses encompass a wide range of theoretical approaches to the study of literature and rhetoric. And our faculty combine active research careers with genuine concern for their graduate and undergraduate students