Program Information

Augustana Faculty offers:

  • A Major in English (BA)
  • A Minor in English (BA, BSc, BMgt, BMus)

For specific information on requirements for these programs, please review Augustana's sections of the current Academic Calendar, available on-line and in PDF format.

Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a major in English will experience literature and literary studies as a means of inspiring curiosity, imagination, and creativity, and as a way of understanding themselves and others. The major will also provide an avenue into other cultures, values, and viewpoints. At the same time it will create for them a compass to help navigate a variety of career paths and ways of life.

Knowledge

Graduates of the English program at Augustana will know

  • a broad range of literary texts in English from the Middle Ages to the present
  • how individual texts are informed by, and in turn inform, cultural and historical contexts
  • key genres and literary movements
  • diverse critical and theoretical perspectives

Core Academic Skills

Graduates of the English program will be critical thinkers. They will be able to

  • read closely and analyze and interpret texts
  • evaluate the quality and credibility of information in academic and popular media
  • use reasoning to develop, defend, and critique arguments
  • identify and challenge common fallacies in thinking
  • recognize and appreciate ambiguity among opposing credible viewpoints
  • use creative thinking to develop new, alternative, and integrative perspectives

Graduates of the English program will be effective communicators. They will able to

  • speak and write confidently and clearly in ways appropriate to various contexts
  • employ different compositional strategies
  • clearly articulate concepts and theories in written form
  • deliver effective oral communications in all current formats
  • give professional presentations in the field of literary criticism
  • demonstrate professional writing conventions appropriate to purpose and context

Graduates of the English program will be skilled researchers. They will be able to

  • conduct independent research thoroughly and critically
  • design appropriate research strategies
  • locate, identify, and select appropriate primary, theoretical, and secondary sources
  • organize and analyze primary, theoretical, and secondary sources
  • compile, synthesize, and disseminate this analysis
  • collaborate effectively and provide leadership on team projects