Dedicated to the intellectual curiosity, analytical dexterity, and creative thinking of its students, the English Department at CWRU fosters reading, writing, and media skills through a broad selection of seminars and research. Our classes combine the study of English and American literature, exploring the craft of poetry, Shakespearean drama, science fiction, the techniques of horror films, the rhetoric of medicine, and the dynamics of novels, plays, short stories, and creative non-fiction.
There is no better place to learn the art of communication. In addition to being a stand-alone major, English effectively complements many other disciplines and serves as excellent preparation for law school, medical school, and business school. Our smaller class sizes allow individual attention from professors who have published acclaimed books and won awards including the Fulbright and the Guggenheim.
The works we study challenge us with different values, ideas, and perspectives. We are committed to free and open debate in a context of tolerance and respect.
The Writing Program, part of the English department, focuses on supporting a thriving culture of writing at the university. The Writing Program coordinates courses for undergraduate and graduate student writers, including first-year Academic Inquiry Seminars and a variety of communication-intensive courses, and supports pedagogical and curricular development for faculty and staff. In addition, the Writing Resource Center provides individual consultations to CWRU writers at any stage of their writing processes, and for every writing occasion (from personal statements to science fiction; from research papers to podcasts).
Department of English Newsletter–December 2024
Letter from the Chair/Holiday Party/Department News/Sadar Lecture/Intersections/Summer Internships/Colloquium/Alumni News/Send Me Your News// Ryan Pfeiffer delivers the MacIntyre Lecture on Friday, December 6th: "Edward Taylor’s Epideictic Imagination." Letter from the Chair One of my favorite descriptions of a university comes from the poet Adrienne Rich, who calls it “a place where people can find...
Current Work
Ben Mauk co-wrote “The Long Road from Xinjiang” with the writer Nyrola Elimä which was published in the New York Times Magazine on November 10th. The story follows one man’s escape from China and long incarceration, part of their two-year investigation into a human smuggling route in Southeast Asia and China’s transnational repression of Uyghur asylum seekers.
The English Department & Writing Program are proud of the work we do with first-year students at CWRU … and it pays off
Yesterday’s Daily reported that the first-year experience at CWRU ranks in the top twenty nationwide (according to US News).
Department of English Newsletter: September 2024
Letter from the chair/Welcome back lunch/Department news/New faculty/Ada Limon/September colloquia/Journey to publication/Alumni news/Send me your news// Letter from the Chair It was the middle of a Friday afternoon in late August and the atmosphere was buzzy in Guilford House. Over a plate of chicken wings and sliders, Laura Sarafian, a first-year...