In the Literary Studies major, you ll consider the written word from both critical and creative perspectives. Faculty members in Literary Studies regard all kinds of writing as creative: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama as well as critical and theoretical writing. Both writing and literature courses use innovative methods to discover breadth and depth in texts, in writing assignments, and in the field as a whole. Such variety and versatility help students develop portable skills beyond effective writing, such as collaboration, research, analysis, and augmentation.

In the Literature concentration of Literary Studies, students acquire a broad knowledge of literary criticism and theory as well as a mastery of close reading techniques. Students develop finely honed skills as critical readers, writers, and analytical thinkers while studying works of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama from a wide range of cultures and literary and historical periods.

Lang writing students read works of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama from a wide range of cultures and historical periods. In both reading and writing courses, you ll use a craft lens (the art of clear thinking and clear articulation) to analyze assigned texts, your own writing, and other students writing. In your work, you will use reasoning and creativity to identify and solve abstract and material problems effectively.