Department of English
The central mission of BU’s English department is the study of literature in all its richness and diversity, from the ever-evolving canon of past works in their stylistic and social complexity to the emerging cultural, media, graphic, and digital forms of the 21st century. Our students encounter medieval romances and Shakespearean tragedies, biting social satires and meditative lyrics, realist novels and avant-garde writing, Hollywood movies, graphic novels, slave narratives, and performance art—among many other forms. In exploring such works and different theories of literary and cultural study, English students develop the critical, linguistic, and imaginative skills required to grasp not only the histories of earlier cultures, but also how these histories have influenced the cultural productions that define our contemporary world.
Most English courses are seminar-size (under 20 students), offering individual attention and energetic dialogue with peers. Our courses emphasize attentive reading, rigorous analysis, original thinking, effective writing, and careful research. Students develop these capacities with some of the best teachers at BU: our faculty have won over a dozen teaching and advising awards, including three Metcalf Awards, the University’s highest teaching honor.
As English majors or minors, students choose from a wide range of courses and paths. Our major requires 10 English courses, structured to include a variety of texts, traditions, and theories. Minors take a total of six English courses.
Many students in English pursue internships or study abroad, including in London, Sydney, and Dublin. Information on BU’s Global Programs is available here.
Many majors and minors take courses in the department’s distinguished Creative Writing Program and our nationally renowned Playwriting Program. Numerous English faculty members are affiliated with other CAS programs, such as the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program; the African Studies Center; African American Studies; Cinema & Media Studies; American & New England Studies; Medieval Studies; the College of Fine Arts; and Boston Playwrights’ Theater. These affiliations make our department a vital hub for interdisciplinary discussions of gender, race, performance, media, the environment, writing and rhetoric, medicine, migration and diaspora, and social justice.
The skills that our students acquire—patient interpretive reading, lucid persuasive writing, confidence in discussions, thinking outside the box—prepare them for a variety of professional fields, from law and education to journalism, medicine, and business. These skills also enable our students to confront the personal and social questions that permeate our lives: What kind of person do I want to be? What values will guide my life? What kind of a future world can we imagine and work to bring into being?
Visit the English department’s website for more information about programs, faculty, and up-to-date course listings.
