New Learning Outcomes Announced

  • By: Anne K Austin

BU’s English Department recently voted to approve updated learning outcomes for the English major. We continue to emphasize our traditional goals of deep reading, careful writing, and critical thinking. We also feel that the skills and knowledge we teach are more valuable than ever in an age of shrinking attention spans, artificial intelligence, and challenges to democratic citizenship.

English Department Learning Outcomes

      1. Through intensive reading of literary works in their entirety, including long texts, students develop a critical understanding of English and American literary cultures, histories, genres, and traditions. 
      2. Students develop a critical understanding of at least one area of literary study outside of the English and American canons and explore how power, identity, and difference shape diverse literatures in English. 
      3. Students hone their skills in written literary analysis, interpretation, and research as they craft and revise writing that is sustained, original, and generated without the assistance of AI.
      4. Students develop proficiency in the oral discussion of literary works, advance their ability to discuss challenging topics relevant to civic, democratic societies, and learn to cultivate intellectually diverse and collaborative communities of learning. 
      5. Students explore literary and cultural theories, research methods, and historical narratives as they participate in humanist knowledge production.