English Program
Why study English?
As an English student, immersing yourself in literary genres such as fiction and poetry is just the beginning. You’ll expand on this knowledge to study society, culture, media, and gender in a variety of contemporary and historical contexts.
In doing so, you’ll sharpen your communication skills, gain cross-cultural perspectives, and develop proficiency in linguistic, critical, and analytical thinking.
The Saint Mary’s approach
The core of the program reflects a traditional approach to English studies, including literary, historical and genre-based courses. What makes the department distinctive, however, is the cross-listing of a number of its courses with other disciplines or programs, such as Atlantic Canada Studies, Linguistics, Irish Studies, and Creative Writing. This allows students to expand their area of academic study in ways that reflect interdisciplinary approaches and their own developing interests.This diverse major offers a wide variety of courses leading up to a major in English, minor concentrations in English and Creative Writing, as well as an Honours degree. A degree in English provides a solid foundation for a range of careers, from education and communications, to publishing and law.
Hands-on learning
Saint Mary’s English students have studied Shakespeare abroad at the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK; participated in academic exchanges in China, Finland, and Ghana; and welcomed world-renowned authors such as Alistair MacLeod, David Adams Richards, Dionne Brand, Anne Carson, Anne Enright, and Colm Toibin to Saint Mary’s. The English Department also hosts a writer-in-residence each year.
Sample courses offered:
- Medieval Literature
- Early Modern and Renaissance Literature
- American Literature
- Canadian Literature
- Modernism and Postmodernism European, Irish, and Classical Drama English Language
- Postcolonial Studies
- African American Literature and Culture Native American Literature
- Victorian Literature and the Romantic Period
Future career opportunities:
- Journalism
- Publishing, writing and editing
- Public relations and marketing
- Law
- Education
- Library and Information Science
- Research