English and World Literatures
In the English & World Literatures major, we believe that language has aesthetic value and power across genres, histories, and cultures. We provide students with opportunities to critically and thoughtfully engage world literary voices and to develop a range of essential intellectual and professional skills. We believe in the power of literature to transcend differences, to invite empathy with others, and to prepare individuals for the unique challenges of global citizenship in the 21st century. To that end, we offer three concentrations that engage the power of the written word: Creative Writing, Literature, and Literature and Media. Students should declare their concentration by the end of sophomore year.
Creative Writing Concentration
The Creative Writing Concentration builds upon the foundations of English and World Literature, providing students with an expansive awareness of the different critical traditions that shape literary history. In creative writing courses, students pursue the study and practice of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction in a comprehensive fashion. They develop and utilize their capacity to analyze and examine their own writing in a self-reflective manner while learning the importance of redrafting and revision. They work with and in relation to others, through the workshop model, to evaluate their classmates’ writing, to articulate that appraisal, and to collectively negotiate solutions. Students also immerse themselves in the production of an undergraduate literary magazine—from assessing, editing, and proofreading submissions to designing, distributing, and publicizing the journal itself. Ultimately, the Creative Writing Concentration will invigorate the imagination and amplify the creative process.
Literature Concentration
In their literature courses, students are invited to draw connections to other creative fields—art, dance, music, and theatre—as well as subjects that inform both writers and readers: social justice, economics, history, political science, psychology, and sociology. In other words, like the literature that they read, our students’ studies never exist in a vacuum. We stress critical reading and writing, developing skills that will serve students well in any professional capacity. Students develop critical reading, writing, research, and thinking skills that are essential for success not only in their academic work but also in their professional lives beyond the classroom. Students are encouraged to individualize their studies through independent studies, to supplement their classroom experiences with internships, and to broaden their global perspective through study abroad. By the end of their studies, our students are well prepared to continue on to graduate school or to pursue careers in advertising, communications, creative writing, journalism, law, media studies, public relations, publishing, teaching, and many other fields.
Literature and Media Concentration
The Literature and Media concentration extends students’ writing, analytical and research skills to interpret and understand various media, including cinema, television and emerging media. Students who have an interest in the narrative and cultural functions of media will analyze them through the critical lens of literary theory and our global curriculum. This program culminates with students producing a senior seminar project that bridges the essential skills of critical thinking, reading, researching, and writing that are the hallmark of the English & World Literatures major with skills that will prepare our students for a host of career options across a range of sectors in technology and the media that are the hallmark of the English & World Literatures major with skills that will prepare our students for a host of career options across a range of sectors in technology and the media.
| Division: |
Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Division Office: |
The Faculty Center 301 |
| Phone: |
646-393-4111 |
| Division Chair: |
Jennifer N. Brown, Ph.D.
jbrown1@mmm.edu |
| Administrative Assistant: |
Alexandra Dill
adill@mmm.edu |
Department Faculty:
Jennifer N. Brown
Professor of English and World Literatures
Chair, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences
B.A. & M.A., Georgetown University
Ph.D., The Graduate School &
University Center of CUNY
The Faculty Center 300
Phone: 646-393-4120
jbrown1@mmm.edu
Michael Colvin
Professor of English and World Literatures
Chair, English and World Literatures
B.A., Stockton State College
M.A.& Ph.D., Temple University
The Faculty Center 100
Phone: 646-393-4116
mcolvin@mmm.edu
Cecilia Feilla
Associate Professor of English and World Literatures
B.A., University of Michigan
M.A., New York University
Ph.D., New York University
The Faculty Center 300
Phone: 646-393-4122
cfeilla@mmm.edu
Julie Ann Huntington
Associate Professor of English and World Literatures
B.A., Eastern Michigan University
M.A., Vanderbilt University
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
The Faculty Center 500
Phone: 646-393-4117
jhuntington@mmm.edu
Magdalena Maczynska
Associate Professor of English and World Literatures
B.A. & M.A., Wroclaw University
Ph.D., The Catholic University of America
The Faculty Center 300
Phone: 646-393-4123
mmaczynska@mmm.edu
Martha L. Sledge
Associate Professor of English and World Literatures
B.A., Louisiana College
M.A., Ohio State University
Ph.D., Emory University
The Faculty Center 300
Phone: 646-393-4119
msledge@mmm.edu
Jerry Williams
Associate Professor of Creative Writing
B.A., Vermont College
M.F.A., University of Arizona
Ph.D., Oklahoma State University
The Faculty Center 100
Phone: 646-393-4118
jwilliams1@mmm.edu
Joseph P. Clancy
Professor Emeritus of English and Theatre Arts
B.A., M.A., & Ph.D., Fordham University
John A. Costello
Professor Emeritus of English
B.A., Manhattan College
M.A., New York University
Priscilla Hoagland Costello
Professor Emerita of English
B.A. & M.A., New York University
Ph.D., The Union Institute
English and World Literatures Courses (EWL)
Creative Writing Courses (CRW)