The LMU Department of English is a community of creative writers, rhetoricians, and literary scholars who are committed to the fundamental dignity, equality, and welfare of all human beings. This activism is central to the Jesuit and Marymount traditions of social justice, encouragement of learning, and the education of the whole person. It is also central to our work as educators.
We believe language is at the heart of what it means to be human and a source of immense power and pleasure. We are committed to teaching our students how to read deeply and critically and to see the way language imbues our lives with beauty, purpose, and empathy. We ask our students to listen with care and attention to the perspectives and life situations of those different from themselves. We commit ourselves to doing the same.
We believe in cultivating the range of discourses that our students embody and through which our students compose their identities, their lives, and their world. We dedicate ourselves to teaching our students these discourses of power so they too can challenge systems of oppression. We believe that teaching, critical reading, and writing can be tools of social justice.
We pledge ourselves to fostering and maintaining a culture of respect, humility, and community. Together, we stand in solidarity, communion, and reciprocity with our students and with one another.