Magic Books

What is English?

The study of English at LMU can be summed up in one word: WORD! English is a discipline that inspires majors to become both students and disciples of the written word. Through careful reading of and writing about literature, and with attention to both critical and creative uses of language, you become attuned to the pleasures and purposes of writing. The English major engages you in the most rigorous, demanding and subtle modes of language, and immerses you in literature’s profound expression of human experience. The LMU English department educates students in the history of literatures in English, encourages them to develop their own voice and style, and provides deep practice in critical reading and writing in preparation for graduate study and a diverse range of professions. 

What Do English Majors Do?

LMU English majors intensively engage in reading and writing literature. English majors take courses that challenge them to deepen their understanding of expression and experience. Our students enroll in classes that take them on the road or into the streets, reading and writing and teaching literature in the Los Angeles community and beyond. Our professors push students to master interpretive and creative skills that both prepare them for professional life and open them to a lifetime of reading and writing that brings wisdom, wonder and fulfillment. These skills serve English majors well in graduate and professional studies in fields ranging from poetry to the law. The training English majors receive leads to successful careers in business, communications, and writing.

Is This Major Right for You?

If you are considering a major in English, you might ask yourself:

  • Do I love to read?
  • Do I aspire to become a talented reader and/or writer?
  • Do I enjoy nuanced, critical analysis of fiction, drama and poetry?
  • Do I take pleasure in learning about other eras and cultures?
  • Do I see excellent writers as invaluable contributors to the world culture, expressing our human experience and giving voice of truth? 

About Our Faculty

LMU English professors take great pride in both their teaching and in their scholarly and creative writing. Our faculty regularly receives exceptionally high teaching evaluations, while also pursuing careers as widely published fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, critics, theorists, journalists, rhetoricians, and playwrights. Faculty members have been nominated for The National Book Award, edited prestigious Norton Critical Editions, and written for well-known imprints, journals, anthologies, newspapers and magazines, and for stage and television. We have leading scholars in all historical periods of English and American literature, and writers continually breaking new ground in drama, poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and journalism. We also boast a prestigious faculty appointment, the Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature and Writing.

About Our Students and Graduates

LMU students majoring or minoring in English are prepared for careers in teaching, publishing, and literary, journalistic, and technical writing. Recent graduates include a corporate communications director, copyright lawyer, advertising creative director, magazine editor, drama critic and public relations executive. Many graduates teach at the high school and postsecondary levels (we offer a California State approved STPP-Secondary Teacher Preparation Program in English). Because of its emphasis on precision in thought and expression, students increasingly use the English major as preparation for professional schools, especially in the fields of law, business, and medicine. 

Representative Courses

Our offered courses have included:

  • Language of Poetry/Drama/Fiction
  • Writing for Journalism
  • Studies in Shakespeare
  • Medieval Los Angeles
  • Time Experiments in Film and Fiction
  • The Short Story
  • Prison Literature
  • Studies in Ethnic Literatures
  • 19th century Women Writers
  • Poetry of Witness
  • Independent Studies
  • Reading Methods
  • Contemporary American/British Fiction 

More Resources (Links)