Immersing students in the rich experiences of literary tradition and advancing critical methods and theoretical approaches to literary study.
The Department of English immerses students in rich experiences of the literary tradition in England and America and introduces them to critical methods and theoretical approaches to literary study. On this foundation, English electives focus on literary periods, both canonical and noncanonical literary figures, the several genres of literature, and the varied cultural contexts in which English literature has arisen and thrived.
Two distinguished academic journals, The James Joyce Quarterly and Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, are edited and published under the auspices of the department, and the innovative web-based Modernist Journals Project, a collaboration between Brown University and The University of Tulsa, is directed from the department. Undergraduate internships are available at the MJP and both journals, and at the international literary journal Nimrod, which is housed with the department.
Work in related fields such as film studies, creative writing, history, philosophy, and the college's certificate programs is encouraged. The overall aim of the program is flexible, yet directive and cumulative, and provides broad opportunities for professional as well as personal post-graduate application.
The aim of the undergraduate major in English is to educate students in literature and language and in the practice of writing, and to enhance their understanding of the tradition of liberal arts. The major develops the ability to understand and appreciate literature in its historical and cultural contexts, to read closely and analytically in a broad range of texts, and to write about language and literature with clarity and precision.
Graduate study in English at The University of Tulsa is nationally recognized and well-subscribed. Students train as teachers, scholars and writers; they study to advance in existing careers, and to become professors and research writers in specific literary fields. With an outstanding and carefully recruited faculty, including 3 endowed professors, the graduate program in English is well known for its quality, small size, and close mentorship. Linguafranca's Real Guide to Graduate School lists the program, in the area of Nineteenth-century British literature, as among the top 10 in the United States. Graduate English at TU is supported by a fully computerized library of over 3 million books, periodicals, and documents, includes an extraordinary world-renowned collection of literary manuscripts of the twentieth century and rare books of poetry and fiction of the nineteenth century. Graduate English at TU publishes two award-winning and respected journals, James Joyce Quarterly and Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature.
