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To study literature is to live more completely.
Department Chair:
Tom Peyser, PhD
Phone: 804-752-7348
E-mail: tpeyser@rmc.edu
English
At the core of the English major is an encounter with one of the richest and now most diverse literary traditions in the world. An English major or minor at R-MC explores the power of language and literature to shape experience, to convey meaning, to inform and persuade.
Read, write, discover: With centuries of literature and the richness of language as its subjects, the English major offers a curriculum that surveys genres, major authors, literary periods, forms of writing, and the study and analysis of the English language itself.
Make it your own: Within the English major students have opportunities to focus on particular areas of interest. Every major participates in a senior capstone project involving intensive study of a topic or author, and qualified students may elect a junior- or senior-year independent study or a senior thesis project in British or American literature. The department offers minors in literature or writing as well, along with a concentration for certification in the teaching of secondary English.
Journalism minor: With print and multimedia platforms proliferating, journalism represents an exciting, rapidly evolving field in the 21st century. The journalism minor at R-MC introduces you to the fundamental philosophies, principles and practices of professional journalism that can be applied in a range of media settings.
Words at work: English majors can train to become tutors in the Writing Center, can help staff the college newspaper, The Yellow Jacket, and may participate in writing internships. Chris Lambert '10 went beyond the classroom to pursue an independent study in Shakespeare and education, to work in the college's marketing and communications department and to serve as president of the Washington Literary Society.
The next chapter: The ability to communicate effectively is one of the skills most desired by employers across all professions, and careers for English majors are as diverse and varied as the body of world literature. In addition to entering the fields of education, journalism, writing and publishing, alumni of R-MC's English department work in medicine, the law, finance, public relations, and marketing.
| "A liberal arts education taught me to think for myself."
As an undergraduate, Matt Garofalo '07 majored in English, enjoyed a semester abroad studying literature in Wellington, New Zealand, and completed an internship at the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper, "a great chance to apply some of the writing skills I learned at Randolph-Macon," he says. So how did he end up a senior consultant working in financial management at Booz Allen Hamilton? "After graduating with an English degree, I hardly expected I would be planning, developing, and implementing databases," says Matt. "But it was thanks to the richness and depth of the Randolph-Macon experience that I was able to quickly learn diverse skills that enabled me to pursue and excel in this unexpected career turn."
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