Department of English
Department of
English
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Overview
The Department of English promotes the study of language and text within our ever evolving social and digital environments. Our students develop the skills they need to become lifelong proficient, inventive, ethical, and flexible thinkers. We inspire them to become creative and incisive, writers and makers. From Twitter poems to Scientific American articles, from Shakespeare to sentiment analysis, we encourage students to become intellectually curious, critically engaged, and socially aware.
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One major with two track options in creative writing and literature and media.
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Minors and immersions in creative writing; digital literature and comparative media; and literature and media.
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Undergraduate courses offered in creative writing; literature and media; and rhetoric.
$28K
Sponsored research (2019‑2020)
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Faculty-led study abroad opportunities in Paris, Portugal, Croatia, and Spain.
Latest News
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January 22, 2024
RIT's Signatures Magazine Earns High Ranking
The 38th edition of the Rochester Institute of Technology student-run art and literary magazine, Signatures, was recently recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English in its annual Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines award program.
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December 13, 2023
Resistance Mapping project provides a digital home for antiracist educational resources for K-12 educators
Resistance Mapping is a local, collaborative digital humanities project focused on how Monroe County, N.Y., has been shaped by histories of institutional racism and collective community resistance. Scholars and students affiliated with RIT’s humanities, computing, and design program and the University of Rochester’s Digital Scholarship at River Campus Libraries helped create a website to host the educational content.
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December 4, 2023
Students create publication that transforms a deadly weapon into a tool for social advocacy
Students enrolled in an Opinion Media course flexed their creative muscles and persuasive writing skills by producing a new publication about gun violence printed with ink made from an assault rifle.
Featured Work
“...I hope this work will have an impact on current disciplinary divides—both in research and teaching spaces.
Whitney Sperrazza
As I excavate this nuanced history of women’s scientific work in poetry, I offer a longer, deeper narrative about the mutual influence of literary and scientific developments.” — Whitney Sperrazza,...
Using historic worlds to inspire creative writing
Trent Hergenrader
When it comes to world building, the best worlds result from an author’s immersive understanding of the feelings, smells, sounds, and energy in a setting. In "World Building Based on Historic Worlds,"...
Degree Programs
RIT’s English BS pairs the study and production of literature, media, and language with the digital tools you need to excel in today’s professional environments.
Learn more about the English BS programRIT’s humanities, computing, and design major pairs the liberal arts with tech to prepare you for a dynamic career that requires advanced computing and digital skills.
Learn more about the Humanities, Computing, and Design BS programMinors and Immersions
A series of creative writing courses offers students a practical, theoretical, and historical understanding of the art and craft of writing nonfiction, fiction prose, and poetry, as well as experimenting in digital storytelling and interactive media. The immersion encourages students to use these skills and insights for interdisciplinary projects and the enrichment of their careers and personal lives.
Learn more about the Creative Writing Immersion programThe creative writing courses offers students a practical, theoretical, and historical understanding of the art and craft of writing nonfiction and fiction prose and poetry, as well as experimenting in digital storytelling and interactive media. The minor encourages students to use those skills and insights for interdisciplinary projects and the enrichment of their careers and personal lives.
Learn more about the Creative Writing Minor programWe encounter digital texts and codes every time we use a smart phone, launch an app, or interact online. This immersion explores innovative and evolving questions and practices of text and code in literature, creative writing, and interactive media. It invites students to explore the social, cultural, and technological significance of text, code, and their interrelations.
Learn more about the Digital Literatures and Comparative Media Immersion programThe courses in the digital literatures and comparative media minor challenge students to think about how the digital in new comparative media affects the way we read, study, and understand literature: What happens to literature and the literary in an age of digital technology and new forms of media? Courses examine a varied collection of print genres and electronic literature in order to understand the current state of this new literary field and its relation to traditional concepts of literary study. The minor provides an entry point into investigating particular aspects of the general category of the digital and its comparative relation to the literary.
Learn more about the Digital Literatures and Comparative Media Minor programStudy literature and other cultural works, as well as linguistics, and creative writing. The immersion is flexible in order to accommodate student interest in areas such as specific literary historical periods or geographic areas, multimedia and the visual arts, or literary genres and forms such as science fiction, the novel, the short story, poetry. Courses in the immersion emphasize the ability to read literature and other mediums analytically and write critically.
Learn more about the Literature and Media Immersion programExplore literature and other cultural works, as well as linguistics, and creative writing. The minor familiarizes students with works composed or translated into English and provides them with the opportunity to explore a variety of historical periods and geographical regions. Courses in the minor explore literary genres such as science fiction and fantasy; literary forms such as the novel, the short story, poetry, and graphic storytelling; and literary practices across media and multimedia arts. The minor builds an awareness of methods, theories and technologies for both the creation and analysis of literary texts, and provides an introduction to critical or creative writing.
Learn more about the Literature and Media Minor programCourses
The Department of English offers more than 65 courses in creative writing; literature and media; and rhetoric and writing.
Student Organizations, Awards, and Resources
Signatures Literary & Arts Magazine, the Center for Engaged Storycraft, and more—get involved and inspired with clubs, awards, and affiliated resources offered by the Department of English.
Explore student organizations, awards, and resources for the Department of English