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[The] problems of the human heart in conflict with itself . . . alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.
- William Faulkner
The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it.
- Elizabeth Drew
Welcome to the website of Mercer University’s English Department. We hope that these pages provide some hint of the vitality and variety that is English study at Mercer. Here you will find outlines of the various ways in which our students pursue their programs with us, general descriptions of our courses, a sampling of our senior seminars, and links that provide everything from ready resources on scholarly documentation to career planning for English majors. Whether you are a prospective or a current student, you should find these pages informative.
Mercer University's English Department encourages its students to develop their critical reading, writing and thinking skills through the close reading and study of literature. We treasure the literary classics to which we are heirs. At the same time, we recognize that newly rediscovered and appreciated voices have broadened and deepened the literary expression and interpretation of our shared humanity. Curricularly, these understandings find expression in courses both traditional and innovative. Along with required national surveys in English and American literatures, we provide a range of single author, historical and genre studies, as well as courses in African American and Southern literatures, Women's and Gender Studies, Cultural and Film Studies, and literary criticism and theory. In addition, having grounded themselves in the fundamentals of literary study, students will find a wealth of special topics to investigate. Recent supplements to the regular department offerings have included Shakespeare and Film, The Medieval Woman, Contemporary African Literature in English, Irish Literature and Film, and Harry Potter and Twentieth-Century Fantasy. By exploring and balancing traditional British and American literature with world literature written in English, students achieve both a firm grounding in our field as an academic subject in the Western tradition and an awareness of and an appreciation for other voices reshaping “English” literature.
Students interested in pursuing their own literary creativity can find a nurturing environment in our creative writing track in which students augment their literary study of others with their own literary efforts. A number of the faculty provide creative writing instruction in forms ranging from the essay and poetry, to drama and film scripts. This course of study culminates in a seminar conducted by the Ferrol A. Sams, Jr. Distinguished Chair of English, a nationally acclaimed writer-in-residence who works with creative writing students in a small group seminar/tutorial setting. Many of our students find outlets for their talents both on the campus newspaper, The Mercer Cluster, and in the student edited literary magazine, The Dulcimer.
I invite you to contact me either to discuss English as a potential major or our current or future offerings. If you prefer a personal meeting, please contact Carmen Hicks, our departmental secretary, at 478-301-2562 or hicks_cg@mercer.edu to make an appointment or to be advised. On the other hand, if you have a quick question, please email me at richardson_g@mercer.edu
Cordially,
Gary A. Richardson, Page Morton Hunter Professor and Chair |
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