English Literature - Programs | Geneva College

BA Major

English Literature

Become an expert in reading stories, literature, and understanding the underlying aspects of culture.

Great literature transcends time. Geneva's literature program equips you to not only read widely but also to see how the story of this world and the story of scripture are intrinsically intertwined. This program will prepare you for anything in life that requires reading deeply.

Geneva prepares you to make a meaningful impact in your career, community and life.

Share Your Work

Write and Edit at our newspaper, literary publication, and poet’s journal

Become Known

Earn a Spot in our international honors society for English and writing majors

Experience Deep Learning

Gain critical thinking and literary criticism skills vital to professional success

Key Courses

American Literature to the 1820s

Learn about the very beginnings of America from Native American stories, accounts of early explorers, and settlers’ novels and essays.

Shakespeare

Hang out with Othello and Desdemona, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and his father in this extensive course exploring Shakespeare’s histories, comedies, and tragedies.

Masterpieces of World Literature

What does it take to be a “classic?” Consider that question as you study literary works such as Homer’s The Iliad, Dante’s The Divine Comedy, and Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.

Immigration Literature

Read the works of immigrant communities and dive into the social, cultural, and literary history behind their distinct perspectives that have changed American literature.

Experienced & Accomplished Faculty

The English Department bases its curriculum, teaching pedagogies, and scholarship on the belief that human beings, created in the image of God, are inherently creative beings themselves.

Students will grow steadily in their ability to honor God as they prepare to become competent writers and innovative critical thinkers through the study of:

  • literature
  • analytical and creative writing
  • the related arts

Students graduating with an English Literature degree will accomplish the following outcomes:

  1. Students will know, understand, and appreciate British, American, and World literary history, including representative authors and literary works.
  2. Students will gain a basic awareness of literary genres and their formal features.
  3. Students will acquire a grasp of the succession of socio-historical contexts.
  4. Students will write clear and effective persuasive arguments about literary texts using academic research, methods, and discourse. 
  5. Students will discover the immense creative capacity of all human languages by studying language structures within both oral and written traditions.
  6. Students will know, understand, and apply with discernment a variety of critical approaches to literary interpretation and will execute detailed analytical examinations of texts.
  7. Students will understand the intersection of Christianity and literary study and will be able to make connections and distinctions between their own worldview and the worldviews expressed in literary texts. 

Career Outcomes

Graduates who aspire to have an impact in their communities and their careers through a Geneva Education gain expertise in this field enhanced by academics rooted in Christian values and ethics in Geneva’s program.

11%

Job growth estimate for art director positions from 2020-2030 (BLS)

$61,800

is the national average salary for a copywriter (Indeed.com).

“My professors helped me to see the beauty in the midst of my storms and gave me the courage to express and believe things I thought. Thank you for speaking truth to me.” - Hillary, English Major

Be prepared for careers such as...

  • Editor
  • Lawyer
  • Content Manager
  • Archivist
  • Publisher
  • Writer

Further your impact...

  • Pursue a master’s in library sciences, creative writing, or English education
  • Work overseas teaching English in foreign countries
  • Gain certification as a Digital Archives Specialist, Content Systems Manager, or a Book Publisher
  • Geneva graduates teach at colleges like Florida Southern College, York College, Eastern Mennonite University, and Penn State University

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Discover more about our English Literature program

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