Susanna Moodie

Welcome to the Department of English


2011 - 2012 Undergraduate Timetable

2011 - 2012 Special Topics and 4th Year Seminar Courses

2011 - 2012 Graduate Course Descriptions

2011 - 2012 Graduate Timetable


                      Why Study English? 

Many of us read books, but why do people take the time in university to study them?  What, in other words, is valuable about thinking, talking, and writing about literature?
 
Literature provides us with a way of thinking about every aspect of human existence.  Sometimes it reflects and reinforces the ideas of the time in which it was produced, and sometimes it challenges those ideas and contributes to changing them. Think about that. How easy is it to change how a society thinks about something?  Ideas are exchanged largely through words; studying literature enhances our understanding of the complex ways in which words produce meaning, and the equally complex ways in which literature produces meaning—and how we also produce meaning when we read. As Robert Waxler says in The Power of Stories,
“Reading is a direct and immediate engagement with language.  Discussing what we read intensifies this engagement, giving us an increased sense of authority and self-confidence. As we build language skills, we build life skills. We learn our place within the world of language. In an important sense, by reading and discussing what we read, we all create our own place in the world. We become productive citizens.”
  

 

The Department of English offers the following programs:

  (click the above link for further program information)

  • BA (English Major)
  • Honours BA (English Major)
  • Honours BA (English and French)
  • Honours BA (English and History)
  • Honours BA (English and Philosophy)
  • Honours BA (English) with Major Concentration in Women's Studies
  • English Minor Program
  • Minor Program in Writing
  • Concurrent Programs with Education
  • Master of Arts Degree in English
 
 
 
 
For more information please contact our Administrative Assistant, Cindy Haggerty at 343-8292  or by email english@lakeheadu.ca or contact the Chair of our department, Dr. Douglas Ivison 346-7825, douglas.ivison@lakeheadu.ca 

The Ryan Building - English wing