Our Mission and Goals

The mission of the English department is to prepare students to use language-based critical thinking skills as a powerful tool in their public lives (career and world citizenship) as well as in personal enrichment (aesthetic, interpersonal and spiritual concerns). Students develop and practice these skills by reading, analyzing, and critiquing, in both oral and written formats, a wide variety of texts: literature; literary criticism and theory; and business, technical, and government documents.

In English courses, students learn how to:

• Use literary terms, rhetorical terms, and discipline-based vocabulary.
• Understand and discuss the history and periodization of literature as well as major authors, works, and themes in the Western, American, and/or world literary heritage.
• Analyze and interpret literature in various genres from diverse historical periods.
• Communicate effectively in appropriate genres to solve rhetorical problems.
• Access and contribute to traditional and emerging forms of media.
• Identify, locate, evaluate, use, and attribute information using discipline-specific tools in the field of English studies.

For more about what can be done with an English degree, please see our "Why Choose English?" page.

What We Do

The Niagara English Department offers Niagara students:

• majors and minors in literary studies with various options based on student interest
• a concentration in English Education (with the College of Education)
• a minor in Writing Studies
• internships in English and Writing Studies
• a variety of undergraduate courses in literary studies, writing, and American Sign Language
• general education courses in English and writing
  • English 100 (required for all Niagara students)
  • Upper-level literature courses that meet humanities, cultural diversity, and writing-intensive requirements
  • Writing 100 (required for all Niagara students)
  • Upper-level writing courses that meet humanities, writing-intensive, and cultural diversity requirements
• an opportunity for membership in Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society
• an opportunity for publication in the student literary magazine, The Aquila
• opportunities for socializing and preparing for careers in clubs and organizations
• events, including guest speakers, contests, and workshops
• dedicated full-time faculty members and a devoted cadre of adjunct instructors
• information about current students and alumni
• an online discussion group for sharing ideas and views
• links to helpful resources for English studies

Please use any of the links at the left to explore our many offerings! If you have any questions about the program, please contact Jeanne Laurel, Department Chair, at jlaurel@niagara.edu, or visit our contact page for more information about how to contact the English department.

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