Literature: Program Overview, Universities, Careers & Salaries

Program Overview

Exploring the rich tapestry of literary expression, this program delves into the analysis, interpretation, and contextual understanding of written works in English. Students engage with diverse genres, historical periods, and cultural frameworks to develop critical thinking, close reading, and advanced communication skills.

• Early Modern Literature: Examine foundational texts from the 16th to 18th centuries, including Shakespearean drama, Restoration comedy, and the rise of the novel, with attention to language, form, and historical context.
• Victorian and Edwardian Fiction: Investigate narrative structures, social commentary, and moral inquiry in works by authors such as Dickens, Eliot, and Woolf, set against the backdrop of industrialization and shifting gender roles.
• 20th-Century and Contemporary Literature: Analyze modernist experimentation, postcolonial voices, and postmodern fragmentation through seminal works that reflect global upheaval, identity politics, and linguistic innovation.
• World English Literatures: Study literary traditions from regions where English is a primary or secondary language, including Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia, and Australia, highlighting cultural hybridity and resistance narratives.
• Genre and Form Studies: Explore the evolution and conventions of literary genres such as poetry, drama, the novel, and short fiction, emphasizing how form shapes meaning and reader experience.
• Interdisciplinary Literary Theory: Apply critical frameworks—including feminist, Marxist, postcolonial, and psychoanalytic theories—to deepen interpretation and uncover underlying ideological structures within texts.