General Information about UNI’s English Department

HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> General Information about UNI’s English Department

UNI's English Department

Departmental Features:

With some 35 faculty, the Department takes as its primary purpose the study of literature, writing, and language. About 325 undergraduate and 100 graduate students are enrolled in the department’s major programs, which prepare them for a wide variety of vocations. These range from secondary and college/university teaching and careers in writing, editing, publishing, and public information to professional positions in such areas as law, business, banking and insurance, library services, and local, state, and national government service.

The Department is home to several nationally renowned journals and magazines, including the North American Review, Prolepsis, and Inner Weather. Students have ample opportunities to participate with faculty through experiential learning activities related to these. Students are also invited to participate in a host of regional and national meetings devoted to literary studies, teaching English, and TESOL. Moreover, students regularly have opportunities to hear and study with distinguished scholars and writers of poetry and fiction who visit our campus to give presentations and also to teach. In general, the study of language, writing, and literature increases understanding of thinking, learning, and human interchange. It also cultivates skill in reading and in producing written texts and thus sensitivity, creativity, and effective communication. Departmental programs and courses expand awareness of the significant human issues, values, and aspirations present in diverse literary and cultural traditions within the United States and around the world.

Selected Course Offerings — Recent and Forthcoming:

Major British Writers
Major American Writers
Chaucer
Shakespeare
English Renaissance Literature
Children's Literature
Young Adult Literature
Multicultural Literature
Images of Women in Literature
British Romantic Writers
British Novel to 1900
American Renaissance
Major American Poets to 1900
Humanities I
Humanities II
American Civilizations
Modern British and American Poetry
The Teaching of English
The Teaching of Writing
Teaching Media Literacy
Shakespeare
Caribbean Literature
African American Literature
Asian American Literature
Film Criticism: Hitchcock
Literature and Psychoanalysis
Craft of Poetry
Craft of Fiction
Poetry Workshop
Fiction Workshop
Professional Copyediting
Professional Writing Workshop
The Structure of English
Language and Culture in Society
Modern English Grammar
and Usage

Majors and minors in English and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), both teacher-licensure and non-teaching programs;

Minor programs in creative and professional writing;

Highly productive and student-centered faculty;

Small classes, mostly discussion;

Strong student organizations in English and TESOL;

Opportunities to be published in student publications including the literary journal, Inner Weather;

Excellent preparation for any field that calls for skill in analysis and synthesis, reading and writing, critical thinking, and decision making.

English Department majors have careers as editors, copywriters, technical writers, publishers, reporters, and foreign correspondents, lawyers and judges, educators (secondary and college/university, in the U.S. and in other countries), translators, librarians, research analysts, counselors, arbitrators, foreign service officers, and government officials.

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

Questions or comments? Want to request additional information? You can contact our Assistant Head at the following address:

Kenneth Baughman
English Language and Literature
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0502

He can be reached by e-mail at kenneth.baughman@uni.edu