INTRODUCTION

Love of literature and of writing and a fascination with the cultural determinants and implications of literature are what drives Susquehanna's English & Creative Writing Department. Here are faculty with a reputation for excellent classroom teaching, dedicated one-on-one work with students, and concerned and interested mentoring. Here are students who organize poetry readings, produce insightful and thoughtful analysis, and discover how to experiment with their own writing.

You'll find a visual representation of the spirit of the department when you walk into Hassinger's basement where the department is housed, and go the end of the hall where the print of a painting called "A Reading by Homer" by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema is displayed. In the painting, the students and teacher lean toward one another, caught by the excitement of learning. The students are entranced; the instructor is impassioned. Fittingly, the print was given to the department by Frank Hoffman, a much-loved English professor who taught here in the early 90's.

The English curriculum embodies this spirit of love of learning, because it is designed to allow everyone--students and faculty alike--to explore his or her interests through innovative courses, which engage both the breadth and depth of literature and writing. The literature courses embrace the world's literature in English: not only from Britain and the United States, but also Australia and Africa, for instance. The writing courses offer students the experience of working in many different genres, from poetry, short stories, and essays to playwriting, and give them access to nationally known writers-in-residence.

New inter-disciplinary programs at Susquehanna are very likely to have originated in the English & Creative Writing Department or with English faculty as their director (e.g., the Honors Program and Women's Studies). The most recent example is our new Jewish Studies program.

English courses at Susquehanna don't stop at the campus gates: recent classes have gone to London, Washington, DC, New York, and Philadelphia for plays, poetry readings, museums, and other experiences that have enriched the students' learning.

Finally, English majors and minors will find that employers see their study as extremely valuable for a great diversity of occupations.