Bryn Mawr College

A rich variety of courses allows students to engage with all periods and genres of literature in English, as well as modern forms such as film and contemporary digital media. The department stresses critical thinking, incisive writing and speaking, and a sense of initiative and responsibility for the enterprise of interpretation. With their advisers, English majors design a program of study that deepens their understanding of diverse genres, textual traditions, and periods. We encourage students to explore the history of cultural production and reception and also to question the presuppositions of literary study. The major culminates in an independently written essay of 30-40 pages, developed during a senior research seminar in the fall semester and individually mentored by a faculty member in the spring. Students are expected to take at least two English courses at Bryn Mawr before signing up for the major or minor.

See links at left for planning materials for all these components of the major. Students must make an appointment with their class adviser to declare the major and to develop a course plan.