The English Major at Tulane University offers a rich curriculum in which students learn to read, write, and think creatively and critically. In addition to coursework in diverse literatures, the English Department offers classes in such areas as film, television, graphic novels, hip hop, standup comedy, new media, environmental studies, queer studies, cultural studies, gender studies, critical race studies, postcolonialism, digital humanities, archival research, philosophy, creative writing, and theory.
Our majors receive extensive training in writing, speaking, and critical thinking throughout the curriculum and become adept at close reading, argumentation, complex and inventive thinking, interpretation, analysis, and research. The courses we offer also invite students to approach their world with a sense of empathy, civic engagement, inclusion, and justice, both through reading literature and through service-learning experiences that allow students to collaborate with local community members, such as those in schools and prisons.
The course of study for the Major provides our students with experience in textual analysis, substantial instruction in writing, an understanding of literature and literary history in relation to systems of power, and the freedom to tailor coursework according to individual interests. As an English major, you can aim for breadth of study, taking courses in a variety of fields, or you can aim for depth of study, taking a number of courses within a particular field. Students may also opt for a Creative Writing Concentration by taking at least 4 creative writing courses among their electives.