The English Department values critical and creative thinking, innovative research and writing, and ethical engagement in our communities. Students and faculty explore writing in inventive, transdisciplinary ways and foster an understanding of the ways in which literature and writing are created, studied, and understood in their historical, cultural, and political contexts. Our graduates are prepared for the evolving career landscape with skills in writing, reading, communication, research, synthesis, analysis, and reflection.
Racial Justice Statement and Action Plan
All the reading and writing you do as an English student serves as excellent preparation for a job market built on information and communication. Your classes will promote your reading, writing, and presentation skills -- the skills employers want.
You'll learn to work both independently and as part of a team to address complex problems and create noteworthy content. Through your classes, you'll also develop cultural awareness and a heightened sensitivity to the view and ideas of others, while cultivating your own personal values and ethics: A must in the global marketplace.
Do you want to learn more about the English major? Need facts and figures to prove why the English major is right for you? Visit our "Why Study English?" page.
The NKU Department of English is now on LinkedIn! Our page will be a place where we share departmental news, news from the English field, job interview techniques, and job positions around our community, as well as any other opportunities that arise. This page is meant not only to serve current students, but also our alumni. We are very excited to build this new profile and hope that you will follow us.
At NKU's own faculty awards, Dr. Donelle Dreese was recognized for Excellence in Online or Technology Enhanced teaching; Dr. Jen Cellio for Excellence in University Service; and Dr. Jessica Hindman for Excellence in Research/Scholarship/Creative Activity.
NKU undergraduate English majors Lauren Turner, Zorada Porter, and Anna Camele have been accepted to present their research at the 29th Annual International Virginia Woolf Conference!
Lauren’s paper, “Gender Inequality in Virginia Woolf’s The Years: Rose and Martin,” breaks new ground by comparatively analyzing the impact that gender makes not only on Rose Pargiter but also on her brother Martin. Her analysis introduces complexity into the ongoing critical conversation in Woolf studies about the negative influence of patriarchy on individuals.
In “Pedagogy as Art: How Virginia Woolf Writes Fiction as Pedagogy,” Zorada explores the ways in which Woolf uses stylized stream-of-consciousness techniques and the symbolic use of commonplace diction to illuminate ideas about critical and aesthetic thought usually reserved for an academic context. By examining Woolf’s pedagogy in novels including To the Lighthouse, The Waves, and Three Guineas, she argues, we gain crucial insight into the ways in which Woolf’s characters understand their identities.
Finally, in “Virginia Woolf’s Feminism vs. Feminism Today,” Anna draws a line from Woolf’s feminist polemic Three Guineas and feminism’s third wave. For Anna, Woolf’s arguments resonate today, and they help us to understand how far women still have to go in their fight for equality.
