The English Department Mission

Majors in English at Lebanon Valley College advance the key goals of a liberal arts education by teaching students to ask probing questions about a wide range of texts and the ways in which texts intersect with constructions of identity, culture, community, environment, and even the structuring of knowledge itself. While English majors may choose to specialize in Literature, Journalism & Communication, Theater, Film, or Secondary Education, the basis for all specializations is the study of expressive communication: Imaginative, complex, and challenging texts in a variety of genres and media. All English majors also learn skills in domain-specific communication (the ability to produce compelling communication across contexts) as well as of effective collection, organization, and presentation of material. Such work prepares students for success within graduate school and countless professional fields—as our alumni have shown—including publishing, journalism, advertising, marketing, theater, business, and so many others.

English Department Goals and Objectives

1. Comprehension: Students will demonstrate the ability to comprehend complex texts by:

   • Performing sufficient paraphrase or summarization of the information texts communicate, as well as insightful inferences that entail possible implications of the text for contexts, perspectives, or issues beyond or challenging the creators’ explicit message.

2. Close Reading: Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze relations between form and content by: 

   • Organizing and synthesizing primary source evidence to reveal insightful patterns, differences, or similarities related to focus/thesis.

3. Analysis of Contexts & Assumptions: Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze context and assumptions by:

   • Revealing insightful ways in which complex socio-historical (or other, such as aesthetic) contexts and assumptions inform the production, distribution, and/or reception of object of study.  

4. Information Literacy: Students will demonstrate the ability to discern and use authoritative sources by:

   • Locating and selecting verified, reputable sources to create insightful analysis or synthesis.

5. Control of Syntax and Mechanics: Students will demonstrate the ability to control syntax and mechanics by:

   • Utilizing a language that skillfully communicates with clarity and fluency.

6. Domain-Specific Communication: Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate according to domain-specific goals by:

   • Crafting skillful communication consistent with domain-specific, rhetorical, and/or creative goals.