The Major
Students majoring in English are encouraged to explore the department’s wide range of offerings in literature, film, culture and creative writing.
Learn More About the MajorThrough courses in literature, film, poetry, culture and creative writing, our students learn to read closely, think critically and write well. Our faculty incorporate an increasing number of perspectives and traditions into their teaching and research.
Department Highlights
Our Building
The English Department is housed in the College’s iconic Johnson Chapel, built in 1827.
Literary Amherst
Amherst is one of the world’s premier writing colleges, with an enviable literary legacy. Our outstanding faculty and alumni include influential and award-winning novelists, poets, journalists and critics, and our renowned literary publications are read around the world.
Learn More About Literature at Amherst
Notable Writers
The Amherst English Department has been home to many renowned writers, including Robert Frost, Richard Wilbur, Eve Sedgwick, James Merrill, David Ferry, Dan Chiasson, Lauren Groff and David Foster Wallace.
Rare Books in our Classrooms
Amherst students are able to examine Wordsworth’s own books, as well as Medieval manuscripts, theatrical holdings, Native American literature, and books by and about Robert Frost held in our archival collections.
Learn More About Rare Book Holdings
Folger Library
Amherst’s Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., offers opportunities to study and engage in cultural and arts programs, including scholarships to conduct research there during summer and interterm breaks.
Learn More About the Folger Library
Emily Dickinson Museum
Several of our poetry courses take advantage of the College’s Emily Dickinson Museum, which is located just across the street from campus.
Learn More About the Emily Dickinson Museum
Student Steering Committee
This independent body of students is responsible for organizing events, advising the department on curricular matters and in general representing the needs and views of English majors to the faculty.
English Courses
Current Courses
ENGL 108
True Crime: Unlearning Media
Description
Focusing on the recent boom in true crime documentary films, series, and podcasts, we will look to the past and future of the true crime genre to understand what drives the audience appetite for crime stories.
ENGL 279
Global Women's Literature
Description
What do we mean by “women’s fiction”? How do we understand women’s genres in different national contexts? This course examines topics in feminist thought such as marriage, sexuality, desire and the home.
ENGL 352
Reading Land, Writing Waters
Description
In this course, we will leave the classroom and get out on the land. The class begins in winter, a time when many people huddle indoors. We will instead go outside and read the winterland, beginning with a tracking workshop.
Major Explorations: English
Welcome to the English Department
We teach students how to analyze, critique, and create work in all different media and modes. We teach poetry and film, novels and television shows, drama, memoir, digital culture.
Prizes & Awards
Our department offers annual prizes for student essays, poetry, fiction and other writing.
Scenes from the English Department
A page from "A Beastiary," one of the books from the archive and manuscript collection of Dr. Richard Wilbur, located in the Frost Library.
Richard Wilbur at Amherst College
Every year students gather for the annual Voices of the Voiceless, New England's largest, free spoken word concert presented by La Causa. The poets are all members of ALANA, an acronym for African/Latinx/Asian/Native American identities. VOICES is meant to uplift ALANA narratives and shine light on their work.
Majoring in English requires the completion of ten courses offered or approved by the Department.
All about the major
The Ulysess bathroom, in Johnson Chapel, is only one of several bathrooms found around campus covered, floor to ceiling, with famous literary quotes.
The Real Story of the Ulysses bathroom
Sofia Aklog ’19 presenting at the 3rd annual English major capstone symposium, a series of concurrent panels by senior English majors presenting critical or creative work from a 400-level seminar or their thesis project.
The book is alive and well in the Pioneer Valley! From bookstores, to cafes, to public benches, everywhere you look in Amherst you're going to see someone reading a book. English majors feel right at home.