Through 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.
Statements of SolidarityThe Amherst College English Department stands united in our commitment to racial and social justice on campus and beyond.
Read Our Statements of Solidarity »
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 Major
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.
Our alumni go on to careers in writing, publishing, business, government, the economic sector, nonprofits, academia and more. They are an excellent resource for current students.
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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
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
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.
Learn More About the Student Steering Committee
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
The English Department is housed in the College’s iconic Johnson Chapel, built in 1827.
The Amherst English department has changed a lot over the course of the last century. We’ve put together a brief history of our department here.
Learn More About Department History
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 AmherstUsing a variety of texts, this course will work to develop the reading and writing of difficult prose, paying particular attention to the kinds of evidence and authority, logic and structure that produce strong arguments.
This course asks what needs to be abolished—not just canceled—in our media environment in order for us to imagine a world without prisons.
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.
Our department offers annual prizes for student essays, poetry, fiction and other writing.
For some six decades, each senior English major, in order to graduate, had to pass the department’s Comprehensive Exam. Until something better came along.
Read more about the SymposiumThe research and teaching interests of our faculty range from Native American studies to Victorian literature, from avant-garde cinema to racism in the post-colonial world. Meet the entire 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
Amherst welcomed author Dan Brown '86, to campus where he delivered a lecture entitled, "An Evening of Codes, Symbols and Secrets."
An interview with Dan Brown
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.