Our Philosophy

The curriculum of the English department is built on a commitment to the literary achievement of both the past and the present. We believe in what T.S. Eliot called "the tradition," but we also honor the "individual talent" we find in contemporary literature. Our courses in literature focus on the writers of our own English and American tradition, but we value as well the achievement of world literature, classic and continental, and works written in English that do not originate in Great Britain and the United States. We provide students the opportunity to pursue special topics through regularly scheduled courses and independent studies.

Our philosophy is pluralistic, which means that our courses approach their subjects from a variety of perspectives: historical, formal, canonical, generic, thematic, national, multicultural, regional, gendered, and topical. We honor both the conventions that create an order of words and the differences that challenge that order.

We affirm the traditional connections between literary studies and both mass communications and creative writing, providing concentrations in both areas, and we affirm as well the centrality of rhetorical skills, writing clearly, speaking effectively, thinking critically, arguing persuasively, and following the conventions of literate prose.

We believe that the imagination can be educated, that literature has a social function providing us models of what life can become, and that the visions of life embodied in literature offer critiques of ordinary society.

The English Department at Roanoke College offers a Major in English, Minors in American and British Literature, and Concentrations in Communications and Creative Writing

The English department fosters growth in critical thinking, analytical reading, writing, public speaking, and research skills.

The small class sizes at Roanoke College facilitate class discussion and allow for more personal attention from professors. Roanoke has tripled its number of English faculty in the last twenty years, adding to the accessibility of its professors.

The English department hosts guest scholars and writers every year. In the spring of 2006, the English department hosted U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, Poet Stanley Goldbarth, and Peace Activist Janeal Ravndal. In previous years, we have hosted guest speakers that include David Wyatt, Fred Chappell, Yusef Komanyakaa, Tim O'Brien, Robert Hass, Michael Parker and Lisa Russ Sparr. In the fall of 2005, the English department also helped to plan and host the 150th anniversary celebration of the publication of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1855 edition), with a public lecture by poet-scholar Stanley Plumley.

Recent graduates of Roanoke College with the English major have furthered their studies at Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, Wake Forest University, and the University of Florida. Others have gained employment at Ferrum College, American University, Elon University, and Old Dominion University.

Mailing Address: 221 College Lane, Salem VA 24153
Fax: 540-375-2213

Department Chair: Dr. Katherine Hoffman - 540-375-2371

Miller Hall
Secretary: Channing Johnson - 540-375-2523