Studying literature means thinking critically, reading widely and writing imaginatively. It means exploring language—from the medieval period to the American civil war years to just last week. It means analyzing graphic novels and classic poems—and then looking beyond them. It means investigating history and our shared myths and then thinking about the ways that they continue to inform our twenty-first-century world.

This program provides students a strong foundation in their writing, critical thinking and community engagement skills. A degree in rhetoric and composition begins and ends with using writing to affect change in your community—in the world now. Many of our courses in digital publishing, food and travel writing, and the history of rhetoric and literacy provide opportunities for service learning and internships while also addressing issues such as climate change, urban poverty and education inequality. We subscribe to a broadened definition of “writing” and ask students to engage in digital writing, develop their technological skills and learn to use innovative technology to create beautiful, well-crafted, reliable print, web and social media content.

While this program does not provide teacher certification, the concentration will prepare you for graduate-level certification programs and for other opportunities related to the field of education. Studying with faculty who have extensive experience in teacher education, as a Pre-Education in English student you will consider the study of literature and composition from the perspective of a prospective teacher at the same time that you engage with current and pressing issues in pedagogy theory.

This Joint Studies Program with the Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne offers Georgia State English and History majors an opportunity to complete their degrees while studying British and American Cultural Studies for one year in England. Students spend a year of study in Newcastle interacting with British university students also enrolled in the program, attending classes, sharing perspectives on their own and each other's cultures, living, traveling and socializing together. Students spend their junior year in Newcastle upon Tyne and during their senior year, return with their British counterparts for a series of small, focused seminars at Georgia State.

Minoring in English allows students to take advanced coursework in literature and language that reflects their interests and develop skills that enhance coursework in related fields. Students select courses from any of our concentrations and build a unique program of study. Focus on the literature courses you find most intriguing, strengthen your skills as a writer and communicator or gain hands-on experience in editing and publishing.

All English minors complete at least 15 hours of coursework in English or Folklore. (Minors interested in teaching middle school complete 18 hours.) At least 12 hours of minor coursework must be taken at the 3000-level or above and some upper-division courses may require students to take prerequisites. Students taking more than 15 hours in courses in English may count the additional hours toward their electives or may consider completing a double major.

For more information about minoring in English, contact your advisor or Dr. Mark Noble, the department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies ([email protected]).

The minor in Editing & Publishing is designed for students who wish to develop practical skills and gain experience that will prepare them to work in various editorial fields (scholarly, creative, trade; digital, print) and/or establish their own magazines or presses. As a complement to any major in fine arts, arts & humanities, sciences, education, or business, our specialized focus offers students hands-on experience working alongside the professional editors of Georgia State's celebrated literary magazine, Five Points.

Students who minor in Editing & Publishing complete at least 15 hours of coursework, beginning with required courses in Editing for Publication (ENGL 3140) and Literary Editing and Publishing (ENGL 3200). Electives include courses on narrative podcasting, the history of the book, digital writing, a field school trip to New York and an internship for course credit.

For more information about minoring in Editing & Publishing, contact your advisor or Dr. Mark Noble, the department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies ([email protected]).

The enduring yet dynamic part of our culture, folklore is learned orally or by observation and expresses the values of the group that shares it. It includes such subjects as storytelling, folk songs and music, customs, crafts and foodways. In 1966, Georgia State established the Folklore Curriculum in the Department of English, one of the first undergraduate folklore concentrations in the country.

Current course offerings, some expanded to the graduate level, are American Folklore (Folk 3000), Folklore and Literature (Folk 3100), Georgia Folklife (Folk 4000), America’s Folk Crafts (Folk 4020/6020), Global Ceramic Traditions (Folk 4050/6050), British Folk Culture (Folk 4100/6100) and Irish Folk Culture (Folk 4110/6100). Any five of these can constitute a Minor. Several of these courses involve a term-paper option of actually recording folklore, with the results housed in the Atlanta History Center’s Kenan Research Center. Six hundred folk artifacts from Georgia and neighboring states, some collected by our students, are displayed in the Goizueta Folklife Gallery of the Atlanta History Museum.

For scheduling and further information, contact Dr. John Burrison at [email protected], 404-413-5836.