Creative Writing
A minor in creative writing includes coursework in nonfiction, nature writing, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, DIY publishing and more.
English & Creative Writing
The major/minor in English and minor in Creative Writing offer students an opportunity to explore the world through an astonishing range of literature, from William Shakespeare to Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin to Sandra Cisneros, Neil Gaiman to Zadie Smith. We offer an array of regular and special topics courses that focus on traditional and contemporary topics. Almost all of our classes are small, typically no more than twenty students; we pride ourselves on creating dynamic conversations in the classroom and offering opportunities for learning and community engagement. We also encourage students to study abroad for a semester or through our MILA program, which features creative writing courses in Italy and Ireland.
Courses in English and Creative Writing train students to write clearly and persuasively, to read carefully and to think inventively. We focus on creative and critical writing linked to the close reading of texts and put students in conversation with the voices of the past and present. Our majors and minors move on to jobs as lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, teachers, and CEOs and administrators of a wide-range of companies, public and private.
Every year, either our Writers at Muhlenberg or the Living Writers series brings to campus contemporary authors, both established and emerging, such as David Sedaris, Art Spiegelman, Adrienne Rich, Terrance Hayes and Carmen Maria Machado. Students interested in publishing their own work or gaining experience in Internet design, publishing and editing can find valuable outlets in the Muhlenberg Academic Review (MAR), an interdisciplinary academic journal sponsored by the English Honorary Society, Sigma Tau Delta, MUSES, the student literary magazine, and The Muhlenberg Weekly, our student newspaper. Each year we award the Edwin W. Miller Writing Awards for fiction, poetry, nonfiction and drama and the Hoats, Sherr and Stenger prizes for literary studies. And for students interested in an intensive focus in a specific author, genre or literary period, we provide opportunities to write an Honors Thesis.
English Literature
The major and minor in English Literature offers students an opportunity to explore the world through an astonishing range of literature, from William Shakespeare to Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin to Sandra Cisneros, Neil Gaiman to Zadie Smith. We offer an array of regular and special topics courses that focus on traditional and contemporary topics. Almost all of our classes are small, typically no more than twenty students; we pride ourselves on creating dynamic conversations in the classroom and offering opportunities for learning and community engagement.
Courses in English Literature train students to write clearly and persuasively, to read carefully and to think inventively. We focus on creative and critical writing linked to the close reading of texts and put students in conversation with the voices of the past and present. Our majors and minors move on to jobs as lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, teachers, and CEOs and administrators of a wide-range of companies, public and private.
Creative Writing
The Creative Writing Minor offers students courses in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, and playwriting. The curriculum prepares students to be imaginative thinkers and writers so that they can excel in various careers, from professional writer to business entrepreneur, from theater director to marketing executive, from neurologist to lawyer. The minor provides students with a fundamental understanding of the primary genres of Creative Writing, introduces them to the nuances of written language, teaches them how to conceptualize and write creative works, and acquaints them with the traditions and innovations in this art form. Courses are taught by faculty in the English, Film Studies, and Media and Communications departments. Students may major in any College major and minor in Creative Writing. Students are permitted to double count specific courses toward fulfillment of the requirements in various other programs.
