Recent English Department News

From Amela Kovačević, Ariel editor in chief: Each year, Bellarmine’s friendly literary society (Ariel) publishes a magazine of student and faculty submitted writing and artwork. This year, my editorial assistants and I worked diligently to have the 31st edition ready for everyone before the semester became too busy.

Given the situations surrounding us and the campus closure, we are saddened by not being able to share with everyone this edition as we expected to be able to. While we will have tangible copies for everyone to enjoy when safe distribution is feasible, we are now working towards sharing this edition in different formats.

Specifically, we will share page-by-page pieces from this edition through our social media. Primarily, we will utilize our Instagram page for this, @arielmagazine_bellarmine. Moreover, the English Department is working with us as well to share such pieces on their Facebook page.

As the editor in chief, I feel grateful to have had such wonderful work shared with me especially by students, and having their work shared to the rest of our community despite our circumstances would mean a lot to both the Ariel team and to all who submitted to our magazine. While many of us are limiting social interaction, sharing writing and artwork amongst ourselves during this time can do a lot for us; we hope to not only share great work with you, but we also hope that you find some inspiration in your own creativity from reading/viewing the pieces we will share throughout the rest of this semester. Allow this to serve as a reminder that even in times of uncertainty, some beauty exists that each of us can embrace.

Learning Outcomes

1. English majors will demonstrate familiarity with major texts and traditions of language and literature written in English.
2. English majors will be able to relate texts to the social, cultural, theoretical, and historical contexts in which they were produced.
3. English majors will apply a variety of literary theories and methodologies to a range of texts—literary, cultural, visual, film, and/or digital.
4. English majors will produce effective texts for diverse purposes, genres, and audiences.
5. English majors will analyze questions of justice, value, and meaning inherent to literary and cultural texts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What courses are required to complete the program?
ENGL 201, 207, 208, 209, 210, 299, 412, 450 and fifteen hours selected from 300- and 400-level English courses. Six of those 300- and 400-level hours may be taken from these upper level Film courses: FILM 370, FILM 371, FILM 470. English majors must also complete six credits of a foreign language or satisfy the Bellarmine College of Arts and Sciences Bachelor of Arts foreign language proficiency requirement.
Within the fifteen hours of 300- and 400- level English courses, students must fulfill the following:

• at least one upper-level course from American literature offerings;
• at least one upper-level course from British literature offerings;
• at least one 400-level course (which might coincide with #1 or #2) in addition to 412 and 450. An internship will NOT suffice for the 400-level course.

What employment opportunities are available with an English degree?
Graduates will find themselves qualified to work in such fields as law, journalism, banking, publishing and editing, advertising, medicine, management, public relations, teaching, grant and proposal writing, and academic administration. They will also be prepared for graduate study in such areas as literature, creative writing, library science, institutional technology, technical and scientific writing, and many other humanities disciplines. Students are strongly encouraged to study abroad in order to help complement their major, especially if they plan to attend graduate school. Our graduates have earned MAs, MFAs and Ph.D.s at top universities here and abroad.

Do you provide job or internship placement?
Yes. Bellarmine guarantees every student the opportunity to have an internship, develop a career plan and build a professional network. Many English majors intern for local publishing companies and law firms. Others have interned at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Music Theatre of Louisville and Walden Theatre.

Is financial aid available?
Yes. Please go to Bellarmine’s financial aid website for detailed information on financial aid packages. Additionally, students can work with our Faculty Development Center to apply for grants and awards outside of the Bellarmine offerings.

How many hours can I expect to spend studying outside of class time?
Students have their own learning styles so this can vary greatly. As a rule of thumb, expect to spend an average of two hours studying for every hour you spend in class.

Alumnus Story

Career Prospects

A major in English can lead to a wide range of professional opportunities. So that students may better understand these opportunities, the department provides a class called Introduction to the Profession of English.

Graduates will find themselves qualified to work in such fields as law, journalism, banking, publishing and editing, advertising, medicine, management, public relations, teaching, grant and proposal writing, and academic administration. They will also be prepared for graduate study in such areas as literature, creative writing, library science, institutional technology, technical and scientific writing, and many other humanities disciplines. Recent majors have gone on to graduate programs at Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, Vermont College, University of Chicago, and others. Students are strongly encouraged to study abroad in order to help complement their major, especially if they plan to attend graduate school.

On-Campus Experiences

Students who major in English have authentic opportunities to share their literary works with the larger Bellarmine community. English majors are encouraged to strengthen their writing skills by submitting to The Ariel, The Concord and The Lance, student-run publications that feature literary forms of expression, as well as other art forms.

Students who major in English at Bellarmine University will be invited to speaking engagements and events such as the Guarnaschelli Lecture Series, which features well-renowned speakers to campus. Recent speakers include Roger Rosenblatt and Dava Sobel. Past lecturers include William Styron, George McGovern, Norman Mailer, Joyce Carol Oates, Ken Burns, Seamus Heaney, Wendell Berry, Billy Collins, Isabel Allende, Salman Rushdie, Andrea Mitchell, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Seymour Hersh.

Bellarmine’s Theatre Program celebrates the creativity of the human spirit. Students are encouraged to cultivate critical thinking skills and develop their individual artistic passion through immersion in literature, new world views, cultural diversity, exposure to a wide variety of performance practices and their own practical creative exploration.

Our students have been very successful in the Metroversity Writing Competitions, which are publicized each spring.

English students are encouraged to apply for the English-Speaking Union Scholarship in support of summer study in Great Britain.

English majors entering their junior or senior year may also apply for the annual Elizabeth Norton Hagan Scholarship, which provides a financial aid award for that academic year.

Faculty Profiles

Accreditation

Bellarmine University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, master’s and doctorate degrees.

Study Abroad

The history department has faculty with expertise in European, Middle Eastern, African, American, Latin American, and Caribbean history, and history majors are encouraged to study abroad during their undergraduate years. Bellarmine offers a wide variety of options around the globe. Learn what opportunities are available to you below.

• Programs and Next Steps
• Programs with BU Faculty
• Scholarships
• Read about BU Students' Adventures Abroad
• Blogs and Videos
• Talk to your Faculty Liaison about Study Abroad

Contact Information

Conor Picken Ph.D., Chair
502.272.7099
cpicken@bellarmine.edu

Additional Resources