English Department

Department Faculty

Robert Erle Barham
Heather Hess
Sarah Huffines
Gwen Macallister, Department Chair and Program Coordinator
William Tate

Department Goals

The Department of English seeks to help students understand, appreciate, and use responsibly God’s gift of language. In its courses the department strives to develop a Christian awareness of the issues and problems in each area of language use and to work toward Christian answers. Specifically, it aims:

in composition and speech courses, to teach students how to generate, organize, and communicate ideas clearly, correctly, and effectively as well as how to analyze and evaluate the ideas of others;
in literature courses, to teach students how to approach and appreciate literary art forms, as products both of the creativity which is part of the image of God in humankind and of human beings living in particular cultures and employing particular literary techniques.

For General Education

For the general student, the department provides the core courses in composition, speech, and literature. Interested and qualified students are encouraged to take advanced courses in composition and literature.

The English Major or Minor

For English majors and minors, the department offers a variety of courses in writing and literature. Writing courses focus on different types of communication through writing; literature courses cover literature of different genres, of different historical periods, and of several cultures. The curriculum is designed to enrich the lives of students and to prepare them for teaching English and language arts in elementary and secondary schools, for entering jobs where the ability to use language well is necessary (for example, journalism, advertising, editing, public relations), for undertaking graduate study in literature and related fields, and for entering professional schools such as seminaries or law schools. Students planning to go on to graduate school should consider taking the 36-hour major; those planning to enter professional schools should choose minors carefully.

The Writing Minor

A Writing minor gives students a chance to pursue an interest in writing while allowing them to pursue majors other than English. Students will advance through the study of creative writing, learn about theoretical frameworks for understanding the practice of writing, and be exposed to the theory and practice of professional writing.

Teacher Certification

English Pre-MAT

Students interested in teaching English for grades 6-12 should complete a BA degree with a major in English, and then enroll in the one-year Master of Arts in Teaching at Covenant College. It is recommended that the Education Minor be completed. Three of the courses in the minor, EDU 121 Introduction to Teaching , EDU 222 Educational Psychology and EDU 361 Education of Exceptional Children , are required for admission to the MAT. For information about certification, see Teacher Certification under the Education section of the catalog.

Pre-MAT English majors pursuing a double major must take all English major requirements including English electives for a total of at least 30 hours of English.

For more information, contact:

mat@covenant.edu or lindsey.fain@covenant.edu
706.419.1406
grad.covenant.edu

Programs

Major

Minor

Courses

English: Writing and Speech Courses

English: Language and Literature Courses