- It's scientifically proven that reading literature makes you smarter. The Journal of Science just came out with a study very recently that says that people who read literary fiction perform better on tests measuring empathy, emotional intelligence, complexity and ambiguity. So, literally, studying English makes you smarter.
- It opens up one's mind to worlds other than the one that folks inhabit on a day-to-day basis. Although they find people that are similar to them, they are very different; I teach ethnic literature, Native American literature. And also, it's the notion of analyzing, looking beneath the surface of things, coming to understand things. The critical thinking that we teach students is very fundamental, no matter what their career path might be. I also, of course, hope to foster a great love of literature.
- Well, the area that I'm focused on is the study of linguistics and language. And that's an area that is fascinating just because of the fact that there are about 6,900 languages in the world, there are about 114 sign languages in the world. And if you looked at that diversity and just sort of picked on one language, let's assuming English, you would get about 100 varieties of world English, about 44 varieties of Creoles and different dialects. And each of these codes, linguistic structures of the world, allow for individual to cross the world, to conceive of the world in very different terms. You learn to interact with people differently, you learn to solve things differently. So, these are huge natural resources of our planet.
- And you can't function in our society without the ability to read and interpret material, and that's what a literature major essentially does is hones those skills of reading and interpreting and analyzing material, cross-referencing that material with existing scholarly work and, ideally, creating new scholarship him or herself. And whether you're in a corporate boardroom or working in a factory or in some service-oriented space, your ability to read and process material is critical.
- I think one of the best things about pursuing an English degree for students is the versatility that it brings. Students who already have a love for writing or literature can kind of hone that love and then find professional outlets for those abilities. Whether it's writing proposals in more the business side or even teaching, I think that the English major prepares students really well for those kinds of positions.
- In a world where we are inundated with so much information through various media outlets, it's especially important to be able to sift through that material and to think critically about it.
- Being an English major gives you the opportunity to think in a disciplined way, but then also think in a very creative way and consider possibilities, things that might not immediately go together and to test out how well something fits or doesn't fit, in a metaphor, for example. And so, I think that translates well to all areas of life, including the workplace. I think we have disciplined and creative thinkers coming out of our English program at SU.
- In terms of how it prepares you for employment after college, writing is really valuable in a number of different professions and it helps you become a better thinker. I really do believe that. I know people often make fun of the idea that you have to learn how to think, but I really do think, I'm reusing that word, that you do have to learn that. And becoming a better thinker will help you in a lotta different professions. Beyond the professional use, I think that an English major, in almost every field we teach within our department, helps you understand the reality of other people's lives.
- Well, I wanted to pursue a degree in English because studying literature allowed me to study all of the liberal arts. Any really, really great novel brings together not only the reality of characters operating within a real world presented from some recognizable point of view, but you also get not only literature, whatever we mean by that, but sociology, science, the whole range of the humanities, theology, politics, everything is right there as part of a living entity. So, you're basically having eight or nine majors for the price of one.
- I grew up in New Zealand, which is a small country surrounded by a lot of sea. And growing up, my best access to the rest of the world was through movies. So, from an early age, I began to appreciate that films could provide a kind of sense of direct access to other people's lives and other possibilities in the world that geographically were still physically remote. And that's one of the most exciting things for me about teaching film now in America and sometimes looking back to New Zealand and other countries whose films I bring into the classroom now.
- Well, sometimes students don't know they're interested in English. I didn't, for example, like English in high school much at all. And so, I was a pretty late convert to the cause. I think what did it is I finally discovered that it helped me answer some personal questions, but also to learn more about the world and how to interact with other people in it. So, I think, when students ask, "What can you do with an English major," my reply is always, "Anything you want."