Department of English
Department of English
Monmouth University’s Department of English gives students the opportunity to study literature, writing, and rhetoric in a supportive and engaging intellectual community of faculty and peers. English majors and minors are encouraged to pursue their interests under the direction of dedicated and accomplished faculty mentors both inside and outside the classroom, and can choose from a range of programs and courses offerings in the areas of literature, creative writing and professional writing. Students will enhance their close reading and analytical skills as they encounter the pleasures and possibilities found in reading literary works of aesthetic and cultural value. A major or minor in English enables students to develop critical awareness that prepares them for careers in the areas of teaching, law, business, publishing, writing, and administration, and most importantly, lays the foundation for a lifelong engagement with the versatility, power, and beauty of language.
M.A./M.F.A in Creative Writing
Monmouth’s M.A./M.F.A. dual-degree program builds upon our 30-credit M.A. in English with a new 18-credit M.F.A. curriculum. Graduates will leave the program ready to pursue publication of their own work and qualified to seek careers in higher education, publishing, and related fields.
After completing their M.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration, Monmouth’s M.F.A. students will immerse themselves in an additional 18 credits of intensive study that includes advanced craft seminars, workshops, networking opportunities with publishing professionals and visiting writers, and career preparation in our internship program and reserved adjunct teaching positions.
Transfer students from other M.A. programs and alums with non-CW M.A. degrees from Monmouth may apply for our bridge program to complete the M.F.A. Part-time status, night classes, financial aid, graduate assistantships, and paid teaching opportunities available.
Virtual Tuesday Night Book Club
Tuesday Night Book Club is hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack and Michael Thomas. Each month they’ll explore a different novel. All you have to do is Zoom in and join the discussion!
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & The Six
May 11, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
Register here.
David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars
June 15, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
Register here.
Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises
July 13, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
Register here.
Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad
August 10, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
Register here.
For more information about the Virtual Tuesday Night Book Club, please visit https://www.monmouth.edu/mca/series/tuesday-night-book-club/.
Visiting Writers Series
The Visiting Writers Series was introduced to campus in 2005 as a way to connect students with contemporary authors whose works have significantly impacted the world of literature. Founded by Michael P. Thomas, poet and Associate Dean for the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities & Social Sciences, the Series has become a celebrated component of the University’s Center for the Arts.
For more information about the Visiting Writers Series, please visit https://www.monmouth.edu/mca/series/visiting-writers-series/.
Scholarly Speaker Series
Hélène Quanquin
“Men in the American Women’s Rights Movement, 1830-1890: Cumbersome Allies.”
Monday, March 1, 12 p.m.
Read the article on this unique series featured on page 4 of our Department Newsletter, Words Matter.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Join us for the Spring MU MA/MFA Reading on Thursday, May 13 at 7 p.m.!
Congratulations!!
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Do you have exciting news to share? Let us know by emailing english@monmouth.edu!
Congratulations to Jenna Puglisi on accepting a new position, “Enrollment Services Advisor, College Pathways” at Ocean Community College (OCC)!!
Congratulations to
Amy Grimm (Monahan, M.A. ’12) for being awarded the Monmouth University-Roberts Charitable Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award for 2020! The School of Education will hold a ceremony on May 6.
Congratulations to Skylar Daley ’21 on her acceptance to the M.A. programs at American University, Boston University, Fordham University, and Seton Hall University!
Toni Morrison Day
Read The Outlook‘s article on the event in the February 24, 2021 issue!
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Watch Amanda Gorman, youth poet laureate, recite at the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris on CNN.com.
Read the Fall 2020 issue of our Department newsletter,
Words Matter.
Meet Monmouth University Polling Institute Intern, Jimmy Watson! Read his blog post, “‘Unprecedented Times’? We’ve Seen This Stuff Before.”
Monmouth Now:
“The New Colossus” Translation Project has compiled more than forty translations of the poem, prefaced with essays by Alicia Ostriker and Professor Mihaela Moscaliuc. Learn more about the project, hosted by the American Jewish Historical Society, in the current issue of Monmouth Now.
Professor Estes presented “Weather in Old English Literature” as part of the biannual seminar, “Ecocriticism & Premodern Studies,”on April 10. Read the article in Monmouth Now.
Professor Bluemel was interviewed by Handheld Press on Inez Holden and Blitz Writing. Read the full article and view the interview link in the current issue of Monmouth Now.
Congratulations to Professor Moscaliuc on publishing her third poetry collection, “Cemetery Ink.” Learn more about this new work in the current issue of Monmouth Now.
Professor Womack has co-edited a new collection of academic writing, “Fandom and the Beatles: The Act You’ve Known for All These Years,” published by Oxford University Press. Read the full article.
Congratulations to Professor Estes on her election to the MLA Forum Executive Committee. Read the complete article.
Congratulations to Professor Bluemel for winning the Leverhulme Visiting Professorship! Read the full article.
Professor Moscaliuc Hosts Reading from “Border Lines: Poems of Migration” on Nov. 15. Read the article.
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Read the “MLA Statement Deploring Systemic Racism” at www.mla.org.