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.
Tuesday Night Book Club
The Visiting Writers Series was introduced to campus in 2005 by Michael P. Thomas as a way to connect students with contemporary authors whose works have significantly impacted the world of literature. The series, directed by Alex Gilvarry, Graduate Program Director for the M.F.A. in Creative Writing, has become a celebrated component of the University’s Center for the Arts.
Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
July 19, 2022, 7:30 p.m., Virtual
Register online.
Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
August 16, 2022, 7:30 p.m., Virtual
Register online.
For more information about the Virtual Tuesday Night Book Club, please visit 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.
Rivka Galchen
Erlanger Gardens
Thursday, April 14, 5:00-6:15 p.m.
Emma Copley Eisenberg
Erlanger Gardens,
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Click or Tap to Watch Video
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh
Tuesday, November 9, 2022
Anna Qu
Tuesday, March 2, 5:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Jane Wong
Tuesday, March 22, 5:00 p.m. (Virtual)
For more information about the Visiting Writers Series, please visit 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, 2021
Read the article on this unique series featured on page 4 of our Department Newsletter, Words Matter.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Dr. Susan Goulding is stepping down as our Chair after 10 years of service. We extend our thanks for her work with so many students and for our Department.
Tuesday Night Book Club will continue to meet on Zoom throughout the summer! See the blue box on this page, or visit the MCA web site, to view the upcoming novels.
Read the Spring 2022 issue of our Department Newsletter, Words Matter.
The English Department congratulates Mihaela Moscaliuc and Michael Waters whose poetry was published in the Spring 2022 issue of Ploughshares.
The English Department congratulates Alexandra Kleeman and our former colleague
Melissa Febos on being named Guggenheim Fellows!
Pick up a copy of the Monmouth Review in the Great Hall Annex.
Do you have exciting news to share? Let us know by emailing english@monmouth.edu!
Graduate student, John Vurro’s novel, Play, Rewind, has been shortlisted in Craft Literary magazine’s First Chapter Contest.
Graduate student, Allison Long’s story, “Other Mothers,” was published in the online journal, Promethius Dreaming.
Read the article on her success in the Fall 2021 issue of Words Matter.
Congratulations to
Lauren Niesz ’17 ’19M, on her selection to the Philadelphia Keeper Program.
Read the article on her success in the Fall 2021 issue of Words Matter.
Congratulations to Regina Betz-Madge ’14M on her featured poem in the Of Earth and Sky Project installation in Charlotte, NC.
Read the article on her success in the Fall 2021 issue of Words Matter.
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Monmouth Now:
Dr. Heide Estes will present “Ecocriticism, Disability, and the Beowulf Manuscript” as a hybrid lecture at the University of Rochester on April 15 at 3 p.m. Registration is required.
Dr. Bluemel gave the Leverhulme Lecture 2022 on March 10, 2022 at 12pm EST.
Congratulations to adjunct professor Brittany Scardigno ’21M, one of three Monmouth University scholars named as semifinalists for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Read the full article in Monmouth Now.
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.
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Read the “MLA Statement Deploring Systemic Racism” at www.mla.org.