English at UNF — Department Mission

No human community exists without language, and nowhere is language used more artfully, deliberately, and meaningfully than in literature. Every society possesses a wealth of stories, poems, and plays that serve to name, to celebrate, and to question the world. In an important sense, then, the student of literature is a student of culture as well as an investigator of language and art.

The Department's mission is grounded in the conviction that a knowledge of literature and language and a mastery of interpretive skills are absolutely integral to a liberal education. Based on that conviction, and consonant with the goals and mission of the University of North Florida and the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of English and Foreign Languages strives to offer instruction of the highest quality in all areas of the curriculum within its purview. The Department's goal is to make a significant and indeed life-long contribution to the intellectual growth of each of its students.

Further, the Department offers students the opportunity to acquire specific professional skills and to become generally proficient in the use and analysis of languages. Such training is solid preparation for virtually any profession that involves communication.

The Department of English and Foreign Languages offers courses in American, British, Irish, and world literature; creative and expository writing, linguistics, and French, Japanese, Spanish, and other foreign languages and literatures.

The Department offers the B.A. in English, the B.A. in Spanish, and the M.A. in English. Minors are offered in French, Spanish, and English. Two tracks lead to the B.A. in English: the basic major and the drama track. For those who major in English in the College of Education and Human Services, the Department offers courses towards certification at the secondary level