Mission

The Department of English and Communication recognizes that communication, on both the personal and social levels, is the foundation of human interaction. Our mission is to understand ourselves and our world more fully by returning again and again to those linguistic forms which have continually shaped and reshaped us, which define and limit us and then wonderfully set us free--recast in new forms. We take language seriously as a tool of self- and social-understanding, as a means of entry into the life and responsibilities as the adult, the church member, and the citizen, as a means to professional advancement, yet not so seriously as to overlook the important roles language plays in recreation and entertainment. Finally, the department emphasizes the importance of a liberal arts education with a firmly grounded knowledge of the communication process to prepare students for graduate education and for success in a wide variety of occupations.

Preparation for Teaching

Students preparing to teach at the secondary level should plan to qualify for state of California teaching credentials by completing the bachelor's degree and passing the PRAXIS (or SSAT) subject area assessment. During the freshman year prospective teachers of both secondary and elementary levels should see the School of Education section of the Undergraduate Bulletin and consult the credential analyst and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education for detailed information concerning requirements.

A further program leading to the Master of Arts degree in English is described in the Graduate Bulletin.

Program's Student Learning Objectives

The English and Communication Department has six core learning objectives for all majors. Students graduating should be able to:

1.   Read and listen perceptively, analytically and empathically.
2.   Construct well reasoned arguments.
3.   Design and deliver effective presentations.
4.   Analyze and critically evaluate texts.
5.   Demonstrate knowledge of basic rhetorical and critical perspectives from classical through contemporary traditions.
6.   Retrieve information, including how to find and evaluate scholarly and popular journals, how to use electronic databases, the Internet, non-print sources, electronic communication, and library resources.

Students graduating with Communication majors should be able to:

1.   Demonstrate skills needed to prepare and present messages for different audiences.
2.   Explain the influence of media on communication in multiple contexts.
3.   Use communication knowledge and skills that reflect ethical and logical audience centered expression.
Students graduating with the Public Relations/Advertising emphasis in Communication should be able to:
1.   Analyze and design effective messages for target and secondary audiences.
2.   Write, communicate and present materials appropriate to the practice of public relations.
3.   Uphold professional conduct, with truth, accuracy, fairness, and responsibility to the public; improve individual competence and advance the knowledge and proficiency of the profession through continuing research and education; and adhere to the articles of the Member Code of Ethics 2000 for the practice of public relations as adopted by the governing Assembly of the Public Relations Society of America.

Students graduating with the Theory emphasis in Communication should be able to:

1.   Apply communication theories to understand events and contexts in the everyday world.
2.   Compare and contrast differing theories of communication.
3.   Conduct research based on appropriate communication theories.
Students graduating with English majors will read a substantive body of literature from a variety of genres and should be able to:
1.   Apply critical theories to the study of literature.
2.   Use literary terms in discussions of literature.
3.   Write essays interpreting and/or analyzing literature.
4.   Identify major periods and authors of English and American literature.
Students graduating with a Literary emphasis in English should be able to:
1.   Analyze literary texts from a variety of perspectives: theoretical, historical and artistic.
2.   Write analytically about drama, poetry and prose using appropriate literary terms.
3.   Value literature as artistic production and cultural communication.
4.   Pursue further literary studies at the Master’s level.

Students graduating with a Writing emphasis in English should be able to:

1.   Write clearly and cleanly, with regard for both content and form.
2.   Organize and develop thesis driven essays. (The following will be used to measure how well the essays are organized and developed: Articulate a substantive and demonstrable thesis, elaborated in coherent, fully developed paragraphs, supporting assertions with specific details, and using reason and emotion appropriate to the effect desired.)
3.   Maintain stylistic control over diction, grammar, syntax, and mechanics.
4.   Support an argument, through effective evidence and appropriate documentation.
5.   Improve writing through revision.
Students graduating with a Drama minor should be able to:
1.   Identify and define the major dramatic forms: comedy, history, and tragedy.
2.   Understand human character and action through the roles portrayed in plays.
3.   Demonstrate expertise in at least two of the following areas: acting, playwriting, directing, and managing a dramatic production.
4.   Show evidence of experience gained in the drama program. (The following will be used to measure this experience: a portfolio of performances, original scripts, observation letters/reviews.

Students graduating with a Masters in English, in addition to the outcomes for the undergraduate English majors, should be able to:
1.   Describe and discriminate between the litecorporate environment or pursue additional academic study.
2.   Produce a body of work that is approprirary features, major authors and works of English and American literary periods.
3.   Draw parallels, distinctions, and intersections between texts from a variety of periods, genres, traditions, and perspectives.
4.   Conduct scholarly literary research.
5.   Obtain a position in the academic or ate for submission to a conference or for publication.