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English

Students in Dickinson's Department of English study a range of English-language texts, including novels, poems, plays, graphic narratives, films, television and other work.

Our curriculum is flexible and focused, allowing majors to follow their own interests through diverse course offerings that address core questions (of author and audience; culture, nation and identity; form, medium and materiality; and history, period and influence).

Classes deepen the skills that help students to engage in critical conversations with authority and purpose. This culminates in an independently chosen senior thesis project—and then, a life beyond Dickinson in which English majors continue to show how reading, writing and thinking are vital to understanding and shaping our world.  

Contact Info

Chair

Claire SeilerProfessor of English

Department coordinator

Kelly Winters-FazioSr Academic Department Coordinator

Phone

717-245-1347

Fax

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Location

3rd & 4th Floors East College Mailing Address

Department Features


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Study Abroad
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Current Courses

Student Outcomes

Where Graduates Go From Here

Jobs

  • Vanity Fair
  • Penguin Random House
  • FTI Consulting
  • Gartner
  • MLB Network
  • Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
  • National Theater Institute
  • Urban Teachers (AmeriCorps)

Graduate Schools

  • University of Pennsylvania Law School
  • Princeton University Graduate School
  • The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University
  • Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Columbia University
Where Students Have Interned
  • NPR
  • Christie’s
  • Rodale Inc.
  • WriteGirl Los Angeles
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • NBC/Universal
  • Penguin Group
  • WHDH Boston

Student Perspective

“I really loved taking Plague Years with Associate Professor of English Claire Seiler. Learning about the different types of literature, propaganda, films and advertisements produced in the influenza epidemic of 1918 and the midcentury polio crisis was incredibly interesting and introduced me to the fields of health humanities and disability/mobility studies, which are now part of my personal interests in the world of literature.”

— Lily Bibro ’24 


English Department News

All News Department News
Club Spotlight: Shakespeare Club

Club Spotlight: Shakespeare Club

Students are bringing the Bard to life through productions, readings and meaningful conversations.

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Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Paula Vogel Inspires Students During Stellfox Visit 

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Paula Vogel Inspires Students During Stellfox Visit 

Workshops, public presentation and personal connections have a "profound impact" and leave a lasting impression.

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Her House Has a Name: Meet the 2025 Weiss Prize-winner

Her House Has a Name: Meet the 2025 Weiss Prize-winner

“It’s been so rewarding to see a community come together over something I wrote.” Meet student-composer Zuzu Black ’25, recipient of the 2025 Weiss Prize for the Creative Arts.

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Five Dickinson Students Heading to Oxford’s Mansfield College

Five Dickinson Students Heading to Oxford’s Mansfield College

Dickinson's long-running success with students being accepted into the prestigious program continues.

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Burgess Institute Executive in Residence: Susan Miller

Burgess Institute Executive in Residence: Susan Miller '81, President and CEO of ATIS

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions leader holds career sessions and office hours with students, providing vital insights into the evolving landscape of technology and business.

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Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Paula Vogel to Give Public Presentation

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Paula Vogel to Give Public Presentation

The literary luminary will give a free public presentation at Dickinson on March 19, followed by a Q&A and book signing, as part of her on-campus residency.

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