1. PRIZES
The Department offers of number of significant awards each year in essay writing, poetry, fiction, and academic achievement.
For some of the awards one must be nominated by the department:
- The Harriet Perkins Prize for an outstanding student majoring in English
- The Nemet scholarship(s) for Creative Writing.
- Creative Achievement Awards
For other awards, those stemming from various writing competitions, one must submit an entry. Announcements of each year's prize competitions are available in the Department office shortly before spring break; they are published in an awards booklet. The current prizes are:
- The Karl Lemmerman Prize for the best essay by a first-year student
- The Holden Prize for the best essay by an upper-division (sophomore, junior, or senior) student
- The Finley Foster/Emily M. Hills Poetry Prize
- The Helen B. Sharnoff Award for poetry of some formal distinction
- The Edith Garber Krotinger Prize for Creative Writing other than poetry
2. GUEST SPEAKERS
Each semester the Department sponsors a series of four to eight readings and lectures by distinguished writers, scholars, and editors, often in collaboration with other departments and with the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities. The series is free and open to the public. In addition, opportunities are usually available for students to meet the visiting writers more informally.
3. ENGLISH LEAGUE and SIGMA TAU DELTA
Two undergraduate organizations are associated with the English Department. The English League, which sponsors various social and literary events, is open to all majors, minors, and interested undergraduates. Membership in Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society, requires meeting the local chapter's standards for hours completed and GPA.
4. CASE RESERVE REVIEW
The student-run literary magazine, which is scheduled to appear semesterly, welcomes submissions of fiction, poetry, essays, and artwork. The editors may most reliably be contacted via their mailbox in 202 Guilford.
5. THE OBSERVER
Many English students work on the campus newspaper, The Observer, and English majors have historically provided a high proportion of editors and editorial staff year by year. Though not formally a part of the English program, such work provides an opportunity to exercise writing skills in a public forum, and to take part in the intellectual life of the campus as a whole.
6. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Every year the Department receives a number of requests for students or recent graduates interested in positions as writers, editors, teachers, tutors, etc. Normally these are most appropriate for students with relevant coursework or previous experience. Students interested in being notified about these opportunities should speak with the Chair.
7. INTERNSHIPS
ENGL 374 (Internship in Journalism) is designed to place students in local news media outlets for unpaid internships. Students will be matched with the right internship position according to their interests and talents. Besides meeting regularly with the professor, students are required to spend at least six hours a week in the newsroom or in the field, reporting, writing and editing stories. The purpose of the class is to get students some real world experience, build a portfolio and to get acquainted with the issues dominating the industry. For fields other than journalism, it is a good idea to register your interest with the Career Planning office, which manages a number of internships. |
