What drew you to the major? Frankly, the small class sizes and variety of classes to choose from were very alluring. Also, Guilford is a beautiful building.

What other majors have you/did you combine with English, and how does/did that go? Theatre (acting). They go together very easily, almost complementary. It didn't seem to make sense to have one without the other.

Are you hoping to study abroad, how did this relate to English studies--complement, expand, etc? At a theatre school study-abroad program in fall 08, I studied Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford for two weeks. I feel that you cannot study English or Theatre without knowing Shakespeare; I was so fortunate enough to have the two studies married together in his place of birth.

How has your English major prepared you for life after graduation? I want to teach English to inner-city high school kids after graduation. My creative writing experience at Case has helped give me ideas of how important and powerful experiencing the written word can be when put in a young adult's hands.

Are there practical benefits, or are the benefits more intangible? I'd say intangible, as the benefits are a greater ability to use what the self has -- language and expression. There isn't any field in the world that doesn't rely on both of those things.

What is it like being an English major at Case in particular? i.e. hemmed in by others who don't necessarily get its value? Being an English major at Case reminds me that among all the advances technology and science will achieve, creation and the study of the written word are just as profound and impacting. Also, Cleveland is a very unique place to be in right now as a writer.

What is your perspective (if you have one) on the relationship between humanities and sciences? Both of us are equally, neurotically hungry for more knowledge. We match very strangely that way.

Why would you encourage a prospective English major to sign on? Because Cleveland is a place that matters, with events going on that matter, and you are a student that matters, and there is so much going on to write about and to experience, so why not?

Jonathan Vesey

What drew you to the major?  English, and more specifically, creative writing, had long enamored me.  Coming to CWRU was a bit of a concession between two halves of my thinking, admittedly.  I knew I wanted to pursue English, so it was just a matter of how I could justify it when many around me were telling me how fruitless an endeavor it was.  My answer to this was to go to a respected university and aim to balance myself out with some other major that was more practical and technology oriented.  Before getting here, I thought that might be something like Computer Science, but it ended up being Cognitive Science (which, mind you, is not inherently technology oriented).  As such, I had hoped that the English department would be a hidden gem of CWRU’s lineup, not the dark corner it was sometimes exaggerated as being from the outside.  Even if other undergraduates had thought of it as that dark corner, I think I enjoyed the humility of that aspect.  Here was a major that I loved, with fully engaging and capable faculty to boot, that flew under the radar.  The English majors at CWRU are no hoity-toity liberal arts college intellectuals (which is to generalize, not to point out specific students out there in academia).  Often times, because of the low profile of the English department, they were similarly diverse in their courses.  Biology-English majors, Computer Science-English majors, etc.  It made for an incredibly rich, if not outwardly renowned, department.

What other majors/minors have you combined with English, and how does/did that go? As mentioned above, I combined my English major with a Cognitive Science one.  I developed a liking of the interdisciplinary flexibility of Cognitive Science, especially given the excellent faculty CWRU has in the department.  Over the course of my studies, as I was able to move further and further into molding what kind of specific Cognitive Science topics I wanted to pursue, I began to look into cognitive linguistics, poetics, and narratology as they related to many of the topics that had been discussed in my writing and criticism classes.  This provided a very well-rounded approach: examining the structure and underpinnings of literature balanced with the analysis of content and style.  Now, you could argue that such a clustering of analysis would lead to me over-thinking my writing, and that may be true, but I’ll prefer to think that it gives me better guidance.  For my final SAGES Capstone project, I even tried to merge the two majors, creating a manuscript of poetry that was based on and incorporated examples of various cognitive linguistics and poetics terms.  In any case, it was an example of what’s the norm at CWRU in terms of weaving multiple majors together.  The English major is an excellent tool for this because content is not necessarily rigid.

How has your English major prepared you for life after graduation? There are two initial effects that immediately jump out at me when talking about the benefits of an English major.  One is the very well-molded language that you possess at the end of the road, both in speech and in writing.  Reading and writing as much as I did within the English major was extremely beneficial in terms of offering me communicative polishing.  When you attempt to explain your thoughts repeatedly (and in the English major you will often have to communicate your thoughts), you improve in your ease of delivery.  I find myself now, after having completed undergraduate, catching myself readily when I write a poorly worded sentence.  I’ve cut down drastically on the amount of editing I’ve had to do on the tail end of the process, because of all the practice during the English major.  The second effect stems from this directly, and it is the amount of work that you are doing by the end of the major.  That sounds daunting, especially when addressed to potential young students, but it’s really not as bad as it sounds.  The English major will ramp up the amount of writing that you have to do, never completely swamping you with work.  You’ll build up to the point that you’re not fazed by 12-20 page essays, though.  Some of the most fun I had in undergraduate was doing 60-75 page poetry manuscripts.  There was a genuine sense of accomplishment there.  Nowadays, because of that workload, I wouldn’t feel stressed out about the amount of work that you have to put into making it in the real world.  If that doesn’t count as good preparation, I don’t know what does.

Are there practical benefits, or are the benefits more intangible? When considering majors like English, the intangible benefits jump out a bit more.  As I mentioned in the above paragraph, the sense of practice and ability is a large part of it.  Writing experience and know-how is a big benefit in itself, though.  Writing and communicating are such an essential part of life that it’s nigh impossible to decry the importance of it.  While that may be the real meat of an English major, there are tangible benefits as well.  I ended up wanting to pursue a Poetry M.F.A., which was only even deemed possible in my eyes after the extensive work I put into it as an English major with Professor Gridley and others.  Come time to apply to the grad programs, I had a working portfolio right at my fingertips, thanks to having been in my creative writing classes.  What’s more, the English department is personal enough that they genuinely go out of their way to help you out.  Professor Gridley, besides being a great friend and someone to bounce ideas off of, was integral throughout my undergraduate career in getting me experience in the publishing side of poetry, honing my applications to grad schools, and critiquing even the poetry I wrote outside of class.  Professor Oakley also helped out greatly with my grad school applications and in my project to relate cognitive linguistics and poetry.  All in all, the English department is full of very approachable and helpful faculty.

Why would you encourage a prospective English major to sign on? If your personality is the type that seems at all suited for writing, reading, or appreciating the language in general, I think it would be a mistake not to give the English department at CWRU a try.  It’s not the first thing you hear about when someone mentions CWRU, but it’s definitely a strength of the university.  The professors are amazing, you get plenty of personal attention and assistance, and the fellow students are diverse and humble.  For someone who knew they wanted to continue writing but didn’t know which direction to head, the major was exactly what I needed.  There are plenty of different topics for you to peruse within the English major, from poetry to script writing, from film to the history of the English language.  Why not indulge yourself in the jeweled underground of the university?

Amanda Giffi, ‘09

Why I Decided to Become an English major:   I have always loved to read & write, especially creatively. When I was a freshman in high school, I complained to my mother that I knew more about Jane Eyre than my teacher did. She replied that I might consider becoming an English professor and I carried that goal with me into college. My commitment to focusing my studies on Literature led me to enroll at Kenyon College and turn down Case Western Reserve University. While I will always praise the education I received at Kenyon College, it was not a good fit otherwise. I transferred to CWRU and started here in the middle of my sophomore year. I essentially transferred over an English minor, but I was not done taking English classes! I signed up for English 358 with Professor Marling; it was American Literature Henry James to William Faulkner. I enjoyed the class reading list, the in-class discussions (except for perhaps the one about Manhattan Transfer, I am convinced I am the only one in that class who finished that novel!), and the term paper was a personal best. Better yet, I secured a spot in English 214: Introduction to Poetry Workshop (taught by Sarah Gridley). Kenyon was strict (no Freshmen allowed) and competitive with its Creative Writing Workshops, so I was excited to finally be in a College Writing Workshop!   

 In the meantime, I realized my love of human evolution and thought about pursuing a double major in Biology and Evolutionary Biology. The next fall, I took only classes that would fulfill either of those majors, but it was a miserable semester without any Literature or Creative Writing classes. I “wised-up”, so to speak, and in the spring, I took three English classes, English 333: Gothic Literature (excellent reading list), English 300: a survey of British Literature until the year 1800, and my favorite, English 406: Advanced Poetry Workshop: Ecopoetics (an excellent poetic focus and a wonderful group of poets). I decided to upgrade my English minor to a major and drop the Biology/Evolutionary Biology majors in favor of a Physical Anthropology minor. It was also a financial decision; I could finish the English/Physical Anthropology major/minor combination in time to graduate in May ’09, but otherwise, I would have had to stay an undergraduate at least through Spring ’10.  

 My Senior year was spent finishing the English Major (the Senior Seminar, the Senior Capstone, and a pre-1800s class), finishing the Anthropology minor (just one class), and finishing the SAGES requirements (my only comment is: “ugh”). The highlights of the year were English 304: Intermediate Poetry Workshop because it was a small (6 students) class with a great group of poets, and the Senior Capstone because I elected to work on a Poetry mini-manuscript (20 poems plus a critical introduction). I graduated on May 17, 2009, but it was far more of a beginning than an ending. In July, I enrolled as a Non-Degree Graduate student because I realized I was too passionate about Physical Anthropology, specifically Paleoanthropology, to not try to pursue it at the Graduate level. I am currently taking Anthropology/Anatomy 475: The Fossil Evidence (I took this class two years ago and loved it, I love it even more now), Anatomy 477: Human Osteology (one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken), and Biology 426 (this class makes me thankful I dropped the Biology Major). I am also applying to Master’s and Doctorate programs in Integrative Biology, Evolutionary Biology, and Physical Anthropology (Paleoanthropology is an extremely integrative field).  

Hopefully, I will be able to enroll in a Graduate Program next fall, but if not, that is okay. My study of Literature has taught me to be great at reading, analyzing, and writing, and those are skills that are useful in all fields and all aspects of the workforce. I know I will find something amazing to do, and I do have more than one alternative (note: not back-up) plan. Of course, I do not know what the future holds, but I know I will be more than okay; and that is what I want any English Major to know! 

Jack Rooney

Since I was much younger, I have had a great passion for English letters and literature.  I was always trying to find outlets for that creative energy.  These included participating in the middle school program Power of the Pen and representing Ohio in the National Vocabulary Championship of 2007.  Naturally, such interests directed me toward an English major and toward plans for applying to graduate schools, pursuing a professorship, and writing (analytically and creatively) for publication. 

The English major has definitely conferred tangible benefits beyond its own purview.  Perhaps the most substantial, immediate plus is that I have received intensive training and preparation in all manners of written expression.  Many college students inevitably find writing, which is surely a primary component of any academic program, to be among the most tedious and difficult skills to master.  Because of my English major, I can handle writing in my own and other disciplines without much trepidation.  Honing my writing talents thus confers both practical advantages and intellectual satisfaction.

Although the English Department itself seems fully behind its majors and their studies, the challenge of working in the larger sciences-based environment is omnipresent.  Most recently, a university referendum defunded student salaries at our literary magazine The Case Reserve Review, of which I will be editor-in-chief next year (my senior year).  Similarly, funding for the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta Case chapter, of which I am currently the president, has not been easy to procure.  Anyone in love with letters will find ample resources for continuing and expanding prior interests and areas of study at the university, but the university community will always remain, for better or worse, geared toward the sciences.  This is something to be considered carefully by all potential English and humanities applicants; ultimately, though, it ought not to dissuade many from matriculating. 

English is, despite any contrary reputations, definitely one of the most challenging majors.  The level of abstract cognition, textual analysis, textual familiarity, and general attentiveness demanded of English majors is scarcely comprehensible—yet also immensely gratifying.  English may be the only major to combine such broad pragmatic applications and such probing inquiries into the finer points of being alive and conscious.