English Literature & Society Major
What does it mean to study Literature and Society at Cornell College?
Our concentration in Literature and Society introduces you to vibrant and influential works of classic and contemporary literature, and encourages discussion and debate about how these works embody and contribute to social justice and social change. When you pair your analytical insights into literature to the lens of social and historical knowledge you gain the tools needed to communicate and act effectively. Accomplished analysts and communicators are in demand across industries: they act as entrepreneurial problem solvers, lead non-profits, educate the next generation of leaders, or become leaders themselves.
Studying One Course At A Time means that you can give singular focus to your readings during your course block, and you can apply your learning to another subject right away in the next block. It also frees you up to participate in off-campus courses that take you to sites important for the authors you’re reading, making it possible to earn Ingenuity In Action credit.
Explore more aspects of the english and creative writing program.
Center for the Literary ArtsOpen Field MagazineHonors and Awards
Literature and society courses and requirements
Majors take imaginatively designed courses in literary history–including exciting options across time periods and countries, and courses incorporating other media, such as film and video games, as well as creative approaches.
Creative writing capstone
In the junior seminar, focused on a public humanities project, you will also explore future careers and plan an individualized capstone. This may be an internship program, participation in Cornell’s Summer Research Institute, a designated literary research seminar, or an independent study; all these paths can earn you Honors in English. Education students can use student teaching as their capstone project.
Research opportunities in literature and society
Undergraduate research at Cornell is an opportunity to explore subject matter that is important to you and isn’t offered as a formal course in the curriculum. You will work closely with a faculty advisor and internal or external mentor to dive into a subject. A research project can be completed as a block-long project during the school year or during the summer as part of the Cornell Summer Research Institute. Research projects satisfy one of your Ingenuity in Action requirements.
Off-campus study opportunities
Our faculty extend their classrooms beyond campus on a regular basis. Whether exploring the theatre scene and cultural heritage of England and Scotland, nature writing in local and regional nature preserves, the Anglophone literature of the Caribbean, or literature and social justice in Chicago, your imagination is opened to new insights and possibilities.
Literary internships
Pursuing internships in literary studies or related fields gives you the opportunity to clarify your career goals, make connections, and perform meaningful work while still at Cornell College. English majors concentrating in literature and society have interned as writers at the Corridor Business Journal and Iowa Watch, as field and international policy team members at the NGO Global Zero in Washington, DC, as fundraisers in the development department of the Loft Literary Center in the Twin Cities. The Berry Career Institute and the Ingenuity in Action program can help you identify opportunities, assist with funding for qualified experiences, and help you prepare your internship applications and resume.
What are Cornell students doing in internships? Check out their blogs
Future opportunities for literature and society majors
Our recent graduates have gone on to pursue their passions through Masters and Ph.D programs in such topics as:
English language and culture: University of Leiden, the Netherlands
English literature: Marquette University; University of Iowa; Brandeis University, ; Iowa State University; Colorado State University; Leeds University, United Kingdom
Law: Boston College, Massachusetts; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; University of Iowa
Library Science: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Iowa
Journalism: Cardiff University, Wales
Students in our program have gone on to use the analysis and communication skills they learned at Cornell to succeed in careers in:
- Fulbright English teaching assistant in Spain and Turkey
- Communications Director, NEA
- Editorial, Design, and Production Manager at the University of Arizona Press
- Reference and Instruction Librarian at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College
- Content Lead, Gateway Media, St. Louis, Missouri
- Designer, Google, San Francisco, California
The Berry Career Institute can help you identify what you’ll pursue with your knowledge of how literature impacts our perceptions in the world.