EnglishLiteratures in English / Children's and Young Adult Literature
Overview
Literatures in English is for the English major of the 21st century. The program prepares students to encounter, consider, and analyze great writing of the past, the present, and the future. Alongside courses in the major writers of the traditional canon are innovative courses on topics such as literature and the environment, science fiction, gothic fiction, the graphic novel, and other emerging genres, all taught by our distinguished faculty of active, publishing scholars.
Students concentrating in Literatures in English are challenged by courses in British, American, and global English literature. They focus on authors, issues, genres, and historical periods.
Children's and Young Adult Literature is the English Department's newest concentration, based on the recognition that current and future students have grown up with the Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Divergent series. These and other titles have positioned children's and young adult literature as significant features of the literary landscape. Hofstra is among select few colleges and universities to offer this program, the heart of which involves sequential courses on literary history and method culminating in specialized classes on topics from the child in literature to fairy tales.
Children's and Young Adult Literature is an interdisciplinary program that requires students to take classes in other English concentrations, such as creative writing and publishing studies. The program also draws on coursework from other disciplines, specifically child psychology, education, and literacy studies. This concentration is geared toward students interested in careers in children's and young adult literature – from writing to publishing to criticism – as well as those interested in elementary education.
English majors are trained to write well, analyze complex information, conduct research, craft arguments and read and observe with a critical eye. These are skills that are sought-after by employers who recognize that English graduates are versatile and well-rounded. With an English degree from Hofstra, you can work in myriad industries, including book and magazine publishing, television and film, advertising, and education, or pursue professional studies in law, business, and journalism.
English bachelor’s degree recipients in the New York region earn an average annual salary of $53,729, and job growth for this major is projected to increase nearly 9% by 2026, according to New York area labor market data retrieved in July 2018 by Burning Glass Technologies.
Curriculum
The concentration in Literatures in English requires classes in literary analysis, electives, methods, and a capstone project.
Literatures in English offers classes that provide historical overviews in American, English, and global literature. Students analyze major writers of the traditional canon, from Chaucer to Shakespeare to Jane Austen, through to classic contemporary authors such as Toni Morrison. Other courses examine global English literature from the Caribbean, Africa, and other regions beyond North America. Electives are available on science fiction, Gothic fiction, the graphic novel, and the application of computing to literary analysis. Other courses address LGBTQ+ issues, the environment, and disability. A junior-senior seminar serves as a capstone course unique to the concentration. Its topics vary from each class and are not covered in regular course offerings. Close attention is paid to student writing, and enrollment is restricted to 20 students.
The concentration in Children’s and Young Adult Literature requires classes in literary analysis, electives, methods, and a capstone project.
Students concentrating in Children's and Young Adult Literature complete courses in literature, creative writing, publishing studies, and psychology to develop the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to the field of children's literature as writers, critics, editors, and/or educators.
Up-to-date information about required classes and more is available in the Hofstra Bulletin.
What You'll Learn
Hofstra's English Department faculty is committed to teaching, mentoring, and research. As a student of literature, you will:
- Develop analytical, research, and writing skills.
- Study literary themes through the ages and major writers of centuries ago through to modern, bestselling authors.
- Prepare for the workforce, graduate study, or both.
Students studying Literatures in English and Children's and Young Adult Literature may take on assignments such as honors projects in creative writing, publishing studies, and literary criticism. They have written honors theses on wide-ranging topics, including piracy in Elizabethan drama, how J. D. Salinger's experiences in World War II influenced his fiction, the ways in which 20th-century Australian fiction draws upon the Gothic tradition, and how redemptive fairy-tale motifs informed Oscar Wilde's De Profundis.
Internships
Internships offer a hands-on experience beyond textbooks, classrooms, and campus, helping to better prepare students for professional careers. Our Center for Career Design and Development offers a multitude of exciting internship opportunities, many of them taking place in Manhattan at highly desirable organizations and businesses such as Marvel Comics, The American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Scholastic Corporation, and Cosmopolitan magazine. Other top internships are available at BBC Worldwide, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Macmillan Publishers, Adventure Publishing Group, and Alameda Children's Musical Theater.
Experience
Students learn from award-winning faculty. Their honors include the Clark Library Fellowship, the Folger Library Fellowship, and the Faculty Fellowship with the Washington Internship Institute. The literature faculty has presented research at international conferences in Turin, Oxford, Helsinki, and Kent.
Hofstra's proximity to New York City provides students with exceptional opportunities to attend major events, such as the Brooklyn Book Festival and BookExpo America, the largest annual book trade fair in the United States.
We also have exciting events on campus. Students who opt to join the student-run Hofstra English Society may participate in weekly creative writing workshops, book blogs, and open-mic nights. They also have opportunities for hands-on experiences as part of the editorial team which produces Windmill: The Hofstra Journal of Literature & Art, as well as editing and publishing the student literature and arts magazine, Font.
Since 2004, Hofstra has presented the Great Writers, Great Readings series, which presents famous novelists, playwrights, poets, and essayists. Students are encouraged to meet and question these important contemporary writers about their craft. Recent guests have included Pulitzer Prize winners Colson Whitehead, Natasha Trethewey, John McPhee, Jennifer Egan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Jeffrey Eugenides, and MacArthur "Genius" Award winner Claudia Rankine.
The Hofstra Cultural Center invites numerous authors to campus to speak on a wide variety of topics. The English Department also hosts a chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English Honor Society.
Meet Hebah Uddin
Hebah Uddin was a senior studying English with a concentration in literature when she became a published author. Her young adult novel, The Gauntlet, published by the Simon & Schuster imprint Salaam Reads, features a protagonist who is a Muslim girl of Bangladeshi descent like Hebah. "I think Hofstra is a huge part of the Gauntlet story,” she said, "and my story as an author."
Related Majors
- Comparative Literature
- Drama
- Elementary Education
- English - Creative Writing
- English - Publishing Studies
- History
- Fine Arts
- Journalism
- Psychology
- Secondary Education
Related Links
- Hofstra Cultural Center
- Great Writers, Great Readings
- MFA in Creative Writing
- AMP: Digital Literature Journal
- Windmill: The Hofstra Journal of Literature and Art
- Hofstra English Society