The great feminist poet, critic, and theorist Adrienne Rich warned: “We must be acutely, disturbingly aware of the language [and, I’d add: forms, narratives, tropes, genres, conventions, ideologies] we are using and that is using us.” True, English, among other things, can rescue you from being bamboozled by the givens, the taken for granted, the “way it is” (but doesn’t have to be). We make language and language makes us. Literature helps us learn and unlearn. At the same time, reading and writing literature is so much fun, an affirmation of creativity and possibility, a steamy and sometimes jarring love affair with beauty, and much else. Imagine that! Discover what English has to offer (see below)…
Professor Pfister
Chair, Department of English
