Why Pursue an English Major?

Study literature because literature is life. Not life abstractly conceived, but life ingeniously explored through the gifted eyes of the most noted literary artists, past and present. Acquaintance with literature is truly broadening in that it requires the practical application of knowledge gained from all the other humane disciplines. It provides a superb foundation for any vocation one may choose.
- Rolland Hein

Study English if you love literature.
- Kent Gramm

Why does literature matter? For many reasons. It heightens our awareness of human experience. It enhances our perception of both the world around us and our place in it. Literature makes us more conscious of the problems of life, the good in the world, and the diversities of life. Literature is one of the chief means by which the human race assimilates and grapples with reality. Literature does more than name and intensify our own experiences. It actually expands the range of those experiences. When pursued with an awareness of God as the source and end of all creativity, beauty, and truth, literature can become a means of Christian growth, devotion, and praise.
- Leland Ryken

The study of literature is very practical. If it weren't, I'd pitch it in. Who could give up such a wonderful entree into all the issues of life, appealing both to mind and heart, and synthesizing most of the other disciplines? When read through the lens of Scripture, literature can make us experienced in life beyond our years or experience and equip us for engaging people and ideas of every stripe. A person with a well stocked mind and heart is ready for work in the Master's vineyard.
- Wayne Martindale

Our God is a creative God, and rejoices in his creation. Because we are created in the image of God-—even though that image has been marred by our sinful nature—-we, too, are creative beings and delight both in God’s creation and in our own. The study of literature is one facet of our enjoyment of creation. That is not to say that we must always and only read expressly Christian works by expressly Christian authors. Indeed, such a philosophy of education would be extremely limiting, as well as misguided. The study of literature allows the Christian to examine the world through myriad pairs of spectacles—-some Christian, some non-Christian—-and, thereby, to gain a far greater understanding of the world, its inhabitants, and the God who made all things.
- Keith Jones