Students majoring in English and Global Literatures at Purchase College learn to read texts closely and critically and to understand literature in relation to the social and historical conditions in which it is written and read.

Program Highlights

  • The principal focus of the major is British and American literature; the program places these national literatures in an international frame. Thus, students may count toward the major courses in French, Spanish, and other literatures, in translation or in the original language.
     
  • In addition to courses in traditional literatures, students may take courses in contemporary literature, theatre, popular culture, and film.
     
  • Feminist inquiry, the critical study of race, and other theoretical or interdisciplinary approaches are central to the literature curriculum.
     
  • In learning to read, write, and think about literature and the world it reflects, inhabits, and creates, students gain valuable preparation for advanced academic study and for the professional world.