African American students marching in a parade carrying banner.

Department of English

The Bachelor and Master of Arts in English degree programs at the University of South Alabama prepare students for jobs in professional settings including teaching, writing, and business areas. English majors and minors are taught by talented faculty and field experts in creative writing, literature, and professional writing in the College of Arts and Sciences. English undergraduate student Kelsi Fails describes her passion for writing poetry and studying literature at USA.

The English undergraduate program allows students to explore the study of literature and interpretation of novels, stories, poems and essays through critical approaches and writing, build the skills to craft meaningful creative work, and develop skills in professional writing and editing. The English master's program offers students in the creative writing and literature concentrations advanced study and preparation for careers in English as well as further graduate study. Through classes, as well as research opportunities and internships, students build skills in critical reading and writing, research, and instruction that support a range of career fields in business and education.

 


Upcoming Events


Jackson headshotMajor and Didi Jackson - Thursday, October 3, 2024 - 5:30pm

Join us for two powerhouse poets in one evening! Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems. He is also the author of A Beat Beyond: The Selected Prose of Major Jackson edited by Amor Kohli. A recipient of fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, John S. Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Major Jackson is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves as the Poetry Editor of The Harvard Review.

Jackson headshot

Didi Jackson is the author of the poetry collections My Infinity (2024) and Moon Jar (2020). Her poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Bomb, The New Yorker, and Oxford American among other journals and magazines. She is the recipient of the Robert H. Winner Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee and teaches creative writing at Vanderbilt University.

Please note: this free event will be held in the Student Center Terrace Room with a book signing and reception to follow.


IMC logoIMC Book Fair - Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 9am to 4pm

Weather permitting, the Independent Music Collective (IMC) will be holding its third book fair of the semester in the HUMB courtyard from 9am to 4pm on Wednesday, October 23th. Come browse a wide selection of used books (on all topics) and music in a variety of formats. Proceeds fund the IMC Concert Series! 


Tucker HeadshotHamner Lecture - Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 4pm

Pulitzer Prize winner and USA Journalist in Residence Cynthia Tucker will deliver the 22nd Annual Eugenie L. Hamner Lecture for the Graduate Program in English. Her talk, titled "The Post-Truth Era: Alternative Facts, Conspiracies and Fake News," will be held in the USA Student Center Terrace Room with a reception to follow.


Prine headshotRichard Buckner - Thursday, October 24, 2024 - 8:00pm

TICKET LINK: $25 via Undertow

The Independent Music Collective is thrilled to partner with Undertow to present Richard Buckner at 8pm on Thursday, October 24, 2024. NPR calls Buckner "an immensely gifted artist"; The New York Times finds Buckner "riveting" and bemoans his "unjustly modest reception"; and Pitchfork deems him "one of the most intriguing songwriters working." There are only twenty-five tickets available for this intimate, living-room show, so you'd better grab one before they're gone!


Herrera headshotYuri Herrera - Wednesday, November 13, 2024 - 5:30pm

Born in Actopan, Mexico, Yuri Herrera is the author of three novels, including Signs Preceding the End of the World, which The New York Times called "Short, suspenseful . . . outlandish and heartbreaking," as well as the collection Ten Planets, which was a finalist for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize. This fall Graywolf Press will publish Season of the Swamp, Herrera’s major new novel set in nineteenth-century New Orleans, where a young exile named Benito Juárez disembarks at a fetid port city at the edge of a swamp, and, years later, becomes the first indigenous head of state in the postcolonial Americas. Herrera teaches at Tulane University.

Please note: this free event will be held in the Student Center Terrace Room with a book signing and reception to follow.


IMC logoIMC Book Fair - Wednesday, November 20, 2024 - 9am to 4pm

Weather permitting, the Independent Music Collective (IMC) will be holding its final book fair of the semester in the HUMB courtyard from 9am to 4pm on Wednesday, November 20th. Come browse a wide selection of used books (on all topics) and music in a variety of formats. Proceeds fund the IMC Concert Series! 


▼   Job Openings

One-Year-Only Instructor

The University of South Alabama's Department of English invites applications for two (2) non-tenure track (9-month, one-year-only) full-time Instructor positions to teach primarily freshman composition courses.  Departmental, college, university, and/or community service also expected.  Positions begin starting August 15, 2024 (4/4 teaching load).

Required: MA in English or related field with a minimum of 18 graduate hours in English and evidence of strong commitment to teaching college freshmen and sophomores. 

To apply, send by email the following: vita, cover letter, one-page teaching statement, and names of three references to Dr. Patrick Shaw, Search Committee Chair, c/o Ms. Mary Ricciardi (english@southalabama.edu).

Applicants invited for a campus interview will arrange to have official graduate and undergraduate transcripts sent directly by the Registrars of all colleges and universities from which a degree was received to the Search Committee Chair:

Dr. Patrick Shaw
Department of English
5991 USA Dr N / HUMB 240
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688-0002 

Official electronic transcripts may be emailed to Dr. Patrick Shaw (pjshaw@southalabama.edu). Review of applications will begin June 24, 2024 and continue until the positions are filled.


Part-Time Teaching

The English Department reviews applications on a continuing basis for part-time instructors, mainly to teach composition. Literature surveys and technical writing sections are available occasionally for those who are qualified in those areas.

Minimum Requirement: M.A. in English. 

Please send your vita, cover letter, and contact information for three professional references and transcripts via email to Dr. Patrick Shaw: pjshaw@southalabama.edu


The University of South Alabama is an EO/AA employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, religion, age, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status, or any other applicable legally protected basis in admission policies and practices, educational programs, activities, or employment practices.

 

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