Department of English

DEPARTMENT OFFICE
Engineering and Technology A604
Phone: (323) 343-4140
Chair: Hema Chari
E-mail: english@calstatela.edu
Website: www.calstatela.edu/academic/english

The English Department at Cal State L.A. offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees. These programs encourage students to develop their minds, imaginations, and writing skills through the study of literature and language. The department offers a broad spectrum of courses ranging from the traditional areas of British and American literature to such subjects as world literature in translation, ethnic literature of the U.S., women writers, folklore, children’s literature, creative writing, critical theory, history and structure of the English language, film, and many levels of composition.
Majoring in English offers students many advantages for both intellectual and personal development and provides a solid preparation for a number of careers. Most directly, a bachelor’s degree in English, Single Subject Teaching option, with the required professional training in education, qualifies the individual to teach English in secondary schools. But teaching is only one of the many professions that welcome the English major. The discipline requires and helps develop solid reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Literary study also provides the complex understanding of human experience that is essential for success in many fields. Many graduates in English enter law school, medical school, business administration, and civil service at all levels of government. There are opportunities in insurance, publishing, space industries, foundations, public utilities, personnel relations, banks, advertising, and the print media.
The Master of Arts degree in English provides opportunities for advanced study in literature, criticism, language, creative writing, and composition and rhetoric. The program is designed for students planning to teach in a community college or to enter a doctoral program; for students seeking to develop their skills as creative writers, to teach creative writing, or to pursue careers in the media or other areas where a combination of creative ability, communication skills, and critical faculties may be particularly valuable; or for students planning to teach writing at the school, community college, or university level, to work as professional writing consultants.
The department also participates in an Interdisciplinary Studies Minor in Multimedia that enables students to develop interactive, multimedia products. For more information, please refer to University Programs.

The Faculty

Professors: Mary Bucci Bush, Michael A. Calabrese, Roberto Cantú, Hema Chari, Mel Donalson, Marilyn R. Elkins, Michelle Hawley, Martin Huld, Steven S. Jones, Maria Karafilis, Jun Liu, Caroline H. McManus, Barry Munitz, Ruben Quintero (Chair), Lauri Ramey, Alison Taufer.
Associate Professors: James Garrett, Andrew Knighton.
Assistant Professors: Robert Benjamin Bateman, Linda M. Greenberg, Christopher S. Harris, Atef Laouyene, Jennifer Ohlund, Bidhan Roy, Aaron H. Sonnenschein.
Emeriti: Betty Bamberg, Sharon Bassett, Alfred Bendixen, Peter A. Brier, John L. Cleman, Saralyn R. Daly, Otto W. Fick, Norman Fruman, Rosemary L. Hake, David Laird, Jean Maloney, Marie Ohlsen, Elaine Osio, Thomas H. Peterson, Vilma Potter, Sidney Richman, Alice M. Roy, Carl M. Selkin, Timothy Steele, Gaby Stuart, John H. Weston.

English as a Second Language Programs

Students in need of a course in English as a second language may wish to consult the College of Extended Studies and International Programs or the English Language Program.