Department of English

The Department of English offers a B.A. in English, a low-residency MFA in creative writing and minors in literature, studies in women and gender, and theatre and drama.

The department has a strong mix of co-curricular activities, including Wisteria, the undergraduate student literary magazine, and Pergola, the graduate student literary magazine, which are both entirely run by students—from submissions and review to layout and distribution. Hood College Theatre puts on one new production each semester and includes an improv group and an incubator for play development.

The department regularly sponsors field trips to museums, theaters and other sites of interest, such as the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The department also offers offer summer study-abroad trips to London and Prague.

The English/CMA/Theatre faculty stand united in our belief that Black Lives Matter. This simple, powerful phrase illustrates how vital effective communication is to human understanding and social justice—and how far we as a country need to go in combating systemic, violent racism. Part of that fight consists of choosing our words with care and opening ourselves up to the perspectives of others. Storytelling, both fictional and non-fictional, is one of the oldest ways of sharing vastly different lived experiences. Through all forms of writing—literature, media reporting, the performing arts—the English/CMA department fosters that sharing of experience, as well as the open exchange of ideas in a civil classroom. We join the ongoing struggle against all forms of racism and discrimination, and pledge the following:

to review our course materials and curricula, and ensure they speak to and represent the experiences of all members of human society, and incorporate anti-racist principles;
to ensure that our classrooms are safe spaces for students of color as we engage in the free and respectful sharing of ideas;
to continue our awareness of systemic racism and discrimination of all forms.

Introducing the New Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing

Hood College is excited to launch the low-residency MFA in creative writing beginning June 2024, a 48-credit program in fiction or poetry that includes four remote mentorship semesters and three 10-day summer residencies.

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