English Department

English at Davidson

Create. Critique. Communicate. Studying English prepares you for careers ranging from education and journalism to healthcare, law, consulting, marketing, publishing, and web design. English majors land jobs with software companies, startup ventures, and the entertainment industry. Whether editors or entrepreneurs, teachers or tech innovators, Davidson alums are applying their English majors all over the world.

Read. Write. Repeat. The English major offers in-depth study of English language and literature broadly defined. Analyze and create stories that give meaning, shape, and significance to experience. Work across genres and media, including fiction, poetry, drama, film, TV, video, performance, nonfiction, documentaries, and emerging digital forms.

Empathize. Interact. Explore. Discover new worlds, both real and imagined. Encounter differences and similarities across time, space, identity, and culture.

College Writing Competition

Students are invited to submit their work to be reviewed for the best scholarly essay, creative nonfiction, poetry and fiction of the year.

Studying English at Davidson

The study of English has expanded beyond the traditional literary canon. Studying English involves reading and analyzing texts, as well as creating them—and develops the skills that employers want most.

Man at computer holding a book while at work

Top 3 Myths About the English Major

The skills you develop in English classes—critical thinking, analytical reasoning, clear writing, empathy, and inclusive thinking—are valued in the workplace and vital to social justice and civil discourse.

Student at the Colson Whitehead presentation

Internships & Careers

Recent graduates have pursued careers in law, medicine, publishing, teaching, mass communications, technology, government service, public relations, film and the fragrance industry.

Literary Calendar

The English Department annually presents 8 to 10 writers, often winners of Pulitzer Prizes, MacArthur "genius grants," National Book Awards and various other honors.

Literary Calendar

English Department News

PHOTOGRAPH OF BOOK COURTESY OF CYNTHIA LEWIS; BACKGROUND GENERATED BY DALL-E, MODIFIED BY JENNIFER CARLING AND NIKO YAITANES/HARVARD MAGAZINE

Essay by English Emerita Professor Cynthia Lewis, Published in 'Harvard Magazine'

Lewis's essay, "A Shakespearean Romance," celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Riverside Shakespeare, the complete works she used when she started her teaching career at Davidson College in 1980.