Department News
Quotable Hawthorne
Easy reading is damn hard writing.
Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them than the poet or artist has actually expressed. Their highest merit is suggestiveness.
The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing; second, the gratification of one's family and friends; and lastly, the solid cash.
Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.
The Bowdoin College English Department approaches literature with an open and eclectic spirit, combining the pleasures of literary reading with the rigors of an intellectual discipline. Its goal is to give students the knowledge and skill to be active, sophisticated, and resourceful readers, whatever their eventual career goals.
Students in the department learn about the transformations of English writing across historical periods and in varying cultural contexts, gaining crucial skills in careful interpretation and clear writing while learning about new ways of understanding literature and culture. They are given the opportunity to read British, American, Scottish, Irish, and Caribbean literature, be trained as creative writers and literary theorists, and take courses that contribute to programs or curricula in Africana Studies, Women's Studies, Environmental Studies, and Gay and Lesbian Studies.
Contact
Dept. Coordinator: Barbara Olmstead
Email: bolmstea@bowdoin.edu
Telephone: (207) 725-3552
Fax:(207) 725-3387
Location:
Massachusetts Hall ( campus map » )
Mailing Address:
English Department
Bowdoin College
8300 College Station
Brunswick ME 04011-8483
Library Liaison
Joan Campbell
jcampbel@bowdoin.edu
x3285