English

MajorMinor3YRBachelor of Arts

Choose Your Own Adventure.

Studying English at Butler provides four academic tracks: Literature; Creative Writing; Public and Professional Writing; and Literary Theory, Culture, and Criticism. It enjoys a distinguished history and contemporary relevance through our faculty’s significant national publications in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and scholarship. We offer you the resources of a large research institution with the benefits of a more intimate private university.

Our commitment to small class sizes, passionate teaching, and rigorous individual mentoring builds strong one-to-one relationships between you, the faculty, and your classmates. Our graduates leave Butler as deep thinkers and communicators, with skills and mindsets suited to a range of careers and lives.

Program Information

Curriculum

Sample courses in this program include:

  • EN 185 – Contemporary Writing 
  • EN 203 – Intro to Professional Writing 
  • EN 218 – Intro to Creative Writing – Poetry 
  • EN 287 – Literary Theory, Culture, and Criticism 
  • EN 290 – Research Seminar 

See English Creative Writing Concentration curriculum information

See English, Literary Theory, Culture, and Criticism Concentration curriculum information

See English, Literature Concentration curriculum information

See English, Professional Writing Concentration curriculum information

Concentrations
  • Creative Writing
  • Literature
  • Literary Theory, Culture, and Criticism
  • Public and Professional Writing
Three Year Program

The English major can be completed in a total of three years. More information can be found here.

The Butler Advantage

These outcomes reflect the comprehensive and diverse nature of the Butler English major, highlighting the opportunities for creative expression, scholarly exploration, and professional development within the field of literature and writing.

Students will experience one-to-one contact and small classes characteristic of a smaller university, fostering an environment conducive to individualized mentorship and personalized learning experiences.

Through participation in writing workshops, discussions, and public readings facilitated by the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing, students will refine their writing skills, cultivating creativity and honing their craft.

Students will engage with influential figures in contemporary literature through the Delbrook Visiting Writers Series, gaining insights into diverse literary perspectives and practices.

Students will gain practical experience in book publishing by editing and submitting original work to Manuscripts, the award-winning undergraduate literary magazine, understanding the intricacies of the publication process.

Graduates will emerge with refined writing abilities, critical thinking skills, and a deeper understanding of literature, preparing them for careers in diverse fields that value communication, creativity, and critical analysis.

Meet Your Faculty

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Headshot of Ania Spyra
Ania Spyra
Professor, English
English – LAS
Ania Spyra grew up in a German and Polish speaking home in Upper Silesia in Southern Poland. She received her MA in Literature and Linguistics from the University of Silesia, and her PhD in English from the University of Iowa. Dr. Spyra’s research…
View more about Ania Spyra
Headshot of Mira Kafantaris
Mira Kafantaris
Assistant Professor – English
English – LAS
Mira ‘Assaf Kafantaris ميرا عساف كفنتاريس is an Assistant Professor of English and Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Butler University, specializing in Premodern Critical Race Studies, Shakespeare, and Early Modern…
View more about Mira Kafantaris
Headshot of Jason Goldsmith
Jason Goldsmith
Professor of English
English – LAS
Jason Goldsmith is a writer, artist, and educator whose work traces the vexed relationship between art and place from the19th-century Picturesque tradition through today’s twinned unravelling of ecological and social networks. He has published numerous…
View more about Jason Goldsmith

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Current Student Story

Leah Ollie talks about her internship at WFYI Indianapolis and how it is preparing her to utilize her major in the future.

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Whatever path you’re interested in pursuing, there’s a place for you at Butler.

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