Sep 28, 2024  
Undergraduate College Catalog 2024-2025 
    
Undergraduate College Catalog 2024-2025

English Major: Youth Literature, Media, and Culture concentration


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Major in English

The English major offers students a rich variety of courses in literature, culture, and rhetoric that foregrounds learning from diverse perspectives. You will be joining a collaborative environment with your professors and peers, in which you read, discuss, and write about poetry, fiction, nonfiction, dramatic literature, and theoretical texts. You’ll expand your worldview while sharpening your analytical and communication skills. In addition to the general English major, Wheaton offers concentrations for students who want to focus on a particular area such as literary and cultural studies, writing studies and rhetoric, youth literature, media, and culture, and medieval/renaissance studies. Wheaton English majors become writers, editors, content creators, project managers, analysts, researchers, and more in nearly every profession from publishing and marketing to law and healthcare. They’re also well-prepared for law school or graduate study in English, Creative Writing, library science, and teaching.

 

Youth Literature, Media, and Culture Concentration


The English major’s Youth Literature, Media, and Culture concentration offers students a focused exploration of the media and ideologies targeted at young audiences, emphasizing multidisciplinary approaches to close reading, research, and criticism. Students will examine a diverse array of materials, including children’s and young adult literature, multicultural oral traditions, and the current political discourses surrounding youth culture. This concentration explores narratives of development, identity formation, inclusion and belonging, as well as diverse perspectives on what it means to be young.

Upon completion, students are equipped with up-to-date critical thinking skills and a nuanced understanding of the intersections between literature, media, and youth culture. This prepares them for careers in education, publishing, media production, and advocacy, where an understanding of youth perspectives and media literacy is essential.

The Science of Childhood:


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