Department Chair: Dr. Adam Zachary Newton

aznewton@yu.edu

Director of Composition: Dr. Gillian Steinberg

gsteinbe@yu.edu

Director of the YC Writing Center: Dr. Lauren Fitzgerald

fitzger@yu.edu 

Curriculum for the English Department

The Yeshiva College English Department organizes itself around the principle that the study of language and literature is of fundamental importance to the individual's personal development and to his or her successful functioning within society. The Department understands “act of interpretation”—the study of texts and their contexts—to be aesthetic, philosophical, historical, political, and ethical. Consequently, our programs complement the Yeshiva College student's mastery of religious modes of interpretation.

Recognizing that career-tracks are more volatile than ever before, the Department is committed not only to the preparation of English majors for graduate work in literature or writing but also to providing essential analytic and imaginative training for students planning to enter such fields as law, medicine, communications and the new media, business, education, and the rabbinate. A skilled command of language and a broad exposure to the literary productions of diverse time periods and cultures should enable our students to take their place in the global community of educated men and women of the twenty-first century.

We want our students to learn

	to write clearly and thoughtfully
	to read insightfully and reflectively
	to think analytically and critically
	to communicate appropriately and persuasively with diverse audiences
	to understand and create writing in different modes and genres
	to be sensitive to individual and cultural diversity
	to understand how theoretical and cultural vantage points influence the reading of texts
	to interpret literature from diverse historical and cultural contexts
	to comprehend and apply traditional and contemporary literary theory
	to appreciate the aesthetic, philosophical, historical, political, and ethical dimensions of literary texts

Please use the menu to the left to find out more about the English Department.