English and Humanities
In an increasingly global environment where the ebb and flow of information courses instantaneously around the world, the disciplines devoted to the human word, to human communication, to the world's languages and literatures, its philosophies and religions remain vital. It is the mission of the English and Humanities Department to prepare its students to interface with this global, information society by providing them with the critical, questioning, imaginative, and interpretive abilities they will need to succeed as students and in their chosen career paths. Your monument shall be my gentle verse,Which eyes not yet created shall o'er-read, And tongues to be your being shall rehearse When all the breathers of this world are dead; You still shall live-such virtue hath my pen- Where breath most breathes, even in the mouths of men. William Shakespeare, Sonnet lxxxi |
The English and Humanities Department is a multidisciplinary department that embraces the language-centered disciplines of literature, writing, theatre, film, philosophy, religion, and foreign language. The department offers baccalaureate degree programs in Literary Studies, Theatre, Professional Writing, Philosophy, and Spanish, and in conjunction with the Department of Education it offers programs which qualify Secondary Education majors for Pennsylvania certification to teach either English or Communication courses in secondary schools.
In our multilingual, multidimensional global environment, there is no broader or deeper cultural preparation for living - whatever profession you ultimately enter - than the pleasure and discipline of reading, writing, speaking, and thinking, pleasures that come through serious study within English, the humanities, and foreign language.
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It is good to live and learn. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote de la Mancha |
In these pages, we hope you will explore some of the offerings of the English and Humanities Department at York College. Follow the links to learn about some of the exciting research the department's faculty are engaged in. Learn how to get involved in the Players, YCP's theatre troupe. Discover some of the department's most popular course offerings. And find out what some of our alumni have been doing following their graduation. You will find there, as well, information about departmental internships and majors in the English and Humanities Department.
The English and Humanities Department is housed in the new state-of-the-art Humanities Center, featuring classrooms, oral history and film study labs, five computer labs, as well as wireless and hard-wired network connectivity throughout the building. The Humanities Center also houses the Learning Resource Center, a film viewing room, the Foreign Language’s World Languages Learning Center, writing labs and production studios, and other specialized spaces where faculty and students can work together on projects, independent studies, and internships. The Humanities Center is next door to the brand new Collegiate Performing Arts Center, which includes the 750 seat York Collegiate Theatre and the Perko Playpen Theatre, which will seat about 125. Both facilities provide student theatre majors with the opportunity to work in a professional, state-of-the-art facility as they practice their craft.
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For I spend my whole life in going about and persuading you all to give your first and greatest care to the improvement of your souls, and not till you have done that to think of your bodies or your wealth. For the unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates |
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The English and Humanities Department provides students with many opportunities to explore literature, writing, philosophy, religion, theatre, and foreign languages. Additionally, the department sponsors an annual lecture series that brings noted speakers, performers, and productions to York College each year. Past speakers have included the poet and memoirist Mary Karr; Terry Gross, the host of the PBS radio interview show Fresh Air; nationally recognized scholars such as Michael Berube, Constancio Nakuma, and Thomas Miller. The department sponsors an annual Film Series which highlights the contribution of filmmakers and film to popular culture and an annual writer-in-residence program, which brings nationally recognized authors such as Li Young Lee and Rick Moody to campus to read from their work and conduct a writing workshop for aspiring student creative writers. Players, the department’s student theatre troupe, mounts six productions annually, many of them directed by and staring students.
The department regularly brings its students together for departmental socials to foster a sense of community spirit among our majors. Students can contribute to the department's literary magazine, The York Review, and serve on its editorial board. Through the gracious support of The Bob Hoffman Foundation, the department sponsors the annual Bob Hoffmann Writing Awards Contest and provides cash awards for the best entries in poetry, short fiction, and short nonfiction. The department holds annual workshops to help students with their career planning and prepare for graduate school. A number of awards and scholarships are annually given to students in recognition of their achievement and scholarship.
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Now my belief is that this poet who never wrote a word and was buried at the crossroads still lives. She lives in you and in me, and in many other women who are not here tonight...But she lives; for great poets do not die; they are continuing presences; they need only the opportunity to walk among us in the flesh. Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own. |
If you would like more information about the English and Humanities Department and its degree programs, please feel free to email the department's chair, Dr. Dennis M. Weiss, or you may call the Department office at (717) 846-7788, ext. 1349.
