{"id":24570,"date":"2018-04-25T09:41:59","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T13:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=24570"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:54:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:54:56","slug":"english-double-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=24570","title":{"rendered":"Double up and pick a concentration: English offers perfect pairing with any major"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_24571\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24571\" style=\"width: 623px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24571\" src=\"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/07\/DSC_6702.jpg\" alt=\"J. Ross MacDonald Professor Daniel Wallace teaches creative writing, which has long been a popular minor, but will become a new major concentration as well this fall. (photo by Donn Young)\" width=\"623\" height=\"415\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24571\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">J. Ross MacDonald Professor Daniel Wallace teaches creative writing, which has long been a popular minor, but will become a new major concentration as well this fall. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>The department of English and comparative literature will offer seven new major concentrations beginning this fall. Want to make yourself more marketable? Students are encouraged to pair their English major with natural sciences, social sciences and more.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Undergraduates Carter Hurley, Clara Davison and Samantha Kichman are all double-majoring in English and another field \u2014 and they are excited about the new concentrations that will be offered in fall 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Hurley, a first-year student, said she has always resisted being put in \u201cone box or another.\u201d She\u2019s majoring in English and chemistry because \u201cI want to know so much about the world, and both majors push you toward analytical skills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hurley is also interested in law and has enjoyed the advanced legal writing class she\u2019s taking this semester with Jennifer Larson, English teaching associate professor and assistant director of undergraduate studies.<\/p>\n<p>Seven new concentrations offered in fall 2018 will allow English majors the option to choose a concentration that matches their interests. Many of the concentrations are interdisciplinary. They include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Comparative and world literatures (also a minor)<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Creative writing (also a minor)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>British and American literature (also a minor)<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Film studies (also a minor)<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Science, medicine and literature (also a minor)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Social justice and literature<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Writing, editing and digital publishing (also a minor). <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_24572\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24572\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-24572\" src=\"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2018\/04\/Hurley-Carter-Final3_MG_5109-800x420crop.jpg\" alt=\"First-year student Carter Hurley, who is double-majoring in English and chemistry, says &quot;Both majors push you toward analytical skills.&quot; (photo by Sarah Boyd) \" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24572\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">First-year student Carter Hurley, who is double-majoring in English and chemistry, says &#8220;Both majors push you toward analytical skills.&#8221; (photo by Sarah Boyd)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe encourage students to follow their bliss. One of the main goals for this reorganization is to show them how versatile the English major can be, that it can prepare you for so many different career trajectories,\u201d Larson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve created a road map of customization for them, if they want to take that route.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Davison, a senior, is majoring in English and political science and has taken classes in medicine, literature and culture. She received a 2017 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to pursue a project analyzing the role of stories in helping women with postpartum depression address the stigmatization they sometimes feel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day, stories matter. Stories can be used to help us understand illness in a way that\u2019s not seen in medical data,\u201d Davison said.<\/p>\n<p>Kichman, also a senior, will be headed to South Africa after graduation to work for Vheneka, a nonprofit women\u2019s empowerment organization that offers support for women exiting prostitution and human sex trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>As an English and peace, war and defense major, Kichman has always been interested in issues of social justice, history and international relations. She spent a year studying abroad at Oxford University working on her thesis on war literature. She eventually hopes to go to graduate school in international relations, and she said her studies have allowed her to explore both a humanities and a social sciences perspective.<\/p>\n<p>She applauds the new English concentration in social justice and literature.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy dad was a Green Beret, so I have always tried to have a [broader] perspective on the world and human rights,\u201d she said. \u201cThe power of language and focusing on things through that lens can be a good way to approach big issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mary Floyd-Wilson, Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor and chair of the English and comparative literature department, said English majors learn how to translate powerful ideas across time, disciplines and cultures, and then make connections to the \u201chere and now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKnowing how to analyze the written word and use language persuasively is what enables English majors to thrive in diverse fields, including medicine, law, project management and nonprofit development,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><em>By Kim Spurr, College of Arts &amp; Sciences <\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The department of English and comparative literature will offer seven new major concentrations beginning this fall. Want to make yourself more marketable? Students are encouraged to pair their English major with natural sciences, social sciences and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":24571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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