The Department of English educates the student as a whole person through the study of literature, literary criticism, and writing, as these arts develop the mind, form the heart, and reveal essential truths about human nature, society, and the world. Literary analysis, interpretation, and a refined approach to language and writing skills guide us into the depths of human experience and the grandeur of beauty. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI notes, “beauty does not remove us from reality” but “leads to a direct encounter with the daily reality of our lives, liberating it from darkness, transforming it, [and] making it radiant and beautiful.” To that end, the curriculum of the English Department is designed to foster in the student a genuine love of letters and cultivate sensibilities suited to a more profound participation in what Benedict has called “the pilgrim fellowship of faith.”
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Alumni Profiles
Frank Monaco ’72
English
Frank Monaco’s mother told him she would only pay for college if he went to a Catholic school. So, Frank dutifully enrolled in the College of Steubenville, majoring in English—…
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Nicole (Rust ’11, MSE ’13) O’Connor
English
Nicole (Rust ’11, MSE ’13) O’Connor’s Franciscan University experience can be summarized in one word—trust.
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Marlo Cavnar Vernon ’01
English
As assistant professor in Cancer Population, Control, and Population Health at Georgia Cancer Institute, Marlo has won awards from the American Public Health Association, the American Association of Cancer Research,…
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Joseph Cunningham ’11
English
“I would encourage anyone to study literature with an open mind and open heart,” says Joseph Cunningham. “Regardless of the career path you choose, it will enrich you. ”Joseph earned…
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Julia Keena ’13
English
“At Franciscan, it’s possible to explore every side of a work of literature in a way other universities can’t — in the light of truth, in the full context of…
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Victoria Bonutti ’13
English
In her senior year at Oxford University’s Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Victoria Bonutti studied in the city where J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Gerard Manley Hopkins, John Henry Newman…
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Beyond the Classroom
Franciscan University Press
Franciscan University Press publishes outstanding works of scholarship and artistry in the general areas of the intersection of science and faith, the intersection of philosophy and Christian theology, Catholic studies with an emphasis on Franciscanism, and biblical theology.
Department Faculty
