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English, B.A. | Degree Requirements & Courses
- Literature and Cultural Studies
- Journalism and Writing
Professional Multimedia Communications, A.S. | Degree Requirements & Courses
Professional Multimedia Communications, B.S. | Degree Requirements & Courses
Licensure in Secondary Education
Minors: English, Film Studies, Philosophy
English, Philosophy and Film Studies as Lyndon
The best thing about Lyndon’s English, Philosophy, and Film Studies Department is that we offer a set of courses and programs with the extensive range and depth of a much larger college or university with the small-college, personal attention that is this College’s hallmark. With our dedicated teaching faculty and small classes, not only will you get to really know your professors and fellow students, but you will have access to courses and programs in literature, writing, media, philosophy, culture, and film that are a match for any college in Vermont or New England. We make available to students the kind of first-rate education in both liberal arts and professional study that is generally available only at much larger institutions.
Students may pursue interests in a variety of specialties: journalism and professional writing, creative writing, literature, philosophy, film, and cultural studies. With three majors, several concentrations, and a variety of liberal studies concentrations and minors, the department provides flexible alternatives for majors to pursue their particular interests and to develop their skills and understanding.
Our effort is to prepare all of our students—majors and non-majors—for the richness of a lifetime of reading and writing, as well as to supply a firm and comprehensive foundation for each student as he or she pursues either graduate study or a chosen career.
We provide an ideal balance between the broad preparation of an interdisciplinary liberal arts education and the specific focus of specialized study in a chosen professional or academic field. At the core of the program for all majors is a thorough grounding in creative and critical thinking; analytical reading, research, and writing; and the study of culture, providing the foundation for advanced study in the area of each student’s particular interest. Our liberal arts foundation and emphasis, particularly in its concentration on substantial learning in critical, interpretive, analytical, and creative reading, thinking, and writing, along with our integration of internships and independent, active learning for all students, prepares each and every student for personal and professional success.
LSC’s particular focus on experiential education is manifested in two ways. First, the more obvious and traditional sense of experiential education is exemplified in the strong emphasis on practical, hands-on, career-related course work and internship experience for our Journalism & Writing concentration and the Media Communications program. So too our Secondary Education Licensure program has a significant internship and field-experience component, and a number of Literature & Cultural Studies majors also obtain internships in areas such as communications, public relations, fund raising, and grant writing, while Philosophy majors find internships is similar areas and others.
Second, and perhaps more significantly, the kind of analytical, critical, interpretive, creative, and communicative skills that are at the heart of our common core and of the study of literature and philosophy are acquired and developed through demonstration and through the demanding work—the experience—of our entire range of courses in literature, cultural studies, writing, philosophy, and film.
Common Program Goals
- In providing students with the essential foundation of a liberal arts education in all its various programs, the Department of English, Philosophy and Film Studies seeks:
- to provide students with a vital and substantive understanding of the study and analysis of culture through literature, writing, philosophy, and a variety of cultural media
- to provide students with critical reading and research skills
- to train students in the kind of analytical, interpretive, and communicative skills that are valuable not only in graduate study, but in any area of management and communications, from personnel to public relations
- to develop and enhance students’ writing skills
- as with any liberal arts discipline, to teach students how to learn by developing their critical thinking skills
Career Opportunities
Like other liberal arts majors, our students are often asked: ”So what are you going to do with that degree?“ Actually, the question is better asked another way around: What can’t you do with an English or Philosophy degree? You can’t practice medicine or law—at least not without going to medical or law school first (see graduates below). But there isn’t a whole lot else you can’t do.
Many of our graduates have pursued careers in such fields as teaching, journalism, advertising, public relations, editing and publishing, “web” writing and publishing, non-profit fund raising, non-profit organization management, technical writing, creative writing, law, government, business management, library work, sales, marketing, banking, international service, and social service.
A number of graduates have undertaken Masters and Ph.D. programs in English or education at such schools as Lyndon, Plymouth State, University of Maine, University of Vermont, Middlebury’s Breadloaf School of English, Boston College, and Columbia University. Others have pursued advanced degrees in business, medicine, and law.
Some of the careers our graduates have pursued:
- English Teachers/Educators
- Assistant Attorney General, Vermont
- Director of the Science Libraries, Yale University
- Technical Writers
- Physician, Quincy Mental Health Center
- Managing Editor, Moose River Media
- University Archivist, Norwich University
- Assistant Dean, Yavapai College
- Communications Director, Vermont Department of Education
- Marketing Assistants
- Sports Editor/Assistant Editor, The Courier
We are as proud of our graduates as we believe they are of their Lyndon education. Graduates from our programs, such as Gary Moore (Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges), Louise White (president of the LSC Alumni Association and a middle-school teacher), Justin Lavely (owner, editor, and publisher of the North Star Monthly), Leon Thompson (columnist for the St. Albans Messenger and author of several humor books), Jill Guest Remick (Communications Director at the Vermont Department of Education), and Robert McDougall (Assistant Attorney General for the State of Vermont) remind us not only that our graduates go places and do things, but that they bring their education to enriching their communities and ours.
Faculty
The faculty of the Department of English, Philosophy, and Film Studies represent a wide range of disciplines and specialties, from film studies to composition pedagogy. All department faculty participate in the general education program in addition to their respective program responsibilities. Andrea Luna coordinates the college composition program, which serves all LSC students. Elaine Razzano is the secondary education coordinator for the department. With Alan Boye’s retirement, Dan Williams is now primarily responsible for journalism and media communications, while Chandler Gilman is the primary person for creative writing. David Johnston is the department’s philosopher and film specialist. Buck Beliles and Richard Moye are primarily literature and cultural studies faculty. The department is also supported by a superb and dedicated group of part-time faculty in composition, writing, and humanities. While we take our work and our students very seriously, we try not to take ourselves too seriously. Please see the links on the department’s web site for more detailed information.
- David B. Beliles, Professor
- Chandler R. Gilman, Associate Professor
- David M. Johnston, Assistant Professor
- Andrea Luna, Professor
- Richard H. Moye, Professor
- Elaine Razzano, Professor
- Dan Williams, Assistant Professor
