Program Website: http://www.clemson.edu/caah/english/
Introduction
The Department of English at Clemson University has offered a Master of Arts (M.A.) in English since 1965. Its graduates have earned a reputation for outstanding disciplinary competence. Since Clemson does not offer the Ph.D. in English, M.A. students receive the full attention of the graduate faculty members. Another attractive feature of Clemson’s graduate program is that qualifi ed M.A. candidates may have the opportunity to teach freshman composition, with the guidance of an experienced faculty member.
The M.A. program is traditional, emphasizing a historical approach to the study of literature through seminars, lecture courses, and independent study. Students also have the opportunity to include the study of linguistics, creative writing, rhetoric, and critical theory in their program.
Programs of Study
The thesis option requires 25 semester-credit hours (nine courses). It includes the completion and defense of a thesis, which may count for up to 6 credit hours. The non-thesis option requires 37 semester-credit hours and the acceptance by the student’s advisory committee of a paper, offered for credit in an English course, which demonstrates
competent scholarly writing. Students have fl exibility in the selection of courses to accommodate their career objectives.
Centers and Institutes
Among the centers associated with the English department are the Center for Electronic and Digital Publishing (CEDP); the Clemson University Digital Press (CUDP); the
Multimedia Authoring, Teaching, and Research Facility (MATRF); and the Pearce Center for Professional Communication.
The Center for Electronic and Digital Publishing was created to develop, direct, and focus the academic publishing program in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities.
The Clemson University Digital Press is the college’s vehicle for the best scholarly, technological, and pedagogical research on issues that are of concern to the college, the community, and the state, defi ning ‘research’ to include “what has been built, created, performed, [or] written.’” The press generally publishes two books per annum, in addition to maintaining its fl agship journals, the semiannual South Carolina Review, and the annual Shakespeare journal, The Upstart Crow.
Complete information on these centers and other department facilities is available at http://www.clemson.edu/caah/english.
Financial Aid
The Department of English currently offers a number of research and teaching assistantships to qualifi ed applicants in the Department of English. Students receiving these assistantships do assigned research for faculty members, serve as editorial assistants, and/or teach introductory writing courses under the direct supervision of faculty members.
Applying
Admission requirements include: a baccalaureate degree from an accredited undergraduate college or university; a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale for full status admission; acceptable scores on the verbal, quantitative and writing sections of the GRE (applicants are encouraged but not required to submit scores for the Literature subject test); two letters of recommendations from individuals familiar with the candidate’s academic work and/or work experience. All of the aforementioned documents should be sent directly to the Admissions Offi ce as part of the Graduate Admissions process. If, however, an applicant is interested in fi nancial assistance, he or she should send the following documents directly to the Graduate Program Coordinator (listed on the back of this brochure): a writing sample (preferably a critical essay of 10 or more pages from an English course, or two shorter essays) and a brief personal statement, in the form of an intellectual autobiography, that articulates what the applicant has studied, why he or she is seeking an advanced degree, what eras, authors, and approaches he or she is particularly interested in, and what special circumstances, if any, should be considered.
Interested students may apply on the Web at http://www.grad.clemson.edu/Admission.php. A $70 nonrefundable fee for domestic applicants, $80 for international applicants, is due at the time of application.
Faculty Listing
- Susanna M. Ashton, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Iowa, 1998. English, nineteenth-century American literature, history of the book, literary magazines and best-sellers, African-American editors and presses.
- Rayford E. Barfi eld Jr., Professor; Ph.D., Tennessee, 1969. English, British literature, history of television’s audiences.
- Alma Bennett, Professor and Director of M.A. in English program; Ph.D., Texas at Dallas, 1991. English, interdisciplinary humanities, American literature, classics in translation.
- Wayne K. Chapman, Professor; Ph.D., Washington State, 1988. English, British and Anglo-Irish literature and poetry, American literature (1855 to present), textual-genetic, history of the book, and literary editing. Editor of the South Carolina Review.
- Mark J. Charney, Professor and Department Chair; Ph.D., Tulane, 1987. English, fi lm and theater, theater criticism, directing, screenwriting.
- Sterling K. Eisiminger, Professor; Ph.D., South Carolina, 1974. English, interdisciplinary humanities, creative writing.
- Jonathan Beecher Field, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Chicago, 2004. English, early American literature, historical fi ction, the American novel.
- Teresa Anne Fishman, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Purdue, 2002. Rhetoric and composition, ethics, professional communication.
- S. Morgan Gresham, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Louisville, 2000. Rhetoric and composition.
- Barbara A. Heifferon, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Arizona, 1998. Rhetoric, composition theory, women’s studies, health communication.
- Susan J. Hilligoss, Professor; Ph.D., Pennsylvania, 1977. English, medieval literature, visual communication, computers and writing, creative nonfi ction.
- Tharon W. Howard, Professor; Ph.D., Purdue, 1992. Professional communication, English rhetoric and composition, usability.
- Martin J. Jacobi, Professor; Ph.D., Oregon, 1984. English, rhetoric, professional communication.
- G. William Koon, Professor; Ph.D., Georgia, 1973. English, American and Southern literature.
- Michelle H. Martin, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Illinois State, 1979. English, children’s and young adult literature.
- Keith L. Morris, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., North Carolina at Greensboro, 1996. Creative writing, contemporary literature.
- Lee J. Morrissey, Professor; Ph.D., Columbia, 1995. English and comparative literature, British literature and literary theory.
- Michael R. Neal, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Louisville, 2001. Rhetoric and composition, assessment, writing technologies, writing program administration, composition theory and pedagogy, rhetoric, business and technical writing, service learning.
- Sean L. O’Sullivan, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Yale, 2000. English, the British novel, fi lm studies, screenwriting.
- R. Barton Palmer, Named Professor; Ph.D., NYU, 1989. Cinema studies, medieval literature, Chaucer, English/ French literary relations, fi lm studies.
- Catherine E. Paul, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Michigan, 1998. English, transatlantic modernist studies, literature and visual culture, museum studies, American literature, poetry, pedagogy.
- Elizabeth J. Rivlin, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Wisconsin–Madison, 2003. English, early modern British literature. Editor of The Upstart Crow.
- Joseph Clayton Sample, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Iowa State, 2004. English, professional communication and rhetoric.
- Elisa K. Sparks, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Indiana, 1978. English, literary theory, British literature, science fi ction, women’s studies.
- Summer Smith Taylor, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Penn State, 2000. English, writing assessment, the teaching and practice of writing in engineering.
- Ryan G. Van Cleave, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Florida State, 2001. Professional communication, identity construction, American travel narrative, popular culture, youth culture.
- Sean D. Williams, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle), 1999. English, hypertext theory, information architecture for online communication, digital literacy for workplace and academic applications, project management in communication design, visual communication.
- Donna H. Winchell, Professor; Ph.D., Texas Christian, 1983. English, composition, computers and writing, American literature.
- Mark R. Winchell, Professor; Ph.D., Vanderbilt, 1978. English, Western Civilization literature, New Criticism.
- Steven Paul Woodward, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Toronto, 2001. English literature, children’s literature and popular culture, fi lm studies.
- Arthur P. Young, Endowed Chair; Ph.D., Miami (Ohio), 1971. English, technical communication, writing across the curriculum, Victorian literature.
For More Information
Dr. Alma Bennett
Director of the M.A. in English Program
607 Strode Tower
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0523,
United States
Telephone: 864-656-5045
E-mail: balma@clemson.edu
