E. Ellen Barker, Ph. D.
Acting Department Head
251-C Peltier Hall
985-448-4454
Department of Languages and Literature
Nicholls State University
Why Major or Minor in English?
The Department of Languages and Literature has some of the most diverse areas of concentration and
course offerings at Nicholls:
Areas of Concentration: Creative Writing, Literary Studies, Writing and Rhetoric
Minor: English
Anticipated Minors in the Coming Year: Film, Creative Writing, Cultural Studies
Exciting New Courses: Literature of the Undead, Literature of Madness, Literature in the Bible, Literary
References in the Twilight Series, Literature in the Harry Potter Series, Science Fiction, Gothic Literature, The
Graphic Novel, Asian Literature, New Orleans Literature, The “Other” Earnest Hemingway,” Sports Literature,
The Brontes, The Victorian Sensation Novel, Louisiana’s Ernest Gaines, the Harlem Renaissance, Middle Eastern
Literature and Culture, African Literature, Ethnic Women’s Literature, The Literature of Spanish and Latin
Cultures, Literature and the Wilderness, just to name a few.
Creative Writing Courses: fiction, poetry, screenwriting, creative non-fiction, the dramatic script
Film Courses: Introduction to Film and Film Genres (e.g. the western, the horror film)
Writing and Rhetoric Courses: digital rhetoric, classical rhetoric, special topics in rhetoric (such as women’s
or political rhetoric or the rhetoric in film), advanced writing, technical writing
Exciting Faculty from Diverse Backgrounds: Scott Banville, Ph. D., Ohio State University; Ellen Barker, Ph. D.,
Georgia State University; Kathy Conner, Ph. D., Florida State University; Richmond Eustis, Ph. D., Louisiana State
University; Todd Kennedy, Ph. D., University of South Carolina; Nick Mainieri, MFA University of New Orleans;
Patrick Perkins, Ph. D., University of Alabama; Windy Rachal, Ph. D., Ball State University; Abigail Scherer, Ph. D.,
University of Alabama; Michele Theriot, Ph. D., University of Louisiana; Myron Tuman, Ph. D., Tulane University;
Keri Turner, Ph. D., University of Louisiana; Jay Udall, MFA, New England College and M. A. George Washington
University; Shana Walton, Ph. D. Tulane University; Robin White, Ph. D. Louisiana State University
Clubs, Organizations, Reading Series: Very active English Society; Sigma Tau Delta, English Honorary Society;
Creative Writing Reading Series; Readings in Diversity series.
Careers for English Majors:
If you are thinking about Law School, then think about English.
Majoring in English is one of the strongest preparations you can have for admission to Law School.
Nationally, English majors score an average of 155 on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), which means that
our majors outscore students who graduate in such fields as political science, liberal arts, sociology, accounting,
finance, and education. In fact, English students score as much as 7 points higher on the LSAT than pre-law or
criminal justice majors. (1)
English majors also perform well in Law School itself because the work focuses on the same things you focused
on in your English courses: reasoning clearly and writing persuasive arguments.
(1) Nieswiadomy, Michael (2009) LSAT Scores of Economics Majors: The 2008-2009 Class Update, June 25,
2009.
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