English
Acquire an independent mind
Ready to hone your critical reading, writing, and thinking skills? Students of English will read diverse and culturally relevant literature and media such as poems, songs, novels, plays, films, and comics. Through the study of these literary texts, students will sharpen their writing and critical thinking skills to examine the ways in which these texts engage issues relevant to our culture and society—from the environment and class to gender and race.
Studying English opens doors to endless possibilities and specialties: literary analysis, rhetoric and composition, education, creative writing, and more.
Programs of Study
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AAssociate Degree
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TTransfer Degree
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CCredit Certificate
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NNon-Credit
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Limited Enrollment -
Online Options
English for Transfer
Associate in Arts for Transfer
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Students earning the Associate in Arts in English for Transfer will read, analyze, and interpret diverse literary texts in order to craft academic arguments and literary analyses. Students will also encounter a variety of literary genres and periods, with the opportunities to examine how literature can embody cultural, intellectual, and artistic trends.
This program assists students with seamless transfer to a California State University.
Program Code
MAA648/MAA649
Units
19 units
Meet Your English Faculty
Your English faculty are committed to providing high-quality writing instruction, developing critical reading skills, supporting the literacy needs of all college programs, and preparing students for lifelong reading, writing, and learning. We are excited to welcome you, and we look forward to exploring with you the many possibilities and specialties available through the study of English.
- Briana Boykin
- Dan Clark, Ph.D.
- Jennifer Escobar, Chair
- Melanie James
- Emma Pacheco
- Jeff Rhyne, Ph.D.
- Michael Schwartz, Ph.D.
- Kathryn Stevenson, Ph.D., Assistant Chair
- Michael Wilson, Writing Center Coordinator
- Valarie Zapata, Ph.D.
Part-Time Faculty
Why study English?
What You'll Learn
- How to think critically about and interpret literature, employing language and methods of literary analysis to construct interpretive arguments and to address the ways that literature invites multiple interpretive possibilities.
- How to write essays of literary analysis effectively supported by integrated, interpreted, and relevant textual evidence.
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of how cultural history informs and is informed by literature.
Career Options
- Author or Copy Writer
- Journalist
- Editor or Literary Agent
- English Language or Literature Teacher
- Technical, Grant or Scientific Writer
- K-12 Teacher
- Librarian
Spring 2025 Literature Courses
About the Class
Section 23818, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:35 - 11 am
Want to read many great pieces of literature filled with heroes, villains, and knights? This course is a survey of British literature from the eighth century CE to 1800, including a comprehensive exposure to the poetry, drama, and fiction of this era as well as a basic understanding of the cultural, intellectual, and artistic trends it embodies. No textbook purchase! All readings and materials will be provided for you.
More Details
- Taught by Professor Johnina Grozav
- Professor Grozav teaches English at MVC and is a graduate of UC Riverside and Claremont Graduate University. Her research and area of interest is British Literature with a focus in Early Modern Studies. You can often find her tutoring in the Writing and Reading Center (WRC) if she is not teaching. She loves to read in her spare time, spend time with friends and family, and considers herself a high-key coffee addict.
- Zero textbook cost
About the Class
Section 23139, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:10 am - 12:35 pm
William Shakespeare is considered one of the most influential authors in the English language and still impacts popular culture today. This course surveys his plays and poetry. Ready to learn why “all the world’s a stage” or why the “course of true love never did run smooth?” Take the class and find out!
More Details
- Taught by Professor A. Riggle
- Zero textbook cost
About the Class
Section 23814, Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:10 am - 12:35 pm
Have you ever read a novel or a short story and wondered why it left such a strong impact on you? Have you tried to figure out how to make your own writing do the same? If so, this creative writing course is the class for you. We will not only read engaging stories, we will analyze them and figure out what makes them so effective. You’ll also have an opportunity to craft your own short stories and share them with the other writers in the class.
More Details
- Taught by Kathryn Stevenson, Ph.D.
About the Class
Section 23815, Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:45 - 2:10 pm
English 14 is a class that fulfills a requirement for English majors. It introduces authors, themes, and trends in the literatures written in and about America from pre-contact to the Civil War. We will examine how ideas about the discovery and founding of America supported colonialism, how an American identity is developed, and how those ideas are questioned and critiqued mostly through non-fictional works, including the accounts of European colonizers, the oral histories of Native Americans, the narratives of enslaved peoples, among many, but we will also explore fictional works and the emergence of American poetics.
More Details
- Taught by Jeff Rhyne, Ph.D.
- Zero textbook cost
About the Class
Section 23816, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:20 - 3:45 pm
Latinx literature of the regional United States in all genres from the early oral traditions, chronicles, and epic poems of the 15th through 19th centuries to the essays, poems, plays, and novels of 20th century authors. The course will also explore Latinx history, culture, and identity as expressed in the writings of American Latinx writers.
More Details
- Taught by Emma Pacheco
- Zero textbook cost
About the Class
Section 23136, Wednesdays, 3:55 - 5:20 pm, Hybrid
Are you interested in working with children or just love children’s stories? Enroll in Children’s Literature and analyze the importance of multicultural and multilingual representation in children’s literature! You'll analyze and create children’s books, and take trips to the Early Childhood Education Center to interact with young learners.
More Details
- Taught by Emma Pacheco
- Zero textbook cost
About the Class
Section 23817, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:55 - 5:20 pm
Like good food and drink, literature is one of the pleasures of life. And it's a form of travel as we journey through time and space to visit different worlds and cultures. We will read significant works of world literature from Ancient literatures to the Seventeenth Century.
More Details
- Taught by J. Montejano