At Goshen College, you’ll immerse yourself in the power of language—reading great literature, crafting compelling stories, and sharpening your writing and critical thinking skills.
English & Writing Programs Overview
English and Writing at Goshen College
At Goshen College, studying English or writing means engaging deeply with language — as art, as inquiry, and as a means for change. Our programs are designed for students who love words and want to use them with purpose — to tell stories, ask big questions, and contribute to meaningful conversations in a variety of careers.
Through close faculty mentorship, discussion-based classes, and hands-on opportunities in publishing, journalism, and performance, you’ll learn to think critically, write clearly, and read with empathy and insight.
Experiential Learning Opportunities for English and writing programs
About 10 times a year the Broadside committee — composed of both faculty and students — publishes a piece of original creative writing in placard, or “broadside,” format. Each piece is individually signed by the author and distributed free of charge to a subscription list of about 250 people on campus. (Sorry, no mailed subscriptions.) Since 1976 the outstanding writing of students, faculty, and staff members, as well as visitors to campus, has been honored by such publication.
Poems, songs, and short fiction are welcome in the series. Authors are also encouraged to submit an illustration or visual design for the publication, which is produced by a paid student assistant. The Broadside editorial committee consists of a GC English department faculty member and a select group of students, including the Horswell Fellow.
Some Broadsides are printed on our department letterpress at Goshen Printmakers Guild in downtown Goshen.
Recent Broadsides:
- “mountain mirror,” by Olivia Martin (Winner of the 2022 Broadside Poetry Competition)
- “In the Arbor Where the War Ended,” by Oscar Murguia (Runner-up in the 2022 Broadside Poetry Competition)
- “The Rug,” by Claudia Mobley
- “The Sistine Chapel Took Four Years to Complete,” by Jakyra Green
- “The Late Late Show,” by retired faculty member Skip Barnett
The Goshen College English department has several publication awards available, because of a gift from Sushil and Christine Horswell Jain of Windsor, Ontario. In honor of Christine’s parents, Mary and Dr. Richard Horswell of Elkhart, Ind., the Horswell Fellowship and Horswell Anthology provide a unique opportunity for students to gain publishing and editing experience.
The Horswell Fellowship is awarded to an English major, after being selected from among applicants who express a clear vision for how to lead and develop our publishing initiatives in the English Department.
About five times a year the Pinchpenny Press (PPP) editorial board publishes chapbook-size books written by Goshen College students, faculty or staff members, or friends of the college. Publications include collections of student work, such as the literary arts journal Red Cents, as well as books authored by individual students. Normally published in editions of 100, Pinchpenny Press books are sold primarily on campus for $3 to $8 each. The Pinchpenny editorial committee consists of a GC English department faculty member and a select group of students, including the Horswell Fellow.
Red Cents is an award-winning literary arts journal that showcases student writing, visual art, and graphic design. It is edited and published by Goshen College students through the college’s Pinchpenny Press.
The Center for Mennonite Writing is a site for news and resources about writing and cultural production by Mennonites. It hosts an online journal, published quarterly, edited by English Professor Emerita Ann Hostetler and Professor Emeritus Ervin Beck.
More about our programs
Students may wish to attend the The S.A. Yoder Lecture Series, which brings authors to campus. The series honors Dr. Samuel A. Yoder, a professor at Goshen College from 1930 to 1935 and again from 1946 until his death in 1970. During his career, he was a Fulbright lecturer at Anatolia College in Greece, Smith-Mundt lecturer at the University of Hue in Vietnam, visiting professor at Taiwan University in Formosa, welfare officer under the United Nations in Egypt and GC Study-Service Term leader in Jamaica. Gifts to the series by his students, friends, and family have made the endowed lecture possible.
Past lectures include:
- 2023 — Urayoán Noel, poet, translator, and scholar, New York City
- 2022 — Casey Plett, fiction writer, Windsor, Ontario
- 2022 — Julia Spicher Kasdorf and Steven Rubin, poet (Pittsburgh) and photographer (University Park, PA)
- 2021 — Philip Metres, poet, essayist, and featured artist (Click for a recording of Metres’s GC webinar, hosted by English Department professor and chair, Jessica Baldanzi.)
- 2019 — Tiana Clark, poet and featured artist
- 2018 — Bill Campbell, publisher and science fiction author, Washington DC
- 2016 — Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, author and publisher, London, U.K.
English is a versatile major that prepares students for a wide range of jobs after graduation. English graduates are employed around the world in occupations such as teaching, law, library science, publishing, public relations, journalism, and museum studies. Many graduates have pursued service with church agencies, the ministry, or nonprofit management. Their superior critical thinking skills have also led to successful careers in business, medicine, web development, and social services.
The list below provides several career options, but it is not exhaustive. Please note that some positions require additional education.
- Account Executive
- Advertising Copywriter
- Author
- Biographer
- Circulation Manager
- City Manager
- College Professor
- Communications Manager
- Congressional Aide
- Copywriter
- Curator
- Editor
- Editorial Assistant
- English Teacher
- ESL Teacher/Coordinator
- Essayist
- Filmmaker
- Freelance Writer
- Foreign Correspondent
- Greeting Card Writer
- Human Resource Specialist
- Journalist
- Lawyer
- Librarian
- Literary Critic
- Loan Officer
- Manager
- Marketing Specialist
- Media Relations Specialist
- Narrator
- News Bureau Director
- Paralegal
- Poet
- Politician
- Public Administrator
- Public Relations Specialist
- Publisher
- Radio-TV Newscaster
- Reporter
- School Administrator
- Social Worker
- Songwriter
- Speech Writer
- Teacher
- Technical Writer
- Writing Tutor