Literature

Student sitting in class

Read with discernment, write with clarity and force

As a literature major at Simmons, you will learn to write insightfully, read closely, and think critically. You’ll spark your curiosity through independent research, and develop skills that will serve you in your career and life. 

You’ll explore sophisticated understandings of literature. Our courses cover a diverse range of authors from the United States, Britain, the global south, and the world. You'll learn from award-winning faculty who are poets, novelists, literary scholars, and cultural critics. 

At Simmons, you’ll engage with individual and cultural values, ideas, debates, and insights woven into literature. You’ll gain knowledge of the English language and develop skills in critical analysis and creative expression. You'll grow as you build confidence as an independent thinker.

Internship Opportunities for Literature Majors

Our literature majors take advantage of internships in Boston and beyond. You'll have the opportunity to build your skills and resume and learn from mentors in their fields. 

Internship sites include:

  • Charlesbridge Publishing
  • The Actors' Shakespeare Project
  • Make-a-Wish Foundation
  • Brookline Center for the Arts
  • Horn Book Magazine
  • Candlewick Press
  • Boston Ballet

What Can You Do with a BA in Literature?

Graduates from our Bachelor of Arts in Literature program are skilled at reading deeply, analyzing complex and sophisticated material, and communicating with clarity. These skills are always in demand.

Literature majors thrive in careers in law, publishing, advertising, business, government service, technology, public service, media, journalism, writing, and teaching.

The Literature & Writing department offers a Literature major and a Writing major. Described below are the requirements for the Literature major.

The Literature Major

The Literature major consists of 10 courses given by, or approved by, the department.

Two core courses are required for the Literature major. All students will complete LTWR 199. In most cases, Literature majors will fill the core requirements by taking LTWR 200. Literature majors who minor in Cinema and Media Studies can substitute LTWR 221 for LTWR 200.

Two of the following core courses are required for the Literature major:

  • LTWR 199 Approaches to Literature
  • LTWR 200 Intro to Theory (or LTWR 221 The Critical Lens for Cinema and Media Studies minors)

Four Context courses that cross borders of space or time are required for the Literature major:

  • Two courses that emphasize Geographical and Cultural Contexts
  • Two courses that emphasize Historical Contexts

Of the ten courses required for the Literature major, two must be upper-level courses:

  • One course designated by the department as a 200-level Research Methods course.
  • One course taken at the 300 level.

The remaining two courses are taken as electives.

We encourage you to augment your required courses with in-depth study in the liberal arts and additional courses in the major. Dual-degrees, interdisciplinary programs, and a wide range of minors are also available. You'll work with your advisor to develop a coherent course program that will meet your educational goals.

We also offer a minor in Literature and Writing and a minor in Cinema and Media Studies for students pursuing other majors.

Take advantage of internships in Boston and beyond. Our students have interned at:

  • Charlesbridge Publishing
  • The Actors' Shakespeare Project
  • Make-a-Wish Foundation
  • Brookline Center for the Arts
  • Horn Book Magazine
  • Candlewick Press
  • Boston Ballet
  • Horticulture Magazine
  • MIT Press
  • Harvard Museum of Natural History
  • Blackwell Publishing
  • Beacon Press
  • The Museum of Fine Arts
  • Children's Television Workshop
  • Comcast
  • Versus News
  • De Gruyter Publishing
  • United Nations Association of Greater Boston
  • Blueberry Hill Productions
  • Cambridge.com
  • The Cotting School
  • Boston Public Schools
  • Brookline.com
  • Woburn Public School System Libraries
  • Raytheon BBN Technologies
  • Boston Casting Company