The Bachelor and Master of Arts in English degree programs at the University of South Alabama prepare students for jobs in professional settings including teaching, writing, and business areas. English majors and minors are taught by talented faculty and field experts in creative writing, literature, and professional writing in the College of Arts and Sciences. English undergraduate student Kelsi Fails describes her passion for writing poetry and studying literature at USA.
The English undergraduate program allows students to explore the study of literature and interpretation of novels, stories, poems and essays through critical approaches and writing, build the skills to craft meaningful creative work, and develop skills in professional writing and editing. The English master's program offers students in the creative writing and literature concentrations advanced study and preparation for careers in English as well as further graduate study. Through classes, as well as research opportunities and internships, students build skills in critical reading and writing, research, and instruction that support a range of career fields in business and education.
Upcoming Events
IMC 68: Florence Dore with Mark Spencer - Wednesday, January 15, 2025 - 7:00pm
Join us as we kick off the English Department's Spring Series on Sound with an intimate, living-room concert featuring Florence Dore, accompanied by Mark Spencer of Son Volt. Dore is a Nashville-born, Chapel Hill-based musical artist whose most recent record, Highways and Rocketships, recorded with R.E.M. producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, won Best Americana Album of 2022 at Lonesome Highway Magazine. The road from her first record Perfect City (2001) to Highways and Rocketships was long but anything but straight—Dore spent that time getting tenure as a literature professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, riding around on Steve Earle’s tour bus to catch up with her drumming husband Will Rigby, writing a couple of books, putting on a conference at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, taking a seat on the board of the Bob Dylan Institute at the University of Tulsa, and raising a daughter.
Please note: this event is free and open to the public, but seats are extremely limited.
For details and to reserve a seat, please email USA English professor Justin St. Clair.
Florence Dore - Thursday, January 16, 2025 - 4:00pm
As part of the English Department's Spring Series on Sound, our opening-week symposium, "Music and Memory," will feature Florence Dore. Professor of English at UNC-Chapel Hill, Dore is the author of Novel Sounds: Southern Fiction in the Age of Rock and Roll (Columbia University Press, 2018) and The Ink in the Grooves: Conversations on Literature and Rock 'n' Roll (Cornell University Press, 2022). An award-winning songwriter and touring musician, she recently launched Ink in the Grooves Live, a traveling public humanities program that found her traversing the South performing in rock venues and giving talks on vernacular music and civic belonging. With contributions from panelist Mark Spencer of Son Volt, Dore will deliver a keynote titled "Anonymity in Cultural Memory: 'The House Carpenter,' William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, and the American Marketplace of Ideas."
Please note: this free event will be held in the Marx Library Auditorium. The symposium
is made possible by a generous grant from the Alabama Humanities Alliance, and through
the support of the College of Arts & Sciences, the Stokes Center for Creative Writing,
and the Independent Music Collective.
Laura Vrana - Tuesday, January 28, 2025 - 4:00pm
Associate Professor of English Laura Vrana will speak about her newly published book, Pitfalls of Prestige: Black Women and Literary Recognition (Ohio State University Press, 2024), which surveys how developments in American literary institutions since 1980 have shaped—and been shaped by—Black women poets. Join us for refreshments and conversation about poets from Rita Dove and Maya Angelou to Amanda Gorman.
Please note: this free event will be held in the Archaeology Museum with a book signing
and reception to follow.
Daniel Wallace - Tuesday, February 4, 2025 - 5:30pm
The J. Ross MacDonald Distinguished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Daniel Wallace is the author of six novels, including Big Fish (1998) and Extraordinary Adventures (2017). Tim Burton's movie adaptation of Big Fish was released to great acclaim in 2003, and the film served as the basis for a subsequent Broadway musical. Wallace's stories and novels have been translated into many languages, and his illustrations have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Garden & Gun, and other venues. His most recent book, a memoir titled This Isn't Going to End Well, was published by Algonquin books in April 2023.
Please note: this free event will be held in the Student Center Terrace Room with
a book signing and reception to follow.
IMC Book Fair - Wednesday, February 19, 2025 - 9am to 4pm
Weather permitting, the Independent Music Collective (IMC) will be holding the ONLY book fair of the semester in the HUMB courtyard from 9am to 4pm on Wednesday, February 19th. Come browse a wide selection of used books (on all topics) and music in a variety of formats. Proceeds fund the IMC Concert Series!
James McMurtry with Abe Partridge - Saturday, March 22, 2025 - 7:00pm
After a hiatus, the Annual Songwriter Keynote returns, live at the University of South Alabama on Saturday, March 22, 2025! This special event will feature an acoustic performance by critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter James McMurtry. Local artist Abe Partridge will open, following remarks from former USA Writer-in-Residence Frye Gaillard. Admission will be free, and all attendees will receive a free vinyl copy of IMC Volume Two, the latest compilation of live recordings from the IMC Concert Series. Ticketing details and procedures will be announced on Monday, February 3, 2025. More info here.
Please note: this free event will be held in the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center (Mainstage
Theatre). ASK 2025 is co-sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the USA Department
of English, the Stokes Center for Creative Writing, the USA Department of Theatre
and Dance, the USA College of Arts and Sciences, and the Independent Music Collective.
Jennifer Croft - Thursday, April 10, 2025 - 5:30pm
Associate Professor of English at the University of Tulsa, Jennifer Croft won a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship for her novel The Extinction of Irena Rey, the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for her illustrated memoir Homesick and the 2018 International Booker Prize for her translation from Polish of Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk's Flights. She is also the translator of Federico Falco's A Perfect Cemetery, Romina Paula's August, Pedro Mairal's The Woman from Uruguay, and Olga Tokarczuk's The Books of Jacob (a finalist for the Kirkus Prize). In 2023, she received an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature.
Please note: this free event will be held in the Student Center Terrace Room with
a book signing and reception to follow. PHOTO: Kelly Kurt Brown.
Director of Creative Writing
The University of South Alabama Department of English invites applications for a full-time (nine-month), tenure-track Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor of Creative Writing, starting August 15, 2025. The successful candidate will also direct the Stokes Center for Creative Writing and serve as Director of Creative Writing
Application and Search Process
Required: PhD in English or MFA in Creative Writing or a closely related field with expertise in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, screen/playwriting, and/or some combination of the above; significant publication record; demonstrated leadership ability; demonstrated commitment to facilitating student readings and publications.
Preferable: Experience with departmental administration (such as service as the coordinator or director of a creative writing program or concentration); experience with marketing and recruitment as well as creative writing assessment; experience serving as the faculty advisor to a student literary magazine.
To apply: email vita, cover letter, and names of three references to Dr. Becky McLaughlin, Chair, Search Committee, c/o Ms. Mary Ricciardi.
Position
The successful candidate will teach primarily creative writing courses in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and/or screen/playwriting with occasional courses in composition; actively publish in appropriate fields; direct the Stokes Center for Creative Writing; and serve as Director of Creative Writing.
Administrative responsibilities include arranging student readings and facilitating student publications; recruiting students for the English Department’s graduate and undergraduate creative writing concentrations; inviting and hosting visits by distinguished writers (under the auspices of the Stokes Center for Creative Writing); overseeing the assessment of creative writing (as part of the university’s annual assessment of learning outcomes); and exploring opportunities for community outreach. The Director of Creative Writing will work closely with the department chair, the graduate coordinator, and the chair of the undergraduate committee to improve and expand the department’s already successful creative writing concentrations. (For more information on these concentrations, see department website links for “Undergraduate Program” and “Graduate Program.”)
The Department, University, and Community
The English Department at the University of South Alabama has long been identified with outstanding creative writing faculty members and alumni. Past or present faculty members have received many honors, including an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, the National Book Award, the Harper Lee Award, and the Alabama Poet Laureateship. Numerous former students have published novels, poetry collections, and works of creative nonfiction. The department is exceptionally collegial, highly productive in research and creative work, and committed to quality undergraduate and graduate education.
The University of South Alabama is a public research university with more than 14,000 students. The historic Mobile Bay area is home to many successful creative writers and boasts a lively arts scene in which the USA creative writing faculty members have long figured prominently.
The Stokes Center for Creative Writing
The Stokes Center enhances the English Department’s offerings in creative writing by sponsoring readings, lectures, forums, workshops, community projects, and other events that are free and open to the public. It also supports creative writing students through scholarships and awards in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The Stokes Center is committed to fostering a vibrant writers’ community in southern Alabama that showcases local and national authors and provides a meeting place for writers from around the world.
Visiting Writers Series
The University of South Alabama has hosted many distinguished authors and scholars over the years, including Margaret Atwood, Charles Bernstein, Percival Everett, Roxanne Gay, Yuri Herrera, Major Jackson, Elizabeth Kolbert, Hank Lazar, Marjorie Perloff, Marge Piercy, Danez Smith, W. D. Snodgrass, and Edward O. Wilson. Now part of the Stokes Center, the Visiting Writers Series brings emerging and established authors to campus for readings and craft talks throughout the year. All events are free and open to the public.
If you have any questions about the search or the process, please contact Search Chair, Dr. Becky McLaughlin. Review of applications will begin January 6, 2025, and continue until the position is filled.
Part-Time Teaching
The English Department reviews applications on a continuing basis for part-time instructors, mainly to teach composition. Literature surveys and technical writing sections are available occasionally for those who are qualified in those areas.
Minimum Requirement: M.A. in English.
Please send your vita, cover letter, and contact information for three professional references and transcripts via email to Dr. Patrick Shaw.
The University of South Alabama is an EO/AA employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, religion, age, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status, or any other applicable legally protected basis in admission policies and practices, educational programs, activities, or employment practices.
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