• Literary Studies

    Literary Studies

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  • Contact Us

    Office of Admission

    Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts
    79 Fifth Avenue, 5th floor 
    New York, NY 10003 
    Phone: 212.229.5150 or 
    800.292.3040
    Fax: 212.229.5355
    [email protected]

    Program Contacts

    For general questions about Literary Studies, please email [email protected]
    Find Literary Studies faculty and advisors.

    Literary Studies Co-Chairs

    Literature and Critical Analysis Chair
    Juan De Castro
    Professor, Literary Studies
    [email protected]

    Writing Chair
    Jennifer Firestone
    Director, Academic Fellows
    Associate Professor, Literary Studies
    [email protected]

    Departmental Faculty Advisors

    Literature and Critical Analysis Departmental Faculty Advisor
    Juan De Castro
    Professor, Literary Studies
    [email protected]

    Writing Departmental Faculty Advisor
    Albert Mobilio
    Associate Professor, Literary Studies
    [email protected]

    Literature and Critical Analysis Capstone Coordinator 
    Inessa Medzhibovskaya
    Professor of Liberal Studies and Literary Studies
    [email protected]

    Writing Capstone Coordinator 
    Wendy Xu
    Assistant Professor, Writing
    [email protected]

    Student Success Advisor for Literary Studies

    Chris McElderry
    Assistant Director of Student Success Advising at Lang
    [email protected]
    646.909.2260

  • Virtual Tour

  • New York City has long been a mecca for writing, publishing, bookselling, and related creative industries. In the Literary Studies program, students hone their skills as writers and editors while considering works of literature—novels, poems, essays, plays, memoirs, epics, mysteries, and more—from the standpoints of craft, history, psychology, textual analysis, politics, technology, and cultural studies.

    • Study Options Major

    Students interested in Literary Studies explore the curriculum by taking introductory courses in Writing and in Literature and Critical Analysis. They may then choose a concentration in one of these disciplines; some do both. All Literary Studies students take two core courses examining selected texts from the ancient to the contemporary world by junior year. These courses provide all majors with a common language and literary experience.

    Major requirements

    Writing Concentration

    In the Writing concentration, you study the craft and technique of writing fiction, poetry, and nonfiction through carefully designed courses. Students interested in journalism are encouraged to consider Journalism + Design

    The final semester of students in the Writing Concentration is dedicated to intensive capstone work in your chosen genre and courses in a secondary genre. All writing courses are taught by practicing writers with national reputations, and are based on the following assumptions:

    • Writing is a liberal art.
    • Writers are, above all, readers.
    • Close study of each genre's aesthetic, critical, and historical concepts is essential.
    • Writers have a vital relationship to society, culture, and nature that should be explored and expressed through their art.

    Learn more

    Literature and Critical Analysis Concentration

    In the Literature and Critical Analysis concentration, we study great works past and present, acquiring a broad knowledge of literary history, theory, and criticism. Choosing your own path, you develop advanced skills as a reader, writer, and analytical thinker, in preparation for an independent research essay in your final semester. All literature courses are taught by scholars with national reputations in their field and are based on the following assumptions:

    • Reading is a creative act. 
    • Literature is a print or manuscript archive of the verbal arts, open to all readers.
    • Criticism heightens our experience of the verbal arts and contributes to knowledge.
    • Engaging with works of literature deepens our understanding of the world.

    Learn more

    Connecting to New York City

    While it offers the atmosphere and intimacy of a small college, Eugene Lang College is part of The New School, a major progressive university in New York City. Literary Studies students attend literary readings around the city and take advantage of publishing and writing internships and opportunities to work with professional writers and editors in the nation's literary capital. Additional exposure to the city's vast resources occurs through excursions to archives and class visits by respected local writers, publishers, archivists.

    Career Paths

    Literary Studies majors go on to work for publishing companies, magazines, websites, and libraries. They pursue careers in writing, nonprofit organizations, journalism, bookselling,  educational institutions, and advanced studies in English, comparative literature, and creative writing.

    Consult our 4-Year Lang Career Pathways Map (PDF) for helpful steps and resources to link your academic journey to your future plans. If you are planning to go on to graduate study, consider applying to the Bachelor's-Master's program, which enables you to earn graduate credits that will apply to both your Lang degree and a master's degree in Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism or in Liberal Studies at The New School for Social Research. 

    Outcomes at Lang

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Submit your application

Undergraduates

To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

Graduates

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

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