Staying Involved and Connected
Campus Newspaper and Media Opportunities
CisternYard Media (CYM) is a student-run organization that has three outlets and multiple opportunities for students to get involved. Students who choose to devote time to CYM can develop skills in a number of areas, including: news and feature writing, media and public relations, radio and TV broadcasting, advertising and sales, graphic design & so much more! Check out CisternYard Media.
Miscellany
For more information, please contact miscellany@cofc.edu.
Interested in having your work published? Submit to Miscellany today!
English Internships
English 495, a sponsored internship course through the Department of English at the College of Charleston provides you with a valuable experience within a working environment while simultaneously granting you course credit. Internships will also increase your chances of future employment and, hopefully, introduce you to a career path you may choose to pursue upon graduation.
During the internship you will be working regularly scheduled hours completing tasks that you, your site supervisor, and your sponsoring professor have pre-determined as part of your Internship Contract. Your internship may involve writing, editing, web design, layout, marketing, interviewing, data entry, assessment, cataloguing, publice relations work, fundraising, advertising, event planning, and a host of other tasks that will call upon the strong verbal, creative, and analytical skills you have developed as an English major or minor. You will also be part of an online class along with other semester interns through OAKS. Check out ENGL 495 Frequently Asked Questions and contact Dr. Catherine Holmes for further information on getting registered.
Being an intern comes with many responsibilities. You should take the knowledge you gain from the internship experience and use it to improve your academic experience, encourage your classmates, and mold your desired post-graduation path.
We wish you success as you test your academic skills outside of our walls.
Student Advisory Group
The English Department Student Advisory Group (SAG) consists of 6-8 English majors who volunteer to spend the academic year meeting together with the department chair (and sometimes other professors) to discuss student experiences of the major, and to consider new ways to craft that experience for all majors and minors. SAG serves as a sounding board, a focus group, and an events organizing committee—and it offers students the opportunity to work closely with other invested majors. If you are interested in participating, contact Prof. Bill Russell.
The Student Advisory Group’s outing to see the play about Edgar Allan Poe, Nevermore!, at the Dock Street Theatre, followed by a chat with the playwright/director and 3 of the actors, followed by cupcakes, cookies, and discussion back at the English Lounge about Poe with Prof. Peeples.
The English Department Ambassadors
The English Department Ambassadors are invested and socially-minded students who work collaboratively to support the English major by representing it to new audiences and by building community among current English majors. This commitment is less demanding of student time than is the Student Advisory Group (SAG), and allows busy students to contribute to the department and fellow students.
Literati
An official College of Charleston student organization, Literati is open to all students, regardless of major. The club meets regularly throughout the semester and sponsors and organizes events designed to bring together readers and writers across campus. To learn more, visit Literati on Facebook at CofC Literati. The faculty advisor is Professor Simon Lewis.
Sigma Tau Delta
Sigma Tau Delta is an international English honor society whose purposes are to confer distinction for high achievement in the creation and study of literature, to promote interest in literature and the English language, and to foster the discipline of English in all its aspects - including creative and critical work. The chapter of Sigma Tau Delta at the College of Charleston is Alpha Epsilon Phi. For more information about Sigma Tau Delta, please contact Professor Simon Lewis at lewiss@cofc.edu.
Film Club
Meeting once a week, the CofC Film Club focuses on watching and discussing films as well as learning about the process of filmmaking. There is also an Annual Student Film Festival and Screen Writing Competion. Looking to join or for further info contact Colleen Glenn at glenncm@cofc.edu.
REEL NEWSCofC's Film Studies Program Blog
Study Abroad
The English major makes studying abroad easy: students can spend a semester abroad as part of a CofC program or one offered by another institution, or they can spend spring break or summer abroad, through CofC or affiliated programs. Each summer, the English department hosts a study abroad program in Spoleto, Italy, focused on creative writing, literature, and film.
CofC in Spoleto, Italy
CREATIVE WRITING, LITERATURE, AND FILM
The artistic ties the city of Charleston has with the town of Spoleto are of inestimable value, and the purpose of this program is to bring students to our sister city to write and study literature, and to meet with artists and writers living there, so that they may be inspired to continue their education with an even greater sense of the importance of art and of writing. Students and faculty stay at a villa compound just outside Spoleto, where we share meals, hold readings, and spend quiet time writing and reading. One special group dinner each week feature intensive and lively discussions of the craft of writing. In addition, we go on a three-day excursion to Florence, where students take guided tours of such important artistic and historical sites such as the Uffizi Gallery, the Duomo, and the Galleria dell’Academmia; one evening spent in a salon with an area painter, writer, and historian.
- Sploeto, Italy
- UK
- Havanna, Cuba
- Dublin, Ireland
- Greece
- India
- Santiago, Chile
- Tangier, Morocco
- Thailand
- France
- Japan, Various Cities
- Rome, Italy
- Russia
- Spain
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Belize
- Ghana
- Netherlands
- Poland and Germany
- Cambodia and Vietnam
- Bocas del Toro, Panama
Weekly News and Updates Straight to Your Cougar Email
We know that life as a student gets quite busy and hectic! So, as soon as you declare your major or minor in English, you will begin to receive a very helpful once-a-week email with news and updates from the Department of English. They contain the following important information:
- A weekly message from the department chair
- Any important upcoming dates (e.g. exam dates, on-campus lectures, guest speakers, Advisory Council visits no class dates, etc.)
- Notices for open applications (e.g. scholarships, experiential learning funds, etc.)
- Tips and tricks for students
- Spotlight section for student/faculty accomplishments and achievements
- And more!