Department of English

Preamble

The teaching of English Literature at RMC/CMR has a long history stretching back to the early part of this century. Over those years, the English Studies program has played an important role in delivering key aspects of a liberal education in an institution where the academic curriculum has traditionally been dominated by scientific, technological, and engineering concerns. When the College reopened after the Second World War and its academic program was brought into line with that offered at other Canadian universities, the establishment of the English Department and the granting of degrees in English Literature quite naturally and logically formed a fundamental part of the humanities programs within the Arts Division.

Since its formation, the Department of English has served the College's educational mandate by offering a broadly based humanities program focused around the critical study of literary texts. Modeled on its counterparts at other universities, the English program emphasizes communication and analytical thinking-skills, integrated with the study of traditional English literature and the literatures of the contemporary world. Through their studies, English students develop both a set of practical skills and an intellectual insight into the social and cultural values that have shaped our civilization in the past and which are an integral part of the dynamic forces shaping our present world. The skills acquired are important tools for professional development, and the knowledge gained provides a fundamental intellectual context in which to evaluate and pursue professional activity.

The practical value of this type of education is particularly pertinent where leadership demands form a significant part of professional responsibility. Communication skills, thinking skills, and a strong sense of social and cultural identity provide the kind of educational foundation that allows English graduates to pursue successfully such leadership-oriented professions as Teaching, Law, Business Management, Politics, and Public Administration.

The assets that accrue from building this form of educational foundation are just as pertinent to the professional development of young military officers, and make the same constructive contributions to the effective pursuit of their professional responsibilities.

In addition, humanities studies in general and English studies in particular nurture a sense of individual self-fulfillment in which the process of professional development is intimately connected with that of personal growth. The skills and knowledge designed to facilitate the acquisition of professional competence are the same skills which individuals employ for self-expression and self-awareness. Learning that offers insight into the broader contexts of life provides perspectives helpful to individuals trying to understand their personal experience more fully. Studies designed to develop expression, judgement, and insight implicitly involve a process of maturity which contributes simultaneously to the enhancement of professional competence and to the growth of personal confidence.