The Department of English & Philosophy

Dr. Gary Acton, Chairperson
LA 437/400, (406) 657-2348
gacton@msubillings.edu
www.msubillings.edu/cas/engphil/

English Professors:  Acton, Dillon, Hart, Kamowski, D. Schaffer, R. Schaffer
Assistant Professors:  Haaland, Quetchenbach
Lecturer:  Duncan
Professors Emeritus:  Gloege, Healey, Noyes, Utroske, Willett

Philosophy Professors
Assistant Professors:  Buck, Kemmerer
Professors Emeritus:  Benedict, Gulick, Karnos

Undergraduate Degrees and Majors

Bachelor of Arts
Major:  English
Option:  Teaching Certificate
Minors:  English (Programs of Study:  Writing Across the Curriculum, Creative Writing, Literature), Philosophy (Option:  Religious Studies)

Teaching Minor:  English

Department Mission Statement

The Department’s mission is to provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the development and aesthetic achievement of literature primarily reflecting English and American cultural, linguistic, and historical influences, but also of world literatures as well.  The department’s mission includes providing students with the tools necessary to become practiced writers.  In philosophy, the Department provides students with the ethical, philosophical, and religious viewpoints from different cultures.  In all areas of emphasis the mission of the Department is to provide academic excellence of content.

Learning Outcomes

Students who attend class regularly, complete the required courses, and work diligently will achieve the following outcomes:

• Students in English will demonstrate skills in writing expressive, literary, referential, and persuasive discourse.
• Students in English will demonstrate knowledge of the grammar, structure, development and use of the English language.
• Students in English will demonstrate an understanding of the critical approaches to and development of American, British, and World literature.
• Students in philosophy will demonstrate an understanding of basic philosophical and ethical approaches to life across cultures.

Advising Information

Students are encouraged to meet with their advisor each semester to confirm that their Plan of Study is accurate and complete.  If necessary, changes and updates should be made in order to ensure that program requirements can be completed in a timely manner.  Faculty advisors work with students to explore appropriate internships, cooperative education placements and/or experiential learning opportunities which will enhance the student’s academic program.  In addition, advisors provide assistance in selecting elective courses which support the student’s interests, career plans and Plan of Study.

Academic advising services for all freshmen Arts and Sciences majors are provided through the Advising Center in McMullen Hall, Room 100.  Upon declaring a specific major, Arts and Science majors will be assigned to a faculty advisor in their department for upper-division advising.  Advising files for all upper-division students are maintained in the departmental office of the program in which the student is majoring.  Although advisors are available to assist students in designing their Plans of Study, students are ultimately responsible for meeting degree requirements.

English

Satisfactory achievement of the student’s professional goals depends, in large part, on careful planning.  In order to help students majoring in English to develop programs of studies that best reflect their professional goals, the faculty in the Department of English and Philosophy requires students to participate in a strong program of academic advisement.  The close personal and professional relationships of such a program can strengthen both students and faculty.  Also, certain courses in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor Arts with Teaching Certificate programs have prerequisites, and students should check with their advisors for courses in the catalog with required prerequisites.

By the end of the second year of study, Bachelor’s degree candidates should have developed, in consultation with their advisors, a program of studies designed to meet individual goals.  In addition, students should supplement requirements in the major with course work in related academic disciplines.  The student’s faculty advisor will help select related courses that best supplement a program of studies.

Some students who major in English continue their professional education beyond the baccalaureate degree.  Law school is an example of a professional school which recommends English as an undergraduate major for applicants.  Areas of employment open to English graduates with Bachelor of Arts degrees include journalism, public relations, technical writing and editing positions, and other career fields which require the ability to use language effectively.  Graduates in Education with majors in English most often enter the teaching profession at the secondary level. 

Philosophy

The courses offered in Philosophy, Humanities and Religious Studies provide students with a chance to search for answers to the fundamental questions of human existence:  Who am I? What makes life worth living? What is the nature of reality? Philosophy courses introduce students to a rich heritage of thinkers who have stressed the role of reason in providing answers to such questions.  Religious Studies emphasizes the role played by scriptures, rituals, religious experiences and priestly or prophetic persons in the search for meaning.  Humanities courses are characterized by critical yet imaginative inquiry into the values found in human experience.  Courses in each area have much to offer students wondering who they are and what they should do with their lives.

In addition, philosophy courses in particular help develop the abilities to think coherently, to express ideas clearly and to argue rigorously.  Thus, many students find philosophy to be excellent as a preparation for many professions, e.g., law, business, education, ministry, medicine and social work.  Students seeking positions immediately after college often find that philosophy, combined with another area of expertise, equips them with attitudes and critical skills essential to their careers.

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