About St. Mary’s English Program
St. Mary's University College offers two Bachelor of Arts degrees in English. The four-year Bachelor of Arts English degree program will prepare you for graduate studies in English or for a career in journalism, research, politics, publishing, education, public relations and much more. In our four-year program, you may choose to earn a degree with a major in English and a minor in biology, Canadian studies, Catholic studies, drama, family studies, history, management, philosophy, political science, psychology, science or sociology. more
Our three-year Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in English is provides an interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts tradition. With this degree, you will gain the analytic and communication skills you will need to pursue a dynamic career or to continue your university studies. more
English professor finds passion for medieval literature
(November 16, 2011) -- Dr. Jennifer Garrison’s current passion for medieval literature did not spring from a youthful interest in all things Chaucer.
As an English honors student at the University of Alberta, Dr. Garrison was dismayed that medieval literature was one of her required courses.
“Like many students, I thought medieval literature would be boring,” she said. “If it hadn’t been forced on me, I wouldn’t have taken it.”
Now, nearly a decade later and with a PhD in English under her belt, Dr. Garrison is writing a book about the influence of medieval writings on those living within the oppressive structure of the church at that time.
“While some medieval literature sought to bring down the church, other texts merely reflected the alienation felt by those who remained devout,” she said. “How did the lay person of that time deal with this alienation?”
Dr. Garrison, who graduated from Rutgers University with a PhD in English in 2009, received the Dr. David Lawless Researcher/Scholar Award from St. Mary’s University College this year. She will be using her award to help fund conference attendance and possibly a trip to Europe to examine original medieval manuscripts.
She joined the St. Mary’s faculty as a full-time Assistant Professor of English shortly after completing her doctorate at Rutgers, where she said she benefited from the teachings of other medieval literature scholars in nearby universities such as Princeton, NYU and Columbia University.
Dr. Garrison’s recent scholarly publications include “Liturgy and Loss: Pearl and the Ritual Reform of the Aristocratic Subject,” in Chaucer Review, Issue 44.3 (2010) and “Failed Signification: Corpus Christi and Corpus Mysticum in Piers Plowman,” in Yearbook of Langland Studies, Volume 23 (2009).
Dr. Garrison teaches medieval and renaissance literature and Shakespeare at St. Mary’s, where she says she enjoys working closely with St. Mary’s “fabulous English students” in a supportive academic atmosphere.