The Department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric offers students the opportunity to study literature and language in a deep and complex manner. Concentrations are available in global culture, creative writing, and rhetoric. Literature courses deal broadly with genres and themes from the past and present, and teach students how to read and analyze texts, creative writing courses foster the development of serious creativity, rhetoric courses deal with both the theory and practice of communication, as well as the history of oral and written argument. In the Rhetoric Concentration, students gain familiarity with diverse rhetorical works and traditions, focusing both on how persuasive speech and writing have been theorized and taught in different times and places and on developing their own skills in written and oral communication. The practice of writing is embedded in a range of historical and cultural contexts, and courses provide opportunities for exploring and gaining proficiency in composition across a variety of genres, including creative nonfiction, journalism, argumentation, policy debate, sports writing, research writing and the personal essay. In the process of studying and practicing these genres, students also assess how such factors as identity, power and viewpoint or prejudice shape the nature, scope and impact of language in different settings.