MassBay's Liberal Arts: English concentration is focused on providing meaningful learning experiences for students with highly-qualified, dedicated, and compassionate faculty, learning specialists and members of the MassBay community who have high expectations for students and strive to help students reach them.
The Liberal Arts: English concentration prepares students for successful graduation and transfer and for immediate careers that require strong critical thinking, effective communication, and collaborative, innovative problem-solving skills. Our graduates have earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, Literature, and Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Northeastern, Framingham State University, and other regional and global institutions; they currently work in the fields of education, publishing, film production, political science, engineering, and many others.
The English program includes coursework on effective rhetorical strategies across various situations — analysis and argumentation, narrative writing, literary analysis, research, creative writing, digital writing, and writing for social justice.
We offer small class sizes aimed at strengthening students' sense of belonging, increasing student-professor interaction, and fostering an environment that encourages experimentation and growth.
The English major has been built to maximize student choice by providing flexible concentration and program electives.
Our course offerings include:
EN120: Digital Writing
EN195: Creative Writing
EN202: Advanced Writing
EN210: Writing Short Fiction
And honors sections of:
EN101: English Composition I
EN102: English Composition II
Clarissa Codrington, M.A.
Department Chair and Assistant Professor of English
ccodrington@massbay.edu
Tracy Amaral-Tracey, M.A.
Assistant Professor
tamaraltracey@massbay.edu
Caryl Casson, M.A.
Associate Professor of English
ccasson@massbay.edu
John Donato, M.A.
Professor of English
jdonato@massby.edu
Joanna Herrera, J.D.
Assistant Professor
jherrera1@massbay.edu
Katie McGrath, M.A.
Professor of English
kmcgath@massbay.edu
April Sikorski, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
asikorski@massbay.edu
Jeanie Tietjen, Ph.D.
Professor of English
jtietjen@massbay.edu
Matt Walsh, M.A.
Professor of English
mwalsh@massbay.edu
“The mission of the community college is open access. It is the vanguard of defining what higher education’s role is in this country. Community college faculty are agents of social change. Teaching here is an excellent fit for me. Principally, my role here ties up the threads of my own life — education, writing, and social justice.” — Dr. Jeanie Tietjen
Dr. Jeanie Tietjen is Professor of English at MassBay, where she has founded and directs the Institute for Trauma, Adversity, and Resilience in Higher Education. The Institute promotes an understanding of the profound impact trauma and adversity have on academic resilience in higher education, as well as how a strengths-based, trauma-informed campus and community support student success. Dr. Tietjen has taught for over twenty years in diverse settings, including two- and four-year colleges, prisons and homeless shelters, and residential treatment facility for adolescent girls. She feels she has found her niche at MassBay Community College.
The lumière website features previous issues and a showcase of work received by MassBay students, faculty and staff, and members of the community. lumière is produced by students in EN202: Advanced Writing, a required course for English majors that's open to non-majors as well and which can substitute for EN102: English Composition II.
Nina Keery
Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences
nkeery@massbay.edu
Clarissa Codrington, M.A.
Department Chair and Assistant Professor of English
ccodrington@massbay.edu