Writing & Linguistics Department

The Department of Writing and Linguistics at Georgia Southern University is the only free-standing writing department in the state of Georgia and one of only a handful in the nation.  We are the only department that offers a B.A. in Writing and Linguistics with Concentrations in four areas: Creative Writing, Professional and Technical Writing, Writing and Culture, and Linguistics. 

In the B.A. program, all majors begin their studies with four common body of knowledge courses, each of which introduces students to one of the four departmental Concentrations: Each common body course provides a broad knowledge of a Concentration and allows students to “sample” each Concentration before deciding on a specific area to pursue in depth.

Since its inception in 2004, the Writing and Linguistics B.A. program has proven very popular with students; as of spring 2006 we are at 125 majors and growing. The curriculum has grown nearly as fast as the number of majors: in the past two years, we have added 20 new courses, providing both greater breadth and depth to the program.  We have also hired new faculty in linguistics, professional and technical writing, and creative writing, and we expect to hire more in the coming years as we continue to grow and to develop a Master’s of Fine Arts program.

In addition to the major, we also offer a minor in writing, a minor in linguistics, and a second discipline option in Technical Writing for the College of Information Technology.

The Department is also responsible for defining and teaching the required First-Year Writing courses – a two semester sequence which provides in-depth instruction in composition to all of Georgia Southern’s incoming freshman.

In addition, the department sponsors the annual Student Success in First-Year Composition Conference; The Conference on Information Literacy; the Intensive English Program for international students; the University Writing Center; and the Southern Writing Project, a satellite site of the National Writing Project.

The Department publishes the annual Outstanding First-Year Writing Journal, which showcases the best writing by students in composition courses. Creative writing students have opportunities to publish their work in Miscellany, the campus literary magazine –  which is advised by W&L faculty –  and to compete for the annual Roy Powell Creative Writing Awards in Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction.

The W&L faculty includes 60 individuals with a range of experience and education in writing, teaching, and publishing.  As scholars, poets, essayists, fiction writers, former journalists, and business writers, we practice what we teach.  While our teaching styles vary, our ultimate goal is to prepare our students to succeed in college and beyond by providing them with a solid foundation in critical and creative thinking, effective writing skills for a variety of purposes and audiences, and familiarity with up-to-the-minute writing technologies.