If you are looking for “the best that has been thought and said,” English and Philosophy has you covered. 

We teach almost all Missouri Southern students in general education composition and literature courses. 

The department houses BA degrees in Literary Studies and Professional and Technical Writing. 

We also teach many future teachers and offer a minor in Philosophy. 

In addition to maintaining and conveying the world’s greatest cultural treasures, we provide instruction in the soft skills of communication, critical thinking, and project management that employers demand of students in the twenty-first century. 

From Gilgamesh to Plato, from sonnets to sentence fragments and far beyond, the faculty of the Department of English and Philosophy are here to help Southern students join the conversations that make life worthwhile. 

We are very excited to be joined this year by Dr. Jenny Ferguson, our Visiting Assistant Professor in Creative Writing. 

Dr. Ferguson earned her PhD in Literary Studies and Creative Writing from the University of South Dakota in 2016. 

She is an award-winning author who has published long and short fiction, poems, essays, and criticism. 

She is working with the bordertown team on the next number of the journal, which will feature a section devoted to exploring the Unknown. 

bordertown is open for submission to all Southern students and is seeking poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction, literary translation, artwork, and outstanding academic essays. 

Please send your submissions to [email protected] by midnight on October 31, 2018, for consideration for publication in the next issue.

Our chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, is open to all students who have completed at least three semesters of college and two courses in English beyond English 102, have a GPA of 3.0 and are in the top 35 percent of their class. 

Their upcoming activities include the second and third installments of the community-wide Jar City book club, Oct. 24 at the Joplin Public Library and Nov. 28 at Spiva Library, both at 5:30 p.m.

If you like Nordic Noir, consider joining us for an evening of community discussion; details are available in 203 Kuhn Hall. 

Speaking of the Nordic Semester, On Oct. 22, our medievalist, Dr. Mouser, will deliver her talk titled “Horned Helmets and Blood Eagles: Dismantling Modern Misconceptions about the ‘Vikings’” at 10 a.m. on Oct. 22 in Plaster Hall. 

Come learn what the documents reveal about the Scandinavian peoples who came to be labeled “Vikings.”

As you may have seen at Third Thursday, English and Philosophy is continuing Literature Lives for its second year. 

Following up on last year’s Frankenstein Week, we have Robinson Crusoe Week slated for March 2019. 

There will be a distinguished guest speaker, a faculty panel, films, a creative writing contest, and fun and enlightenment for the whole campus community. Break out of your isolation and help us celebrate 300 years of Daniel Defoe’s most famous creation this spring.

Culture has long been a great help in troubled times. We invite you to polish your touchstones with the Department of English and Philosophy!