Diversity and Inclusion

Department of English Diversity Statement

While we acknowledge that the field of English Studies has a history of legitimizing racial and gender hierarchies, we also believe literature and scholarship can be vehicles for truth-telling, liberation, and healing. This is why we teach and study the powerful literary and cultural texts that minoritized groups (including BIPOC, women, members of LGBTQ+ communities) have created in the face of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination and exclusion. We seek to contribute to an equitable society, to further the intellectual and ethical development of our students, and to ensure that the future of English Studies is an inclusive one. 

 

DEI in the Department of English

The field of English Studies has a history of legitimizing racial hierarchies and reinforcing a colonialist status quo. We acknowledge this. We also believe literature and scholarship can be vehicles for truth-telling and liberation.
  • Statement of Solidarity and Commitment to Antiracism

    Members of the Department of English are outraged and grieved over the murder of George Floyd and the ongoing violence against Black Americans that it exemplifies. Thousands of people, including many in the Charleston area, have risen in protest at this tragedy and at systemic injustices that continue to harm African Americans. We mourn with those grieving these losses. We stand with those protesting against them.  

    Harmful practices in US law enforcement led to these tragic events and the disturbing, heavily militarized reactions to the current uprisings. These events are also symptoms of a long history of white supremacist laws and ideology. Here in Charleston, we have witnessed the police killing of Walter Scott and the massacre at Emanuel AME Church in 2015. As professors at an institution that was funded, built, and sustained by exploiting black bodies, we are aware that racist violence is a long and shameful American tradition.  

    The field of English Studies has a history of legitimizing racial hierarchies and reinforcing a colonialist status quo. We acknowledge this. We also believe literature and scholarship can be vehicles for truth-telling and liberation. This is why we teach and study the powerful literary and cultural texts that Black people have created in the face of racism and unspeakable trauma. We seek to honor Black lives, contribute to an equitable society, and further the intellectual and ethical development of our students.  

    But we need to do more. English Department classrooms, like the larger College of Charleston population, are disproportionately white spaces. Our learning environments must be more inclusive. We must promote Black voices and agency. Therefore, we commit to (a) developing benchmarks for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in our classrooms, in our course offerings, and among our faculty, (b) prioritizing our resources to achieve these benchmarks, and (c) reporting our progress every year for the next 10 years. We look forward to collaborating with our students, the Office of Institutional Diversity, and other stakeholders toward these ends.  

    We affirm our neighbors, students, colleagues, and College of Charleston leaders who speak unequivocally in support of Black lives. We will work harder to dismantle white supremacy, in all its iterations, in order to make our college, city, and country more just. 

    Please read Prof. Gary Jackson’s poem “Forward and Back” 

     
  • Statement in Support of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the English major

    English studies programs develop skills in interpreting and creating texts. An essential part of that process is understanding the meanings that a text—a poem, novel, website, essay, film—held for its creator and its original audience, and understanding the myriad ways that others might interpret these texts. The study of diverse cultures, dialects, and social identities, therefore, is an essential element in the education of every English major. Understanding the historical and social contexts in which texts are read and produced is an essential component of making meaning with texts—of being a skillful reader and an effective writer. 

    This process is also essential to our students’ development as citizens of a diverse, dynamic society. They will need the analytical and expressive skills they hone in our classes, along with the empathy that can be developed by learning about experiences and lives different from their own. With these skills, they are better equipped to participate in the difficult and necessary work of defusing problems, working across borders, imagining creative solutions, and creating equitable and inclusive workplaces, families, and communities. We owe it to our students to give them many opportunities to develop these skills. They are essential to a civil and just society, as well as to our students’ success as readers, researchers, and interpreters. 

  • Faculty and Student Work

    The English Department offers a variety of courses that amplify its DEI goals. The department faculty are also committed to DEI work outside of the classroom, including conference presentations and journal articles that focus on giving voice to underrepresented perspectives within and outside the literary canon, college-wide service work, and ongoing efforts to develop a more inclusive and equitable pedagogy. In March 2024, a survey was distributed to English faculty to learn more about their work. 

    To see those results, please consult the English Department Faculty DEI Work document. 

  • Resources

    We recognize that seeking to learn more than we already know, to understand perspectives different from our own, and to unpack the cultural beliefs and assumptions that make societies just or unjust is a process of lifelong learning. Here are some resources to support that process:  

  • DEI Benchmarks and Milestones

    Please consult the department’s most recent progress report for more information.