The Department of English, in conjunction with the Writing Program and the Center for Excellence in Writing at Portland State University, offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses to meet the needs of students with a diversity of interests, and academic and professional backgrounds. By studying literature, rhetoric, composition, linguistics, and critical theory, students in the English Department acquire experience in intertextual and cross-disciplinary inquiry represented by many cultures and historical periods. They learn critical approaches to texts and issues that enable them to interpret and compare positions, to read closely, critically, and with empathy, to conduct research, to weigh evidence, and to write with insight and expertise.