
Literature and Creative Writing
The goal of the Literature and Creative Writing Department is to help students develop a sophisticated understanding of the role literature plays in the human experience through refining their skills as interpreters of literary texts and as writers, either of literary analysis or of their own creative works.
About the Majors
At Hamilton, students may choose to major in literature or creative writing. In either case, their professors will encourage them to explore literature across centuries, nations, and languages. Consulting with advisors, literature majors develop an individualized, and potentially interdisciplinary, course of study. Creative writing majors take courses that balance literary study with poetry and prose workshops. In both majors, the curriculum emphasizes small classes, the exchange and testing of ideas, and the development of superior reading and writing skills.
Literature Students Will Learn to:
- Write clear and well supported arguments about literary and/or other cultural texts
- Demonstrate knowledge of diverse literary traditions across historical periods, geographic regions, and/or social contexts
- Analyze literary works compellingly in contexts informed by literary criticism and/or broader regions, and/or social contexts
Creative Writing Students Will Learn to:
- Write with an awareness of the literary traditions within which they are working
- Write with attentiveness to form and genre
- Write a sustained creative project that demonstrates originality and attention to language
A Sampling of Courses

Suffrage and Comics
Since the 19th century, editorial cartoons and comics have played a crucial role in illustrating enfranchisement across race and gender. This course examines US suffrage from 1800s magazine and newspaper culture to webcomics. We’ll analyze representations of the 15th and 19th amendments, and how cartoons of Columbia, Uncle Sam, and Wonder Woman shaped depictions of citizenship and voting rights. Digital Humanities projects. Works by Keppler, Brinkley, Robbins, Alcaraz, Knight, and others.
Explore these select courses:
Meet Our Faculty
Naomi Guttman
Department Chair, the Jane D. and Ellis E. Bradford ’45 Distinguished Writing Chair
poetry and poetics; food writing; contemplative pedagogy; environmental and feminist literary study
creative writing, 20th-century literature, experimental women's writing, and postmodern gothic
Doran Larson
Edward North Chair of Greek and Greek Literature and Professor of Literature and Creative Writing
20th-century American literature; the history of the Anglo-American novel; fiction writing; nonfiction writing and prison writing of the U.S., South Africa, and Ireland
Vincent Odamtten
Professor of Literature, Chair and Professor of Africana Studies
African literature with a focus of Ghanaian and women's literature; 20th-century Caribbean literature; African-American literature; science fiction; literary criticism; use of digital technology in the study of literature
Vincent Odamtten
Professor of Literature, Chair and Professor of Africana Studies
African literature with a focus of Ghanaian and women's literature; 20th-century Caribbean literature; African-American literature; science fiction; literary criticism; use of digital technology in the study of literature
Romantic period literature; animals in literature; animal rights; nature writing – literature and environmentalism; cultural and political history of the Adirondack Park
Romantic period literature; animals in literature; animal rights; nature writing – literature and environmentalism; cultural and political history of the Adirondack Park
poems, poetics, nonfiction and Southern literature
poems, poetics, nonfiction and Southern literature
Old English, Middle English, and Middle Scots language and literature
Old English, Middle English, and Middle Scots language and literature
Margaret Thickstun
Jane Watson Irwin Professor of Literature, Director of Medieval and Renaissance Studies
literature in 17th-century England and Colonial America, particularly by women and by people writing on religious subjects
Margaret Thickstun
Jane Watson Irwin Professor of Literature, Director of Medieval and Renaissance Studies
literature in 17th-century England and Colonial America, particularly by women and by people writing on religious subjects
creative writing, novels and short stories, creative non-fiction, and 20th century American literature
creative writing, novels and short stories, creative non-fiction, and 20th century American literature
20th-century and contemporary American literature, literary theory, autobiography, film
20th-century and contemporary American literature, literary theory, autobiography, film
20th-century American and British literature; literary translation; Ezra Pound; comparative literature; Asian American literature, especially poetry; global literary modernisms; Asian diasoporas; transpacific literature
20th-century American and British literature; literary translation; Ezra Pound; comparative literature; Asian American literature, especially poetry; global literary modernisms; Asian diasoporas; transpacific literature
Christian Goodwillie
Lecturer in History, Lecturer in Literature and Creative Writing
Austin Briggs
Hamilton B. Tompkins Professor of English Literature Emeritus (retired)
Jean D'Costa
Leavenworth Professor of English Emerita (retired)
Ivan Marki
Edmund A. LeFevre Professor of English Emeritus (retired)
literature of Restoration England, 1660-1700
literature of Restoration England, 1660-1700
Patricia O'Neill
Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of Literature and Creative Writing Emerita (retired)
Victorian and postcolonial literature, film studies, and digital humanities
Patricia O'Neill
Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of Literature and Creative Writing Emerita (retired)
Victorian and postcolonial literature, film studies, and digital humanities
Greek tragedy; feminist criticism; reception and performance of tragedy; teaching yoga and classics to underserved populations, especially prisoners
Greek tragedy; feminist criticism; reception and performance of tragedy; teaching yoga and classics to underserved populations, especially prisoners
Peter Rabinowitz
Carolyn C. and David M. Ellis '38 Distinguished Teaching Professor of Comparative Literature Emeritus (retired)
narrative theory, including its application to music; 19th- and 20th-century fiction, including Proust and detective fiction; 19th- and 20th-century classical music, especially opera, piano and orchestral music
Peter Rabinowitz
Carolyn C. and David M. Ellis '38 Distinguished Teaching Professor of Comparative Literature Emeritus (retired)
narrative theory, including its application to music; 19th- and 20th-century fiction, including Proust and detective fiction; 19th- and 20th-century classical music, especially opera, piano and orchestral music
Bill Rosenfeld
Marjorie and Robert W. McEwen Professor of English Emeritus (retired)
Shakespeare, English Renaissance drama, English Renaissance non-dramatic literature, and Restoration and 18th-century drama
Shakespeare, English Renaissance drama, English Renaissance non-dramatic literature, and Restoration and 18th-century drama
Victoria Vernon
Associate Professor of Comparative Literature Emerita (retired)
Explore Hamilton Stories

Hoops Captain Zarle ’22 Taking Her Talents to Moolah Kicks
As captain of Hamilton’s women’s basketball team, Kelcie Zarle ’22 is looking forward to combining her passions for the sport and communications after graduation as a social media coordinator for Moolah Kicks.

Because Hamiltonians Pursue Poetry: Katie Naughton ’08
Katie Naughton ’08 is poetry in motion: She’s working on her dissertation for a doctorate in literature at the University at Buffalo, teaching undergraduates, creating a website where poets will share short their recommendations for poetry to read, handling publicity, social media, and editorial work for Essay Press, and working on a digital humanities archives.

Matthews ’22 Awarded FAO Schwarz Fellowship
Jahmali Matthews ’22 has been awarded a highly selective two-year award in social impact that includes a paid position with a leading nonprofit, personalized mentoring, and professional development opportunities.
Careers After Hamilton
Hamilton graduates who concentrated in literature and creative writing are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:
- Director, Electronic Publishing, Scientific American
- Executive Editor, Whole Living magazine
- Chief Development Officer, Norman Rockwell Museum
- President, Scholastic Media
- Magistrate, Connecticut State Superior Court
- Composer/Music Publisher, Ceili Rain
- Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial Services
- Physician, Senior Deputy Editor, Annals of Internal Medicine
- Communications Manager, IBM
Contact
Department Name
Literature and Creative Writing Department
Clinton, NY 13323