English and Media Studies
To succeed in business — or any industry — you need to be able to communicate effectively. At Bentley, you’ll learn how to do just that, developing the skills you need to tell your story in a clear and compelling way. You’ll also explore literary genres and critical theory, learning how to interpret literature, film and other media within historical, political and cultural contexts. And you’ll examine how categories of “otherness” (such as race, class and gender) reflect and shape language and meaning in an increasingly globalized and diverse world. Our program encourages both creative and critical thinking, preparing you for success in any career requiring excellence in oral and written communication, such as publishing, journalism, marketing, public policy, public relations, law, education and more.
Degree Programs
Stuckey examines Black masculinity in August Wilson
In “August Wilson in Context,” a forthcoming edited volume from Cambridge University Press, Assistant Professor J. Ken Stuckey contributes a chapter that examines themes of Black masculinity in Wilson’s plays. Stuckey notes that among all of Wilson’s characters, there are no queer men and only one lesbian couple: the title character of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Ma’s girlfriend, Dussie Mae. Despite Wilson’s avoidance of gay male characters, his narratives tend to depict the most aggressively masculine characters as also being the most limited. The men who are the sensitive and introspective have forms of agency denied to hypermasculine characters, whose machismo is portrayed as self-destructive.
Miranda explores interplay between Latinx/e culture and technology
Assistant Professor Jim V. Miranda, coordinator of Bentley’s Ethnic Studies Minor, specializes in Latinx/e literature and media, where he explores the intersection of border aesthetics, technology and cultural memory. His scholarly articles in “Latinx TV in the Twenty-First Century” and “Latinx Ciné in the Twenty-First Century” examine the mediation of the Mexico-U.S. border in the TV series “The Bridge” and Alex Rivera’s film “Sleep Dealer” and show the entanglement of narratives and technologies in framing, extending and challenging cultural representations. He is currently working on several projects that introduce interpretative strategies for understanding the relationship between culture and technology.
Medden considers construction of collective identities
Assistant Professor Stephanie Medden is interested in the ways collective identities are constructed and deployed in response to political, economic and social turbulence. Her research explores ethnocultural identity, transnational migration, activism and solidarities, including how members and activists among Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking communities in the U.K. engage in identity work to forge alliances and respond to challenges. Her forthcoming project, “Citizens, Settlers, and In-Betweeners: Brexit and Divergent Experiences of Belonging in Lusophone London,” contributes to our understanding of language as a fulcrum for ethnocultural convergence and cleavage in the contemporary Portuguese-speaking diaspora.
Courses
Contact
Tzarina Prater
Department Chair
Associate Professor of English
Adamian Academic Center 075
781.891.3103
tprater@bentley.edu
Kathleen Sheehan
Senior Academic Coordinator
Adamian Academic Center 083
781.891.2629
ksheehan@bentley.edu