English Department Undergraduate Directors

Torri Thompson, Director of Undergrduate Studies, professor of English: MA from the University of Chicago, Ph.D. from the University of Texas. I specialize in Early Modern Literature; however, I also teach a wide variety of courses in addition to Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, etc. These courses include the introduction to the major, Senior Seminar, Women's Literature, and the Old and New Testaments. I have also been involved in the General Education Program, coauthoring Gender in the Humanities and Religions and Cultures. Currently, I am serving on the Women's Studies Curriculum Committee and also as the Interim Director of the Undergraduate English Studies Program. The Undergraduate Committee, of which I am chair, is working hard to make curricular changes to the English and English Education degrees that will result in a more effective delivery of the available degree programs in the English Department. I, as well as the entire undergraduate committee, am always interested in student feedback regarding the program and its delivery, in both positive and critical suggestions. Please feel free to send me email at any time.

Contact Information
Torri Thomson
305 Williams Hall
438-5783
Email: tlthomps@ilstu.edu
Wesite: http://www.english.ilstu.edu/tlthomps/
Calendar: http://www.english.ilstu.edu/undergraduate/directors/tlthomps/

Karen Coats, English Education Director,  associate professor of English, holds an M.A. in English from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. in Human Sciences from The George Washington University. She specializes in children's and Young Adult Literature and critical theory. She has taught junior high and high school English in Virginia and North Carolina. Her primary goal as Director of English Education is to work to build better bridges between the courses English Education students are required to take in Curriculum and Instruction and the methods courses they take in the English Department in order to make sure that students are confident and prepared when they enter their classrooms as teachers. She welcomes feedback and suggestions from students to help identify problems and needs that they would like to see addressed in their programs.

Contact Information
Karen Coats
311 Williams Hall
438-3740
Email: kscoat2@ilstu.edu
Website: http://lilt.ilstu.edu/kscoat2/