About the Department of English Language and Literature

As human beings, we understand ourselves, and our place in the world, through the stories that we tell. In our department, we approach stories as tools for self-reflection and self-understanding, creative thinking and problem solving. Our students learn to think deeply and write clearly in small, supportive, and inclusive classes taught by award-winning professors who take pride in the personal attention they give their students. Our students are prepared for living in a complex world by studying the texts that anchor our diverse cultural and intellectual histories, from Beowulf to Bollywood, Jane Austen to comic books, Shakespeare to Indigenous drama.

Our highly successful Co-op Program enables students to combine academic study with valuable paid work experience. Our majors also have the opportunity to apply to study abroad and register in one of two specialized concentrations: Creative Writing and Drama Studies. In collaboration with the School of Linguistics & Language Studies, we offer a Certificate and Minor in Professional Writing.

At the graduate level, we offer MA and PhD programs. In addition to the three regular MA streams (thesis, research essay, and coursework), we also offer collaborative MA programs in Digital Humanities and African Studies. Unique in Canada, our PhD program studies the production, circulation, and reception of texts through analyzing their institutional, technological, and discursive contexts.

Faculty in the department are committed to research and teaching in areas that span a wide range of historical and geographical contexts including British, Canadian, American, South Asian, African, and Caribbean literature and culture. Find out more about our Faculty’s research.