About Us
The Department of English Language and Literature offers students a range of undergraduate and graduate programs, all of which have been designed in line with current international developments in the field, and which are periodically updated to take into account new developments.
The focus of the programs is on providing students with the knowledge and conceptual tools needed to understand and develop perspectives on the contemporary world, and to express themselves clearly and coherently through critical thinking and reasoned argumentation, in the interpretation of literary texts as well as of art, music, film, and other cultural and societal forms and structures.
The Department offers an undergraduate program leading to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, with the option to take a minor in another subject; a double major program, in which a student can work towards a second degree in another department at the same time; and a minor in English Language and Literature for students in other departments; it also has well-established graduate programs for advanced studies leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in English Literature and Cultural Studies. Information on these programs can be found at the “Degree Programs” links.
The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Program in English Language and Literature
The department’s emphasis on critical thinking and interdisciplinarity is essential for broadening and refining students’ outlook; in addition to core courses, they are encouraged to take elective courses, offered both by the department and by other departments, on a wide range of subjects, from computer science to psychology to politics to the fine arts. And as language and culture are deeply interwoven, the study of literature and culture is the ideal milieu for expanding a student’s understanding and ability to communicate, which, together with the ability to think critically, are essential requirements for living in today’s world of information and technology.
Graduates of the Department of English Language and Literature have a wide range of career opportunities available to them, and students can expand these further during their studies through elective choices, minors, and the double major. Many graduates of the department become teachers; those interested in academic research and teaching continue their studies at the Master’s and Doctoral levels; others find their place in the many areas of the private and public sectors where the critical thinking, language skills, versatility and adaptability of English Language and Literature graduates are sought after, from journalism and media work to translation, writing and editing; from international business, advertising and administration, to tourism and the travel industry.
The Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Programs in English Literature and Cultural Studies
The M.A. and Ph.D. programs in English Literature and Cultural Studies welcome students from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines ranging from English and American Literature, Cultural Studies, Linguistics, English Language Teaching, Philosophy, Communication and Media Studies, History, Art History, Psychology, and Translation Studies, to Political Science and International Relations.
The programs are uniquely designed to guide intelligent, motivated students as they develop their interests in literary studies as well as in broader cultural and social issues, and to advance their understanding of interpretive methods, argumentation, and critical thinking. The programs therefore engage students in three areas: Literature, Cultural Studies, and Theory and Criticism.
The fields of literary and cultural studies are interdisciplinary and international, and their focus is on interpreting texts – broadly defined as products of culture – as well as on analyzing the concepts and methods that affect and inform interpretation. This focus is part of the department’s broader educational mission, which is not simply to pass on existing forms of knowledge, but to question how these are produced and used, with a view to generating new forms of knowledge and modes of understanding.
The M.A. and Ph.D. programs are thus based on literature, but with diverse theoretical, philosophical, cultural studies and interdisciplinary components; these are continually modified, as critical frames of reference are constantly developing and changing. The programs provide depth as well as breadth of engagement, as the courses offered reflect the research interests of the faculty – which are focused primarily in the areas of 19th, 20th and 21st-century literary, cultural and theoretical studies – in relation to the most contemporary, interdisciplinary approaches to critical thinking and analysis.