The Department of English is one of the founding departments of the College, beginning in 1967. B.A. English (Honours) was introduced in 1978. The English curriculum is impactful and rigorous, taking students through the best in world literatures. The Department teaches English to students of all courses, including those majoring in the Sciences, Commerce, Arts and Elementary Education streams; besides tutoring MA English students.
The syllabus is well-structured and relevant in its coverage of important literary texts and landmarks, and thus stands students in good stead in all future professional endeavours. Papers range from surveys of Indian and Western classical traditions to lively and immediate contemporary authors. Students will read widely in different genres including poetry, plays, novels and films and acquire critical thinking skills that will enable and empower them both academically, professionally and in personal life.
From the academic year 2022-23, students can take up “Major” as well as “Minor” programmes of study through the department, and receive degrees at exit points in the first, second, third year if they choose to exit earlier, or fourth/final year with a dissertation on a subject of their choice.
Department resources include the Oswal-Sena Library (apart from the College Library), which houses 3000+ volumes, offering students access to a world of books beyond the curriculum.
The Department has an exciting co-curricular calendar of varied activities, directed through the English Literary Society and includes an annual national seminar and literary festival, frequent invited lectures and interactions with eminent academicians, creative writers and media personnel, all of which are managed by the students and mentored by the faculty.
Besides these, the department conducts frequent field trips curated by professional resourcepersons to augment students' academic learning in classrooms. We also organise multiple workshops and co-curricular skill-building sessions on different themes like creative writing, editing, translation, photography, theatre and cinema.
Our Department's annual literary magazine Bitacora, provides an independent forum for both creative expression and training in skills such as copy editing, content editing, cover designs and layout. A portfolio of activities designed to encourage student creativity and understanding of their discipline, like quizzes and literary competitions, art and design competitions etc., encourages the students to produce content beyond classroom assignments and academic assessment. Prize-winning entries from these competitions are regularly included in the department journal.
