English Studies today is multi-disciplinary in the texts, authors and genres it comprises and in the analytical or theoretical approaches it employs. Discipline I courses train you in the nuances of various genres such as poetry, prose and novel from British, Indian and other post-colonial localities giving you exposure to the ways of reading and modes of analysing. You will read Shakespeare, Romantic poetry, Victorian poetry, and the novel. But you will also explore the Hellenic and Indic classics in translation. You will have ample space to delve into Nobel award winning postcolonial works from Africa, Asia, North and Latin America, and Modern Europe. At the same time, you will share in the discovery, in translation, of what has, over time, become somewhat ‘foreign’ to many of us: Indian literature in regional languages. But to do so, the incoming first year student is expected to have read widely, complemented by intellectual curiosity that transcends the rather limited ambit of syllabus and examinations. Prospective students are required to have reasonably well-developed writing skills.

 The discipline II courses in English give you a wide spectrum starting from anthologies to theme-based courses such as literature and crime, partition literature and literature and film. In addition, there are application courses such as Academic Writing and Composition and Text and Performance.

 Applicants are advised to consider carefully the rigorous demands of the English programme as a whole. It is several notches higher than that of the performance expected of a student reading English Literature in school.

 Our faculty is uniquely qualified to challenge the student and develop these aptitudes. With advanced degrees from prestigious American, British, European and Indian universities, they bring to classes and tutorials pedagogical approaches as extensive and variegated as the works you are expected to enjoy and master. Extra- and co-curricular contacts between faculty and students are an accepted part of the learning experience in the department. An active literary society and the department’s annual international conference-festival heighten and deepen the learning experience in the department.  Rigorous training in reading and writing, preparing you for language-based jobs as well as research, provided through carefully devised tutorials of small groups, is a speciality of the department.

 The English Honours programme has been a preferred platform for a variety of career options, besides higher pursuits in the domain of English literature itself. Two of our students, to mention recent examples, are currently doing doctoral work at Leeds and Columbia. We have alumni who are distinguished authors and editors of prominent women’s magazines. Some have distinguished themselves in WWF, the Knowledge Commission, various NGOs, national print and electronic media, theatre, film and the fine arts.