The Department of English is home to a dynamic intellectual community of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff, and alumni.
We are known for the diversity of our research methods and our commitment to geographic, historical, and methodological breadth. Our studies range across time and territory to pursue the most pressing issues of our time—climate crisis, antiracism, decolonization, gender and sexual oppression, mental health—through the lens of literary art.
Our researchers work throughout the historical arc of literary expression in English, as well as in multiple national and transnational contexts. While our faculty and graduate student researchers work in myriad fields and areas, as evidenced by our Research Profiles, the Department of English boasts clusters of expertise in:
- race and decolonization
- gender and sexuality
- performance and media
- environmental humanities
To learn more about research taking place in our department, visit our People page.
Creative Research
Research that is both critical and creative is encouraged and fostered within our department.
Spotlight on Creative Research by Faculty
Creative Writing and Indigenous Literary Studies Professor, Armand Garnet Ruffo, demonstrates creative research in his book of creative non-fiction, Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing into Thunderbird (2014). This publication takes up ethnography as its methodology while delivering the information as a creative writing piece. Research and creativity come together to produce literature that is both rich in information and beautiful in delivery.
Spotlight on Creative Research by Students
Quilt Publications is a student created platform where both the critical and creative are works are published. By featuring both academic and creative work, the publication’s appreciation for literatures transcends the boundaries between research and creative writing, and instead brings both together in harmony.
