Welcome to the Department of English
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"The Department of English is one of the biggest in Australia. Our staff of internationally distinguished scholars teach and research in all fields from the medieval to the contemporary: from Old English riddles to the narrative puzzles of modern cinema - not forgetting the great novels, poems, and drama of centuries of Western culture. Our large cohort of high-achieving students, from first year through to postgraduate coursework and PhD research candidates, enjoy a vibrant atmosphere of intellectual exploration and debate, and the opportunity to learn high-level skills of writing and analysis that provide a foundation for success in many fields of employment." |
Postgraduate and Undergraduate Study
At postgraduate level, we offer the research degrees of Ph.D. and M.Phil. in a wide range of specialisations. Postgraduate degrees by coursework include the Master of Arts, Master of Creative Writing, Master of Professional Communication, and the Graduate Certificate in HSC English Studies.
Undergraduate study includes a major in English (taken over three years) and a major in Australian Literature (taken in Years 2 and 3). Special Entry and Advanced courses lead to a fourth year of Honours in English Literature and Language or in Australian Literature.
Strengths in Teaching and Research
The range of the department's interests is extensive, in terms of both course content and varieties of critical approach. The benefits of itsprograms reflect this range.
Areas of special strength include: Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, and Celtic studies; Renaissance and seventeenth-century literature; Romanticism; nineteenth-century literature; drama studies; film studies; Australian literature; modern English language studies; and creative writing. Staff participate in the interdisciplinary programs of Australian Studies, International and Comparative Literary Studies, Gender Studies, and Performance Studies. The Centre for Medieval Studies, Centre for Celtic Studies, and Australian Language Research Centre are all based in or closely related to the department.
The department is active in new styles and technologies of teaching. In recent years members of the department have won University awards for excellence in teaching and in research supervision.
Mainly for Postgraduates: Related Resources
Sydney University has the largest University library in Australia, Fisher Library. Fisher has a research collection of five million books and a specialized undergraduate collection. Its Scholarly Electronic Text and Imaging Service (SETIS) is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of digitalizing texts and provides online access to a vast range of databases, books, and journals. Fisher's rare book collection has outstanding holdings in the areas of English literature of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Australian literature, and science fiction.
Supplementing the holdings of Fisher, the Mitchell and Dixson Libraries at the State Library of New South Wales contain extensive printed and manuscript holdings relating to Australian literature and culture.
The Research Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, which is located in the same building as the Department of English, organizes lectures and symposiums and provides guidance and support for researchers.
Mainly for Undergraduates: Benefits of English Study
English trains students in the skills of reading and self-expression, which are vital to all successful communication. If you study English, you will develop your ability to understand and analyse the multiple effects of meaning and argument operating in a variety of texts - oral, written, and visual. You will master skills of critical argument and clear expression in your own writing. You will encounter, enjoy, reflect on, and never forget imaginative writings of every kind - delightful, profound, bizarre, passionate, humorous, challenging …
The more obvious career paths of our graduates are media; advertising and marketing; teaching; and government. But the analytic skills, clear thinking, and proficiency in communication that we teach are much in demand by employers outside those areas as well, across the whole range of business, technology, industry, and research.
