The English Program at the ANU represents a wide variety of critical approaches to the study of English literature and literary history.  We are concerned with the place of a work of literature in the culture of its time, as well as in ours, with literature as not only passively reflecting, but as actively shaping our cultural identity, past, present, and future. Internationally prominent scholars in our program have developed connections with many other disciplines, including history, art history, political theory, film studies, and gender and cultural studies. The English Major introduces students to the many traditions of imaginative writing in English, ranging from canonical authors such as Milton and Austen, to recent areas of research such as neo-Victorian literature and postcolonial studies. For English and Drama staff and their research areas see our People page.

Specific research and teaching strengths of the English Program include:

• Romantic literary studies
• Eighteenth Century British and Irish literature
• Victorian, Neo-Victorian and Modernist literature
• postcolonial literature and theory
• Australian literature
• American literature

There are courses in literary and cultural theory, and in drama, film, and creative writing. Drama subjects offer students the opportunity to study theatre history as well as to interpret dramatic texts in performance, examining how modern acting, directing and design conventions apply to plays written in earlier periods. For more information about our 2012 course offerings see Study@

The English Program offers an honours year in which you can extend your literary interests, engage in independent research, and reflect on critical debates that are pertinent to the field. Housed within the School of Cultural Inquiry, the English Program frequently hosts high profile conferences and sponsors student masterclasses on humanities topics.

The English Program at the ANU benefits from its close engagement with the Humanities Research Centre (HRC) , which hosts eminent literary and humanities scholars under its visiting fellows program. The English Program is also fortunate in its proximity to many of Australia’s national cultural institutions including the National Film and Sound Archive and the Australian War Memorial. In particular, the nearby National Library of Australia has excellent resources for research, especially in Australian literature and in Eighteenth-Century British literature.

Key Contacts

Dr Ian Higgins (Reader and Head of English Program)
Dr Monique Rooney (Lecturer and English Honours )
Professor Gillian Russell (Australia Research Council Professorial Fellow)
Rebecca Clifford (Drama)

Undergraduates

For information on majoring in English at ANU see Study@ANU.
A summary of undergraduate English courses offered for 2012 can also be found at Study@ANU.
A summary of undergraduate Drama courses offered for 2012 can be found at Study@ANU.

Honours

The Honours year is an exciting, challenging and rewarding course of study

For information on Honours see the College of Arts and Social Sciences information for prospective students and current students.
For entry requirements visit Study@ANU

Honours Application

For further information contact the Honours Convenor Monique Rooney

Postgraduates

There are a range of opportunities at postgraduate level for studying English. The diverse range of academic staff means that we are able to accommodate and supervise a variety of research interests.  

For further details see:

• Master of Philosophy specializing in English
• Doctor of Philosophy