Profile
The Department of English of our college was established in 1974 to teach English to the students of intermediate programmes. The introduction of the Undergraduate Programme in English Literature initiated in 1974, the Post Graduate programme in 2009, the Master of Philosophy in English in 2014, and the Research Centre in English established in 2016 are the significant and exponential academic growth in the milestones of the department. English Department, with all these programmes, remains the hub of literary activities all year round at the campus, making it well known for its endearing participation in most activities at the college.
The students and faculty have pledged to abide by the ideals shown by the eminent professors who were prominent stalwarts of literary accomplishment before us in this department. The faculty members seek to explore various avenues to hone the students' skills and help them shine and excel in any professional domain of their careers. Our learned faculties aim to equip students with knowledge, skills and habits of mind essential to ethical participation in a diverse, complex, inclusive and interconnected world.
We offer relevant contemporary courses which cater to the needs of students of all levels. Besides the regular curriculum, the department offers Certificate Courses in Functional English to enrich their communication skills. The strength of our department lies in the interdisciplinary research and teaching interests of our faculty to shape our students to enlighten learning skills. The cutting edge of our faculty works at literary structures and creative writing as English literature education crosses the boundaries of traditional discipline to enthral modernity.
It is a proud achievement that the department has Five recognized guides under whom 33 candidates have registered for their Ph. D degree in English literary genres. Among them, sixteen candidates have been awarded doctoral degrees, one scholar has submitted her thesis and nineteen scholars have been pursuing their research. The department has also produced 59 M. Phil scholars. The department has received a grant from the University Grants Commission for a minor research project undertaken by Prof. D. Vimala, and it also received funds from the institutional grant to Dr. R. Dhanalakshmi, Dr. S. Lingeswari and Dr. V. P. Rathi for their research projects.
The department houses nine faculty members from the Aided stream and four Ad-hoc faculty members who are experts in different genres. The thrust areas of the department are Literary Criticism and Theories, Cultural Studies, Subaltern Studies, Women's Writing in English, Canadian Literature, African Literature, English Language Teaching and Indian Writing in English. Moreover, all the classrooms of the department are ICT enabled, and we have an exclusive language laboratory with high-speed internet and the latest software for Communicative English. The department has a separate technology-enabled research centre which houses books, journals, periodicals and back volumes for the postgraduate and research scholars’ reference.
The department's alumni are well placed and turned unique in their calibre in many prestigious educational institutions in India and abroad. Besides, they work in diverse areas, including Defence, Judiciary, Civil Services, Police departments, Multinational Companies, Integrated industries, Departments of bureaucracy, Information technology and banking sectors.
In the next few years, we seek to integrate our departments' various programs and schedules by aligning to modern 21st-century literary studies with an expansive vision of learning diversities and faculty-led initiatives. This is our vision and mission to endure for excellence.