Department of English

The Department of English was established on 1st December 1986.  Right from its inception the Department has attracted a considerable number of students and research scholars, keen in their pursuit of language and literary studies. The Department has a special focus on Comparative Literature. A paper on Comparative Literary Theory is offered to the post- graduate students in the Department.  Moreover, students, both at post graduate and research levels, are encouraged to take up research between two literatures/genres/ ages.

The Department of English strives to incorporate a wide range of subjects and issues under its purview – literary criticism and theory, poetry and aesthetics, fiction studies-modernist and post-modernist phases, Commonwealth literature,  Postcolonial studies,  Subaltern Studies, and Media Studies, Gender, Diaspora and Subaltern Studies.  With such wide ranging subjects and with a faculty which is highly specialized, the Department also has a student exchange programme with Rennes II University in France.


Programmes of study

M.A.  English and Comparative Literature
M.Phil.  English (Full-time)
Ph.D. English 
(Full-time & Part-time (Internal & External))
         
Entrance Examination

M.A. :
The entrance examination question paper will consist of objective type questions for 50 marks.  The remaining 50 marks are allotted to short notes, essay writing and poem/prose analysis.  The paper is set taking into consideration the U.G. syllabus (English Major) in Indian Universities.

Essay and paragraph type questions of the entrance examination will be based on the B.A. English literature syllabus followed in Indian University literary and Aesthetic movements, Genere Drama, Poetry, Prose, Novel, Short Story, Biography, etc. Rhetoric, Great Authors, Literary terms in Criticism & Literature, land marks in Literary History of England, English literary studies  in America, India and other Commonwealth countries will form the basis for the questions in this section, Awareness of current literary events, bestsellers, award winners, international figures in the literary field will also be tested. Questions testing the skills of the candidate in comparative exercises will also be included in this section.

M.Phil/Ph.D:
The Entrance Examination question paper will be descriptive in nature with short notes, essay writing and poem/prose analysis. The questions for the entrance examination  will be at post- graduate level aimed at testing the students’ comprehensive understanding of literature in English as well as research aptitude.


Infrastructural Facilities
The Department has well-ventilated classrooms and one classroom can be used as a seminar hall having a seating capacity of 50-60.  Besides the facultys’ personal computers, the office has a computer with internet facilities along with a dot-matrix printer.

The Department also has a photocopier, a VCD Player, new audio-visual equipments such as LCD  projector, educational CDs, etc.
    
 


For more details refer Admissions
Dr. N. Natarajan, Head
For contacting on intercom numbers dial 2655991 to 2655998 and the number

Faculty Qualification Specialization/Interest Phone
Professor
* P. Balaswamy Ph.D (University of Madras, Madras) American Literature, Translation and Comparative Literature 345,344
Readers
* Sujatha Vijayaraghavan Ph.D (IIT, Madras) Indian Writing in English, Postcolonial Literature and Criticism and  Translation Studies. 347,344
* N. Natarajan Ph.D (University of Madras, Madras) Literary Criticism, Modern Fiction and Comparative Literature 347,344
*S. Murali Ph.D (University of Kerala, Trivandrum) Poetry, Aesthetics, Literary Theory, Indian Literature, Visual Arts  and Environmental Studies
P. Bhaskaran Nair Ph.D (CIEFL, Hyderabad) English Language Teaching Teacher Education Materials Production
Clement Sagayaradj Lourdes Ph.D (Pondicherry University, Pondicherry) Indian Writing in English and Translation Studies.
348,344
Lecturers      
*H. Kalpana Ph.D (Pondicherry University, Pondicherry) Canadian Literature Commonwealth Literature, Feminist Theories & Women's Literature -
Nikhila Haritas Ph.D (Bangalore University, Bangalore) Computer-Mediated Communications, Audio Visual Communication & Mass Media, Post Colonial Studies
Guest Faculty 2 Nos.


* Recognised as Supervisor for guiding scholars leading to M.Phil and Ph.D.