The Department of English introduced the BA Honours Programme in the mid-seventies in the college. With the firm foundation given by the early members, the department went on to become one of the most revered and recognized pillars of the academic community both within the discipline and the university. It has been one of the most sought after courses with student aspirants who find the intellectual challenge of the course exciting and the environment provided by the competent department, ideal. With such a consistent quality of intake, the strength of the department is constantly bolstered, our students managing to secure university positions regularly with the University topper coming in 2007 in the shape of R. Bharat. Our students have, moreover, not limited themselves to mere academics. They have been some of the most visible participants in co-curricular activities representing the college both within the University and without, bringing back laurels for the institution on a regular basis.
Faculty
The faculty, a healthy mix of experience and young blood, has been consistent in the display of sterling qualities. Popular in the classroom, the teachers have augmented their individual profiles, and thus enhanced the academic standing of the institution by engaging in constant research activity and publishing with regularity. Within the time span 2002-2007, members of the faculty have participated in national and international conferences, have been invited by universities both national and international to deliver lectures and conduct workshops. The senior most member of the department, Sujata Rao, Winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Award 1998, has been publishing short fiction consistently and been invited to address audiences in India and abroad. She has a collection of short fiction under her belt and a novel in the pipeline. Her work is being taught on several creative writing syllabi in Australia.
Faculty members have been the worthy recipients of various recognitions such as the British Academy Fellowship (Indrani Sen) and the Charles Wallace Fellowship (Meenakshi Bharat). There has been profuse research and publication activity in the department bearing witness to the vigorous research orientation of the department. With several book publications already in the market and on the bookshelves, the members continue to be gainfully employed on this front. Indrani Sen and Meenakshi Bharat, both look forward to books in early 2008. Nikhil Yadav’s edited book is expected in 2008 too. N.K.Bhasin has been an integral part of the editing and composition of several texts for the B. A. Programme. The faculty has been constantly publishing articles, review articles, reviews, and short stories in prestigious national and international journals. The details of these multifarious activities may be noted against the particulars of the individual members. In recognition of their abilities, members of the department have been invited to conduct lectures with postgraduates at both the M.A. and the M.Phil level on a regular basis. As such, the department has proved a worthy and active part of the parent body.
The faculty has also been an integral part of the co-curricular profile of the institution. While frequent programmes of lectures, seminars have been organised by the department with luminaries from the national and international fields to bolster the intellectual climate, our multi-talented teachers have done their bit by ably guiding students in the competitive arenas of debating, elocuting, dramatics, creative writing and the fine arts. Well-known writers like Amit Chaudhuri, Mukul Kesavan and Sukrita Paul Kumar to name just a few, and eminent intellectuals, including Sahitya Akademi Award Winner, Prof Meenakshi Mukherjee have spoken to the faculty and students, going back with very positive impressions of the department. The Department hosts an annual Inter-College Literary Festival, Metaphor which sees participation from various university colleges. The Department also publishes a bi-monthly in-house magazine called Mosaic.
