Department of English

"My response to racism is anger. I have lived with that anger, ignoring it, feeding upon it, learning to use it before it laid my visions to waste, for most of my life. Once I did it in silence, afraid of the weight. My fear of anger taught me nothing. Your fear of that anger will teach you nothing, also.” Audre Lorde
The SU Department of English Stands in Solidarity with Asian and Asian-American Students and Colleagues.
The Department of English stands in solidarity and mourning with the Asian and Asian-American community in the wake of the murders of six Asian women in Atlanta. These murders were racist, xenophobic, and misogynistic hate crimes that targeted a group of workers whose identities and labor at a specific intersection of race, class, and gender made them highly visible and vulnerable targets of masculinist and white supremacist rage. At the same time, we know that Asian and Asian-American members of our own community here at Syracuse University have also been subjected to hate, bias, and discrimination and that nationwide Asians and Asian Americans have been subjected to a rising wave of hate and violence in the last year. The people who commit these acts create an atmosphere that is hostile to all students, staff and faculty and especially harm those from vulnerable groups. Our Asian and Asian-American students, faculty, and staff are invaluable members of our community. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the English Department Chair, Professor Coran Klaver, at ccklaver@syr.edu, if you are in need of support. We stand in solidarity with our Asian and Asian American students and colleagues.
English and Textual Studies
Take a journey through the human experience via literary study. Explore creative expression across a broad array of texts—novels, plays, film, digital media and more. Interpret motivations behind stories of yesterday and today and hone your skills as a writer.
Our curriculum is called English and Textual Studies (ETS) to acknowledge the breadth and diversity of the texts you will study. In addition to traditional literature courses in Chaucer and Shakespeare, the Romantics and Victorians, and literary modernism, you can also take courses in:
- Fantasy and Science Fiction
- Hollywood film
- Video game history
- Comics and Graphic Novel
- Hip-hop culture and more
ETS is designed to:
- Introduce you to a wide array of texts
- Enhance your ability to interpret texts and express ideas
- Develop powers of argument and analysis
- Train you to write critically and clearly
- Develop skills for writers of poetry and fiction
- Become critical readers of your own work
Our diverse faculty includes literary historians, critical theorists, film scholars, editors, poets, and novelists who approach the field in a variety of ways.
English Department News

Student Ambassadors
The Department of English has kicked off a student ambassador program. We recently caught up with two ambassadors.

Remembering Sanford V. Sternlicht
Sternlicht, professor emeritus of English, retired from Syracuse University in 2011.

Navigating an International Fellowship During a Global Pandemic
Professor Scott Manning Stevens receives a Fulbright Fellowship to teach in Hungary and conduct research at ethnographic museums throughout the country.
Concept of ‘medical liberty’ stirred emotions in 19th century Britain as well as in modern-day America. Upstate Medical podcast interview with PhD candidate Haejoo Kim.
In early 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic began, Syracuse University doctoral student Haejoo Kim was studying alternative health practices among the 19th-century British. She noticed similarities to what was happening in present-day America. Kim, who is working on a doctorate in English, discusses what she learned, including how ideas about personal freedom clashed with public health efforts.
Events
Events
There are no events in this category right now, but please check the University calendar for many other options.