English Department Welcome message from the Chair

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One of the founding departments of Stanford University in 1891, the English Department is the cornerstone of the humanities at Stanford. The pioneer faculty of English was an eclectic group of writers, comparativists, and literary scholars.

Front entrance of the quad from Jordan Hall to Hoover Tower, on Serra Street. From a series of images intended to "recreate" historical images from the Stanford Archives. bicycle

 

Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service

Undergraduate Program

To study English is to master the power of language.

On the first day of summer, junior Chaz Curet takes a break to read in the sun. The English major found a comfortable spot in the SEQ to read from 'Our Story Begins,' a collection of short stories by Stanford professor Tobias Wolff.

Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service

Coterminal Master of Arts

If you are an advanced undergraduate who wants to take the study of literature to a higher level, then the coterminal M.A. program is for you.

Ato Quayson speaking with Ramon Saldivar and Paula Moya

Paul Keitz

Check out our courses

Stanford English offers a wide variety of interdisciplinary courses taught by world-class faculty

A photo of Ato Quayson and Adam Johnson attending the Creative Writing Welcome Back Dinner.

Views from the Department

Professor Ato Quayson with Professor Adam Johnson at Creative Writing Welcome Dinner

Recent News

Winter-Spring 2023 Undergraduate Research Internships at SCALAA (Stanford Computational Approaches Literary and Archival Analysis) Are you interested in gaining academic research experience this year? Then why not apply for an undergraduate Research Internship in the Department of English, collaborating with faculty to pursue original...

The fascinating history of American bookishness as told through the sale of Charles Lamb’s library in 1848 Charles Lamb’s library—a heap of sixty scruffy old books singed with smoke, soaked with gin, sprinkled with crumbs, stripped of illustrations, and bescribbled by the essayist and his literary friends—caused a sensation when it was sold in New...

From Orbit Books: Ready for your next epic fantasy obsession? Orbit is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Phoenix King by debut author Aparna Verma! The first in a trilogy blazing with mystic fire, political intrigue, and forbidden romance, The Phoenix King follows an assassin who is more than what he seems and a princess with...

Upcoming Events

January
24

Date
Tue January 24th 2023 - Fri January 27th 2023, All day

Please save some time at the end of January for an extravaganza on Stanford Campus, celebrating manuscripts and the handmade. These events are the…

February
2

Date
Thu February 2nd 2023, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Location
Terrace Room (rm. 426), Margaret Jacks Hall, Bldg 460
450 Jane Stanford Way, Bldg 460, Stanford, CA 94305
426

Methods Café is a dialogue series in the English Department that pairs faculty members in a conversation about literary theory. Primary texts are…

February
2

Date
Thu February 2nd 2023, 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Location
Terrace Room
450 Jane Stanford Way, Bldg 460, Room 426

A three-part series: come join us for an evening of live harp accompaniment, complimentary mead, and the reading of Seamus Heaney's translation of…

Department Bookshelf

English remains a top-ranked department nationally because of the strength and variety of our faculty publications, both in scholarly research and creative writing. Browse the Bookshelf to explore our many interests.

 Browse the entire Bookshelf

Kumano Kodo: Pilgrimage to Powerspots

2022
J. Christian Greer

Private Notebooks: 1914-1916

2022
Author

Book Madness | A Story of Book Collectors in America

2022
Denise Gigante

The Invention of Shakespeare, and Other Essays

2022
Stephen Orgel

The Underwater Eye: How the Movie Camera Opened the Depths and Unleashed New Realms of Fantasy

2022
Margaret Cohen

Shadows of the Enlightenment | Tragic Drama during Europe’s Age of Reason

2022
Blair Hoxby
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