Welcome to the Stanford University Department of English

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

We are absolutely delighted to share the news that Kirstin Valdez Quade has been awarded a 2024 John S. Guggenheim fellowship.  As the foundation notes about its history, “Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for mid-career individuals who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts...

2023 Award WinnerElaine TreharneThe Roberta Bowman Denning Professor of Humanities, professor of English, and professor, by courtesy, of German studies and of comparative literature.Treharne’s research areas are British literature, comparative literature, digital humanities literature and history, and postcolonial studies. She has published widely...

We’re pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Norman Foerster Prize, awarded to the best essay of the year in American Literature: “Poetry Will Not Optimize; or, What Is Literature to AI?” by Michele Elam, published in volume 95, issue 2. Read the essay, freely available through the end of April, here. The prize committee offered this praise for...

Upcoming Events

Please stay tuned for announcements regarding upcoming Departmental, and Co-sponsored events!

Here are some great events that we have held in the past

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

The Edinburgh Companion to Women in Publishing, 1900–2020

2024
Alice Staveley

Opera, Tragedy, and Neighbouring Forms from Corneille to Calzabigi

2024
Blair Hoxby

So We Can Know: Writers of Color on Pregnancy, Loss, Abortion, and Birth (Ed. Aracelis Girmay)

2023
Aracelis Girmay

When I Waked, I Cried to Dream Again

2023
A. Van Jordan

Meadowlands

2023
Louise Glück

Song of the Closing Doors

2022
Patrick Phillips
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