Profile of the Department
The history of the Department of English dates back to the establishment of the College at Nagapattinam in 1844. Since its inception, the Department has been striving to equip the students with English language skills necessary for research and employment, and to offer them holistic formation. It is the largest Department of the College, which enjoys the status of being the only Department that has contact with every student at the undergraduate level. The B.A. programme in English literature was started in the year 1962, the M.A. programme in 1965, and the M.Phil programme in 1984. The Department has two shifts (aided and unaided) with 38 dedicated faculty members, teaching around 750 B.A. English and M.A. English students altogether. It was upgraded as a Research Department in 1999. Currently, there are nine approved PhD supervisors.
The Department is marked by a wide range of activities organised by the Communication Club, Bibliophile Club, Bards' Club, Drama Club, Muybridge Film Club, JOSTALKS, Debate Club, YOES and Lit-Quest, which seek to unearth and nurture the multiple talents of the students, and which highlight the strenuous efforts taken by the staff members to shape the overall personality of the students. Besides these activities, Bridge Courses, Conferences, Seminars, Workshops, Special Lectures, Remedial Programme, Certificate Courses in Spoken English and Developing Listening Skills, Value Added course on Introduction to Theatre Arts and coaching classes for NET/SET are regularly conducted. The Department has a diversified curriculum which, in addition to British and American Literature, encompasses Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, Subaltern Literature, Postcolonial Literature, Indian Diasporic Literature, Indian Writing in English, Women's Writing, Film Studies, News Reporting and Editing, Introduction to Journalism, ELT, Linguistics, Research Methodology and Cultural Studies and Contemporary World Literature.
Thrust Areas of the Department
- Recent Trends in Literature
- Literary Criticism and Theories
- Subaltern Studies
- Indian Writing in English
- Comparative Literature
- English Language Teaching
Bridge Course
Bridge Course is a characteristic feature of the Department of English at St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli. When the concept of the Bridge Course was introduced in the late 1960s, St. Joseph's College was a pioneer in implementing the programme in collaboration with the British Council, Madras. Revived in the year 1994, it has undergone a long process of evolution through numerous experimental results over the years. Currently, it is conducted for ten days before the commencement of the regular classes for the academic year. The key objectives of the Bridge Course are as follows:
- To bridge the gap between school and collegiate education
- To meet the students' communicative requirements
- To prepare the students for a classroom atmosphere where English is the medium of instruction
Key Features of the Department
- The largest and one of the oldest Departments of the College
- One of the Star Departments of the College
- Curriculum that includes the aspects of skill development, entrepreneurship and employability
- Technology-Integrated Teaching
- A series of special lectures on literary theories and important literary themes organised by YOES
- Diverse student-support activities organised by the different clubs of the Department
- Coaching classes for NET/SET
