Department of English
English at Brown
Fostering an open understanding of literatures and cultures in English
English at Brown
Fostering an open understanding of literatures and cultures in English
Upcoming Events
News
BBC Television World News
Timothy Bewes talks to the BBC about Salman Rushdie
On the day of the attack on Salman Rushdie in Chautauqua, Timothy Bewes spoke to the BBC on the literary significance of Rushdie's work.
Elizabeth Rush spoke with students at Bryn Mawr College about resisting extraction in nonfiction storytelling for Terrain Magazine.
What is the purpose of a novel? How satisfactory are the meanings that literary critics assign to novels? How has the novel changed? What does the novel share with cinema, and what does that mean for thought and literary criticism in the contemporary period? Iqra S. Cheema talks with Timothy Bewes about these and other questions as addressed in his book Free Indirect.
Academic Programs
Undergraduate Studies
We study how literature works, how we understand it, and how we write about it. We examine closely matters of language, form, genre, and critical method.
Nonfiction Writing Program
The Nonfiction Writing Program, unique to Brown University in its scope, teaches the writing of nonfiction in its predominant modes: the academic essay, creative nonfiction, and journalism.
Graduate Studies
Brown's doctoral program in English offers professional training in literary criticism, critical theory, intellectual history, and all aspects of research and pedagogy in the humanities.
For First Year Students
There are several ways to start your journey with English at Brown.
The Department of English offers several pathways for incoming students to deepen and strengthen their ability to think and write about literature and culture.
The Nonfiction Writing Program brings together three forms of writing: academic essay, journalism, and creative nonfiction.