The Department of English fosters the study of British, American, and Anglophone literature and culture—old and new—in ways that are both intensive and open. We offer a wide array of courses in poetry, drama, fiction, creative nonfiction, film, digital media, and theory. All of our courses emphasize the development of student skills in writing, textual analysis, and argument. You will find considerable diversity in critical approaches and methods among the department’s faculty. We encourage students in our classes likewise to forge their own new ways of understanding literature and culture. English is among the most popular concentrations at Brown, and graduates of our highly ranked Ph.D. program are widely recognized for their scholarship and teaching.
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
News
The Graduate School
English Doctoral Candidate Wins Top Prize for Groundbreaking Literary Research
Semilore Sobande is the 2026 winner of Brown University's Joukowsky Outstanding Dissertation Prize in the humanities.
The Brown Daily Herald
Professor Mariah Min featured in article on professorial style
The Herald spoke with several professors with unique fashion styles, finding out how culture, identity and expression influence their wardrobe selection.
This event was hosted by Royce Family Professor of Teaching English Excellence Kevin Quashie and co-sponsored by the Departments of English, Africana Studies, and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA).
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.