The Department of English of Bangladesh University of Professionals started its journey in August 2015 as the cornerstone of the humanities of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Presently, the department offers only Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in English program with two specializations: a) English Literature, and b) Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching (ELT). The first batch will be graduating on 2019. The Master of Arts in English program is going to be started from 2020 with two different streams as a) English Literature and Cultural Studies, b) English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics.

 

The Department of English offers a unique blend of Literature in English, Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching. It studies and teaches literature written in English from all periods and places. We are a large department, known for our broad view of the discipline, and understand “literature” to mean writing in all media, and its study to include all the ways in which texts have been produced, re-produced, circulated, and read, along with the modes of classification and the definitions of enjoyment used to understand them. It represents a broad sampling of British, American, and world literature written in English along with the developments in linguistics and language teaching that provide the opportunity to learn the use and evaluation of current classroom techniques for the teaching of English. Extensive reading and writing, along with discussion and presentation skills are required in virtually all the courses offered by the department. The expectation is that students will learn to do research, apply critical thinking and express themselves in a clear and interesting style. The focus on critical reading and analytic reasoning and lucid writing is central to the mission of the department. The scholarly methods that we employ, and in which, we train our students, include close reading, cultural analysis, historical and archival research, literary and media theory, the history of the book, and digital humanities.

 

The Department of English houses vibrant, diverse, and engaged faculty. As faculty, we guide our students down paths of discovery. We listen to them; engage them to challenge and thereby refine their interpretative skills. In the process, students become clear and effective communicators who can take into account the vagaries and vicissitudes of language. We encourage them to question how the literary texts work to create intellectual and emotional meaning. We provide students with an excellent education in the liberal arts—one that strikes an ideal balance between creativity and critical inquiry. Students, whether planning to enter professional or academic job markets after graduation, leave with skills allowing them to communicate, collaborate, and problem solve in an increasingly-globalized cultural landscape. Student–faculty interaction is the foundation of our pedagogical praxis.

           The department has been organizing seminars and discussion programs regularly since its inception as well as carrying out research activities in many fields of literature and ELT. At the moment, four major research projects (funded by UGC and Bangabandhu Chair, BUP) are being conducted by our faculty members. Students are encouraged to take part in departmental seminars, workshops and interactive secessions. The department oversees the overall activities of two prestigious and vibrant clubs of BUP, namely, BUP Literature and Drama Club (BUPLDC) and BUP Research Society (BUPRS). These clubs organize a full-range of co-academic, extra-curricular and social events throughout the year. We want our student bodies to reflect not just in BUP, but also the global network of universities. By supporting students’ work in digital humanities and in socially-engaged critical inquiry, and by recruiting students of color to our program, we hope to further advance its creative, intellectual, and inclusive strengths.