The Department of English, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, established its undergraduate B.A. English (Honours) programme in 1960 and postgraduate M.A. English in 1996. It has decades of experience in nurturing young minds, providing them with opportunities to learn from and interact with some of the brightest minds in the field, and explore the subject in the entirety of its breadth and scope.
The Department is committed to the inception, the augmentation and the refinement of critical thinking among its students. Far from being a bearer of imperial socio-cultural residue, we have, in fact, turned ourselves into the pre-eminent engine of postcolonial consciousness. However, this does not imply that we gravitate to positions of antagonism vis-a-vis the West. Our objective is the development of a symbiotic and an inclusive sensibility which combines the best of what ‘has been thought and said.’ We believe in using any prescribed text as an excuse to engage with a galaxy of issues ranging from matrimonial proprieties during the Gupta age to issues of identity in the post 9/11 world.
The Department currently comprises a vibrant faculty with diverse specialisations spanning postcolonial studies, translation studies, film studies, gender studies, world literature, creative writing, diaspora studies and cultural studies. Our faculty has been awarded prestigious recognitions and has published extensively in national and international journals, magazines, books and newsletters. During the last three years alone, the department has contributed significantly to academic scholarship through research publications, peer-reviewed journal articles, translations, fiction and non-fiction works, while also actively engaging in Ph.D. supervision, research projects, conferences and invited lectures.
The Department of English and the English Department Association organise poetry festivals, seminars, competitions, book-club discussions and literary workshops with distinguished scholars and researchers. Signature events such as Verset, Sonnet and Litscape provide vibrant platforms for literary engagement and creative expression. Moreover, the department hosts excursions to museums, book fairs and academic visits to centres of learning and research such as the India International Centre (IIC), while regularly facilitating interactions with writers, translators, artists and academics from across the country. The department also takes pride in the academic, professional and entrepreneurial achievements of its students, many of whom pursue higher studies at premier institutions and excel in diverse fields.