Faculty of Arts and Humanities
School of English
Literature in English from the Middle Ages to the present, creative writing, and the history of the book.
At a glance, 2026–27
- Head of department
- Professor Nicola Brennand
- Building
- 17 Market Hill
- Academic staff
- 57
- Students
- 610 undergraduates, 120 taught and 70 research postgraduates
The School teaches literature in English across every period, with creative writing workshops in each year of the undergraduate course and a masters degree in the history of the book. Its seminars are small, and several first-year classes meet in the Special Collections reading room.
The School works closely with the University Library, whose Pontar Ballad Collection of about 9,300 printed broadside ballads is one of the largest of its kind, and with Oxenfurt University Press, which publishes the School’s editions series.
Subjects
- English literature, medieval to contemporary
- English language and linguistics
- Creative writing (poetry and prose)
- Book history and print culture
Courses
Undergraduate
- English Literature BA Q300
- English Language and Literature BA QQ31
- English and Creative Writing BA QW38
- English and History BA QV31, joint
- English and Philosophy BA QV35, joint
- English and French BA QR31, joint
- English and Music BA QW33, joint
Postgraduate taught
- English Literature MA T101
- Creative Writing MA T102
- Book History and Print Culture MA T103, joint
Postgraduate research
Research
- Ballad, song and print
- The Pontar Ballad Collection, street literature and the printers of Printer’s Row, 1580 to 1900.
- Medieval literature
- Dream poetry, manuscript culture and the Middle English romance.
- Writing the region
- The literature of rivers, ports and estuaries, from the eighteenth-century topographical poem to the present.
- Contemporary writing
- British and Irish poetry and fiction since 1990, and the writing workshop as a form of criticism.
Research students are supervised in every area listed. See research at Oxenfurt and the University’s centres and institutes.
Contact
17 Market Hill, Oxenfurt OF1 3AX
Email english@oxenfurt.uk · Telephone 01632 960621
The department office is open from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday.
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