The Faculty of English is a constituent part of the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1914 as a Tripos within the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. It could be studied only as a 'Part I' of a degree course, alongside a 'Part II' either in medieval languages or from another Tripos.[1] In 1926, the course became a distinct Faculty.
The undergraduate degree course of 'Cambridge English', as well as the Faculty as a whole, is known for its distinctive focus on close reading (called Practical criticism), first championed by I. A. Richards and then later by William Empson and F. R. Leavis.[2][3] Since the course was founded in 1926, Practical Criticism, Tragedy and Shakespeare have been mandatory parts of the course; the English Moralists paper (now renamed the Ethical Imagination) has also remained as an optional paper.[1]
In the present day, its research focus is wide ranging: from Old English literature through to contemporary, and also associated themes such as digital humanities and the history of the book.[4] One of its sub-divisions is the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, the only department in the world dedicated to the Early Middle Ages.[5]
Notable staff
The faculty's senior teaching posts include a number of named professorships:
- Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon (currently Rosalind Love)
- King Edward VII Professor of English Literature (currently Clair Wills)
- Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English (Cambridge) (currently Nicolette Zeeman)
- Grace 2 Professor of English (currently Steven Connor)
Other notable current academics:
- Priyamvada Gopal, Professor of Postcolonial Studies
- John Kerrigan, Professor of English
- Robert Macfarlane, Reader in Literature and the Geohumanities
People associated with the Faculty
Academics and public intellectuals
- Marshall McLuhan
- Arthur Quiller-Couch, the first holder of the King Edward VII Professorship
- F. R. Leavis
- C. S. Lewis
- M. C. Bradbrook
- Raymond Williams
- E. M. W. Tillyard
- Germaine Greer
- Eric Griffiths (critic)
Writers
Actors
Politicians
References
- 1 2 Zeeman, Nicolette (Spring 2021). "Things Go On..." (PDF). 9 West Road. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ↑ Williams, Raymond (7 July 1983). "Cambridge English and Beyond". London Review of Books. Vol. 05, no. 12. ISSN 0260-9592. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ↑ North, Joseph (2017). Literary Criticism: A Concise Political History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 47–54. ISBN 9780674967731.
- ↑ "Faculty Research Groups". Faculty of English. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ↑ "About ASNC". Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
