GW's Department of English offers seminars and lectures on poetry, drama, film, literature and theory. We are attentive to the text, with its particular style and content. And we are attentive to historical, personal and political impacts of literature upon people and culture.

From Beowulf to Derek Walcott, from Virginia Woolf to Sojourner Truth, courses in our department explore human experience in its historical and affective particularity. Expressions in English bridge cultures and shape perception, whether they are early manuscripts on parchment, hip hop lyrics or graphic novels.

As a humanities faculty, we are especially interested in the artistic exploration of identity, community, cultural conflict and history.