Department of English Language and Literature

Archive Unit

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Bookmark:http://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/glaas/data/gb248-gua/guaell

Reference
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Scope and Content

Financial records 1908-1909
Correspondence 1955
Student records 1902-1940
Course details 1920-1974

Administrative / Biographical History

The Chair of English Language and Literature at Glasgow University was established by the Universities Commission of 1858 , its first Professor being John Nichol ( 1862-1889 ), making it one of the oldest Chairs in English Literature in Britain. Although English Literature had been taught in the University in one form or another for a century already by such well-known figures as Adam Smith , the first holders of the Chair of English Language and Literature had little precedents to follow, and none had ever attended a class in English or held a degree in the subject. These men determined the content and direction of the English class. Notable early occupants of the post included Andrew Cecil Bradley ( 1889-1900 ) and Walter Raleigh ( 1900-1904 ). A full list of the University's professors from 1451 to 2001 can be found at http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk/about/publish/elecpubs.html .

In 1907 a Lectureship in English Language was established, but it was not until 1948 that a Chair of English Language was founded, and English Language and English Literature became two separate departments within the Arts Faculty.

The interests of the English Literature Department include such areas as literary, intellectual and social history, critical theory, translation studies, cultural studies (including work on the role of print, and on scientific writing), film history and theory, and popular culture. The Department has around 1300 undergraduate students and a graduate school of more than eighty students. There are currently twenty-five permanent members of staff (five professors, five readers, three senior lecturers and twelve lecturers) and several Graduate Teaching Assistants. Notable scholars in the field who have worked in the department in the past include Edwin Morgan and Philip Hobsbaum .

The interests of the English Language Department include such areas as medieval English language and literature through manuscript studies, the history of the English language and Germanic/Old Norse, semantics and lexicology, grammar, experimental phonetics and phonology, discourse studies and sociolinguistics. The Department has around 750 undergraduate students, and a graduate population of about 30. There are currently ten permanent members of staff (four professors, two senior lecturers and four lecturers), three funded Research Fellows and several Graduate Teaching Assistants. Notable scholars in the field who have worked in the department in the past include Ritchie Girvan , Norman Davis and M. L. Samuels .