The English Department at King's is one of the oldest in the world. It is also one of the most exciting. We cover the entire historical range of literature in English from Beowulf to recent fiction, poetry and drama. We are passionate about studying English in a global context, giving full consideration to writing from the Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Members of the Department collaborate with leading cultural institutions in London such as the British Museum, the British Library and the Globe Theatre. We have particular strengths in interdisciplinary fields such as life-writing (including creative writing and creative nonfiction), literature and economics, digitality, queer theory, performance studies, literature and science and the health humanities. Some of our research on postcolonialism is field-defining, and we are among the most highly-regarded departments in the world in medieval studies and in Shakespeare studies.
The Department is home to several research centres, which support interdisciplinary and collaborative research right across the College. These centres regularly host seminars, guest lectures, conferences, and other events led by some of the world’s most important critics and thinkers.
The Department numbers around 60 research staff and over 100 PhD students.
Get a feel for research in the Department by:
Browsing the academic profiles of individual staff members
Looking at some of our of research projects
Visiting our research centres
Reading the Departmental blog