Department Chairperson:
Dr. Akhter Jahan
Telephone: 09666775577
Ext – 217
Email: akjahan@ewubd.edu
The Department of English is one of the earliest departments of East West University. It began its journey in August 1996 and is now the second largest department of the university in terms of the number of students we teach from other departments. Over the years, the department has established itself as a vibrant intellectual space that attracts students from diverse academic backgrounds. The department currently offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in English language, linguistics, and literature, and continues to expand its academic and co-academic offerings in response to changing global and local needs.
At East West, the BA and MA programmes combine literature in English with Applied Linguistics, offering a broad sampling of British, American, and world literature alongside developments in language teaching. Designed to prepare students for careers in education, media, communication, research, and other language-intensive fields, the programmes emphasize extensive reading, writing, discussion, and presentation skills. English majors are trained to be thoughtful critics, engage in research, apply critical thinking, and communicate clearly, with a strong focus on critical reading, analytic reasoning, and lucid writing.
The department plays a key role in the Debating Club, the English Conversation Club, and the Poetry and Drama Club. These clubs organise a full range of co-academic and social events throughout the year, including writing competitions, public speaking sessions, theatre productions, and inter-university literary activities. The department also hosts large-scale literary and cultural events, such as its annual literary festivals, which bring together students from universities across Bangladesh and foster creative exchange.
One of the major strengths of the Department of English is its faculty. The fact that many of our faculty members have international exposure from North America, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and India is certainly a measure of the quality, variety, and reputation of the department. Their diverse academic training enriches both teaching and research, and ensures that students benefit from global perspectives in the classroom.
Since 2004, the department has been organising seminars and discussion programmes that expose students to contemporary debates in literature, linguistics, and cultural studies, alongside sustained research activities in the fields of literature and English language teaching. International and departmental seminars are held periodically, providing platforms where faculty members and invited scholars from around the world present their work and engage in meaningful academic dialogue with colleagues and senior students. Currently, two major research projects funded by EWUCRT are being conducted by faculty members. Together, these scholarly activities reflect the department’s enduring commitment to intellectual inquiry, dialogue, and creativity.
We invite curious and thoughtful students to join the Department of English at East West University, where literature, linguistics, applied linguistics, foreign language teaching, media studies, soft skills, and GenAI are explored in an environment that nurtures critical thinking, values multiple perspectives, and prepares learners for a bold new world.
