ENGLISH at UTSC encompasses the written text (fictional and non-fictional), the oral text (stories and poems), and the visual text (graphic novels and film). We focus on language and the significance of the words we use; on ideology and how it shapes our thought; on cognition and emotion as processes through which we engage with others and our world. We investigate the way expression in words, or in words and images, plays a vital role in self-knowledge and in communication. We ask how language forms a sense of identity, and how the relation between writer and reader, speaker and listener, artwork and audience, makes interpretation always an act of dynamic exchange. We explore the ways writers and artists seek to change culture, and how culture in turn exerts a shaping influence on their works.

As an English student at UTSC, you will be part of a close-knit community: all students acquire a common experience through a series of foundational courses that focus primarily on enhancing your skills. Another distinctive feature of UTSC English is the integration of writing into our curriculum: an intermediate-level course in critical writing offers excellent preparation for the more advanced writing in upper level courses, and several electives in creative writing are available for you to take as well. Visual literacy is also integrated into our programme, and you may choose to take a series of courses in a cinema stream. In upper-level courses, you will work closely with faculty in areas of their own research. These courses range broadly throughout time (from the first anonymous ballad-singers to the hip-hop music of today) and across space (leading out from Canada to Great Britain, the United States, Africa, Asia, Australia, and other geographical areas as well). In these courses, you will also discover how studying English involves interdisciplinarity; you will be encouraged to make such connections within individual English courses and through related courses in other fields. The knowledge you acquire will enhance your individual growth and provide an excellent background for professions in research, teaching, business, the arts, and the law. ENGLISH at UTSC will prepare you for today’s complex global environment and for any career that you choose.