BA in English

The English Department has always been a strong teaching and research department which is committed to the harmonious relationship between teaching, research and larger concerns of society. It practices an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to teaching and has absorbed changes that reflect the development of English studies around the world.

Thus, members of the faculty contribute to teaching by bringing in their multidisciplinary research interests into their English courses from such areas as European and South Asian Literature, Feminist Studies, Women’s Studies, Social Sciences, Critical Theories, Linguistics and Language Studies, Postcolonial Literature, Sri Lankan Literature, Diaspora Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies and Cultural Studies.

In keeping with the needs of the students at a professional level, the English department also includes in its curriculum, courses which are geared towards developing and enhancing soft skills, communication skills and professional skills which are on par with the overall vision of the University of Kelaniya. Ensuring that students of the department are employable has always been the commitment of its faculty. Graduates of the department have gone on to excel in journalism, advertising, teaching and the foreign service among many other careers.

In short, our concern at the Department of English is not only to teach literature as a passive reflector but as an active agent in the molding of culture, values, ethics and personalities.