'English studies' is an academic discipline that includes the study of
literatures written in the
English language (including literatures from the
U.K.,
U.S.,
Ireland,
Canada,
Australia,
New Zealand,
Hong Kong,
the Philippines,
India,
South Africa, and the
Middle East, among other areas), English
linguistics (including English
phonetics,
phonology,
syntax,
morphology,
semantics,
pragmatics,
corpus linguistics, and
stylistics), and English
sociolinguistics (including
discourse analysis of written and spoken texts in the English language, the
history of the English language,
English language learning and teaching, and the study of
World Englishes).
More broadly, English studies explores the production and analysis of texts produced in English (or in areas of the world in which English is a common mode of communication). It is not uncommon for academic departments of "English" or "English Studies" to include scholars of the
English language,
literature (including
literary criticism and
literary theory),
linguistics,
law,
journalism,
composition studies, the
philosophy of language,
literacy,
publishing/
history of the book,
communication studies,
technical communication,
folklore,
cultural studies,
creative writing,
critical theory,
disability studies,
area studies (especially
American studies),
theatre,
gender studies/
ethnic studies,
digital media/
electronic publishing,
film studies/
media studies,
rhetoric and
philology/
etymology, and various courses in the
liberal arts and
humanities, among others.
In most English-speaking countries, English studies is practiced in
university departments of English, while the study of texts produced in non-English languages takes place in other departments, and such as departments foreign language or
comparative literature. This disciplinary divide is one motivation for the division of the North American
Modern Language Association (MLA) into two subgroups.
English Studies
''See also''
Literature and
linguistics, along with
List of academic disciplines
★ English
linguistics
★ English
sociolinguistics
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Discourse analysis in English
★ English
Stylistics (linguistics)
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World Englishes
★ History of the
English Language
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Composition studies
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Rhetoric
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Technical communication
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English language learning and teaching
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English Literature
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American literature, including:
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African American literature
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Jewish American literature
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Southern literature
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Australian literature
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British literature (literature outside the United Kingdom may be written in
Celtic languages)
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Canadian literature (a significant amount of Canadian literature is also written in
French)
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Irish literature
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New Zealand literature
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Scottish literature
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Welsh literature
External links
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Association of Departments of English in the US and Canada
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Conference on College Composition and Communication
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Sigma Tau Delta, Int. English Honor Society
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Modern Language Association (''MLA'')
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Organizations Related to the ''MLA''