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ACEA1115 Transcription

ACEA1116 Metre & Rhythm

Department of English
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA

Tel: 603-79675512
Fax: 603-79675456
Email: ketua_inggeris@um.edu.my

HISTORY

The Department of English traces its beginnings to the establishment of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malaya in Singapore in 1949. When a division of the University of Malaya was set up in Kuala Lumpur in 1957, Department of English courses were among the first to run on temporary premises at the Technical College. The Department of English subsequently became one of the first departments of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences established on the present campus in Lembah Pantai in 1959.
The original curriculum of the Department mirrored closely that of the traditional curriculum of English departments in the UK and the US, with a strong focus on the canonical works of British, Anglo-Irish and American literature. During the tenure of Lloyd Fernando as Professor (1967-79), texts from the then-called "new literatures in English" were introduced into the curriculum. Since then, there has been been a distinct shift in the curriculum giving more emphasis than before to the teaching of postcolonial texts and postcolonial theory. This shift is also mirrored in the research interests and expertise of the academic staff.

In spite of this shift, the Department has retained its focus on the canonical tradition, offering courses in both the BA and MA programme covering the entire history of English literature from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present. At the same time, the Department has striven to be at the forefront of the latest developments in literary and cultural studies, with members of staff engaging in research and offering new courses of an interdisciplinary nature. These include Literature and Popular Culture, Literature on Screen, English in Advertising, English in Journalism and Literature and the Environment.