English (Honours) University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Overview

Key Features

The Bachelor of Arts in English (Honours) offered at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg teaches world literature written in English. Our curriculum is not traditional in the mundane sense of the word, but considers the ongoing dialogue between tradition and innovation, and the conversation among European, colonial and postcolonial writers.

Members of the Department are actively engaged in researching various areas of literary study, including South African literature, maritime fiction, Shakespeare and early modern studies, literary theory, jazz and country music, Zimbabwean literature, English in education (multiliteracies and multimodality), postcolonial conflict, travel writing, South African theatre, contemporary American literature and culture, representations of trauma, and authors as diverse as Henry James, Nuruddin Farah, Chinua Achebe, Ivan Vladislavic, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Damon Galgut, Aravind Adiga, Richard Hughes, Kiran Desai, Dave Eggers and Abdulrazak Gurnah.

Careers

Graduates may go on to teach English here and abroad, to work as copywriters, editors, publishers, authors or academics. Other graduates may become lawyers, psychologists, economists, accountants or pursue careers in the sciences. Nevertheless, they find literature an essential supplement to their field of specialisation.