THE POWER OF STORIES
English at the University of Lethbridge
We offer students the opportunity to study the properties and powers of language—the fundamental means by which we communicate our values, our ideals and vision.
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English is not just about the rhetorical and creative aspects of literature. It’s about examining culture in the context of history, culture, psychology, sociology, philosophy, linguistics, and more.
Our program begins with an introduction to language and literature in which instructors focus on the basics of literary reading, discussion, and writing. In second year, we teach broad overviews and surveys of literary genres, periods, theory, and other topics. Third and fourth year involve the close study of major works, periods, and topics in literature from the British, American, Canadian, Diasporic and Global Anglophone traditions. In addition, we offer a variety of special courses in topics such as rhetoric, the history of language, literary theory, gender, children’s literature, the digital humanities, and creative writing.
By studying English, you will learn how we use language in the world at large, as well as consider the functions, structures and significance of literature over time. The program provides you with an excellent foundation for a career in virtually any professional capacity due to the cross-disciplinary knowledge base you will develop in the program.
Graduate supervision is available in either English (Masters) or the University's interdisciplinary Cultural, Social, and Political Thought program (Masters and PhD). We have a particularly active cohort of graduate students in the digital humanities, language, and medieval/textual studies in our Humanities Innovation Lab.
Find out more about getting your degree in English.
Department News
Winter 2026 New Course Offering, Mondays 12:00-2:45PM
The Marlowe seminar will explore the work of (arguably) the second most significant playwright in the language, and certainly one of the most important influences on the greatest playwright in the language, Shakespeare. The advantage of Marlowe's tragic early death at the age of 29 means that we will have time to explore all of his seven plays, as well as his most important poems, including one of the most admired non-dramatic works of the English Renaissance, Hero and Leander. Assignments will include a shorter paper, a longer paper, and a seminar presentation.
Instructor: Prof Ian McAdam
Winter 2026 New Course Offering, Thursdays 3:00-5:45PM
This course offers students an overview of some of the major theoretical questions of Marxist critical theory. Through focused reading of key texts, students will come to understand how major theorists of Marxism have thought about questions of representation, temporality, history, imperialism, indigeneity, decolonization, domesticity, and the State. We will begin with a study of classical concepts from the work of Karl Marx, before moving on to discuss work by theorists such as V.I. Lenin, Antonio Gramsci, Frantz Fanon, Glen Coulthard, Fredric Jameson, and others. In addition to introducing students to classical Marxism, the course will also spend time studying Marxist feminism, Third World Marxism, and Marxism and Indigenous thought.
No prior knowledge is assumed. Open to students from all disciplines who possess third year standing.
Instructor: Prof Jessica Copley
Ekphrastic Poetry Night
10 Works of art were projected on a screen and students read an ekphrastic poem that they each have been working on this semester.
The students did a fantastic job!
Dr. Elizabeth Galway Interview with Bridge City News
Dr. Elizabeth Galway Interview with Bridge City News
Who's Teaching Kids To Bully?
November 21, 2025
Professor David B Hobbs: Keynote for Guest Lecture Series in Ottawa
On November 14th, Dr. David B. Hobbs gave a keynote through the English Department at the University of Ottawa’s “Literary Futures” series. His paper, “Apostrophe at Catastrophic Duration: Towards a Lyric Theory of Being the Last Person on Earth,” is a speculative theorization of a collection of novels that are all imagined to be narrated by the last person on earth.
Tara MacDonald, Director, Centre for Feminist Research, Won VPFA Book Prize!
Our very own Professor in English and WGST, Tara MacDonald, was the winner of the 2024 Victorian Popular Fiction Association (VPFA) Second Book Prize for Narrative, Affect, and Victorian Sensation: Wilful Bodies (Edinburgh UP, 2023) She received a £200 cash prize and was honoured at the AGM of the VPFA Annual Conference at the Birmingham and Midlands Institute in July 2025.
English enrolment fastest-growing at the University of Lethbridge
With enrolment up 20% since 2023, a 40% surge in second-year courses, and 98% graduate satisfaction, the Department of English saw the fastest growth in enrolment of any department at the University of Lethbridge in the period 2023-2025.
Faculty member O'Donnell recognised for top humanities paper at Nature
University of Lethbridge Professor Daniel Paul O’Donnell’s 2017 co-authored paper on the culture of research assessment has been named among Nature’s Top 50 Humanities Articles of the Decade. With more than 64 000 reads, 192 citations, it is the top paper in the Humanities published in the Nature imprint, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.
Adjunct Bordalejo delivers keynote on scholarly editing in Vilnius
Adjunct Assistant Professor and founding member of the Humanities Innovation Lab, Barbara Bordalejo, delivered a keynote address to the Genesis conference at Vilnius University on Thursday, October 2, 2025.
Professor emerita Morgentaler Publishes Letters from the Afterlife, Exploring a Post-Holocaust Literary Friendship
What happens when two Holocaust survivors rebuild their lives—and their friendship—through letters across continents and decades?
In Letters from the Afterlife, Professor Emerita Goldie Morgentaler brings to light the extraordinary correspondence between Chava Rosenfarb and Zenia Larsson, revealing a deeply personal post-Holocaust narrative of trauma, resilience, and literary achievement.
U of L Students Present on Digital Philology at International Conference
Students Present Research in French at International Conference
Undergraduate Jocelyn McKnight and PhD candidate Davide Pafumi represented the University of Lethbridge this week with a French-language lecture on digital philology
The Department of English Welcomes Two New Colleagues this Semester
The Department of English welcomes two new colleagues this semester: Jessica Copley (Contemporary Literature) and Dana Lew (Eighteenth Century).
Jessica Copley has been appointed to a tenure-track position in contemporary literature. She is teaching our first year course (English 1900) this semester and will be teaching courses in her research specialty in the Winter Semester.
Dana Lew joins us for a three-year position in eighteenth-century literature. He is currently teaching a fourth year seminar, Violent Voyages: Fiction and Travel before 1800.
Both new faculty members come to the University of Lethbridge from the University of Toronto.
Department Stories
Shining Student Danika Tarasewich
2025 Play Right Prize winners create compelling written tales
Shining Student Niihtaapookaa (Old Man River Child), Tatiana Weasel Moccasin
Shining Student Indie MacGarva
Career Bridge: Centre for Work-Integrated Learning and Career Development
Put Your Knowledge to Work
Whether you’re looking for a more in-depth learning experience by assisting with research projects on campus or by testing your knowledge in a real-life work setting, we can help! The University of Lethbridge is proud to offer you an exceptional opportunity to explore professional development through academic programs and services designed to give you a competitive edge in a fast-changing world.
You have a bright future — experience it via Career Bridge at uLethbridge!