Department of English

Image of the front gates and GU seal

Welcome to the English Department

Congratulations to our Class of 2020 majors and minors!

Important Notice: The Department of English remains committed to providing our standard level of excellent service. Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, we have moved to full virtual instructional, research, and administrative continuity during our regular business hours as part of Georgetown University’s response to COVID-19. There will be no one in the main office during this time.

For assistance, please contact the relevant faculty or staff member in your specific area of concern via email. Listed below are additional resources for you as we all navigate changes to our normal department operations until further notice.  For information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please visit www.georgetown.edu/coronavirus. 

You can also call Georgetown University’s main campus helpline to be connected to the appropriate university representative to answer your question(s) at 202-784-3510—available 9am–5pm EST Monday–Friday.

General Contact Information
Department of English
englishevents@georgetown.edu 
202-687-7435 (voicemail only)

Declaring an English major or minor?
Email the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Prof. Daniel Shore at english@georgetown.edu.

To declare your major/minor:

  1. Fill out the Academic Program Changes Form on https://college.georgetown.edu/advising/forms/ and select the hyperlink “Academic Program Changes” for a digital copy
  2. Send the form to the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS)
  3. DUS signs the Academic Program Changes Form and sends it electronically to the Dean’s Office

Questions about the MA English program?
Email the Director of Graduate Studies, Prof. Pamela Fox or Program Administrator, Jessica Marr at gradenglish@georgetown.edu.

For more information about the MA program including application requirements and current student resources, visit our website at https://english.georgetown.edu/graduate-program/.

Having trouble with your computer, logging into Google Apps, etc…?
Contact University Information Services (UIS) at help@georgetown.edu. You can also visit the UIS website at https://uis.georgetown.edu/.

Thank you in advance for your patience as we aim to respond to each individual query that comes our way as promptly as we can. We are with you, and we are here to support you. Take care, and be well!

Best,
Department of English Faculty & Staff

Posted: March 16, 2020

The Department of English at Georgetown University has one of the largest undergraduate majors in the College of Arts and Sciences and houses one of the few stand-alone English Master’s programs at a nationally ranked university.

Statement of Principles from the Faculty of English, Georgetown University


The Department of English at Georgetown University stands united in its commitment to the fundamental equality and inherent dignity of all human beings. These values are the foundation of our work in the humanities and transcend political affiliation. They are also embedded in our University’s mission and the Jesuit tradition of seeking social justice.

As humanists we are committed to the practices of principled argumentation, free inquiry, careful consideration of evidence and fact, and sustained, contemplative engagement. A prerequisite for those practices is respect.

We join together in opposition to those who would ignore, reject, or recast as debatable the principles of equality and justice that are the foundation of our work as educators. 

We affirm this shared commitment publicly because the values of equality and human dignity continue to be under threat. Instances of racist, misogynist, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, homophobic, and anti-Semitic harassment, coupled with hate crimes and acts of racial terrorism, are on the rise nationally. They also occur at Georgetown.

The climate for these acts has been substantively shaped by a rhetoric of divisive bigotry that has come to dominate our political discourse, even at the highest levels of our government. As teachers of English we know that words are powerful. We reject the language of division and affirm publicly our shared commitment to justice.

To our students: we stand in solidarity with you. We acknowledge your fears and affirm your right to pursue knowledge regardless of your identity or origin. Our task is to support, to encourage, and to challenge all of you. We commit to that task now and always.

With its small classes, the Department of English at Georgetown University emphasizes close work with students and teaching excellence. Our faculty boasts a robust and diverse record of publication, and many have won major university teaching prizes. Reflecting a broadening of the field in recent years, our department offers courses in canonical and non-canonical literature and film in English. The Department is the home of the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice and the University Writing Program.

Many courses are interdisciplinary and our faculty have played a major role in founding the African American Studies Department and interdisciplinary programs of the College:

American Studies

Catholic Studies

Center for Jewish Civilization

Disability Studies

Film and Media Studies

Global Medieval Studies

Journalism Studies

Program on Justice & Peace

Women’s and Gender Studies

Department Leadership

Chair: Ricardo Ortíz
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Daniel Shore
Director of Honors: Lori Merish
Director of Creative Writing Minor: David Gewanter
Director of Graduate Studies: Pamela Fox

Message from the Chair

If you are seeking information on English language courses, please contact the English Language Center.

Announcements

Faculty Publications