UConn English is a vibrant, collaborative community invested in literature written in English and processes of writing across the globe.
The UConn Department of English offers education and outreach programs that help students across the University become excellent writers, thoughtful communicators, and engaged citizens. Our scholars produce innovative research that asks tough questions about literature in English and varieties of composition.
Through our courses in traditional and emerging areas of study, we train students to become better readers and writers of text in all forms. We also share our love of English broadly, hosting programs that bring guest speakers, writers-in-residence, and educational initiatives to communities at UConn and beyond our five campuses.
Fast Facts
8:1
Ratio of majors to full-time English professors at UConn
25
Average class size for undergraduate courses
30+
Professional, literary, and writing events offered annually by the Department
Quick Links

Faculty Directory
Find a full list of our faculty, course instructors, and contact information.

Undergraduate Education
Students can customize their experience with our flexible English major and minor options.

Graduate Education
Our department offers graduate Ph.D., MA, and combined MA/Ph.D. tracks.
Recent News
Professor Mary Gallucci Publishes New Book
Professor Mary Gallucci, who teaches part-time in the English Department, has published a new book, Performing Witchcraft, Exorcism, and Abortion on the Italian Renaissance Stage (Routledge, 2024). More information is available on our Faculty Bookshelf. Congratulations, Professor Gallucci!
[Read More]Hayley Segar ’17 (CLAS) to Appear on Shark Tank
Hayley Segar ’17 (CLAS), an alumna of the English program on the UConn Avery Point campus, was featured in UConn Today for her upcoming appearance on Shark Tank, scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday, January 24th. Segar will be featured with her swimsuit company, onewith, where she will be pitching to top entrepreneurs.
[Read More]ENGL Ph.D Candidate Kiedra Taylor to Collaborate with Publisher
English Doctoral Student Kiedra Taylor is set to collaborate with publishing house Porch Water Press for the first in-print edition of Write On, Black Girl, an annual literary magazine featuring the work of Black girls in Connecticut. Her collaboration with Porch Water Press serves as an important step in uplifting the voices of Black woman writers. […]
[Read More]Upcoming Events
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Feb
19
UCHI Fellow’s Talk: Heather Ostman on Grace in American Literature 3:30pm
UCHI Fellow’s Talk: Heather Ostman on Grace in American Literature
Wednesday, February 19th, 2025
03:30 PM - 04:45 PM
Homer Babbidge Library
In this presentation, Heather Ostman will discuss her UCHI project, which seeks to find the links between the representations of religion and selected texts from America’s nineteenth-century, a time in the nation’s history when it sought to assert a distinctive culture and national identity—attempts challenged particularly by the Civil War. The New Testament notion of “grace” shapes the direction of this study, as it points to multiple writers’ concerns with ideas of “mercy,” “salvation,” and/or “redemption”—all of which lend themselves to the developing mythos of the American self-made individual, as shaped by earlier narratives, such as Benjamin Franklin’s eighteenth-century autobiography. The texts studied in this project, which include those by Emerson, Walt Whitman, Sojourner Truth, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pierton Dooner, and Kate Chopin, present a complex picture of American letters, the contours and constraints of religious practice, and the search for grace—and ultimately, for meaning itself—amid the political, religious, and social constructs of nineteenth-century America. After a broad introduction to the study, this presentation will particularly focus on the intersections between fiction and religion through the lens of “grace” as they emerge in the work of Kate Chopin and in comparison to other texts studied in this project.
Heather Ostman is Professor of English, Director of the Humanities Institute, and Humanities Curriculum Chair at SUNY Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York. She is the author/editor of eleven books, including, recently, Kate Chopin and the City: the New Orleans Stories (2024). She is the recipient of two NEH grants and a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, and she is the co-founder and president of the Kate Chopin International Society. The UCHI Visiting Fellowship will enable Heather the time and space to work on her next book project, which is titled “Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Religion, and the Search for Grace.” As Christian idea, “grace” speaks to acts of mercy, salvation, and redemption.
Julia Wold Julia Wold is a doctoral candidate in the English Department specializing in Early Modern drama, primarily Shakespeare, and adaptation theory, focusing on video game adaptations. She received her MA in English from the University of North Dakota and her BA in English from Northern State University. Her work focuses on early modern philosophies of choice in both contemporaneous works (Hamlet, Paradise Lost) and modern video game adaptations of these works (Elsinore, The Talos Principle). She is also the co-host and editor of the Star Wars English Class podcast, exploring concepts ranging from literary theory to creative writing via Star Wars. At UCHI, Julia will complete her dissertation, “Adapting Choice: Shakespeare, Video Games, and Early Modern Thought,” which explores the connection between early modern conceptions of decision-making (“right reason”), theorized as “thoughtful choice” and video games adaptations of early modern texts.
Access note
If you require accommodation to attend this event, please contact us at uchi@uconn.edu or by phone (860) 486-9057. We can request ASL interpretation, computer-assisted real time transcription, and other accommodations offered by the Center for Students with Disabilities.
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Mar
1
El Instituto’s Graduate Research Forum 9:45am
El Instituto’s Graduate Research Forum
Saturday, March 1st, 2025
09:45 AM - 02:15 PM
Ryan Building
“ELIN’s Graduate Research Forum: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies”
Saturday, March 1, 2025
9:45am-2:15pm
Ryan Building, Room 204
Join El Instituto’s Graduate Research Forum, where graduate students will share and defend their research! This research forum showcases new interdisciplinary collaboration and academic exchange across multiple departments: valuable feedback and networking opportunities with peers and faculty.Schedule Overview:
- 3 Sessions with presentations along with Q&A
- Breaks in between sessions
- Lunch provided to conclude event
Please enter through El Instituto’s main entrance on the side of the building passing the (InCHIP) Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy. You can find information for directions in El Instituto’s website.
There is limited space, RSVP today!
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Mar
5
UCHI Fellow‘s Talk: Yohei Igarashi 3:30pm
UCHI Fellow‘s Talk: Yohei Igarashi
Wednesday, March 5th, 2025
03:30 PM - 04:45 PM
Homer Babbidge Library
A research talk by UCHI faculty fellow Yohei Igarashi on his project, “Word Count: Literary Study and Data Analysis, 1875–1965,” with a response by Hana Maruyama.
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Mar
12
UCHI Fellow’s Talk: Grégory Pierrot 3:30pm
UCHI Fellow’s Talk: Grégory Pierrot
Wednesday, March 12th, 2025
03:30 PM - 04:45 PM
Homer Babbidge Library
A research talk by UCHI faculty fellow Grégory Pierrot on his project, “It Was Nation Time: Fictions of African American Revolution,” with a response by Danielle Pierratti.
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Mar
27
Teale Lecture: David Sedlack (University of California, Berkeley) 4:00pm
Teale Lecture: David Sedlack (University of California, Berkeley)
Thursday, March 27th, 2025
04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
The Dodd Center for Human Rights
- 03/27/25 - Realizing the Promise of Nature-Based Water Treatment in the Age of Climate Change Adaptation
- This is an Honors Event. See tags below for category information. #UHLevent10937
Contact Information:
Gregory Anderson, Gregory.Anderson@uconn.edu;
Kathleen Segerson, Kathleen.Segerson@uconn.edu;
or Michael Willig, Michael.Willig@uconn.edu;
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