Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Department of English, University of Dhaka

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Established
  
1921

Academic staff
  
11

Chairperson
  
Prof.Dr.Rubina Khan

Location
  
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Department of English, University of Dhaka

Type
  
Under Faculty of Arts, University of Dhaka

Campus
  
Urban, located at Shahbag

The Department of English (Bengali: ইংরেজি বিভাগ) of the University of Dhaka, is one of the leading departments in University of Dhaka. It is under the Faculty of Arts. It is as old as the University.

Contents

History

The Department of English is as old as the University of Dhaka, it opened when the University started functioning on July 1, 1921. C. L. Wrenn, a distinguished scholar who later became Professor of English at University of Oxford was appointed the first Head of the Department. The Department of English contributed immensely to the spread of education in the then East Bengal. It has also played its part in the education of women of this country. Leela Nag, a student of the Department, was the first woman graduate of Dhaka University, and her admission to the Department of English was an epoch-making event in the history of women's emancipation in the country.

The teachers and students of the Department played an active part in the Bengali Language Movement of 1952 and Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Two teachers - Dr. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurata and Mr. Rashidul Hasan - and a number of students, were martyred in the War of Liberation in 1971.

Degrees offered

Since 1998 the Department has been offering courses for a four-year B. A. Honors degree in English. At the M. A. level the students can choose either Applied Linguistics and ELT or English Literature. The Department also provides supervision for M. Phil and PhD research degrees.

List of Heads of Department

The Head of the Department is called Chairperson. The current Chairperson is Professor Dr Rubina Khan. Other heads of the Department are:

The Heads of the Department from 1921 to 1972:

  • Mr. C. L. Wrenn 1922–1923
  • Dr. S. K. Das 1923–1924
  • Mr. C. L. Wrenn 1924–1927
  • Mr. Mahmud Hassan 1927–1932
  • Dr. S. N. Roy 1932–1933
  • Dr. Mahmud Hassan 1933–1942
  • Dr. S. N. Roy 1942–1947
  • Dr. Sukumar Ganguly 1947–1950
  • Dr. Itrat Husain Zuberi 1951–1953
  • Miss A. G. Stock 1953–1954
  • Mr. J. S. Turner 1954–1958
  • Dr. Syed Sazzad Husain 1959–1969
  • Dr. Khan Sarwar Mushid 1969–1972
  • Chairpersons Since 1973:

  • Dr. Serajul Islam Choudhury 1973–1976
  • Kabir Chowdhury 1976–1979
  • Dr. Serajul Islam Choudhury 1979–1979
  • M. Shamsuddoha 1979–1982
  • Dr. Razia Khan Amin 1982–1985
  • Dr. M. Ahsanul Haque 1985–1988
  • Dr. Syed Manzoorul Islam 1988–1991
  • Dr. Khandker Rezaur Rahman 1991–1994
  • Dr. Fakrul Alam 1994–1997
  • Dr. Niaz Zaman 1997–1999
  • Dr. Khondakar Ashraf Hossain 1999–2000
  • Dr. Niaz Zaman 2000–2000
  • Dr. Shawkat Hossain 2000–2003
  • Dr. Sadrul Amin 2003–2006
  • Dr. Khondakar Ashraf Hossain 2006–2009
  • Rebecca Haque 2009–2012
  • Tahmina Ahmed 2012-2015
  • Dr. Rubina Khan 2015-
  • Faculty members

    The Department has 41 Faculty Members in total. Professor Dr. Rubina Khan is the honorable Chairperson of the Department.

    Notable faculty include:

  • Kaiser Md. Hamidul Haq
  • Kazal Krishna Banerjee
  • Seminar libraries and self-access center

    There are two seminar libraries: The Shahid Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta – Shahid Rashidul Hasan Seminar and the Abi Md. Nizamul Huq Seminar.

    The Guhathakurta – Rashid Seminar is the Literature Library. The library is well furnished which contains literary books of different ages and genres. It is located next to the Department’s office. The Abi Md. Nizamul Huq Seminar is the Language library which contains books on diverse fields of English Language and grammar, linguistics, English Language Teaching (ELT), Teacher Education etc. Both libraries also have computers where students can work and access the internet for academic purposes.

    Apart from the seminar libraries, the department has a well equipped self-access center comprising two computer labs which provide multimedia facilities for students.

    References

    Department of English, University of Dhaka Wikipedia