General Description
The Department of English, Alphonsa College Thiruvambady, started functioning along with the inception of the college in 2014. The Department has been offering instruction for the award of the degree of B. A. since 2014 with British History and Politics as Complimentary subjects. In 2020, the Department became full-fledged with the introduction of the Post Graduate course in English Language and Literature.
The department enjoys the special status of being the only department that has contact with every student at the undergraduate level. Since it is affiliated to the University of Calicut, it follows the syllabus pattern of the university. At present it is one of the most prominent departments at ACT.
In addition to lectures and interactive sessions with eminent scholars, the Department organizes curricular and extra-curricular activities for the students, including Quiz Contests, Seminars, Declamation Contests, Group Discussions and annual Literary Fest to nurture the talents of the students. Moreover, the Department has been providing Bridge Course, Add on Courses and Certificate courses to all the undergraduate students.
The department is a flourishing academic community of teacher-scholars, who are dedicated to sharing their expertise in various fields of their specialization. Always performance-driven, the members of the distinguished faculty are continually committed to providing the best possible education to the Undergraduate and Postgraduate students.
Being an intensely proactive department, the faculty members take the teaching very seriously without losing sight of the Vision and Mission of the institute
The present strength of the faculty is nine. The Department enrolls about 40 students every year for the U.G and P.G Programmes.
Objectives
The objectives of the Department of English at ACT are closely related to those of the University as a whole. Our commitment to the quality of education that we offer is reflected in our determination to maintain a relatively low student/teacher ratio and to give our students the benefit of direct contact with scholars in the field. Our goals in teaching are to enable our students to read well, to write well, to think well, and to provide them with appropriate knowledge in the discipline of English Language and Literature.
The following objectives we keep in mind while equipping our students to be Graduates and Post Graduates.
01) Introduce students to the study of literature by providing practice in critical reading and developing in them a sense of the various contexts—biographical, social, political, etc.
02) Foster in students an appreciation and enjoyment of literature's aesthetic and intellectual elements
03) Enhance students' perception of the richness and diversity of the social and ethical values in literature and our response to them, recognizing that literature is by its nature value-laden; that each author and reader brings to his or her work an ethical framework and vision of the human condition
04) Enable students to transfer sensitivity to language and literary structure to their own writing, through a required writing component in each course
05) Offer guidance and training in the writing of fiction, poetry and non-fictional prose
06) Introduce students to literatures written in English at different historical periods in Britain, in America and around the world
07) Develop students' skills in written self-expression to the highest degree possible, through a required writing component for each course, by offering courses in advanced writing and by offering a concentration in Creative Writing
08) Alert students to the importance of any literary work's linguistic context and its linguistic form, and provide them with the tools necessary for analyzing texts linguistically by offering courses in the structure and the history of the English language
09) Provide internship opportunities and career counseling that will either prepare them for careers ranging from graduate programs in English to publishing, communications and business administration, or provide them with experience in literacy education
10) Allow students to learn relevant literary and social history as well as acquire training in careful textual analysis
11) Provide students with training in research and bibliographic methods, acquaint them with basic issues in the area of textual criticism, develop their reading and analytical skills, and offer study in the history and theory of literary criticism
12.) Promote interest in and knowledge about the linguistic contexts in which literary works exist
13) Strive by example, precept, and encouragement to enable students to improve their research writing skills, to apply these skills professionally outside the classroom and to become publishing scholars
14) Prepare students to become effective teachers.
15) Strive to assist students in finding professional employment that makes effective use of the skills and knowledge acquired in their training, both inside and outside the academic community.
Achievements
Department of English is second to none in academic performance in end semester examinations. The department has been consistently maintaining excellent results since beginning. A number of students have been selected for higher studies at various higher educational institutions in foreign universities in England, Canada etc. Ms. Jyotika Benny, a student who belongs to 2015-2018 batch of B.A English brought laurels to our instituate by bagging the First Rank in the University Examination in April 2018.
Pass percentage-At a glance
