In the UB English Department, we promote scholarship and writing that questions and expands conventional disciplinary boundaries, and we encourage dialogue and cross-fertilization between different areas of specialization.
Medieval and Early Modern Studies covers historical and textual fundamentals of the period as well as interdisciplinary, cutting-edge theoretical study.
Modernism focuses on early 20th century literature, art and film in relation to textual/archival resources, postcolonial studies, popular culture, politics and aesthetics.
Transnational Irish Studies focuses on the rich, diverse and highly politicized literature and cultural traditions of Ireland in relation to other national traditions and in global context.
Early and 19th Century American literary studies explores the American experience through history, visual studies, philosophy, textual studies and race and gender theory.
Gender & Sexuality Studies combines feminist traditions, masculinity studies and queer theory to examine cultural practices, texts and social movements.
Scholars at UB working on ecocriticism explore intersections of the humanities and the environment. Department critics teach and study such topics as ecopoetics, environmentalist literature, new materialism, postcolonial ecologies, environmental justice, food politics, animal studies, and the social construction of nature. Faculty have recently published on such topics as biopolitics and ecology, landscape poetics, disaster politics, and science writing.