Faculty of English Language and Literature
Relevant Links
The Faculty of English Language and Literature is by far the largest English Department in the UK, with over 75 permanent postholders, a further 70 Faculty members, 900 undergraduates and 300 postgraduates. The Faculty has a very distinguished research and teaching record, covering all periods of English Literature.
Oxford’s English Faculty is one of the most illustrious Schools of English in the world. Established in 1894, it has numbered among its members some of the most important critics and scholars in the field, including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Edmund Blunden, Nevill Coghill, Helen Gardner, Richard Ellmann, Terry Eagleton, and many others. We are now home to nearly eighty Professors, Readers, and Lecturers, with about the same number again of Tutors and Research Fellows based in Colleges. At any one time, there are roughly a thousand students studying within the Faculty at undergraduate level, and another three hundred at graduate level in the largest English graduate school in the country.
Traditionally teaching and research in the Faculty has covered the entire history of literature in English from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day, along with language studies. More recent growth areas include world literature and film studies.
Series associated with Faculty of English Language and Literature
"British" World War One Poetry: An Introduction
Approaching Shakespeare
Broadcast Media
Censorship in Literature in South Africa
Centre for the Study of the Book
Challenging the Canon
Chaucer for Beginners
D.H. Lawrence
Edward Lear's Feelings
English at Oxford
English Graduate Conference 2012
Faculty of English - Introductions
Fantasy Literature
George Eliot
Great Writers Inspire
Great Writers Inspire at Home
History of the Eighteenth Century in Ten Poems
Indian Traces in Oxford
Interviews on Great Writers
Leonard Woolf's The Village in the Jungle (1913): A Day Symposium
Literature and Form
Literature, Art and Oxford
Medieval English
Modern Fairies
MSt English Language
Not Shakespeare: Elizabethan and Jacobean Popular Theatre
Oscar Wilde
Oxford Writers' House Talks
Poetry with A.E. Stallings
Poetry with Simon Armitage
Professor of Poetry
Samuel Johnson
Shakespeare's First Folio (ePub format)
Staging Shakespeare
The End of Journalism
Their Finest Hour
Tolkien at Oxford
Valentine's Day at Oxford
War and Representation
Writers in Dialogue
| # | Episode Title | Description | People | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 445 | Mr Eugenides after the Burning of Smyrna: George Seferis and The Waste Land | A.E. Stallings gave a lecture as the Oxford Professor of Poetry on 15 February 2024. She talked on Mr Eugenides after the Burning of Smyrna: George Seferis and The Waste Land | Alicia Stallings | 20 Feb 2024 | |
| 444 | Creative Commons | Love's Labour's Lost | Emma Smith continues her Approaching Shakespeare series with a lecture on the play Love's Labour's Lost. | Emma Smith | 12 Feb 2024 |
| 443 | Creative Commons | Chaucer 6 - Chaucer’s legacy | Professor Marion Turner looks at Chaucer's legacy and the changes in societal perception of Chaucer. She also looks at online resources to help the beginner study Chaucer. | Marion Turner, Karen Carey | 08 Feb 2024 |
| 442 | Creative Commons | Chaucer 5 - The Language of Chaucer | Professor Marion Turner delves into Geoffrey Chaucer's language and writing style. Chaucer championed a vernacular English form of writing, a departure from the prevalent use of Latin or French in poetry and the law. | Marion Turner, Karen Carey | 08 Feb 2024 |
| 441 | Creative Commons | Chaucer 4 - The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale | Professor Marion Turner introduces one of the most famous and intricate tales from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales – "The Wife of Bath." | Marion Turner, Karen Carey | 08 Feb 2024 |
| 440 | Creative Commons | Chaucer 3 - The Miller’s Tale | Professor Marion Turner introduces the ribald and humorous world of one of the Canterbury Tales' most famous stories – "The Miller's Tale." | Marion Turner, Karen Carey | 08 Feb 2024 |
| 439 | Creative Commons | Chaucer 2 - An Introduction to the Canterbury Tales | Professor Marion Turner provides an in-depth exploration of Geoffrey Chaucer's classic work, the Canterbury Tales. | Marion Turner, Karen Carey | 08 Feb 2024 |
| 438 | Creative Commons | Chaucer 1 - An Introduction to the life and times of Geoffrey Chaucer | In the introductory episode of "Chaucer for Beginners,” expert Professor Marion Turner introduces the life of writer Geoffrey Chaucer, shedding light on his background and life in 14th century England. | Marion Turner, Karen Carey | 08 Feb 2024 |
| 437 | J.R.R. Tolkien: The Making of a Philologist | A talk by Professor Simon Horobin on Tolkien's long-standing career and interest in philology as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. | Simon Horobin | 11 Dec 2023 | |
| 436 | Tolkien and Beowulf | A talk by Dr Laura Varnam on Tolkien's long engagement with the Old English poem 'Beowulf' as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. | Laura Varnam | 11 Dec 2023 | |
| 435 | A Heroic History of the Elves: Tolkien’s “lost” Mythology of England? | A talk by PhD candidate Grace Khuri, University of Oxford, on Tolkien's Elvish history and English 'mythology', as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. | Grace Khuri | 11 Dec 2023 | |
| 434 | Tolkien and the Classics | A talk by Professor Giuseppe Pezzini on the influences of Classical Literature on Tolkien. [Audio only] | Giuseppe Pezzini | 11 Dec 2023 | |
| 433 | Peak Middle-earth: Why Mount Doom is not the climax of 'The Lord of the Rings' | Audio only recording by Dr Michael Ward, Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford, as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. [Audio only] | Michael Ward | 08 Dec 2023 | |
| 432 | How to write 'The Lord of the Rings' | A lecture by Dr S Lee as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. | Stuart Lee | 08 Dec 2023 | |
| 431 | The Bat Poet: Poetry as Echolocation | A.E. Stallings gave her inaugural lecture as the Oxford Professor of Poetry on 20 November 2023. She talked on 'The Bat Poet: Poetry as Echolocation'. | Alicia Stallings | 23 Nov 2023 | |
| 430 | Noor Inayat Khan: the "Spy Princess" - Interview with Shrabani Basu | Joseph Quinn speaks to Indian journalist, bestselling author and historian, Shrabani Basu, about the life and career of legendary SOE agent, Noor Inayat Khan. | Shrabani Basu, Joseph Quinn | 08 Sep 2023 | |
| 429 | Soldiers of the Punjab in two world wars - Interview with Amandeep Madra | Joseph Quinn speaks to Amandeep Madra, founder of the UK Punjab Heritage Association, about Pubjabi and Sikh soldiers in the British Indian Army. | Joseph Quinn, Amandeep Madra | 25 Aug 2023 | |
| 428 | The Duke of Windsor's German tutor - Interview with Emma Huber | Emma Huber, German subject librarian at Oxford's Taylorian Library, speaks to Joseph Quinn about the life and career of Professor H.G. Fiedler. | Emma Huber, Joseph Quinn | 02 Aug 2023 | |
| 427 | Northern Ireland in WW2 - TFH Collection Day at the Linen Hall, Belfast | Interview with Scott Edgar at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, just after hosting the first TFH Collection Day event in Northern Ireland. | Joseph Quinn, Scott Edgar | 13 Jul 2023 | |
| 426 | Fighting Proud: Gay Men in Wartime - Interview with Stephen Bourne | Interview with Stephen Bourne about the experiences of gay men in the British Armed Forces and at home during the Second World War. | Matthew Kidd, Stephen Bourne | 28 Jun 2023 | |
| 425 | Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime - Interview with Stephen Bourne | Interview with Stephen Bourne about the contribution of black men and women in wartime Britain during the Second World War. | Stephen Bourne | 20 Jun 2023 | |
| 424 | Counterblast! (a manifesto for poetry) | Alice Oswald's final lecture as the English Faculty's Professor of Poetry. | Alice Oswald | 16 Jun 2023 | |
| 423 | Stories from the Archive - Part 1 | First episode of a new Their Finest Hour podcast mini-series examining a selection of stories submitted to the Online Archive. | Joseph Quinn | 19 May 2023 | |
| 422 | The Women behind "the Few" - Interview with Dr Sarah-Louise Miller | Interview with Dr Sarah-Louise Miller about the role of the WAAF in British air intelligence. | Joseph Quinn, Sarah-Louise Miller | 11 Apr 2023 | |
| 421 | Building the digital archive | A short interview with the project's technical lead, Catherine Conisbee, on building the digital archive. | Catherine Conisbee | 23 Mar 2023 | |
| 420 | Anonymous and Onymous | A professor of poetry talk by Alice Oswald - Hilary Term 2023 | Alice Oswald, Lorna Hutson | 27 Feb 2023 | |
| 419 | Meandering Fortune-Graphs | A professor of poetry talk by Alice Oswald - Michaelmas 2022. | Alice Oswald | 21 Feb 2023 | |
| 418 | A Postcard from Hitler | The Project Lead, Dr Stuart Lee, discusses his most memorable finds on previous crowdsourcing projects | Stuart Lee | 08 Feb 2023 | |
| 417 | Introducing 'Their Finest Hour' | A brief introduction by the project team to 'Their Finest Hour' | Stuart Lee, Matthew Kidd, Joseph Quinn | 23 Jan 2023 | |
| 416 | The Life and Death of Poetry | A distracted walkabout with T.S Eliot and others. | Alice Oswald | 23 Jun 2022 | |
| 415 | A Lament for the Earth | This episode will address the challenge to nature poetry. | Alice Oswald | 14 Mar 2022 | |
| 414 | In Sleep a King | This is a sleep-talk on the subject of waking up with Sonnet 87 (by Shakespeare) in the background. This talk was given by Alice Oswald on the 25th November 2021. | Alice Oswald | 03 Mar 2022 | |
| 413 | Fantasy Creatures | Dr Caroline Batten and Dr Megan Cavell discuss fantastic animals in fantasy text | Caroline Batten, Megan Cavell | 29 Sep 2021 | |
| 412 | Is Jin Yong 'China's Tolkien'? | A comparison of the Hong Kong author Jin Yong and J. R. R. Tolkien | Jonathan Hui | 06 Sep 2021 | |
| 411 | A Conversation with Katherine Langrish | Dr Caroline Batten chats with author Katherine Langrish about her book 'From Spare Oom to War Drobe' | Caroline Batten, Katherine Langrish | 31 Aug 2021 | |
| 410 | Faith in fantasy literature | A short discussion of the role of faith in fantasy literature | Katherine Olley | 30 Jul 2021 | |
| 409 | Brian McClellan | A discussion of the writer Brian McClellan. | Katherine Olley | 30 Jul 2021 | |
| 408 | Arthur Rackham at Trinity College | Emma Sillett, Trinity College Librarian, and Dr Caroline Batten explore the Danson Library's collection of rare Arthur Rackham fantasy illustrations. | Emma Sillett, Caroline Batten | 30 Jul 2021 | |
| 407 | C. S. Lewis and 'The Wind in the Willows' | A discussion of the influence of 'The Wind in the Willows' on fantasy writers - notably C. S. Lewis | Simon Horobin | 29 Jul 2021 | |
| 406 | The Last of the Titans | This talk explores the myth underlying the action in John Wyndham's `The Kraken Wakes'. | Jane Bliss | 27 Jul 2021 | |
| 405 | Creative Commons | A Walk around C. S. Lewis's Oxford | A biographical tour of C. S. Lewis's Oxford | Simon Horobin | 23 Jul 2021 |
| 404 | Creative Commons | William Morris and E. R. Eddison Collections at the Bodleian | An interview with Rachael Marsay about the William Morris and E. R. Eddison collections at the Bodleian Library | Rchael Marsay, Stuart Lee | 23 Jul 2021 |
| 403 | Creative Commons | Elizabeth Knox | A discussion of the writer Elizabeth Knox | Alicia Smith | 22 Jul 2021 |
| 402 | The Saga of Eric the Unlucky | The Saga of Eric the Unlucky examines Rider Haggard's use of medieval narrative techniques in his novel Eric Brighteyes. | Jane Bliss | 20 Jul 2021 | |
| 401 | Edward Lear and Fantasy | Jasmine Jagger provides a short introduction to Edward Lear. | Jasmine Jagger | 18 Jul 2021 | |
| 400 | An Interview with Elizabeth Knox | An Interview with Elizabeth Knox, author of 'The Absolute Book' | Carolyne Larrington, Elizabeth Knox | 13 Jul 2021 | |
| 399 | A Conversation With R. F. Kuang | Carolyne Larrington and Caroline Batten interview Rebecca F. Kuang. | R. F. Kuang, Carolyne Larrington, Caroline Batten | 08 Jul 2021 | |
| 398 | Werewolves in Medieval Literature vs Modern TV | A discussion of werewolves in medieval and modern representations. | Minjie Su | 06 Jul 2021 | |
| 397 | Desiring Dragons: Creative and Critical Responses to the Dragon in Beowulf | Laura Varnam discusses dragons in fantasy literature. | Laura Varnam | 06 Jul 2021 | |
| 396 | Morte D'Arthur Murals in the Oxford Union | A visual discussion of the Morte D'Arthur murals in the library of the Oxford Union. | Tom Corrick, Caroline Batten | 28 Jun 2021 | |
| 395 | Maria Dahvana Headley on Beowulf | Author Maria Dahvana Headley reads from her 2018 novel The Mere Wife, is interviewed by Prof. Carolyne Larrington, and shares drafts from her 2020 translation of Beowulf. This lecture was recorded live at St John’s College, Oxford in November 2018. | Carolyne Larrington, Maria Dahvana Headley, David Clark | 25 Jun 2021 | |
| 394 | George MacDonald | An introduction to the Victorian fantasist and fairy tale author George MacDonald, who convinced Lewis Carroll to publish Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, inspired C. S. Lewis' Christian writings, and may even have influenced Tolkien's Elves. | Caroline Batten, Clare Mulley | 25 Jun 2021 | |
| 393 | Old Norse in the New World: The Mythology and Politics of Immigration and Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods' | A talk on Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods'. | Heather O'Donoghue | 23 Jun 2021 | |
| 392 | Discworld - and the Modern University | A short talk introducing Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels and how they reflect the modern University. | Andrew Shamel | 22 Jun 2021 | |
| 391 | Susan Cooper | A short talk on Susan Cooper. | Tom Morcom | 22 Jun 2021 | |
| 390 | Violet Needham | Jane Bliss introduces listeners to the work of Violet Needham, a prolific but little-remembered children’s fantasy author, whose book 'The Woods of Windri' draws on the tropes of medieval romances in fascinating ways.ays. | Jane Bliss | 22 Jun 2021 | |
| 389 | Daoxuan and Chinese Fantasy Literature | A short talk on Daoxuan and medieval Chinese fantasy. | Nelson Landry | 18 Jun 2021 | |
| 388 | Tolkien Archive and Exhibition at Bodleian (Part 2) | An interview with Catherine McIlwaine on the Tolkien archive at Bodley and the exhibition of 2018 - Part 2 | Catherine McIlwaine, Stuart Lee | 18 Jun 2021 | |
| 387 | Tolkien Archive and Exhibition at Bodleian (Part 1) | An interview with Catherine McIlwaine on the Tolkien archive at Bodley and the exhibition of 2018 - Part 1. | Catherine McIlwaine, Stuart Lee | 17 Jun 2021 | |
| 386 | What is the 'Silmarillion'? | This lecture is an introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien's third major work, 'The Silmarillion' (1977), and considers its lengthy development in numerous prose and verse texts over fifty years. | Grace Khuri | 19 Apr 2021 | |
| 385 | Lines by Alice Oswald | It's fifty years since the publication of From the Life and Songs of the Crow (by Ted Hughes). This is a lecture about lines and other sound barriers and how Crow flies straight through them. | Alice Oswald | 01 Mar 2021 | |
| 384 | Creative Commons | The Literature of Absolute War - Transnationalism and WWII | Professor Nil Santiáñez discusses absolute war, total war, and the literature of WWII with Anders Engberg-Pedersen. | Anders Engberg-Pedersen, Nil Santiáñez | 17 Dec 2020 |
| 383 | Verse and Prose in Fantasy Literature | An analysis of two forms that dominate fantasy literature. | Katherine Olley | 24 Nov 2020 | |
| 382 | Guy Gavriel Kay | A short introduction to the writer Guy Gavriel Kay. | Katherine Olley | 24 Nov 2020 | |
| 381 | Series Two Episode Five: Fairy and Other Transformations | Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield discuss the theme of transformation through fairy or other kinds of magic. | Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield, Lucy Farrell, Inge Thomson | 22 Sep 2020 | |
| 380 | Series Two Episode Four: Fairies and the Environment | Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield talk about a new theme that emerged in the ‘Modern Fairies’ project, fairies as guardians of the environment. | Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield, Ben Nicholls, Inge Thomson | 22 Sep 2020 | |
| 379 | Series Two Episode Three: Fairies and Children | Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield uncover the works inspired by the strange tale of the Green Children and the changeling legend. | Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield, Terri Windling, Brian McMahon | 22 Sep 2020 | |
| 378 | Series Two Episode Two: Fairy Time and Space | Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield explore the ways in which the project artists engaged with the fairy world as parallel and yet distinct from our world, and the ways in which time warps in the other world. | Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield, Barney Morse Brown, Ewan MacPherson | 22 Sep 2020 | |
| 377 | Series Two Episode One: Introducing the Modern Fairies Project | Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield introduce the artists and outcomes of the Modern Fairies Project. | Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield | 22 Sep 2020 | |
| 376 | What Tolkien learnt from 'Beowulf': Representations of Evil | Monsters and evil in Tolkien | Rafael J. Pascual | 16 Jul 2020 | |
| 375 | Interview with Water | This is the first ever online lecture by a Professor of Poetry at Oxford. In the lecture, Alice Oswald explores the strange connection between water and grief. | Alice Oswald | 08 Jul 2020 | |
| 374 | Sylvia Townsend Warner | Carolyne Larrington introduces the writing of Sylvia Townsend Warner. | Carolyne Larrington | 26 May 2020 | |
| 373 | Ursula K. Le Guin | A brief introduction to the writer Ursula K. Le Guin. | Caroline Batten | 13 May 2020 | |
| 372 | T. H. White | A brief introduction to the writer T. H. White. | Gabriel Schenk | 12 May 2020 | |
| 371 | Diana Wynne Jones | A brief introduction to the writer Diana Wynne Jones. | Gabriel Schenk | 12 May 2020 | |
| 370 | Why 'Game of Thrones' Matters | 'Game of Thrones' and storytelling. | Carolyne Larrington | 12 May 2020 | |
| 369 | Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century | A guest lecture by Dr Maria Cecire (Bard College) discussing children's fantasy literature. | Maria Cecire | 12 May 2020 | |
| 368 | Interview: Catherine Butler | An Interview with Dr Catherine Butler, author of the book 'Four British Fantasists'. | Catherine Butler, Will Brockbank | 12 May 2020 | |
| 367 | Alan Garner | A brief introduction to the British fantasy writer, Alan Garner. | Felix Taylor | 12 May 2020 | |
| 366 | Approaching Fantasy Literature | A short introduction to reading and studying fantasy literature. | Stuart Lee | 12 May 2020 | |
| 365 | H. P. Lovecraft | A brief introduction to the writer, H. P. Lovecraft. | Stuart Lee | 12 May 2020 | |
| 364 | Creative Commons | The First World War, India and Empire | Professor Santanu Das discusses the complexity of commemoration, the messiness of history and the role of scholarly emotion with Kate McLoughlin. | Kate McLoughlin, Santanu Das | 27 Mar 2020 |
| 363 | Creative Commons | America’s War Culture since 9/11 | In this episode associate professor Patrick Deer discusses his forthcoming book We Are All Embedded: Understanding America’s War Culture since 9/11. | Patrick Deer, Christine Strandmose Toft | 17 Mar 2020 |
| 362 | The Art of Erosion | Inaugural Lecture of Alice Oswald, Professor of Poetry, held at the University of Oxford Exam Schools. | Alice Oswald | 09 Dec 2019 | |
| 361 | Creative Commons | Will War still need us? What Future for Agency in War? | Will War still need us? What Future for Agency in War? - an interview with Christopher Coker | Solveig Gade, Christopher Coker | 27 Nov 2019 |
| 360 | Creative Commons | The Age of Amok - an interview with Joseph Vogl | Professor Joseph Vogl discusses the phenomenon of ‘amok’ with Anders Engberg-Pedersen. | Joseph Vogl, Anders Engberg-Pedersen | 04 Nov 2019 |
| 359 | Creative Commons | Philosophy and Nuclear War - an interview with Elaine Scarry | Professor Scarry and Jens Bjering discuss philosophy and nuclear war. | Elaine Scarry, Jens Bjering | 04 Nov 2019 |
| 358 | Creative Commons | War, Aesthetics, Politics – an interview with Vivienne Jabri | Professor Vivienne Jabri discusses the relationship between war, aesthetics and politics in relation to contemporary warfare with Christine Strandmose Toft. | Vivienne Jabri, Christine Strandmose | 04 Nov 2019 |
| 357 | When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer | Simon Armitage delivers his final lecture as Oxford Professor of Poetry, reflecting on his own influences as a poet. | Simon Armitage | 17 May 2019 | |
| 356 | Creative Commons | Theatre, 1660-1760 - The Arrival of the Actress | David Taylor on the arrival of female actors on the stage. | David Taylor | 14 Mar 2019 |
| 355 | Creative Commons | Theatre, 1660-1760 - Restoration and Change | David Taylor lectures on the reopening of the theatres in the 1660s. | David Taylor | 14 Mar 2019 |
| 354 | Creative Commons | Race and Empire, 1660-1760 | Ruth Scobie lectures on race and empire, 1660-1760. | Ruth Scobie | 14 Mar 2019 |
| 353 | Creative Commons | Drama and the Theatre, 1660-1760 | Abigail Williams lectures on the staging of Restoration drama. | Abigail Williams | 14 Mar 2019 |
| 352 | Creative Commons | Literature and Gender, 1660-1760 | Kathleen Keown considers representations of gender in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. | Kathleen Keown | 07 Mar 2019 |
| 351 | Creative Commons | Manuscript and Print, 1660–1760 | Carly Watson outlines the material forms in which literary texts circulated between 1660 and 1760. | Carly Watson | 07 Mar 2019 |
| 350 | Creative Commons | What is a Literary Period? | Clare Bucknell considers how we define a literary period. | Clare Bucknell | 07 Mar 2019 |
| 349 | Creative Commons | Nineteenth-Century Stuff - Dickens, Paperwork and Paper Sorrows | Sophie Ratcliffe investigates the material culture of the Victorians, using examples from Charles Dickens. | Sophie Ratcliffe | 07 Mar 2019 |
| 348 | Creative Commons | What is a War Poem? | Kate McLoughlin explores how we might define a war poem. | Kate McLoughlin | 07 Mar 2019 |
| 347 | Creative Commons | Diaries as Literature - The Case of Virginia Woolf | Michael Whitworth considers whether diaries are literature, looking particularly at the diaries of Virginia Woolf. | Michael Whitworth | 07 Mar 2019 |
| 346 | Creative Commons | Character in Modern Drama | Kirsten Shepherd-Barr investigates 'character' in Modern Drama | Kirsten Shepherd-Barr | 07 Mar 2019 |
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