When you study English, the whole world opens up to you: English is now more widely spoken than any other language, and plays a vital role in international communication – especially in business and science. Anglophone culture also pervades daily life through movies, music, advertising, and the media. The academic study of English deals with the contemporary range of the language and the English-speaking world from linguistic, literary, and socio-cultural perspectives, while also addressing its long history. This approach promotes a clearer understanding of cultural change at the global and local level, and of the social and political challenges arising from the status of English as the world’s most important lingua franca. At the University of Basel, we address this spectrum of issues through a strong cultural and interdisciplinary approach based on courses in literary studies, linguistics, and language education.

At the University of Basel’s English Department, research and teaching take place in two academic subfields:Literary Studies and Linguistics.

The subfield Anglophone Literary Studies takes an interdisciplinary approach based on cultural studies to address anglophone literature in the context of intellectual and cultural history, as well as in connection with other media. Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies in Basel focus on the following points:

• English and Irish literature and culture since the Renaissance, especially in the fields of drama in the age of Shakespeare, literature and memory, and literature and space (cultural topographies);
• American literature from the 18th to the 21stcentury;
• Postcolonial literature and theory;
• Literary, cultural and media theory, as well as aesthetics.

The subfield Linguistics of English studies the significance and functions of the English language in the past and present, in public and private, in culture and science, and of course in everyday life. Anglophone linguistics in Basel has the following focal points:

• Cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics, especially language acquisition;
• Sociolinguistics, pragmatics and discourse analysis of English.

At bachelor level, the curriculum introduces students to the complex field of English language(s), literatures, and cultures, andto the theories and methods of linguistics, literary studies, and cultural studies. Students develop an understanding of English and the associated phenomena from a social, cultural, historical, and cognitive perspective. In addition, an essential component of the curriculum is the acquisition of excellent language skills, particularly for academic contexts (both written and oral).

Almost all courses at the English Department are taught in English.