Research areas
UCalgary Department of English is a research-intensive community. Our scholars engage in broad academic and creative activity.
Explore our research areas
- Creative Writing
- Critical and literary theory
- Cultural studies
- Ecocriticism and Environmental Literatures
- Global literatures and theory
- Indigenous studies
- Literatures in Canada
- Popular literatures and genres
- Scholarship of teaching and learning
- Texts and technologies
- Translation theory and practice
- Women's writing
Creative Writing
Creative Writing has been a hallmark of our department since early in our history. We have offered creative writing:
- At the undergraduate level since 1974
- As a thesis option in our MA program since 1987
- In our PhD program since 1990
Our faculty and students earn national and international acclaim. They actively contribute to the Calgary and Canadian arts communities. Learn more about creative writing at UCalgary
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Kit Dobson
Literatures in Canada, Indigenous literatures, Literary and cultural theory, Ecocriticism and Environmental humanities
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Clara Joseph
South Asian Religion, Literature, and Culture, Christianity, Literary and Cultural Theory, Creative Writing - Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Prose
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Suzette Mayr
Creative Writing, Contemporary Canadian Literature, Haunted House / Horror Literature, Australian Literature
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Uchechukwu Umezurike
Literature of Africa and the African Diaspora, Postcolonial and Global Literatures, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, Cultural Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Creative Writing
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Anna Veprinska
Contemporary literature, twentieth and twenty-first-century poetry, empathy, poetry after trauma, the Holocaust, genocide, creative writing, disability and chronic illness studies, sound studies, ecocriticism
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Joshua Whitehead
Indigenous Literatures, Indigenous Queer and Two-Spirit Studies
Critical and Literary Theory
Our department has a long history of research strength in critical and literary theory, an area into which we have successfully recruited graduate students for many years. A large concentration of our faculty members make research contributions in this field.
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Pamela Banting
Environmental literature, nature writing, eco-Theory and ecocriticism, Petrocultural studies, Literature and culture of the anthropocene, Psychogeography, Multispecies studies
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Anthony Camara
Popular genres: Weird & Horror Fiction, Popular genres: Science & Speculative Fiction
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Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
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Kit Dobson
Literatures in Canada, Indigenous literatures, Literary and cultural theory, Ecocriticism and Environmental humanities
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James Ellis
Early modern poetry and gardens; British film; contemporary art
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Stefania Forlini
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Clara Joseph
South Asian Religion, Literature, and Culture, Christianity, Literary and Cultural Theory, Creative Writing - Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Prose
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Derritt Mason
Intersection of children's and young adult literature, Queer theory, Media/cultural studies and Video game studies
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Chris Olbey
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David Sigler
British Romanticism, Psychoanalysis (esp. Freud, Lacan), Women's writing, Theory
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Rebecca Sullivan
Feminist Media Arts Activism, Popular Culture and Genres, Sexual Media and Performance, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
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Karen Bourrier
Nineteenth-century Literature and Culture, Disability Studies, Digital Humanities, Women’s Writing
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Anna Veprinska
Contemporary literature, twentieth and twenty-first-century poetry, empathy, poetry after trauma, the Holocaust, genocide, creative writing, disability and chronic illness studies, sound studies, ecocriticism
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Michael Ullyot
Early modern literature and the digital humanities, Articles and chapters on Shakespeare and virtual reality
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Jason Wiens (Teaching)
Contemporary poetry, Canadian literature, archival studies, pedagogy, literary audio, Victorian literature
Cultural studies
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Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
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James Ellis
Early modern poetry and gardens; British film; contemporary art
-
Derritt Mason
Intersection of children's and young adult literature, Queer theory, Media/cultural studies and Video game studies
-
Rebecca Sullivan
Feminist Media Arts Activism, Popular Culture and Genres, Sexual Media and Performance, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
-
Anna Veprinska
Contemporary literature, twentieth and twenty-first-century poetry, empathy, poetry after trauma, the Holocaust, genocide, creative writing, disability and chronic illness studies, sound studies, ecocriticism
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Joshua Whitehead
Indigenous Literatures, Indigenous Queer and Two-Spirit Studies
Ecocriticism and Environmental Literatures
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Pamela Banting
Environmental literature, nature writing, eco-Theory and ecocriticism, Petrocultural studies, Literature and culture of the anthropocene, Psychogeography, Multispecies studies
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Kit Dobson
Literatures in Canada, Indigenous literatures, Literary and cultural theory, Ecocriticism and Environmental humanities
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Morgan Vanek
Global literatures and theory
An early area of specialization in the department was what was once called Commonwealth literature. We have housed the quarterly journal ARIEL (A Review of International English Literature) since 1970. ARIEL has readers and subscribers in more than 50 countries. ARIEL continues to be a leading field journal, dedicated to the study of new and established literatures in English around the world. The journal gives special attention to issues of diaspora and globalization.
Global Literatures and Theory remains a significant area of research strength in our department. Research in this area intersects with a wide range of theoretical and critical approaches and crosses periods and national and geographical boundaries.
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Clara Joseph
South Asian Religion, Literature, and Culture, Christianity, Literary and Cultural Theory, Creative Writing - Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Prose
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Uchechukwu Umezurike
Literature of Africa and the African Diaspora, Postcolonial and Global Literatures, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, Cultural Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Creative Writing
-
Pamela Banting
Environmental literature, nature writing, eco-Theory and ecocriticism, Petrocultural studies, Literature and culture of the anthropocene, Psychogeography, Multispecies studies
-
Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
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Chris Olbey
----
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Rebecca Sullivan
Feminist Media Arts Activism, Popular Culture and Genres, Sexual Media and Performance, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
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Anna Veprinska
Contemporary literature, twentieth and twenty-first-century poetry, empathy, poetry after trauma, the Holocaust, genocide, creative writing, disability and chronic illness studies, sound studies, ecocriticism
-
Clara Joseph
South Asian Religion, Literature, and Culture, Christianity, Literary and Cultural Theory, Creative Writing - Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Prose
-
Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
-
Uchechukwu Umezurike
Literature of Africa and the African Diaspora, Postcolonial and Global Literatures, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, Cultural Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Creative Writing
-
Clara Joseph
South Asian Religion, Literature, and Culture, Christianity, Literary and Cultural Theory, Creative Writing - Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Prose
-
Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
-
Uchechukwu Umezurike
Literature of Africa and the African Diaspora, Postcolonial and Global Literatures, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, Cultural Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Creative Writing
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Morgan Vanek
Indigenous studies
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Joshua Whitehead
Indigenous Literatures, Indigenous Queer and Two-Spirit Studies
Literatures in Canada
A longstanding research area in our department. Our research in Canadian literature is complemented by and integrated with the significant collection of Canadian material in the university’s Special Collections and Archives, including the papers of Nobel laureate Alice Munro.
Research contributions in this area include:
- work in ecocritical and environmental studies
- archival research, including exploration documents and narratives
- poetics
- literary history
- gender studies
- postcolonial and indigenous studies
- race and identity.
UCalgary is an important centre of Canadian studies, attracting graduate students from across Canada and abroad.
There is a fertile connection with our creative writing program, including with Writers-in-Residence brought in by the Calgary Distinguished Writers Program.
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Pamela Banting
Environmental literature, nature writing, eco-Theory and ecocriticism, Petrocultural studies, Literature and culture of the anthropocene, Psychogeography, Multispecies studies
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Kit Dobson
Literatures in Canada, Indigenous literatures, Literary and cultural theory, Ecocriticism and Environmental humanities
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Suzette Mayr
Creative Writing, Contemporary Canadian Literature, Haunted House / Horror Literature, Australian Literature
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Chris Olbey
----
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Morgan Vanek
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Joshua Whitehead
Indigenous Literatures, Indigenous Queer and Two-Spirit Studies
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Jason Wiens (Teaching)
Contemporary poetry, Canadian literature, archival studies, pedagogy, literary audio, Victorian literature
Popular literatures and genres
Our research in popular literatures and genres spans periods, media, and boundaries. We offer courses in comics and graphic novels, science fiction and fantasy, and children’s and young adult literature. Our senior-level courses provide opportunities for specialized study at an advanced level.
Our graduate program offers courses on popular women writers, comics studies, and other forms of popular literature. On the UCalgary campus, we have internationally-recognized library resources in speculative fiction (the Bob Gibson collection) and comics (the George Morley Collection).
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Bart Beaty
Comics Studies
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Rebecca Sullivan
Feminist Media Arts Activism, Popular Culture and Genres, Sexual Media and Performance, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
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Karen Bourrier
Nineteenth-century Literature and Culture, Disability Studies, Digital Humanities, Women’s Writing
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Derritt Mason
Intersection of children's and young adult literature, Queer theory, Media/cultural studies and Video game studies
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Jenny McKenney (Teaching)
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Anthony Camara
Popular genres: Weird & Horror Fiction, Popular genres: Science & Speculative Fiction
-
Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
-
James Ellis
Early modern poetry and gardens; British film; contemporary art
-
Rebecca Sullivan
Feminist Media Arts Activism, Popular Culture and Genres, Sexual Media and Performance, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
-
Michael Ullyot
Early modern literature and the digital humanities, Articles and chapters on Shakespeare and virtual reality
-
Anthony Camara
Popular genres: Weird & Horror Fiction, Popular genres: Science & Speculative Fiction
-
Suzette Mayr
Creative Writing, Contemporary Canadian Literature, Haunted House / Horror Literature, Australian Literature
-
Anthony Camara
Popular genres: Weird & Horror Fiction, Popular genres: Science & Speculative Fiction
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Stefania Forlini
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Karen Bourrier
Nineteenth-century Literature and Culture, Disability Studies, Digital Humanities, Women’s Writing
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Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
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Jenny McKenney (Teaching)
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David Sigler
British Romanticism, Psychoanalysis (esp. Freud, Lacan), Women's writing, Theory
Scholarship of teaching and learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is an area of research strength supported by individual projects as well as by grants from and collaborations with the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning.
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Derritt Mason
Intersection of children's and young adult literature, Queer theory, Media/cultural studies and Video game studies
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Michael Ullyot
Early modern literature and the digital humanities, Articles and chapters on Shakespeare and virtual reality
-
Morgan Vanek
-
Anna Veprinska
Contemporary literature, twentieth and twenty-first-century poetry, empathy, poetry after trauma, the Holocaust, genocide, creative writing, disability and chronic illness studies, sound studies, ecocriticism
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Jason Wiens (Teaching)
Contemporary poetry, Canadian literature, archival studies, pedagogy, literary audio, Victorian literature
Texts and technologies
Scholars in our department study how texts are transformed by the technologies they inhabit, from the codex to the computer. We study the histories of texts’ material conditions of production and reception. We curate exhibits and edit texts for publication. And we study and teach letterpress technologies for disseminating texts.
Our research in traditional British literature examines and challenges period formation from the medieval to Modernism. Our focus on historical texts extends to Canadian, American and Transatlantic as well as Transnational literatures.
We also study texts’ material histories from medieval manuscripts to printed books. Our digital humanists design databases, produce and theorize digital editions, and use machines to treat texts as data for visualizations. We collaborate with our colleagues in libraries and archives, and in fields from computer science to museum and media studies.
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James Ellis
Early modern poetry and gardens; British film; contemporary art
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Jacqueline Jenkins
Medieval performance and dramatic productions, Theatre and performance history, Women's literacy and literary habits, and the patronage, Production and transmission of manuscripts for/by women in the late Middle Ages
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Jenny McKenney (Teaching)
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Michael Ullyot
Early modern literature and the digital humanities, Articles and chapters on Shakespeare and virtual reality
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Maria Zytaruk
----
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Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
-
Jenny McKenney (Teaching)
-
David Sigler
British Romanticism, Psychoanalysis (esp. Freud, Lacan), Women's writing, Theory
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Morgan Vanek
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Maria Zytaruk
----
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Karen Bourrier
Nineteenth-century Literature and Culture, Disability Studies, Digital Humanities, Women’s Writing
-
Anthony Camara
Popular genres: Weird & Horror Fiction, Popular genres: Science & Speculative Fiction
-
Stefania Forlini
-
David Sigler
British Romanticism, Psychoanalysis (esp. Freud, Lacan), Women's writing, Theory
-
Jason Wiens (Teaching)
Contemporary poetry, Canadian literature, archival studies, pedagogy, literary audio, Victorian literature
-
Anthony Camara
Popular genres: Weird & Horror Fiction, Popular genres: Science & Speculative Fiction
-
Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
-
Derritt Mason
Intersection of children's and young adult literature, Queer theory, Media/cultural studies and Video game studies
-
Christian Olbey
__
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Uchechukwu Umezurike
Literature of Africa and the African Diaspora, Postcolonial and Global Literatures, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, Cultural Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Creative Writing
-
Joshua Whitehead
Indigenous Literatures, Indigenous Queer and Two-Spirit Studies
-
Anna Veprinska
Contemporary literature, twentieth and twenty-first-century poetry, empathy, poetry after trauma, the Holocaust, genocide, creative writing, disability and chronic illness studies, sound studies, ecocriticism
-
Karen Bourrier
Nineteenth-century Literature and Culture, Disability Studies, Digital Humanities, Women’s Writing
-
Stefania Forlini
-
Jacqueline Jenkins
Medieval performance and dramatic productions, Theatre and performance history, Women's literacy and literary habits, and the patronage, Production and transmission of manuscripts for/by women in the late Middle Ages
-
Derritt Mason
Intersection of children's and young adult literature, Queer theory, Media/cultural studies and Video game studies
-
Rebecca Sullivan
Feminist Media Arts Activism, Popular Culture and Genres, Sexual Media and Performance, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
-
Michael Ullyot
Early modern literature and the digital humanities, Articles and chapters on Shakespeare and virtual reality
-
Jason Wiens (Teaching)
Contemporary poetry, Canadian literature, archival studies, pedagogy, literary audio, Victorian literature
-
Maria Zytaruk
----
-
Anthony Camara
Popular genres: Weird & Horror Fiction, Popular genres: Science & Speculative Fiction
-
Stefania Forlini
-
Morgan Vanek
Translation theory and practice
-
Pamela Banting
Environmental literature, nature writing, eco-Theory and ecocriticism, Petrocultural studies, Literature and culture of the anthropocene, Psychogeography, Multispecies studies
Women's writing
-
Karen Bourrier
Nineteenth-century Literature and Culture, Disability Studies, Digital Humanities, Women’s Writing
-
Michael Tavel Clarke
Cultural studies, Theories of size and scale, Theories of the body, Gender studies, Democracy theory, Post-Marxist theory and Postcolonial theory
-
Jacqueline Jenkins
Medieval performance and dramatic productions, Theatre and performance history, Women's literacy and literary habits, and the patronage, Production and transmission of manuscripts for/by women in the late Middle Ages
-
Clara Joseph
South Asian Religion, Literature, and Culture, Christianity, Literary and Cultural Theory, Creative Writing - Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Prose
-
Jenny McKenney (Teaching)
-
David Sigler
British Romanticism, Psychoanalysis (esp. Freud, Lacan), Women's writing, Theory
-
Rebecca Sullivan
Feminist Media Arts Activism, Popular Culture and Genres, Sexual Media and Performance, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
