Handbook.Eng.DU

Department of English: An introduction

Mission Statement

The English Department of the University of Dhaka is one of the core departments of the institution. Its mission from the beginning has been to establish itself as the chief center of English Studies in this part of the world and to produce graduates who are highly skilled in the English language and who have absorbed the great tradition of writing in English encapsulated in the classics of English and American literature. The Department also considers its mission to graduate students who can wield the language effectively in a competitive world to advance themselves as well as the nation towards progress and prosperity without losing sight of the humanizing nature of English Studies.

SHORT HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of English at the University of Dhaka has a long and distinguished history. It was one of the first twelve departments that the university started with on July 1, 1921. Students and teachers of the Department of English contributed in establishing and developing the nation’s cultural and literary landscape and their names have a place in Bangladesh’s history.

Lila Nag, a student of this Department, was the first woman graduate of the University of Dhaka. Famous literary geniuses like Buddhadev Bose and Munier Chowdhury have graduated from the department. In the seventies and eighties teachers like Professor Kabir Chowdhury, Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury, Professor Ahsanul Haque, Professor Husniara Haq and Professor Razia Khan Amin made great contributions in the socio-political and literary fields of the country. Some of them were prolific writers in both Bangla and English. National Professor Kabir Chowdhury, after his retirement, became a part-time teacher in the department. Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury is the present Professor Emeritus of the department. Both of them have made notable contributions in the fields of Bangla and English language and literature.

Student Martyrs of the Liberation War

Bidhan Chandra

Ghosh NasimMohsin

Atiqur Rahman Alauddin

Mahmud Zaheen Kartik Chandra Shil

Shishutosh Datta Choudhury

Sheikh Abdus Salam

Nani Gopal Bhowmik

FROM THE PAGES OF HISTORY

Buddhadeva Bose (1908–1974) was a major Indian Bengali writer of the 20th century. Buddhadeva Bose received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967 for his verse play Tapaswi-O-Tarangini, the Rabindra Puraskar in 1974 for Swagato Biday (poetry); he was honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1970.

Munier Choudhury (27 November 1925–14 December 1971), was a Bangladeshi educationist, playwright, literary critic and activist. He received the Bangla Academy Prize (1962), Daud Prize (1965) and Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1966.

Leela Roy née Nag (2 October 1900–11 June 1970) was the first female graduate of the University of Dhaka. Leela Nag was a social activist emphasizing education for girls. She started the second girls school in Dhaka She was also a politician and reformer and a close associate of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.