HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of English Studies in the University of Port Harcourt is one of the founding disciplines in the Faculty of Humanities which came into being at the inception of the University in 1977. At that time, students worked within a framework of an integrated inter-disciplinary programme which allowed them to specialize in one of the disciplines (Literature in English, History, Creative Arts, and Linguistics). In October 1982, the University changed to the Faculty system and the disciplines as academic units in the school system became full-fledged Departments.

In a sense, the foundation of the Department of English Studies was laid by Professor Charles Nnolim, as the founding Head of Department.He provided valuable leadership which gave the Department a clear focus and national recognition. The Department runs a 4-year integrated B.A. Degree Programme in English and has continued to provide high quality manpower to many establishments, both public and private. The Department is also responsible for the teaching of GES 100 (Communication Skills in English) and other relevant English Language courses in the Faculty of Education at the undergraduate levels.

The Department started in its Office at Room 20 in the Faculty of Humanities building. In 2005, prior to the last accreditation exercise, the Department moved to its own building, the Ken Saro-Wiwa English House. The Departmental (General and HOD) Offices and Departmental Library, Auditorium, Seminar Room, Staff Offices, Board Room and Classrooms for both undergraduate and graduate students are all in Ken Saro-Wiwa English House.

ENGLISH STUDIES PROGRAMME

The Department of English Studies offers a programme of courses leading to an integrated Bachelor of Arts degree in English [B.A. (Honours) English] with emphasis on Language and Literature; and MA/Ph.D degrees in Language and Literature.

The Philosophy of the Programme

The philosophy of the programme is as follows: In a country where English is an added language, a major official language, a lingua franca, and the language of instruction in the educational system, a high level of proficiency in it is usually expected from the graduates of higher institutions, especially the universities. A higher level of competence and communication skills is expected even more from graduates of English. This is why there is a need for devoting greater attention to the achievement of improved knowledge of English and the acquisition of oral and written skills in it. Graduates from the Department of English Studies, University of Port Harcourt, should be clearly and positively identified with adequate proficiency in pronunciation, articulateness in speech, correctness of grammar and usage, elegance and style in diction. They should evince mastery in the choice of an appropriate variety of English for various administrative and professional job opportunities available in the labour market, in literary and creative writing domains, and in postgraduate studies in language and literature.

Undergraduate Admission Requirements

Students admitted to the Department of English Studies must have satisfied the University of Port Harcourt admission requirements, including an acceptable score in the POST-UME screening test. In addition, such candidates should have passed English Language and Literature in English, and any three other subjectsat Credit level in the West African School Certificate Examinations or the equivalent, acceptable to JAMB.

Aims of the Department         

1. To train students to acquire adequate communicative competence in both spoken and written English, thereby giving them a good grounding and effective mastery of the Language in its various applications, to achieve adequate self-expression and self-actualization.

2. To instil in the student a sound knowledge of the varieties of English Language usage in different professional domains such as business, communication, advertising, sports commentaries, book publishing, and biographical writing.

3. To reveal to the student through exposure to the multi-faceted nature of belles lettres, and the aesthetic value of ideas thereby orienting them towards self-employment by focusing on such skills as writing especially of articles in magazines, of speeches, designing and presenting special programmes on television or radio, designing and publishing magazines, creative writing, and other kinds of original output through independent thought, inventiveness and creativity.

4. To develop in the student the ability to understand, analyze and discuss critically any piece of literary writing by helping him to develop his own powers of written and oral expression in the English Language.

5. To produce competent teachers in English Language and Literature in English in Nigerian Schools and Colleges.

6. To prepare the students for Graduate work in either Language or Literature.