The English Department is committed to excellence in teaching, research, and service in the following disciplines: British, American, and global literature in English; business writing and technical communication; writing pedagogy and composition theory; teacher education; and creative writing. The department serves non-majors, majors, and graduate students by providing a wide array of courses that foster sound research; intellectual curiosity; critical thinking and reading; and clear, graceful, and persuasive writing and speaking. Through its programs, graduates, and faculty, the department contributes significantly to the cultural and academic enrichment and the quality of life of the campus, community, state, and region.

English Professor Chad Thomas directed UAH students, faculty, and members of the Huntsville community in a production of Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors, which enjoyed a very successful run from Nov. 16-20 at the Wilson Hall Theater.

Professor Alanna Frost’s article “Literacy Stewardship: Dakelh Women Composing Culture” appeared in the Fall 2011 issue of College Composition and Communication.

Professor Laurel Bollinger’s essay "Symbiogenesis, Selfhood and Science Fiction," published in Science Fiction Studies 37 (2010), was shortlisted for the Science Fiction Research Association’s prestigious Pioneer Award.

Student Erin Gowdy received second place in the academic upper division of the 2011 Kathryn L. Harris Women’s Studies Writing Competition. Erin’s essay, titled “'Human Beings are Really Plastic': The Argument Against Essentialism in Nalo Hopkinson's Midnight Robber,” was written for Professor Eric Smith’s course on Caribbean Literature.

Student Melissa Berry received second place in the academic lower-division category in the 2011 Kathryn L. Harris Women's Studies Writing Competition for her essay "Judith's Power: Derived from Weakness." The essay was written for Professor Angela Balla’s English 205 class.

Professor Eric Smith's article “‘A Presage of Horror’: Cacotopia, the Paris Commune, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula” appeared in the winter 2010 volume of the journal Criticism.

Professor Chad Thomas’s article, "On Queering Twelfth Night," appeared in the Fall 2010 volume of the journal Theatre Topics.

Professor Joseph Taylor's article "Chaucer's Uncanny Regionalism: Rereading the North in the Reeve's Tale" appeared in the Fall 2010 volume of the Journal of English and Germanic Philology.