About the Department

The history of the Department of English aligns with the year Cotton College was founded in 1901. Prof F. W. Sudmersen, the Founder Principal of Cotton College, started the Department, with the aim to cater to the need for English studies in the region. The Department offered the undergraduate course in English till the year 1913-1914 when the institute was affiliated to Calcutta University. The postgraduate course in English began in the year 1914, and this marked the beginning of postgraduate education in Assam. In 1922 Prof. R. C. Goffin launched The Cotton College Magazine that was later rechristened as Cottonian. The magazine continues to be an intellectually vibrant mouthpiece for young minds to voice their thoughts on matters of socio-cultural political and literary significance. In 1979, Cotton College was affiliated to Gauhati University leading to greater outreach of the department of the students of the region.

In 2011 Cotton College was upgraded to Cotton College State University and in 2017, the institute metamorphosed into Cotton University. During both these transitional phases, the Department of English continued to build itself as the seat of both foundational English literary studies and allied programmes of literature and culture and has grown as a literary and humanities intensive department.

The Department has been home to a number of stalwarts including R. C. Goffin, Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan, Dr. Banikanta Kakati, Tarini Kanta Bhattacharyya and Nabakanta Barua to name only a few among many bright personalities. It has witnessed the rise of several literary giants and scholars and is a star-studded institution in its own right.