"I study literature because I believe there is power in stories. Literature is both intensely personal as well as a communal experience. I love examining how words, sentences, characters, plot-lines and tropes reveal who we are as humans. Humanity is a complicated thing, and requires an infinite amount of words to describe and analyze. That's the joy of studying literature; there is always a new reality to discover."

—Mikaela Warner

When I reflect upon the above quote of Mikaela Warner, I realise the immense assimilatory power of literature which opens our eyes, broadens the horizon of the inner self inspiring us to accept without inhibitions and give without reservations. These capacities need not be inborn. They have to be cultivated which is the primary goal of the School of Languages and Culture. Here through our perseverance and tolerance, we prepare individuals well-versed in the art of humanity.

Involving our students in the four basic processes of reading, discussing, critical thinking, and writing, we stimulate the students’ creative energies and their potential to perform. Focussing on reading to improve vocabulary, verbal sensitivity and expression, we lead the students to think critically and discuss what has been read. Our teachers encourage an independent thinking. There is no compulsion to follow the teacher’s point of view. Such an environment that we provide not only sharpens thinking, but also facilitates oral expression skills of the students. When engaged regularly a student develops capabilities for better analysis of difficult texts, and simultaneously verbal skills are improved.

We are also proud to have trained more than 400 non-native speakers from Afghanistan, Nigeria, Vietnam, Bhutan, Congo, China, and Thailand in English Language. We have been able to send them back to their respective countries as proficient speakers of the language. This is the strength of our vision and the reason for which our students are better equipped to read, analyze and comprehend reports, briefs, articles, text, etc. These exercises on a larger level have also helped in increasing awareness of history, sociology, psychology, and many other aspects of human knowledge.

Literature then, in my view, helps in expanding our capacity to sympathize with other human beings by enhancing our ability to see and imagine human complexity. It broadens our intellectual horizons by enlarging our power to experience life vicariously. Literature creates potential to stimulate imagination and offers different perspectives. In this experience, there is a cultivation of deeper form of imagination and empathetic identification with other humans. Literature helps readers value different races, ethnic groups, and cultures thus building a holistic experience.

Besides, there are many professions which align with literature. Some areas which have traditionally attracted English Literature graduates include teaching, TV, Radio, Film, Drama & Music, advertising, marketing and PR work, journalism and other areas of the media, editing and publishing, travel & tourism, arts administration, knowledge and information management, and even in legal profession, some corporate are utilizing services of language graduates.