English and Linguistics, University of Otago

03/09/2026

From our colleagues in History: on Wednesday 23 September, Dr Monty Soutar will present the 2026 Michael King Lecture, "The Storyteller's Challenge: Making the pre-colonial and colonial past resonate today." Mark your calendar!

30/08/2026

100 Views of the Burns/Arts Building, View 10: from the Archway Building and the Annie Stevenson Building (formerly the Consumer and Applied Sciences Building).

Please note that the first floor of the Burns/Arts Building will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for maintenance work. English and Linguistics staff will be working from home.

We wish you all a happy mid-semester break!

29/08/2026

"In a ceremony at the Dunedin Town Hall on Saturday, University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka staff gave two standing ovations to Emerita Professor Jocelyn Harris (CNZM) when she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Literature. The alumna, lecturer and writer who championed women’s studies in English was recognised with one of the University’s most prestigious awards."

In a ceremony at the Dunedin Town Hall on Saturday, University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka staff gave two standing ovations to Emerita Professor Jocelyn Harris (CNZM) when she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Literature.

27/08/2026

It's the Friday before mid-semester break, and a perfect time to enjoy some theatre! Today at 1pm, come along to Allen Hall Theatre for excerpts from Sam Steiner's play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, directed by English honours student Eli Graham, and featuring Eva Captijn and English major Hugo Todd.

27/08/2026

Celebrate National Poetry Day on Friday 28 August at 7pm at Dunedin's Athenaeum Library in The Octagon. Participants include poets Fiona Farrell, Emma Neale, Donald Murray, Louise Wallace, Sue Wootton, David Eggleton, Megan Kitching, Victor Billot, Claire Beynon, Susan Wardell, David Howard, and Rakibul Khan. Wendy Parkins will MC, and there will be music from opera singer Claire Barton and flautist Feby Idrus.

This is a free event, open to all. Refreshments will be provided courtesy of the City of Literature and NZSA.

26/08/2026

It all began with an English paper at Otago! Read all about Molly Crighton’s first book, The Body and the Blood, which will be launched this evening at St Paul's Cathedral at 6pm.

A criminally good book has just hit the streets of Dunedin. The perpetrator? Otago kaimahi Molly Crighton.

25/08/2026

Saturday was an honest-to-goodness Dunner stunner for our August graduates. Congratulations to all our graduates in the Humanities! We especially congratulate English PhD recipients Kim Cope Tait and Michael Thames; MFCO PhD recipient Arundhati Sethi (co-supervised by Dr Rochelle Simmons); English MA recipients Caleb Collier and Robert McDonald; and five Masters of Creative Writing: Penny Bloomberg, Janean Cherkun, Merissa Foryani, Mary McLaughlin, and Grace Nottingham.

And well done to all our English and Linguistics BA recipients: Molly Christiansen, Jessica Hollows, Sunny McCabe-Dickson, Janesha Minhas, Emily Ogden (BA Hons), Kate Parker, Angela Rai (BASc), Robbie Symonds, and Cailin Williams.

Please keep in touch! It’s been a pleasure being part of your lives, and we love to hear about your achievements.

22/08/2026

Congratulations to Professor Emerita Jocelyn Harris who, in addition to delivering today’s graduation address, received an honorary doctorate at the ceremony. This is the highest honour that the university can bestow, and it is in well-deserved recognition of Jocelyn’s international reputation as a scholar, as well as her service to Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka and the local community. Congratulations again Jocelyn!

For those who were unable to attend or to watch online, we will provide a youtube link to the ceremony as soon as it is available.

13/08/2026

Interested in Honours or MA study in English or Linguistics? Please come along to the Humanities Common Room in the Arts/Burns building on Wednesday 19 August and hear all about our offerings for next year! Even if you're a first- or second-year tauira, you're very welcome to join us and to begin thinking about your future. Further details below.

12/08/2026

During a recent trip to Tokyo, Professor Thomas McLean met with Dr Madoka Nagado from the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa. Both scholars have published on the nineteenth-century Donegal poet Frances Browne, and their visit made the news—in northwest Ireland! See the newspaper clipping below from County Donegal's Finn Valley Voice.