Cornell renames English Department as part of 'decolonization efforts.' Check out the new

Cornell renames English Department as part of 'decolonization efforts.' Check out the new name.

In the fall of 2020, Cornell University’s faculty voted to change the school’s name from the “Department of English” to the “Department of Literatures in English.”
The Board of Trustees officially approved the name change.


Cornell University trustees approved a request from faculty to change the “Department of English” to the “Department of Literatures in English” in the interest of fighting racism.

As Campus Reform reported in November, English Department faculty members voted to change the school’s name during their first faculty meeting of the fall semester. Professor Kate McCullough said that the rebranding would help to avoid the “conflation of English as a language and English as a nationality.”



After faculty overwhelmingly affirmed the measure, they awaited permission from administrators to implement the name change. The Board of Trustees approved the name change in January, and the department’s site currently reflects the new name.

Cornell University spokeswoman Abby Butler directed Campus Reform toward a statement saying that the name change is part of “decolonization efforts” inspired by universities around the world.

According to the statement, Professor Caroline Levine — who supported the measure — said that the “British Empire invented English as an academic discipline as part of a dedicated effort to persuade Indian subjects to view England as a culture superior to their own and so to acquiesce to English rule.”

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