A Reflection of Evolution: The School of English and Theatre Studies takes on a New Name

The College of Arts at the University of Guelph is excited to welcome the name change of the School of English and Theatre Studies to the School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing (SOTEC). This name-change signals the importance of the three primary research areas within the department, by welcoming Creative Writing into the fold.

Dr. Sally Hickson, Director of the School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing shares, “it was important for us to change our name to include Creative Writing in our brand because [it] is a true community. Our faculty teach across disciplines and our programs are built to support each other.”

Hickson goes on to share how the Creative Writing program began as a minor option students could pursue in the Bachelor of Arts in English program. As the minor grew, the disciplines continued to expand and cohabit, the opportunity for a major presented itself. In 2022, the undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing was introduced and has since seen enrolment of over 100 students in the major and minor, each respectively.

“[The department] already had the MFA in Creative Writing, which has been hugely important on the Canadian literary scene. We have so many MFA grads who have gone on to win major literary awards – We’re a powerhouse,” Hickson says. The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing has been part of the department since 2006, with critically acclaimed writers and faculty such as Catherine Bush, Carrianne Leung, Canisia Lubrin and Judith Thompson.

A few MFA award winners include:

• Fiction or Non-Fiction:
  • Melanie Mah, The Sweetest One (2017 Trillium Book Award) 
• Poetry:
  • A. Light Zachary, More Sure (2024 Trillium Book Award) 
  • D.M. Bradford, Dream of No One But Myself (2022 Griffin Poetry Prize)
  • Bardia Sinaee, Intruder (2022 Trillium Book Award)
  • Liz Howard, Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent (2016 Griffin Poetry Prize)  

Outside of Creative Writing, the English and Theatre Studies programs continue to grow and evolve as well. The Bachelor of Arts in English program remains one of the College’s largest enrolled programs, while the Theatre Studies program has welcomed an incoming 2024 undergraduate class three times the size of previous years.  

The name-change to the School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing represents a new horizon for the department and associated programs as storytelling continues to evolve.