Research Groups

There are seven research groups in the Department of English that operate on an annual-membership basis and have at least one meeting per semester. Each group is convened by one director or more that must be approved by the Department Council at the beginning of each academic year. Three of these groups are based on the department’s main disciplines (Linguistics, Literary Studies, and Translation Studies) and their aim is to continue research in the department’s existing areas of interest, while also broadening the scope of its research by introducing new ideas within these disciplines. Of these research groups are those that aim to develop previously established research areas such as Computer Corpus Research on Language.  Others on the other hand aim to focus on research areas of local priority which—considering the university’s unique geographical location in the land of the two holy mosques and at the heart of the Arab and Muslim world—recognises the department’s role in conducting research on Islam and the Middle East.

The remaining research groups aim to invest in the locally emerging research priorities that particularly respond to the Saudi Vision 2030 which aspires to welcome more pilgrims and acknowledges Hajj and Umrah studies as an area of responsibility at Umm Al-Qura University, given its unique geographical location at the heart of the holy city of Makkah; they also aim to work towards celebrating national identity and supporting the Saudi National Culture Strategy, thus focusing on Saudi cultural studies.

These research groups play a strategic role in the department’s vision by bringing together faculty members from the main campuses of Alabdeyah and Alzaher, as well as from the Al-Lith and Al-Qunfudah branches. The aim is to foster academic research, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, develop joint projects, share expertise, and ultimately enhance the quality of research at both the departmental and institutional levels.