Our Community

The English department’s scholarly and extracurricular life helps sustain the vibrancy of the intellectual community at the university and in the greater Tuscaloosa area. The following links will take you to information that will, we hope, offer a well-rounded picture of what it’s like to participate in the English department at The University of Alabama.

a writer reads her work at a Pure Products event

Events: Lectures, Performances, Readings, Symposia

English department faculty, staff, and students — along with visiting speakers, visiting writers, and members of the broader Tuscaloosa community — present numerous events each year. Learn about them on our Readings, Seminars, and Performances page.

Groups, Clubs, and Organizations

Organizations within and connected to the department range from community service programs to performance troupes to topic-based discussion groups to traditional student organizations. Read about them on our Groups, Clubs, Organizations page.

Publications

In addition to the world-renowned Black Warrior Review, the department is involved in several regularly produced publications (not counting the department’s newsletter). Our Publications page offers information about all of them.

About Tuscaloosa

In many ways a typical American college town, Tuscaloosa has a diverse population of 95,334 (2013 Census); Northport, the city just across the Black Warrior River, has a population of about 25,000. The metropolitan area is home to 235,628, including the approximately 38,000 students enrolled at UA.

an old theatre with a bright marquee

Tuscaloosa County is home to artists of many stripes: potters, blues & jazz musicians, woodworkers, blacksmiths, college bands, painters, photographers, glassblowers, sculptors in fabric and steel. The area provides many cultural activities including the Kentuck Festival of the Arts, the Druid City Arts Festival, and an independent film series held at the historic Bama Theater.

With numerous public parks and several state parks, Tuscaloosa offers many opportunities for outdoor activities such as rowing, hiking, and bicycling.

The mountains of northern Alabama, the beaches of the Gulf Coast, and the cities of Atlanta and Birmingham are all within a few hours’ drive, and the Southern Crescent passenger train runs from Washington through Atlanta and Tuscaloosa to New Orleans.