English Studies BA (Hons)

Why do you write? Who are your readers? What do you need to consider in terms of voice? What purpose can literature serve in an era of Twitter threads, viral stories, post-truth and fake news? Do we need libraries when we have Google? How has the rise of the internet impacted on the physical book? Has the growth of social media and online lives replaced reading? Do all cultures access and read literature in the same way?

You explore and analyse professional writing including online articles, reviews, ‘how to’ guides, interpretative writing and live texts using augmented reality technologies. You work towards your final portfolio using the workshop space to experiment with different forms and approaches to professional writing.

This is a 20-credit module.

Get an introduction to critical and creative skills and techniques to support you in developing your own reading and writing. Learn how to apply close reading techniques to a range of texts and voices, across different forms, genres and global perspectives. You deepen your understanding of writing and reading by analysing a range of critical approaches to novels, poetry and drama.

This is a 40-credit module.

Consider how romantic and Victorian literature is influenced by so many factors - the political revolution in Europe and beyond, a rising discussion of rights, the Woman Question, and industrial, economic and scientific transformations. You focus on the period between the French Revolution and Queen Victoria's death in 1901 to explore the dynamic relationship between their historical and cultural context.

Critically write about class, gender and race to explore the ideological assumptions covered in late 18th and 19th-century literature.

This is a 40-credit module.

You investigate key writers, past and present, who have played or continue to play a role in social change. You address questions about why studying literature and creative writing matters.

You consider the opportunities available after graduation including becoming an educator, publisher, facilitator, communicator and creative. And you write your own manifesto, alongside a personal development plan, to achieve your goals after you graduate.

This is a 20-credit module.

Examine colonial-era and postcolonial literary texts, including poetry, fiction, short fiction, drama, and life-writing. Consider different historical perspectives on, and legacies of, empire, from a range of country contexts including South Asia, Africa, Australasia, as well as America and Europe. Explore pressing concerns about how far such texts have questioned, and may continue to contest, dominant and often damaging perspectives on race, ethnicity, class and gender in changing colonial, postcolonial, neo-colonial and decolonising contexts.

This is a 40-credit module.

Develop graduate skills in preparation for further study, employment or lifelong learning, through engagement with our Student Futures team and humanities practitioners. Gain insight into career pathways and explore the opportunities available to humanities graduates, including as educators, policy-makers, publishers, facilitators, communicators, and creatives. Work on an individual project, either work focused or academic focused.

This is a 20-credit module.

Explore modernism as one of the most innovative and artistic movements of the 20th century, whilst examining your own experimental writing practices.

You examine the diverse ways of writing in the early 20th century by experimenting with new methods of writing whilst reflecting on your own style. You investigate literature and other forms of cultural expression such as visual art, music and film to understand the relationship between modernism and modernity. You also learn how past artists and writers responded to historical and cultural change. And you analyse if current writers continue to innovate new styles in the same way.

This is a 40-credit module.

It is believed that our sense of who we are and how we perceive others is tied to the way identities are constructed through cultural representation. How does the way our perception is constructed tend to privilege some groups over others? Examine key theoretical perspectives on the representation of identity in relation to a range of concepts – such as class, gender, race, sexuality and disability – as constructed in and represented by contemporary culture. Investigate these ideas in relation to a contemporary cultural text of your choosing and present your research as a paper at a student conference.

This is a 20-credit module.

Gain the skills and knowledge to devise, develop and execute an extended independent research project in an area of critical or creative practice. Develop advanced research skills including reflective practice, critical research, creative practice-based research, self-management, and research project management, preparing you for your dissertation and creative writing project. Explore the work of researchers in English and creative writing through research specialism workshops, which showcase recent and active research projects, providing insights into the wide-ranging research practices underpinning this work.

This is a 40-credit module.

Study literary genres and movements and their historical, social and political contexts. You focus on the 19th century to the present, including aestheticism and decadence, black, Asian and minority ethnic writing, detective and crime fiction, the feminist movement and contemporary historical fiction. You consider the context of the texts' production and receipt. You also examine the diverse formal, technical and stylistic properties of the texts, exploring critical and theoretical perspectives.

This is a 40-credit module.

Examine literary genres and movements and their historical, social, and political contexts. Focus on the nineteenth century to the present, exploring aestheticism and decadence, Black, Asian and minority ethnic writing, detective and crime fiction, the feminist movement and contemporary historical fiction. And consider the circumstances within which the texts were produced and received. Discuss the diverse formal, technical and stylistic properties of the texts, and explore critical and theoretical perspectives, using sophisticated critical vocabulary.

This is a 20-credit module.

What’s the current state of our literary culture? Is it ailing or thriving in the wake of the changes to the publishing industry brought about by the internet, e-books, and self-publishing? Who are the great writers of today, and which books are the modern classics? How are the diverse tensions of the present day manifested in contemporary writing? You explore this and related questions as you determine the focus of your project and the selection of texts you choose to study.

This is a 20-credit module.