English Literature and Language with Foundation BA Honours

Program Overview

Students will engage with a variety of traditional and non-traditional texts, developing critical reading skills, research abilities, and communication proficiency. The program also offers the opportunity to study abroad in Year 3 and includes optional work placements to provide practical experience.

Program Outline

The Foundation year is designed to give you the opportunity to explore new ideas, opening up new perspectives on the key debates within your chosen field. Core modules accelerate your academic and professional development and you will also take modules from areas closely related to your chosen field, giving you the chance to develop a cross-disciplinary perspective on your course. You'll be able to engage with an exciting variety of texts, both traditional (such as Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens) and non-traditional, alongside all sorts of other aspects of culture. You'll become a sophisticated reader of texts in their wider cultural contexts, at the same time as sharpening your skills in research. This training in critical and creative reading is particularly suitable if you are considering English teaching, the publishing or journalism industries, or any career that involves sophisticated communication skills and an advanced level of language use. It is of particular interest to those wishing to develop their skills as a writer. Our degree is strong in promoting the transferable and cognitive skills that employers value, and that contribute to lifelong personal and professional development. We begin the course with an examination of what literature is and the tools that we use to discuss it, alongside focusing on how the English language works and the ways it is used to create different kinds of texts. As you progress through the course, you'll have the choice of a wide variety of literature from Old English, through Shakespeare, the 19th and 20th centuries to the present day; this may include texts from outside the traditional literary canon such as genre fiction and new forms of digital content.

Outline:

Foundation Year:

• Introduction to Academic Practice
• Intercultural Communication
• Imagining Global Society and Politics
• Critical Thinking for Academic and Professional Development

Year 1:

• English Literature and Language Tutorial
• What is Literature?
• Introducing English language
• Keywords for Literary Studies
• World Varieties of English
• Shakespeare and Performance
• Poetry and Politics

Year 2:

• English Literature and Language Tutorial
• The Novel
• Romanticisms
• The Victorian World
• Discourse across Time
• Language and Literary Style
• Child Language Acquisition
• Writing Revolutions
• Making Memory: Culture History and Representation
• Monsters

Year 3:

• English Literature and Language Dissertation
• Language Contact and Change
• Studies in Literary Language
• Language and Power
• Language Form
• Applied Language Studies
• The Modernist World
• Tragedy: Ancient to Modern
• Fiction after 1950
• Issues in Culture
• Sexualities in Literature and Culture
• Special Topic
• Reading the Present

Year Abroad:

• Students have the option to undertake either a study or work placement at a partner institution abroad between Years 2 and 3.

Course Structure:

• There is a range of optional modules available from within the School of Humanities and across the University in each year of study.
• In Year 3, students have a particularly extensive array of modules to choose from, which allows them to tailor the degree to their own interests and future aspirations.
• In Year 3, students also complete a dissertation in a topic of their choice, with one-to-one supervisory support.
• The principal mode of teaching is through seminars of 15-25 students, with some larger university lectures.
• A key feature of the degree is weekly small group tutorials (five to eight students per tutor).
These are designed to support individual learning needs during the first two years.
• The tutorials are specific to this degree and provide an important space for students to find suitable support in their studies more generally, alongside enhancing their study and employability skills.
• At university, much of the learning is independent, conducted beyond the classroom (individually and in groups) in the library, at home, and via the online learning system (Blackboard).

Assessment:

• Assessment on the English Literature and Language BA varies from traditional essays, presentations and small analytic exercises of texts through to the preparation and execution of small research projects and ultimately the preparation and writing of a dissertation in the final year.
• Some modules combine coursework with a short exam.

Teaching:

• Students will be taught by experts in their field, both in English literature and language and in neighbouring disciplines.
• The program offers weekly small group tutorials of five to eight students per tutor in addition to regular seminars, which are designed to support individual learning needs during the first two years of the degree.

Careers:

• Graduates from this degree are prepared for a wide array of careers with their much sought-after skills in communication, analysis and research.
• This is not a narrowly focused vocational degree, but a degree that prepares students for any career that values advanced skills in spoken and written communication, and where they need to demonstrate initiative and creativity in problem-solving.
• The degree enhances communication skills, research skills, initiative and creativity in problem-solving – skills that are valued in a wide range of careers.
• The University’s Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers and support them to achieve their full potential.

Job Roles:

• Advertising
• Further research in higher education institutions
• Marketing
• Publishing and editing
• Public relations and communications
• Recruitment and human resources
• Speech and language therapy
• Teaching English (both in the UK and abroad)
• Web content management

Graduate Employers:

• Base Quantum Ltd
• BBC
• Ignition People
• Red Consultancy
• St. James’s Place Wealth Management
• Tesco
• The Restaurant Group plc

Other:

• The program offers the option to complete a work placement as part of the course.
• Students gain valuable skills and knowledge through work placement experiences.
• The University provides other global opportunities that all students can apply for, including semester or year-long exchanges at institutions around the world, attending an international summer school or field trip, and developing their CV through volunteering or work placements abroad.
• International experience broadens horizons, boosts self-confidence, and improves global understanding, alongside being fantastic for a career.

UK tuition fee:

£9,250 (Price per academic year)

International tuition fee:

£15,400 (Price per academic year)