English Literature

In this module, you will study literary and media expressions of future visions of the world. You will examine fictional and theoretical versions of the future from the nineteenth century onwards. You will explore:

• dystopias and utopias 
• relationships between humans and technology 
• human and nonhuman futures
• diverse and divergent futures

You’ll enhance your capacity to conceptualise different futures. You’ll also develop your understanding of the issues influencing how and why we project different visions of what our world may become.
 

This module will introduce you to the Romantic and Victorian periods through the theme of the supernatural. You’ll investigate the radical technological, social and scientific changes during these periods, and the new uncertainties which arose from these changes. You will discover how writers and artists explored the resultant challenges to established certainties and distinctions between faith and doubt, good and evil, and right and wrong, through their portrayal of metaphorical angels and demons. You’ll study a range of novels, short stories, plays and poems, and different kinds of writing, such as Gothic novels and poems and Sensation novels.

In this module, you will study literature which considers human experiences of the material and immaterial. You will investigate how people – as individuals and communities – are influenced by both scientific theories and the felt realities of human experience. You will explore how a range of texts, from the mediaeval period to the present day, consider questions around science, emotion, memory, and haunting. Topics may include:

• Haunted spaces
• Other worlds
• Science and technologies
• Place and identity 

In this module, you will study a range of American literary texts from the nineteenth century to the present day, and consider their historical and cultural contexts. You will develop detailed knowledge of the literature and culture of America, exploring key topics such as: 

• race and ethnicity, especially in Black and Native American writing
• slavery and its legacies
• American self-mythologising and national identity
• the effect of the Cold War on American writing
• the Harlem Renaissance

This module enables you to develop your critical understanding of fairy tales, and of young children’s literature more broadly from its first Golden age in the Victorian period to the present day. You will also explore the formal workings of these stories, with a focus on elements such as: 

• retellings and adaptations 
• illustrations
• narrative techniques
• formal experimentation 

You’ll also consider the ideological and socio-political influences upon how such stories are revised and adapted as they travel across different eras and cultures.

In this module, you’ll develop your talent and range as a creative writer. You’ll build on the skills you gained in your Creative Writing 1: Voice and Craft in Poetry and Prose module in Year 1. You’ll experiment with a number of forms and prose styles, including:

• crime writing 
• travel writing 
• science fiction
• historical fiction

You’ll also explore techniques of writing poetry through forms such as the ballad and the sonnet. You’ll enhance your creativity, and reflect on your creative choices, as you critically examine what you and your fellow students write.

In this module, you will develop your insight into the working world by undertaking work-related learning, such as a work placement or project. You can experience and engage with employment environments and enterprise-related opportunities. This module enables you to undertake personal and professional development challenges beyond the conventional academic setting, and to develop your graduate skills and competencies. Previous placements and projects have been provided by Oxford University Press, Oxfam, the Oxford Literary Festival, and the Story Museum. Students have also worked for magazines, video games companies, schools, and well-known commercial brands.

This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a literary topic that fascinates you. With the supervision and support of a lecturer, you will design your own project, choosing your own topic and approach. You will study your selected topic in depth, and will demonstrate your new critical understanding through an assessment method of your choosing, such as a blog, a video documentary, a long essay, a performance, or a report. You will develop skills in project planning, self-motivation, critical and creative thinking and research.

This is your opportunity to work or study in another country, so you can experience a different culture from the UK. You’ll be able to apply and test your knowledge and skills in new contexts that will significantly develop your employability profile.

Choosing this module will allow you to exhibit the development of self-management and working or studying in unfamiliar contexts, alongside practising cross-cultural communication and interpersonal skills.

You will receive support and guidance to help you find a place in an available higher education partner institution, or to find a work placement for your year abroad. This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.

The opportunity can be approached in 2 different ways. Please see your options below:
 

You can attend a non-UK higher education institution for a full academic year. You’ll be able to choose modules in your own subject or in a subject you consider would benefit your overall course of study. You may choose to deepen your knowledge of your degree subject or enhance it by developing complementary skills.

By studying in an international university you’ll progress your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with fellow students and tutors, building lasting relationships. Also you’ll further develop your study skills as you focus on your selected areas of interest to you - while developing and progressing an international study experience that will add significance to your CV.
 

Undertake a work placement or work-related project based on your interests and existing skills. You will create an initial learning contract that shows clearly how your proposed placement or project will link with your academic and/or professional aims.

This pathway helps you to have full control over what your work-related learning looks like. You will advance your skills in a practical setting, gain first-hand experience in a work environment, and begin to create your professional network. Also, taking initiative of your learning in such a way will mean that you will stand out when you apply for jobs after graduation.

This module gives you the chance to do research on a topic that fascinates you. Over the course of your final year, you’ll work independently on a research project, with the help of an tutor. Whether you’re delving into gothic literature, gaming or the dystopian worlds of George Orwell, your major research project will grow out of your specific passion, and you’ll gain excellent self-discipline and organisational skills for work. You’ll gain core skills for your career, including:

• research
• critical analysis
• time-management 
• planned and focused writing.

You can choose the mode of assessment through which you will demonstrate your new expertise. This could be a long piece of writing in the style of a dissertation, or a presentation, podcast, blog, exhibition or something else that suits your project and preferences.

This module gives you the chance to study specialist areas of literature in depth. The topics available are drawn from the research expertise of your tutors, enabling you to engage with leading insights and approaches in the field. Available topics may alter from year to year, but recent topics have included:

• Windrush Stories: British Black and Asian Voices 1948 to the Present 
• The American Civil War in Literature, Memory and Myth 
• Literature and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 

This module gives you the chance to study specialist areas of literature in depth. The topics available are drawn from the research expertise of your tutors, enabling you to engage with leading insights and approaches in the field. Available topics may alter from year to year, but recent topics have included:

• Urban Jungle: the American City in Modern and Postmodern Literature and Culture
• Utopias
• Witchcraft and Madness in Literature

This module gives you the chance to study specialist areas of literature in depth. The topics available are drawn from the research expertise of your tutors, enabling you to engage with leading insights and approaches in the field. Available topics may alter from year to year, but recent topics have included:

• The Victorian Supernatural
• The Theatrical City
• Video Games, Digital Narratives and Interactive Texts

In this module, you’ll meet literary agents and editors as you explore the submissions process for publication. You will produce a 6000 word piece of writing on a theme or idea that interests you, refining your writing practices. You’ll consider how this piece could work as part of a larger published work, for example as chapters of a novel or memoir, or poems, short stories or essays within an anthology, developing your understanding of how a book works as a whole. 

This module is similar to the Independent Project Module available in Year 2, but requires a higher level of knowledge and more extensive study. This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a literary topic that interests you. With the supervision and support of a lecturer, you will design your own project, choosing your own topic and approach. You will study your selected topic in depth, and will demonstrate your new critical understanding through an assessment method of your choosing. You will develop skills in project planning, self-motivation, critical and creative thinking and research. Unlike the Major Research Project, which is also available in Year 3, this module takes place over the course of just one semester.