BA English Literature

University of Essex

Bachelor's degree

In Colchester

£ 9,250 + VAT

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Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    Colchester

  • Duration

    3 Years

About the course
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read

One does not love breathing”

Reading, as Harper Lee identifies in To Kill a Mockingbird, is an intuitive part of being human

We learn to read as children and we go on reading – for education, for information, and for joy – throughout our lives

Literature at Essex offers a comprehensive exploration of that age-old love affair, between an avid reader and a good book


Our BA English Literature deepens your understanding of how literature shapes, and is shaped by, the world around it

This course will encourage you to form your own critical response and ask all of the right questions

For example, whose voices are over-represented? How do periods of cultural or political instability affect what gets written? What can we tell about a text, from the relationship between characters, money, and power?

<p>If you cannot see this video, you can <a href=http://vimeo

com/111739956>watch it on our Vimeo channel</a> within your browser

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We provide a solid grounding in the chronology of literary history, and an exploration of how stories travel from country to country across time

The beginning of your course will be highly focused on an introduction to literature, and you will have the opportunity to study everything from the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare, to writing published in the last year


The second year is about developing ways to explore and criticise that literature

You will explore a wide range of topics such as:
US Literature
Creative use of social media
European Literature
Shakespeare
Literature in the Victorian period
The final year is all about you

Facilities

Location

Start date

Colchester (Essex)
See map
Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ

Start date

On request

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Reviews

Subjects

  • Shakespeare
  • English
  • Writing
  • Teaching

Course programme

Example structure
Studying at Essex is about discovering yourself, so your course combines compulsory and optional modules to make sure you gain key knowledge in the discipline, while having as much freedom as possible to explore your own interests. Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore to ensure your course is as relevant and up-to-date as possible your core module structure may be subject to change.
For many of our courses you’ll have a wide range of optional modules to choose from – those listed in this example structure are just a selection of those available. The opportunity to take optional modules will depend on the number of core modules within any year of the course. In many instances, the flexibility to take optional modules increases as you progress through the course.
Our Programme Specification gives more detail about the structure available to our current first-year students, including details of all optional modules.
Year 1
Critical Writing: The Essay
Literature: Origins and Transformations
Close Reading Skills
Understanding Employability: Preparing for Your Future
The Enlightenment (optional)
Creative Writing Skills (optional)
Introduction to European Literature (optional)
Year 2
Early Modern Literature
Versions of Modernity
Approaches to Text
United States Literature Since 1850 (optional)
Final year
The Victorians: Writers and Society (optional)
Romanticism: Poetry and Prose (optional)
Shakespeare and the History Play (optional)
The History Play After Shakespeare (optional)
Shakespeare: The Tragedies (optional)
The Imagined South
Year abroad
On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.
Teaching
Teaching will mainly take the form of lectures and classes of about 20 students
Innovative ways of engaging with texts include editing 16th century sonnets and archival research
A typical timetable involves a one-hour lecture and a one-hour class for each of your modules every week
Assessment
Your final mark for each module is determined half by coursework and half by examination
A mark for class participation is included in your coursework mark
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Additional information

By this time, you know what the work of a literary critic is, what approaches to criticism you prefer, and which periods in history you’re itching to know more about Whether it’s the solitary figure in the modern city, or the rural poverty of the Southern USA, you will work in small seminar groups, with academics who are world-class experts in the particular field you’re studying Your degree in literature takes place in the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, which is home to a variety of Academic disciplines You will have the opportunity to benefit from seminars, lectures and events from all the disciplines available in the department These include film studies, drama and theatre studies, creative writing and journalism “Studying literature at Essex has been very helpful to me, and should definitely aid me in my future career teaching in a primary school My passion for reading and literature has been taken new heights at Essex, and I hope to share the same passion for literature with children and encourage reading in the way that I have been encouraged ” Claire Tye, BA English Literature, 2011 Study abroad Your education extends beyond the University campus We support you extending your education by providing the option of an additional year at no extra cost The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year studying abroad or employed on a placement, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course Studying abroad also allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised Placement year When you arrive at Essex, you can decide whether you would like to combine your course with a placement year You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers...

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BA English Literature

£ 9,250 + VAT

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