BA (Hons) English & History

What you'll study Year 1 (credit level 4) In your first year, you'll be introduced to essential concepts in literary study, encouraged to read a wide range of works covering the major literary genres, and become aware of changing views of the past, and theories of history. You'll choose between learning about cultural history, intellectual history, modern political history or religion, peace and conflict. You take the following compulsory modules: Year 1 compulsory modules Module title Credits. Concepts and Methods in History Concepts and Methods in History 30 credits This core module introduces you to theories of history, methodologies and conceptual problems of advanced historical work from the ancient to the contemporary world. The module will help you acquire some of the fundamental skills involved in historical study – including writing at university level – as well as help you with online research, footnoting and compiling a bibliography. It consists of one lecture and seminar per week. 30 credits. Literature of the Victorian Period Literature of the Victorian Period 30 credits This module is based on writing in Britain between 1830 and 1900. Perhaps no period of literary history has been so subject to stereotyping as the Victorian, yet, as its chronological span alone suggests, Victorian literature is marked above all by its diversity. The literature of the Victorian period contains both the legacy of romanticism and the origins of modernism; its aesthetic and moral ideals are powerful, varied, and unstable. Most crucially, it is the site of debate: about morals, politics, religion, science, sexuality, gender, nationhood, empire, and, at its very basis, about the nature and function of literature itself. The texts featured on this module will represent the full chronological sweep of the Victorian period as well as a range of its genres, including poetry, novels, short stories, and essays. Major texts might typically include B Richards', English Verse 1830–1890 , Dickens' Bleak House , C Brontë's Villette , Eliot's Middlemarch , Hardy's The Return of the Native , and Collins' The Moonstone. 30 credits. Approaches to Text Approaches to Text 30 credits The module will introduce students to essential concepts in modern literary study, critical theory and literary criticism through a detailed engagement with literary texts, theoretical texts and literary criticism. Students will develop critical reading skills, gain a vocabulary for discussing and analyzing literary works, and through a close integration with the PASS programme, will build up their academic writing and research skills in a series of short, assessed exercises that will aid in the writing and revision of their course work in the first year and throughout the degree. Principal texts might typically include Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Shakespeare's The Tempest, Seamus Heaney's North, and Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba. 30 credits. And one other first year 30-credit History module. Year 2 (credit level 5) Year 2 consists of an interdisciplinary studies module or modules, plus a combination of English and history modules. For instance, (for English) you might want to: examine the literature and ideas of the 16th and 17th centuries; investigate how the concept of the American nation state was produced in 19th-century literature; make a literary and cultural analysis of Shakespeare’s or Chaucer’s work; and (for History): examine the medieval crusades or gender relations in the past; look into the cultural history of Buddhist Asia; or investigate the recent history of a range of European countries. You take: One English/History interdisciplinary 30 credit module. 30 credits of History modules. One English Period module worth 30 credits. The fourth module may be either 30 credits of History modules or a 30 credit English module, but there must be a balance of work in each discipline are levels 5 and 6 together.. History modules that may be available to you. Year 3 (credit level 6) Your interdisciplinary studies in Year 3 are directed towards a written project, and you continue to deepen your knowledge by balancing your selection of English and History modules with those you took in Year 5. Options currently available include: taking a creative writing option; exploring the close relationship between literature and film in the 20th century; investigating gender and culture in medieval Europe; considering contemporary moral problems; or studying aspects of African or South Asian history. The Departments also offer each year a small number of single-term ‘option’ modules which can be combined in pairs to form the equivalent of full-year modules. You can also apply to take a ‘related study’ – an approved module from another department which is relevant to your overall module profile. You take: The Interdisciplinary Project. 60 credits in History modules (if you only took 30 at level 5) and 30 credits of English modules. Or 60 credits in English modules (if you only took 30 at level 5) and 30 credits of English modules. History modules that may be available to you. Teaching style This programme is mainly taught through scheduled learning - a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops. You’ll also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study. This includes carrying out required and additional reading, preparing topics for discussion, and producing essays or project work. The following information gives an indication of the typical proportions of learning and teaching for each year of this programme*: Year 1 - 15% scheduled learning, 85% independent learning. Year 2 - 13% scheduled learning, 87% independent learning. Year 3 - 10% scheduled learning, 90% independent learning. How you’ll be assessed You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework portfolios, long essays, examinations (various timescales and formats) and an interdisciplinary project. The interdisciplinary project must be passed for the degree to be awarded. The following information gives an indication of how you can typically expect to be assessed on each year of this programme*: Year 1 - 81% coursework, 19% written exam. Year 2 - 60% coursework, 40% written exam. Year 3 - 87% coursework, 13% written exam. *Please note that these are averages are based on enrolments for 2016/17. Each student’s time in teaching, learning and assessment activities will differ based on individual module choices. Credits and levels of learning An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. If you are a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 modules in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 modules in your final year. A standard module is worth 30 credits. Some programmes also contain 15-credit half modules or can be made up of higher-value parts, such as a dissertation or a Major Project. Download the programme specification , for the 2018-19 intake. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office. Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.