BA English Literature with History of Art

Our students are expected to read widely, and to develop strong lines of argument and personal responses to what they read and see, anchored in an informed understanding of the two disciplines and with reference to the contemporary critical debates that animate them.The English side of the degree is structured around a combination of period study, thematic study, and modules inculcating theoretical and practical skills. Victorian literature modules cover prose from Dickens to Gaskell, and poetry from Browning to Hardy; twentieth-century literature topics range from Rhys, Hurston, Woolf, and Plath, to Hemingway, Forster, Larkin, and Beckett. Shakespeare is one special focus. Other earlier writers who are studied include Marlowe, Donne, Webster, Herbert, Milton, Dryden, Gay, Swift, Pope, Blake, Wordsworth, Austen, Keats, and Shelley. You can explore some of the modules on this website. Thematic study encourages students to analyse contextually based on sociological variations, gender, contemporary politics, and psychological influences. We encourage the understanding of contemporary literary and cultural theory while never losing sight of the values of liberal / aesthetic education.History of Art is focused on the visual arts. The subject also touches on many other traditional humanities disciplines such as literature, history, religion, languages, classics, psychology, and philosophy. Students acquire skills of critical and historical analysis and the ability to evaluate evidence and present arguments fluently, both orally and in writing. Because of the combined degree, you will be able to see cross-overs and interactions between literature and art, particularly in relation to the Renaissance, Romanticism, and Modernism.Our recent graduates have gone on to pursue careers in the media, creative writing, teaching, academia, business, and marketing.Modules available on this course

English modules

• Contemporary Writing
• Creative Writing 1
• Eras of English (September entry)
• Fiction and Theory
• Film Studies
• Literary Journalism (1642-present)
• Modern American Literature
• Modernist Writing
• Plays in Performance (September entry)
• Poetry and Poetics
• Renaissance Literature
• Restoration and Augustan Literature
• Rewriting Empire
• Romantic Literature
• Shakespearean Drama
• Victorian Fiction
• Victorian Poetry
• Women’s Writing

History of Art modules

• Introduction to Art History: Style, Interpretation, Iconography
• Art and Architecture, History and Culture (September entry, term in Florence)
• Renaissance Art and Architecture
• Romanticism to Fin-de-Siècle
• Modern Art from 1900
• Design and the Decorative Arts Special Study 1: Renaissance to Industrialisation
• Design and the Decorative Arts Special Study 2: Arts and Crafts to Bauhaus and Beyond
• The Country House: Form, Function, Culture
• Modern British Art from 1900
• Individual Directed Study Project

Full course information in the University Handbook