English and Film Studies

A joint honours degree allows you to study the same core topics as students on each single honours course, but you’ll take fewer optional and discovery modules so you can fit in both subjects.

In your first year, you’ll be introduced to the key concepts and approaches in film studies while exploring poetry, prose and drama to develop your understanding of literatures in English. You’ll also take a cornerstone module in either world literature or audio-visual culture to help you make connections between your two subjects.

You’ll build on this knowledge in the following year, engaging with ideas of genre in world cinemas while gaining an in-depth understanding of key periods in English literary history. You’ll also choose from an array of optional modules to explore different areas of film studies and literature, from Old English to refugee narratives and creative writing, Arab cinema to the film industry of contemporary Europe.

In your final year, you’ll choose from more optional modules on anything from postcolonial literature and the digital humanities to the representation of cities in cinema. You’ll also get to demonstrate the critical and research skills that you’ve acquired when you complete an independently researched final year project.

Course structure

These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.

Modules Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Studying and Researching English 5 credits
• IT for LCS Students 5 credits
• Introduction to Film Studies I 20 credits
• Introduction to Film Studies II 20 credits
• Foundations of English Studies

Optional modules

• Poetry: Reading and Interpretation 20 credits
• Drama: Reading and Interpretation 20 credits

Year 2

Compulsory modules

• From Film Noir to Asia Extreme: Questioning Genre in World Cinemas 20 credits

Optional modules

• Medieval Literature 20 credits
• Literature of the Romantic Period 20 credits
• Refugee Narratives 20 credits

Year 3

Compulsory modules

• Cinema in the Digital Era 20 credits
• Final Year Project

Optional modules

• Modern Literature 20 credits
• Postcolonial Literature 20 credits
• Contemporary Literature 20 credits

For more information on typical modules, read English and Film Studies BA in the course catalogue

Broadening your academic horizons

At Leeds we want you to benefit from the depth and breadth of the University's expertise, to prepare you for success in an ever-changing and challenging world. This course gives you the opportunity to broaden your learning by studying discovery modules. Find out more on the Broadening webpages.

Learning and teaching

This course is offered by the Centre for World Cinemas, home to experts at the forefront of research in Film Studies. Similarly, the School of English is one of the largest research-intensive departments of its kind in the UK. This informs their teaching, and to help you benefit from your tutors’ expertise we use a variety of teaching and learning methods.

These include lectures, seminars, tutorials and occasionally workshops. However, independent study is also an important part of your degree, since it enables you to develop your critical and research skills.

Assessment

We also use different types of assessment. Usually exams and essays will be the most common, but in some modules oral presentations and group work may also be part of the mix. On the Film Studies side you will undertake critical scene analyses. We do offer plenty of support in these cases: extra classes on issues like public speaking, exam technique and structuring essays will be available throughout your time at Leeds.