English and Sport Science BA (Hons) DIntS / DPS

What you'll study

Excited to learn more? For a taster of what you can expect to study on our English and Sport Science BA (Hons) degree, take a sneak preview of some of the modules you may have the opportunity to study below.

The information below reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. Updates may be made on an annual basis and revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year. Please see Terms and Conditions of Study for more information.

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Final year

Our combination of core and optional modules will introduce you to all aspects of your English and Sport Science studies and provide you with the skills you need for the rest of your degree.

Semester 1

Narrative Forms and Fiction Core

Narrative Forms and Fiction

Narrative forms and fiction allows you to explore the concept of narrative over a range of genres and time periods, including the study of film as well as short stories, memoir and fiction. Find out how narrative works and, if you wish, try your hand at creating your own stories, screenplays and even graphic novels

Exploring Language and Linguistics: Introduction to Language Optional

Exploring Language and Linguistics: Introduction to Language

The aim of this module is to develop students' interest in the study of language as a behaviour and to introduce them to the basic notions of structure and variation within the English language.

Analysing Poetry, Metre Form and Meaning: Introduction to Poetry Optional

Analysing Poetry, Metre Form and Meaning: Introduction to Poetry

Students will be equipped with the skills of analysis and response necessary to read verse critically and to find it intellectually stimulating.

Semester 2

Literary and Critical Theories Core

Literary and Critical Theories

The module introduces significant classic and contemporary theoretical approaches and key concepts used in the study of literature today, from which you’ll draw throughout your English degree. Explore themes such as Gender and Sexuality, Fantasy and Dreams, and Power and Protest - and apply them to your own interpretations of literary texts.

Fundamentals of Teaching Physical Education Core

Fundamentals of Teaching Physical Education

The aim of this module is for students to develop fundamental teaching skills and the basic pedagogical knowledge needed to develop an understanding of the principles underpinning effective PE teaching in selected practical activities.

Semester 1 & 2

Fundamentals of Sport and Exercise Science Core

Fundamentals of Sport and Exercise Science

The aim of this module is for students to develop foundational knowledge and understanding of the core sport and exercise science disciplines of psychology, biomechanics and physiology

Sport and the Social Sciences Core

Sport and the Social Sciences

The aim of this module is for students to develop knowledge and understanding of the underlying social science theories and topical debates that relate to sport, coaching and pedagogy.

Our core modules in English allow you to develop your understanding of the literature of different historical periods and to study a range of well-known and less familiar writings that will extend your knowledge and confidence in the subject. A choice of stimulating optional modules allows you to pursue particular intellectual passions and to deepen your understanding of the social, cultural and political contexts of the literary texts you are studying.

In Sport Science, you will be able to choose from a wide variety of modules, allowing you to deepen your knowledge and competency in areas especially interesting to you. In the second year you will need to take at least one English module from a selection of core modules, one core Sport Science module and choose four optional modules.

Semester 1

Renaissance Writings (pre-1800) Core

Renaissance Writings (pre-1800)

A fascinating insight into the literary forms and texts of the Renaissance. As well as a range of texts from the Elizabethan period to the Civil War, you’ll look at historical and cultural contexts, in order to understand what these writers are doing in this period of transformation - including the controversy and power of their writing.

Victorian Literature (post-1800) Core

Victorian Literature (post-1800)

On this module you will examine in detail some of the important novels and poems of the Victorian period. We will consider these works in relation to the social and cultural contexts of the nineteenth century, including class, gender, sexuality, religion and science.

Introduction to Linguistics Optional

Introduction to Linguistics

How can we use language to describe and explain the structure and functions of language? Learn how to analyse written texts, film and television by examining the theories of language and applying them to contemporary examples.

Nineteenth Century American Literature and Culture Optional

Nineteenth Century American Literature and Culture

In this period, the United States developed in terms of culture, economy, population - and ambition. This module will examine how writers of poetry, fiction and theatre depicted the events of this century, including the American Civil War, poverty and gender roles. If you want to understand the United States today, start here.

Chivalry from Chaucer to Shakespeare Optional

Chivalry from Chaucer to Shakespeare

Discover and explore the codes of chivalry represented in the behaviour of knights in love, justice, and war from the medieval to the early modern period. Authors studied typically include Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Malory, Edmund Spenser, and William Shakespeare.

The Weird Tale Optional

The Weird Tale

The module aims to explore the development of the Weird Tale in Britain and the US from the late nineteenth century onwards, attempting to define the form, to examine its history, and to engage critically with its preoccupations.

Acquiring Movement Skills Optional

Acquiring Movement Skills

The aim of this module is to examine both theoretically and in practice, the key factors governing the acquisition and performance of human movement skills.

Sport, Diversity and Social Justice Optional

Sport, Diversity and Social Justice

The aim of this module is for students to develop a critical understanding of the relationships between sport, diversity and social justice as they relate to contexts within and around sport, coaching and pedagogy.

Semester 2

Eighteenth-Century Literature (pre-1800) Core

Eighteenth-Century Literature (pre-1800)

This module will introduce you to a range of texts from the period 1700-1830. We will discuss them within their original cultural and historical contexts, including revolution, Romanticism and the Gothic.

Modernisms (post-1800) Core

Modernisms (post-1800)

This module is an introduction to the diversity of literary movements, ideas, and concepts grouped under the term 'Modernism'. You will study a range of texts, both fiction and poetry, produced in the early twentieth century when a number of writers broke with tradition and sought new ways of depicting the rapidly changing world around them.

Introduction to Multimodality Optional

Introduction to Multimodality

How do we communicate through images and what is the relationship between visual and verbal text strategies? The aim of the module is to introduce students to the study of texts that are created not just by using verbal language.

America at War Optional

America at War

America has been involved in major military conflicts in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries: World War 1, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. This module addresses war writing including the novel, poetry, drama, film, music, photo-journalism, and non-fiction. It enables you to develop critical awareness of the myriad ways in which writers and film-makers have responded to and imagined warfare.

From Print to Digital: Publishing Revolutions Optional

From Print to Digital: Publishing Revolutions

This module provides multiple perspectives on publishing and the spread of ideas through print and the digital in society, and on key concepts and ideas from the publishing world. It traces significant changes that have taken place in the book trade since the invention of printing to the digital revolution and to explore the challenges and opportunities arising from these changes.

African American Culture Optional

African American Culture

On this module you will explore the complex formal and political questions raised by African American cultural expression produced between 1845 and the present. We will study a wide range of forms and media - literary, cinematic and musical - situating these in their shifting historical contexts, from the nineteenth-century American South to the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement.

Philosophy, Literature and the Arts Optional

Philosophy, Literature and the Arts

On this module you will read and discuss some of the key ideas in philosophy that are central to literary study and theory, and to the discussion of art and its role in our lives and societies. We will be examining these alongside a selection of literary texts and visual art (sculpture, painting and photography) which pose, incorporate or illustrate philosophical ideas and questions.

Language in Society Optional

Language in Society

This module provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to understand how the relationship between language use and aspects of social identity and the interaction between socio-cultural practices, social identity and language use can be studied.

Women's Writing in the Seventeenth Century Optional

Women's Writing in the Seventeenth Century

On this module you will explore a range of writing by women from England in the seventeenth century. The political events of this century enabled women to publish in unprecedented numbers and ways. The module will equip you with a greater appreciation of the type of writing women undertook, and an ability to situate this work in its historical context.

Conceptualising Sport Optional

Conceptualising Sport

The aim of this module is to develop a critical understanding of more advanced social scientific concepts which combine to form the basis of social theories and perspectives used in the analysis of sport and physical cultures in modern societies across the world.

Physical Activity and Health Optional

Physical Activity and Health

The aim of this module is for students to develop knowledge and understanding of physical activity and sedentary behaviour and their relationship with health, including measurement of the behaviours, correlates/determinants and settings for promotion of the behaviours.

The Reflective Practitioner in Physical Education Core

The Reflective Practitioner in Physical Education

The aim of this module is for students to develop as reflective practitioners exploring more advanced teaching skills and identifying aspects of high quality PE, furthering their pedagogical knowledge and applying this to a range of practical activities.

Semester 1 & 2

Fitness Training and Analysis Optional

Fitness Training and Analysis

The aim of this module is for students to develop knowledge and understanding of the science of physical fitness, training and performance analysis.

Our modules in both English and Sport Science give you the opportunity to specialise even further in your own areas of interest. The wide range of exciting course choices are taught from our tutors’ research specialisms and present you with the most current knowledge and theories. Both sides of your course will enable you to study the texts, themes and contexts that you are passionate about. You may also elect to do a dissertation, allowing you to identify, research, and write on a subject area of your choice.