English

The two skills modules, 7EN001 and 7EN002 are core modules, i.e. compulsory. Then you must choose another four modules from the list below and write a dissertation.

The Literature modules are taught 6pm -8/9pm, three evenings per week for a full-time course. The Language/Linguistics modules are taught at various times during the day and evening, three days a week for a full-time course.

7EN001 Texts and the Critic 1: Advanced Critical Theory (Literature Strand)

This module offers students the opportunity to locate their own scholarly practice within contemporary modes of theoretically-driven criticism. Tutor-led discussions of key theoretical interventions will enable students to critically evaluate the place and influence of dominant figures and concepts in areas such as New Historicism, Post-Structuralism, Psychoanalysis and Post Colonialism. The continued influence and application of such ideas upon current criticism will be examined through the engagement with a series of recent scholarly articles, placing students at the cutting-edge of contemporary research.

Module Tutor: Dr Nicola Allen

7EN001 Texts and the Critic 1: Advanced Critical Theory (Language Strand)

The language strand of this module introduces students to the works of important theoreticians in 20th and 21st century language study. Tutor-led discussions of key theoretical interventions will enable students to critically evaluate the place and influence of dominant figures and concepts in language study. The continued influence and application of such ideas upon current criticism will be examined through the engagement with a series of recent scholarly articles, placing students at the cutting-edge of contemporary research.

Module Tutors: Dr Debbie Orpin and Judy Copage

7EN002 Texts and the Critic 2: Research Methodologies (Literature Strand)

This module will train students in accessing, evaluating and applying information from a range of research resources, including archives, databases, bibliographies, academic journals and other publications. It will ensure students adopt a systematic and detailed use of academic conventions in presenting their work to a standard appropriate for publication.

Module Tutors: Dr Frank Wilson and Dr Ben Colbert

7EN002 Texts and the Critic 2: Research Methodologies (Language Strand)

This module will train students in accessing, evaluating and applying information from a range of research resources, including archives, databases, bibliographies, academic journals and other publications appropriate to English Language research. It will ensure students adopt a systematic and detailed use of academic conventions in presenting their work to a standard appropriate for publication.

Module Tutor: Marion West

7EN003 Corpus 1: Pre-C20th Writers and their Work

Featuring distinct strands of syllabi in rotation, this module offers students a case study of 'key' literary figures prior to 1900, focusing on the work of a single artist or a pair of artists to interrogate notions of 'the author' and authorship, critically examining these texts within a range of the relevant social, historical, artistic and intellectual contexts which influence literary production. Specific case studies include: John Milton; Lord Byron; Oscar Wilde & William Morris [the latter in paired survey].

Module Tutors: Dr Frank Wilson, Dr Rosie Miles or Dr Ben Colbert (depending on specific case study)

7EN004 Corpus 2: Post-1900 Writers and their Work

Featuring distinct strands of syllabi in rotation, this module offers a case study of 'key' literary figures after 1900, focusing on the work of a single artist to interrogate notions of 'the author' and authorship. Students will critically examine texts within the context of the author's canon, while also exploring the range of the relevant social, historical, artistic and intellectual forces which influence literary production. Specific case studies include: James Joyce; Virginia Woolf; J. G. Ballard.

Module Tutors: Dr Gerry Carlin or Dr Mark Jones

7EN005 Connectivities1: Literature, Film and Visual Cultures

Featuring distinct strands of syllabi in rotation, this module will provide an opportunity to locate the production of both literary and cinematic texts into their historical and cultural contexts. Specific attention will be paid to analysing how these works articulate issues of social formation, particularly with regard to class, sexuality, race and identity. The technique of comparing literary texts to their cinematic adaptations or equivalents will be employed to reveal differences in representation based both upon the chronological gap between publication and film release, and issues of censorship, social decorum, notions of authorship and 'authenticity' - and for some strands of the module’s study – the challenge of the recasting the past. Specific strands include: Science Fiction & Fantasy; Neo-Victorian Representations.

Module Tutors: Gaby Steinke and Dr Mark Jones or Dr Rosie Miles

7EN006 Connectivities 2: Literature, Genre and Period

Featuring distinct strands of syllabi in rotation, this module focuses on ways in which literary movements, forms and genres are shaped and re-shaped in response to radical changes in the political, social, philosophical and aesthetic values of the day. It will examine the pressures created by a constantly evolving popular culture, emerging technologies, and the rise of new readerships, balancing the study of canonical writers with less widely known voices. Specific strands include: Eighteenth-Century Satire; Popular Romanticism; Modernism and Myth.

Module Tutors: Dr Frank Wilson, Dr Ben Colbert or Dr Gerry Carlin

7HU001 Dissertation

This module aims to provide students with the opportunity to undertake a major piece of independent study. Under the close supervision of a member of staff, students will combine original research with a thorough analysis of the established literature in the relevant area. The ability of the student to complete this module successfully is central to demonstrating her/his capacity at Master's level.

Module Leader: Dr Mark Jones; supervisors are drawn from the English Subject team.

7EN009 Words, Meanings, and Linguistic Creativity

This module focuses on the ways in which we use words, idioms, and metaphor, and how we exploit the norms of language for creative purposes. This module will introduce you to key theories of language relating to the study of lexis, with particular emphasis on the ways in which phraseological and syntactic patterns interact to create meanings. You will be introduced to the core concepts and techniques of corpus analysis, learning how to interpret concordance data, and you will explore the ways in which meanings are exploited in texts.

Module Tutor: Dr Debbie Orpin

7EN010 The Forms and Functions of English

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the functional approach to describing the grammar of English. The module draws on a systemic theory of meaning and real texts for its analysis of language. The module will give you knowledge and understanding of key concepts in functional grammar and will equip you with the appropriate terminology with which to describe the structures of English. You will study the ways in which English is structured at the levels of sound, the word, the phrase, and the clause, and you will analyse the ways in which choices made at these levels contribute to making diverse meanings in genuine examples of English texts.

Module Tutor: Josiane Boutonnet

7EN011 Learning and Processing Language

This module will develop your understanding of First and Second Language Acquisition, and will explore how we process spoken and written language. There will be a particular emphasis on language comprehension, namely reading development and how we understand spoken words in continuous speech. You will study the development of theories in language processing and language acquisition, and will have the chance to evaluate and develop a critical awareness of the current issues surrounding selected topics within this field of study.

Module Tutor: Judith Hamilton and Dr Irina Moore

7EN012 Analysing Talk and Text

This module looks at Discourse Analysis (DA) and Conversational Analysis (CA) as tools for evaluating ‘naturally occurring language’ in a variety of written and spoken texts. Discourse-based approaches seek to identify and analyse the socio-psychological characteristics of language behaviour in a range of different contexts, and thus have implications for numerous non-language-centred social science disciplines and other areas of scholarship (including literature, film and media studies). Amongst the topics considered in this module are genre in written texts, textual structure, language and power, language in the workplace, media discourse, conversational strategies (moves, turns, intonation etc.) and interaction in the classroom. Students will also be introduced to other interdisciplinary analytical techniques, especially Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which aims to go beyond the text to explain the social structures that contribute to the manipulation of the word and thus (according to advocates of CDA) perpetuate inequalities.

Module Tutor: Dr Tom Dickins