English Literature

Why choose this course • Teaching from published researchers, writers, and poets, our Distinguished Writer in Residence and Poet in Residence

• 24/7 library opening hours in term time, and access to podcast and publishing rooms

• Excellent pastoral care with small class sizes, Sector-leading staff-student ratio and an individualised approach

• Focus on employability, preparing students for careers in journalism, publishing, marketing, media, communications, education, and copywriting

• Our award-winning Professional Training Placements prepare students for roles in industry

What you will study On our BA (Hons) English Literature course, you’ll study vital and influential works of literature, reading and discussing contemporary works as well as classics in a wide range of genres and from around the world. 

Our course will introduce you to thought-provoking critical and theoretical approaches to literature. You’ll discover a range of perspectives, such as postcolonialism, psychoanalysis, and gender studies, that will enhance your understanding of literary works in relation to important societal challenges. 

You will study classic works like those of Shakespeare and George Eliot, as well as writing by contemporary authors including Kazuo Ishiguro, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Jhumpa Lahiri.

Genres you’ll study include travel writing, 19th-century theatre and fiction, science-fiction, contemporary global literatures, medieval literature, romantic literature, early modern and modernist literatures.

You can tailor your course with a number of specialist optional modules on specific periods and themes, from the early modern to the contemporary, and from children’s literature to American fiction. 

Unusually for an English literature course, we also offer you the opportunity to take a Professional Training placement, enabling you to apply your skills in an industry-relevant context, such as marketing, publishing, social media and communications roles.