English Literature and History

Through the critical reading of texts of all kinds, our joint honours programme in English Literature and History helps you understand the world in which we live now while shedding light on the past.

English Literature

Our programme aims to develop your critical, analytic, linguistic and creative skills by engaging with a broad range of texts and a variety of approaches to reading.

You will explore the cultural contexts of writing in English from all over the world, from the late Middle Ages to the present.

History

The Edinburgh experience is distinctive for its range of historical themes, chronological periods and geographical areas. You can choose from courses covering:

* the early Middle Ages to the most recent past

* Britain and Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas

Further, our courses offer a rich variety of approaches to the past, including:

* political history

* cultural history

* social history

* economic history

* intellectual history

* gender history

* global and transnational history

Why Edinburgh?

Edinburgh is the first UNESCO World City of Literature, a fantastic historic and literary city which many greats of literature have called home.

We are the oldest department of English Literature in the UK, and one of the longest-established in the world.

This programme is very flexible. In your pre-honours years (Years 1 and 2), you will choose option courses from a broad list of disciplines in addition to your core subjects of English Literature and History.

In your honours years (Year 3 and 4), you will select courses on the basis of your own literary and historical interests, developing a detailed knowledge of a topic or set of texts.