English Literature

• Join a community passionate about the study of literature and the broad subject of English

• Benefit from small class sizes and individual attention

• Use the transferable skills of analysis and writing to enter the career of your choice

• Add an extra string to your bow by taking your English degree further with an MA

The study of English Literature is unique in that it introduces you to any and every aspect of Anglophone culture that interests you, so it does not tie you down to any particular career pathway. To help set you up to do what you choose in the future, and to help you make the choice of what field you want to work in, we offer a wide range of literature from which you can learn. From Renaissance to rap poetry, you will work with almost 500 years of the best writing in English on a course that fires your imagination, sharpens your own written and communication skills and allows you to think critically about literature.

Guided by our supportive teaching staff, who are all part of the university’s thriving literary research culture, you will study the ideas of the most exciting literary writers and critical thinkers involved in contemporary cultural debates, using innovative learning and teaching methods.

Year 1 provides the foundations for your studies of literature with modules designed to develop your skills in reading efficiently, critical analysis, research and writing. This is achieved through the study of a wide range of fiction, poetry and drama from across the historical periods. You will study both literature in its context, as well as the latest literary theories, as two different ways of finding out what and how a text means.

In Year 2, you will study what literature is 'out there' in modules devised to furnish you with a clear overview of the range of the literary periods. Unless you know how literature changed and developed from the beginning, then you cannot understand why it became what it is now. You will learn how and why the dominant literary form, the plays of William Shakespeare and others, turned to the novel as the next dominant literary form. You will explore the Romantic era which changed everything, and was thought to be the highest point of literary achievement.

You will discover why in the twentieth century, once again 'everything changed,' as the Modernists and Postmodernists challenged the expectations of what literature could be. Alongside the coverage modules, you will have a chance to choose two modules which will introduce you to thematic concerns in modules such as Victorian Literature; Children's Literature and Young Adult Fiction; Medieval Literature and Gothic Literature.

In Year 3, you will write a dissertation on the topic of your choice – based on what you’ve learned from the coverage and thematic modules in your second year. This will be a piece which you will work on with your chosen tutor, and will take the whole year to write. Alongside this, you will study Fantasy and Science Fiction, the most popular, and also the most complex and difficult of literary genres. You will choose optional modules closely related to the research interests of teaching staff and engage with cutting-edge developments in the discipline. Topics could be Literature and Film and Women's Writing in the Eighteenth Century.

A degree in English Literature opens many doors. Developing a range of highly transferable skills, including analytical thinking, evaluative and research skills, self discipline, and effective written and spoken communication, will enable you to excel in a variety of fields not just confined to the arts world. Graduates have gone on to become teachers, lecturers, journalists, writers, actors, publishers and producers.

http://www.winchester.ac.uk/q300