English Literature and History with a Year Abroad

English Literature and History is a diverse and stimulating joint honours degree that explores the past and its cultural representations across more than 1,500 years. You will study historical events and literary texts side by side, gaining insight into how stories, ideas, and experiences shape societies across time.

Through literature ranging from the medieval period to the present day, and historical study that spans global and local perspectives, you will explore themes such as identity, gender, race, nationhood, culture, and the environment. This combined approach helps you understand how people have interpreted and recorded their world, and how those interpretations continue to shape contemporary debate.

The degree balances structure with flexibility, allowing you to build a strong foundation in both subjects while tailoring your studies to the themes and periods that interest you the most. You will develop valuable skills in critical thinking, research, communication, and analysis, working with a range of materials and producing outputs such as essays, archival research, creative writing, blogs, and zine-making.

You can broaden your horizons through opportunities to study abroad for a semester in destinations such as the USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong, or Singapore, an enriching experience that enhances both your academic development and your future career prospects.

You can also choose to take a Year Abroad or Year in Industry. Whether you spend time studying overseas or gaining paid workplace experience, these pathways help build your confidence, skills, and employability.

An optional Foundation Year is available if you would like additional preparation before starting the degree. It offers an engaging introduction to university study, helping you develop the skills and confidence needed for success. After completing the Foundation Year, you will progress onto Year 1 of your BA.

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Discovering Literature; Premodern Voices; From Facts to Fake News: Being a Historian in the Twenty-First Century; Global Challenges and the Historian; Fundamentals of Creative Writing; Theorising Gothic Texts; Medieval Matters: Exploring the Middle Ages.

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: The Practice of History; The Making of Transatlantic America; Europe 1500-1650: Renaissance, Reformation and Religious War; Medicine and the Modern World, 1800 to the Present; Revolution of the Word: Modernism; Medieval Encounters; Race and Ethnicity: American Perspectives.

In Year 3: Modules will be dependent on which partnership University you choose to study at.

In Year 4, you will typically study areas including: Dissertation - English Literature; History Dissertation; Graphic Novel; Written in Blood: Reading the Vampire; Chaucer; Philosophy and Literature; Further Fiction Writing; Further Poetry Writing.

We offer a variety of assessment methods within our programmes. In addition to traditional examinations and essays, examples of alternative assessment include:

• Presentations
• Group Work
• Original Writing

Throughout your undergraduate English Literature and History degree, you will develop excellent research and analytical skills and learn to present your ideas effectively both verbally and in writing. For full breakdown of course structure and assessment please visit our course page https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/english-literature-creative-writing/ba-english-literature-history/or get in touch with us at study@swansea.ac.uk