Understanding literature and doing criticism involve thinking about how texts come into being. The School’s teaching reflects our concern with the interaction between these different aspects of writing in literature of all types, whether fiction, drama, life-writing, poetry, translation or journalism.
Teaching across the university is organised into modules, and the description of the particular course you are taking (your Course Profile) will tell you which modules or ranges of modules are compulsory and where you can choose modules to reflect your particular interests. Modules can be either lectures or seminars, or a combination of lecture and seminar.
In the first year, students study a number of compulsory modules designed to develop a range of critical skills and methodologies used in reading and writing about literature, together with a programmatic introduction to the ways in which literature can be read historically and discussed in relation to cultural and social context. Teaching is in a combination of lectures and seminars. This both enables students to get to know others on their course and related ones, and provides the opportunity to discuss crucial issues in more detail. Students doing another subject, such as drama, creative writing, or philosophy in conjunction with English literature will have compulsory modules in these subjects.
In the second year there is greater choice, and our teaching is either in seminars, or in a combination of lectures and seminars. You will be able to choose modules covering various historical periods, authors, approaches or types of writing. Thus there are, for example, modules on Romanticism, Shakespeare, postcolonialism or drama, as well as on many other topics.
In the third year you will specialise further, taking fewer modules but studying those areas in more depth. The sort of topics you might choose include Chaucer, myth and fairy tale, Irish literature, visual culture or literature and the mind. In this year, depending on your degree course, you might have a compulsory dissertation, or you might choose to write one. This sustained piece of work gives you the opportunity, under the guidance of a supervisor, to research and write in more detail about a topic of your choice.
Assessment consists in the main of a combination of essays, project work, and examinations, although there are sometimes course tests or other types of assessment. Autumn semester modules do not, as a rule, have an examination, whereas spring semester modules are usually assessed either through examinations or project work. You will be given details of the type of assessment, as well as length, deadlines, recommended reading and other information at the start of each module. There are a number of publications aimed at helping you with your written work, and some of these can be accessed via links below.
Postgraduate study can be pursued in one-year taught MA courses or as a research degree of MA or PhD. A taught MA course typically consists of four MA modules, of which two or three are compulsory and one or two are optional modules, available to all MA programmes.
For more information about our School, follow the links above or below. You can also look at the profiles for different courses, as well as the individual taught modules. And you can also follow links to see our research and to find out more about the people who make up the School.
Undergraduate taught modules
Postgraduate taught modules
Arts & Humanities Faculty Handbook
Arts & Humanities Study Skills Handbook
