Undergraduate study

Overview

• Study a wide range of literary texts, and get a good grounding in literature and literary criticism
• Study English as both a critical and a creative discipline
• Options in creative writing and film at all levels
• A wide choice of exchange programmes in Europe, Australia, Canada and the US

English is available as a Single Honours course and as part of a Dual Honours course, where it can be combined with a very wide variety of other programmes in the humanities, sciences and social sciences. The English course provides a grounding in the key periods and genres of English literature and a thorough training in critical methods. It allows students to experience the full breadth of the subject while also concentrating on areas that appeal to them. We teach literature from the medieval period to the present day, as well as film studies and creative writing. As well as studying British authors, you can take options in American, Canadian and postcolonial literatures.

You can also take modules in Creative Writing or Film Studies throughout your undergraduate study at Keele. Follow the links for more information.

As a student in English and Creative Writing, you are part of a vibrant critical and creative community.  Our staff are active researchers in a wide range of topics in literature, film and cultural theory; they are published novelists, poets and short-story writers.  There are regular programmes of visiting academic speakers, novelists and poets, open to all students. Recent visitors have included Gwendoline Riley, Paul Muldoon, Jackie Kay, Roger McGough, and Carol Ann Duffy.

Course Content

The core modules in both semesters of the first year are aimed at developing analytical and critical skills, and broadening both students' experience of literature and modern approaches to thinking and writing about it. Alongside this students may choose further elective modules in English or American literature, creative writing or film. In the second year students will go on to choose from a series of core and elective modules. In the final year, students can choose from a range of more specialised options, and this may also involve writing a dissertation or working on a creative writing portfolio. Such projects offer exciting opportunities for independent research and writing, while being supported by a tutor.

First year

You will take a core module in each semester and may choose among elective options:

Autumn Semester core module
Reading Literature introduces various aspects of literary study, enabling you to get to grips with a range of primary texts (including films) but also to develop a variety of critical skills.

Electives
Telling Tales provides an introduction to narrative fiction (short stories, novels and film) using examples from the 18th to the 21st century.

Starting Out: An Introduction to American Literature surveys a wide variety of topics and periods in American cultural history, and equips you with a range of literary and analytical skills.

Poetry Through Practice looks at the major poetic modes (for example the love lyric and the elegy), explores how different poets employed these modes and encourages you to employ them in your own writing.

Reading Film introduces students to the essential elements of film narrative and engages them in thinking critically about the creative and technical choices made by filmmakers.

Spring Semester core module
Becoming a Critic introduces the critical methods and skills involved in the study of narrative fiction. The module is characterised by both historical breadth and detailed critical engagement, and focuses particularly on the concept of colonial and postcolonial literature.

Electives
Playing Parts aims to introduce students to the critical study and evaluation of drama and poetry through close attention to issues of performance, voice and style. It focuses on the development of different styles of poetry and drama between the 17th century and the present day.

Transatlantic Gothic: Studies in Nineteenth-Century English and American Literatures explores the development of one genre in two different national traditions and introduces you to some theoretical concepts.

Fiction Through Practice is designed to establish a bridge between the composition and criticism of prose fiction. It introduces different literary modes and encourages you to develop these in your own writing.

Approaches to Film examines the development of critical thinking on the cinema and invites you to debate, question and apply ideas on film authorship, genre, and history.

Second year

You will take two core modules (one each semester), and will also have the choice of taking elective modules. Current core and elective modules in literature and creative writing include:

The Age of Shakespeare and Donne
Romanticisms
Victorian Performances Post-War British Fiction and Poetry
Aspects of the Novel
Creative Writing
The Detective and the American City
The Drawn Sword: Literature and the English Civil War
Elizabeth I: Fiction, Fact and Fantasy
French Cinema
From Modernity to Counter-Culture: American Literature and Social Criticism in the 20th Century
Lyrics and the Popular Song
Medieval Literature
The Romance of Fiction: History and Society in 19th-Century American Literature
Satire
Teenage Dreams: Youth Subcultures in Fiction, Film and Theory
20th-Century Novels into Film

Third year

Final year students complete an independent study project. In English, this can be a critical dissertation in English and/or a portfolio in Creative Writing. Alongside this, you can opt to take special subject modules. Some of the special subject options currently on offer are:

Contemporary British Fiction
The Canadian Metropolis
Dickens, Collins and Detection
Dreams and Visions
High Culture: Drink, Drugs and the American Dream
Joyce’s Ulysses
Literature, Culture and Politics in the 1980s
Shakespearean Stages: Making and Remaking the Plays of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries
Milton
Postcolonial and World Literature in English
Postmodernism: Fiction, Film and Theory
Romantic Voices
Sex, Scandal and Society: Eighteenth-Century Writing
Silence, Strength and Sentiment: Gender and Sexuality in 19th-Century American Writing
Shakespeare on Film
The Two Cultures of the Arts and the Sciences
Writingscapes

Codes and Combinations

Students are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) (BA Hons) if their two Principal courses are in humanities and/or social science subjects.

All students who study a science subject are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science (with Honours) (BSc Hons).

Dual Honours course can be combined with:

* subject to approval


Single Honours, Major and Foundation course available:

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching is conducted by means of lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops and one-to-one consultations. A variety of assessment methods are used: essays, seminar participation, reports, book reviews, assessed oral presentations (group and individual), examinations, Web quizzes, and so on.

Programme specifications (new window)

Skills and Careers

As a result of studying this degree, students will acquire a range of subject-specific and generic, transferable skills. In addition to an in-depth knowledge of English literature students will become skilled in textual analysis, interpretation and evaluation. You will also have acquired advanced communication and writing skills, the ability to research and interpret a variety of sources of information, and time-management skills. English enjoys close, collaborative links with the Careers Service. English graduates have achieved high levels of success in entering challenging and rewarding careers, in spheres such as publishing, banking, journalism, teaching, retail management, and the media.

Visit our Careers pages (new window)

English at Keele offers students a unique opportunity to study English and American Literature, Film and Creative Writing.