Undergraduate study

Overview

• The opportunity to study English as both a critical and a creative discipline
• Options available in prose, poetry, popular song and film
• A wide choice of exchange programmes in Europe, Australia, Canada and the US

English with Creative writing is a Single Honours course, which allows students to study English literature and Creative Writing as part of an integrated programme. Students study literature from Shakespeare to the present day, with option modules in medieval literature, postcolonial literature, American and Canadian literatures, and film. Creative writing begins with two first-year modules that combine studying poetry and the short story with learning to write poetry and short fiction. Second-year creative writing options include Lyric and the Popular Song, taught by colleagues in creative writing and music, where students learn to write lyrics for popular songs. Students complete a dissertation in English literature in the third year and compile a creative writing portfolio. Third year creative writing options also include 'Writingscapes', where students specialise in writing about place. Students can also take elective modules in other Humanities subjects such as media, in which film-making options are available.

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, and 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 critical 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. Creative writing options aim to integrate theory and practice; in them you study poetry and the short story while learning to write in these forms. Alongside these modules you 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 three core or optional core modules in each semester and may choose among elective options:

Autumn Semester core modules
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.

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.

Autumn Semester optional core modules
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.

Electives
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.

Electives are also available in other Humanities subjects, including Music, Media and History, and in modern languages.

Spring Semester core modules
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.

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.

Spring Semester optional core modules
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 19th-Century English and American Literatures explores the development of one genre in two different national traditions and introduces you to some theoretical concepts.

Electives
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.

Electives are also available in other Humanities subjects, including Music, Media and History, and in modern languages.

Second year

You will take three core or optional core modules in each semester, and will also have a range of elective options. Current core and optional core modules in literature and Creative Writing include:

Contemporary Poetry
Creative WritingLyrics and the Popular Song
Post-War British Fiction and Poetry
The Age of Shakespeare and Donne
Romanticisms
Victorian Performances
Aspects of the Novel
The Detective and the American City
The Drawn Sword: Literature and the English Civil War
Elizabeth I: Fiction, Fact and Fantasy
From Modernity to Counter-Culture: American Literature and Social Criticism in the 20th Century
Medieval Literature
The Romance of Fiction: History and Society in 19th-Century American Literature
Satire

Current elective options include:

French Cinema
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 in literature. 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
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: 18th-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).

Single Honours English with Creative Writing

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 with Creative Writing at Keele gives students a unique opportunity to combine different forms of critical and creative work, including fiction, poetry, song lyrics, travel writing and film-making.