English Literature

Study an exciting range of literature in English, from writers across the globe and on subjects including the novel, Victorian and Romantic literature, Shakespeare, text technologies and modernism. Learn how texts work, and debate literature’s role in society both now and throughout history, whilst developing skills in critical analysis, creative thinking and research. You can select a route through this degree in Creative Writing, Drama, Education, English Language, Film, History, Journalism or Media.

By studying English Literature at DMU you’ll join a lively and welcoming academic community – a group of people who are friendly, supportive and passionate about literature. You’ll receive excellent teaching from internationally-renowned academics and will be taught to articulate your ideas with confidence while writing with fluency and flair.

We’re proud that our English Literature graduates enter a wide range of professions including media, marketing, publishing, teaching, public relations and the civil service.

Key features

• Learn from world-renowned academics and internationally-acclaimed guest speakers who have previously included writers Kate Forsyth and Carol Ann Duffy.

• Select a route through this degree in Creative Writing, Drama, Education, English Language, Film, History, Journalism or Media. These carefully chosen routes will complement and enrich your understanding of your main subject, alongside broadening your skillset to give you a wider range of career paths available upon graduation.

• 90% of students were satisfied overall with the course (National Student Survey, 2022).

• Explore print and digital humanities and learn to use a hand printing press or gain practical training in programming language HTML through options to explore the production of literary texts from our Centre for Textual Studies.

• Experience a range of teaching activities and a variety of assessment methods, ensuring your learning remains dynamic and enabling you to develop a broader range of skills.

• Gain valuable workplace experience through placement and internship opportunities. Our students have worked with the National Space Centre, the English Association, Age Concern, the Leicester Mercury, and local schools and colleges.

• Develop a range of transferable skills that make English graduates extremely employable and sought after in the workplace, find out more. Our graduates succeed in wide-ranging careers with big names that include Penguin Random House, HomeStyle magazine, the BBC and Pan Macmillan.

If you are interested in advanced entry into Year 3 of this course, please visit the DMU website for the course details: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/pre-edu-2030/english-literature-ba-degree/english-literature-ba-degree.aspx

First year
Block 1: Approaches to Reading and Writing
Block 2: Introduction to the Novel
Block 3: Introduction to Drama: Shakespeare OR you can select to study one route from the list below:
Creative Writing route – Writers Salon
Drama route – Shifting Stages
Education route – Childhood, Social Justice and Education
English Language route - Evolving Language
Film Studies route – Disney, Warner Bros and the Business of the Film Studio
History route – Global Cities
Journalism route – Understanding Journalism
Media route - Media, Culture and Society
Block 4: Poetry and Society

Second year
Block 1: Exploration and Innovation: 14th Century to 18th Century Literature
Block 2: Romantic and Victorian Literature
Block 3: Text Technologies OR continue with the route selected in the first year:
Creative Writing route – Story Craft
Drama route – Theatre Revolutions
Education route – Preparing for Professional Practice and Cultural and Educational Transformations
English Language route - Sociolinguistics
Film Studies route – Screen Archives - Preservation, Conservation and Usage
History route – Humans and the Natural World
Journalism route – Beyond News: Peace journalism and Opinion Writing
Media route – Public Relations and Strategic Communication
Block 4: Screen and Literary Adaptations of The Classics

Third year
Year Long: Dissertation
Block 2: Remediating Texts
Block 3: World Englishes: On the Page and Beyond OR continue with the route selected in the first year:
Creative Writing route – Uncreative Writing, Creative Misbehavior
Drama route – Performance, Identity and Activism
Education route – Adult Learners and Lifelong Learning OR Reflection on Practice: Teaching and Learning OR Gender and Education
English Language route – Language and Identity
Film Studies route – British Cinema - Creativity, Independents and Interdependence
History route – The World on Display
Journalism route – Music, Film and Entertainment Journalism
Media route – Gender and TV Fictions
Block 4: Modernism and Magazines

We want to ensure you have the best learning experience possible and a supportive and nurturing learning community. That’s why we’re introducing a new block model for delivering the majority of our courses, known as Education 2030. This means a more simplified timetable where you will study one subject at a time instead of several at once. You will have more time to engage with your learning and get to know the teaching team and course mates. You will receive faster feedback through more regular assessment, and have a better study-life balance to enjoy other important aspects of university life.

Structure
You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, group tutorials, presentations, student-led seminars and reading groups. Teaching sessions might be structured around discussion, a film screening or based in a computer lab. You will complete reading and research in advance and join in conversation with your tutor and your peers. Individual tutorials with module tutors are available in weekly ‘office hours’, at which you can discuss any aspect of your course or get help with assignments. You will experience varied forms of assessment, including essays, presentations, preparation worksheets, journals, examinations, practical work (such as the production of a sonnet using a replica of a sixteenth-century printing press), website production, peer evaluation, creative work, self-evaluation, blogs and dissertation. This range of assessment methods will enable you to develop a broad spectrum of communication and technological skills, alongside an ability to think critically, independently, flexibly and imaginatively.

You will be supported by a personal tutor with access to specialist guidance in writing and study skills. Our postgraduate students also run a popular peer mentoring scheme providing friendly and informal advice for undergraduate students in English at DMU.

Contact hours
In your first year you will normally attend around 7 hours of timetabled taught sessions (workshops and seminars) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 30 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.