| Programme details | |
|---|---|
| Degree: | Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (BA (Hons)) |
| Disciplines: |
Literature
Languages |
| Duration: | 48 months |
| Study modes: | full-time |
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This degree offers you the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence before you advance to stage one of your honours degree.
It has been argued that reality, as we each experience it, is an effect of language. Literary language, for Martin Amis, conducts a ‘war against cliché’ which unsettles our ideas about the world.
This exciting, diverse and challenging course enables you to explore the consequences of those ideas, and to combine the analysis of the English language, the study of literary history and the theoretically-informed close reading of literature.
This degree incorporates not only the close analysis of literature but also the study of the English language. You will consider both in relation to intellectual history, cultural politics and theories emerging from linguistics.
It provides you with a firm grounding in the skills and knowledge you need and introduces you to the subject of english, enabling you to achieve your full honours degree in four years.
You will be introduced to a range of cultural expression from across the world and from diverse historical periods, broadening your understanding of the variety of human experience and the way it is captured in different literary modes.
The degree will develop your appreciation of the key differences in approach between English Language and English Literature, while also encouraging interdisciplinary study. You will take a range of modules which complement and inform each other, with a focus on how both ‘ordinary’ language and ‘literary’ language interact with ideology, discourse and power.
If you are studying the optional TESOL pathway, the TESOL modules build on the knowledge of language gained in your first year, and start with a second year placement in an educational context. You will be given a grounding in TESOL teaching theory and methodology, culminating in TESOL teaching practice in the third year.
This course provides real choice and flexibility: you can select from a wide range of optional modules in stages two and three to focus on your own interests. These offer a broad variety as well as combinations of complementary subjects.
You could, for instance, combine ‘Gender and Identity in Contemporary Literature’ with ‘Language and Identity’ or you could study ‘The Globalisation(s) of English’ alongside ‘Colonialism and Independence’. It means you will benefit from a coherent study programme in which you can explore different but strongly related disciplines.
An English degree opens up exciting career options and we provide exceptional support to maximise your employability and equip you with the skills employers are looking for. In Personal Development Planning (PDP) interviews throughout your degree, your tutor will help you to explore your career aspirations, review your PDP file and advise on the development of your transferable skills.
You will also have the chance to apply your knowledge in the working world through our Work-Based Learning modules where you can undertake projects and placements at cultural institutions, and you will benefit from our programme of employability workshops and talks.
You can take part in study visits to cinemas, film festivals, theatres, museums, galleries and heritage centres where you can observe and put what you are learning into practice.
We also work closely with the Derby-based 1623 Theatre Company so you have the opportunity to try your hand at directing play scenes, and with Writing East Midlands so you can contribute to writing-related events,You could not have a better backdrop to your studies than Derbyshire. The county has a strong literary heritage and inspired many great writers including Jane Austen, Walter Scott, Charlotte Brontё, George Eliot and Henry James.
You will be taught by an enthusiastic team with research expertise covering a broad spectrum of literary and linguistic interests.
You will also be inspired by guest seminars and lectures, including those given by our Visiting Professor, Catherine Belsey, an internationally-recognised scholar whose work has profoundly influenced the way English is studied and taught.
You can choose to spend part of your degree studying at one of our partner universities in America:
If you are studying the TESOL pathway, you will be able to take part in summer camps in places such as Lithuania and Estonia instead, which will enable you to get gain first-hand experience of teaching English.
You can also study our Integrated Masters in English (M.Lit) or our BA (Hons) English. You could also combine English with another subject - find out more about our joint honours degrees.