English Language and English Literature BA(Hons)

Year 1

You will study a diverse range of genres and approaches that will introduce you to the study of English literature at degree level. You will develop the critical and theoretical tools that will help you to enhance your analytical reading and practical writing skills. Your first year will also engage you in the principal concepts that are relevant to your study of English language. The core English language modules will enable you to develop the meta language to describe language features and their use in different genres. You will also explore the historical perspective of the development of the English language.

Modules

• The Structure and Grammar of English

  On this module you'll develop your understanding of the basic structure/grammar of English and develop your awareness of how different choices of forms of spoken and written English might affect meaning.

• Text Design: Genre and Style

  This module will provide you with the tools of analysis required to explore and discuss texts from a stylistic perspective. It will enable you to distinguish text types through an analysis of linguistic features and will allow you to explore the stylistic choices made by authors. It will also help you develop your own ability to construct effective written and spoken texts.

• Narrative and Narratives

  This module acts as a bridge from your earlier experiences of reading narrative texts and will encourage you to reflect on those early experiences. You will be introduced to a variety of narrative texts and genres (including early forms such as fairy-tales and myths) and to key issues in narrative theory. The module offers you an awareness of narrative as central to being human and allows you scope to explore narratives in creative and personal as well as critic always in a journal.

• Perspectives on the History of English Language

  In this module you will trace the development of the English language from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present, by looking selectively at major social and historical influences on language change.

• English Poetry in Context

  This module will enable you to build on your earlier educational experiences of poetry and to extend your appreciation of and critical confidence with the mode. You will examine a diverse range of British poetry, analysing poetry and its responses to socio-historical contexts.

• Literature and Theory

  This module will introduce you to the key philosophical and theoretical approaches to the reading of literary texts, and situates that knowledge within a historical overview of literary criticism. By the end of the module you will be able to apply theoretical vocabulary and knowledge of critical concepts in the interpretation of literary works.

Our courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis in order to make sure that what you learn with us is relevant and that your course enables you to develop appropriate skills. When you apply to study with us, we will inform you of any new developments in your chosen programme through our applicant portal.

Year 2

You will study literature from the sixteenth century to the present, with a strong emphasis on historical and cultural contexts. The second year also provides an essential grounding in understanding language in society and how it varies according to both context and the user. The focus of several year 2 modules is also on enabling independent study and research in preparation for the skills required in the final year dissertation or creative project.

In your second year you can also choose option modules from across our humanities and arts subjects.

At the end of your second year you will have the opportunity to study abroad for a year extending your degree to four years.

Modules

• Language, Identity and Power
• The Nineteenth Century in Literature
• Researching English Language Use
• British Literature and Twentieth-century History

Options*

• Studying Travel Writing
• Queer Writing
• Twentieth-century Literary Experiments
• Creative Writing
• Regional Englishes
• Television Studio Production
• Documentary Filmmaking: Theory and Practice
• Narratives, Conflict and Power
• Literature and Art History
• Creative Writing
• Introduction to Journalism
• Image and Text: The Language of Comics and Graphic Novels
• Writing for Stage, Radio and Screen
• Media in Practice
• American Literature 1850–1945
• Literature in Practice
• Photography 

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Placements 

In your second year you can choose the Literature in Practice or Media in Practice placement modules which will allow you to gain professional experience in a relevant workplace environment. Students undertake a placement with local publishers, radio stations, social media marketing departments, PR firms, charities etc.   

In year 3 you can choose the Community Placement – Theory in Practice placement module, again aimed at building on your work with professional experience.

Final year

You will study postcolonial literature, with a particular emphasis on literature from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Building on the knowledge developed over the first and second year, you will study different approaches to analysing how different types of discourse are constructed. You will also identify a topic for your self-motivated research project – a critical dissertation or a creative and analytical piece.

Modules

• Dissertation 

Options*

• World Englishes OR Approaches to Analysing Discourse

• Conversation Analysis
• Language in the Law
• Language Policy and Planning
• Creative Writing Project
• Apocalypse, Utopia, Dystopia
• Postcolonial Literatures
• Post-war American Literature
• Literature and the World Wars
• European Literatures and Film
• Women's Writing and Feminist Theory
• Gothic: Texts and Contexts
• Public Journalism
• Russian Literature and Culture
• Language of Gender and Sexuality
• From Script to Screen
• English Language Teaching
• Culture Wars
• Conflict, Migration, Borders
• Victorian Sexualities
• Writing the Contemporary
• Russian Literature and Culture
• Script to Screen
• Popular Culture: Europe and beyond
• Images of War
• Autobiography and the Screen
• (Re)viewing Shakespeare
• Language, Culture and Ideology
• Literature and Philosophy
• Adaptations
• Media Ethics and Conflict
• Community Placement: Theory in Practice

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Staff profile

Dr Vedrana Velickovic

Course leader

Dr Vedrana Velickovic lectures and researches in literature with research interests are in twentieth and twenty-first century literature, particularly Black British and post-communist writing. She is a member of the Black British Women's Writing Network and has organised, together with Sheree Mack, its inaugural conference in July 2014 at the University of Brighton. Dr Velickovic is currently completing a monograph titled Eastern Europeans in Contemporary Literature and Culture: Imagining New Europe (forthcoming, Palgrave Macmillan)... find out more

Student views

Rosanna Wood

"Having lecturers who are really passionate about what they teach is great, it makes such a difference when you know that they love their subject and are enthusiastic about it.

"You can make the course what you want it to be, focusing on texts you’re really inspired by, choosing assignments which allow for plenty of creativity and tailoring your degree to be more language- or literature-based by taking the options which interest you the most.

"I loved the city and the feel of Brighton. It is such a vibrant, exciting place to live, especially for a literature student with all its theatre, poetry evenings, short story nights and the arts festival. I studied one module where local poets, writers, actors and comedians came in to give workshops to help us learn about writing creatively in different ways for different purposes, and each one of them could recommend things to read, but they could also tell you where to go in Brighton to find out more and meet other writers.

"I would love to teach literature at secondary and college level if I could. I hope to stay on at Brighton to do a PGCE course after my degree and then go on to be a teacher.”

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in the fee, while studying a course in the School of Humanities are listed here.

• For a number of courses you will have the opportunity to attend field trips and off-site visits. These are optional and are not required to pass your course but under normal circumstances we would expect a budget of approximately £150 per year will cover the costs of particular trips. The amount spent would be based on location and number of trips taken.
• You will have access to computers and necessary software, however many students choose to buy their own hardware, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
• In most cases coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes and should budget up to £150 per year for printing.
• Course books are available from the university but you may wish to budget up to £200 to buy your own copies

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2020–21.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

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