English Language and Media BA(Hons)

How this course is delivered

COVID-19 has changed everything. We’ve made some changes to the way our courses are taught to keep everyone safe and that will help you stay connected and involved in university life.

From the start of term in September, you’ll learn through a blend of on-campus and digitally enabled remote learning that will provide lots of opportunities to interact and engage. Together with carefully managed access to libraries, labs, workshops and studios this means your studies are as collaborative, practical and flexible as possible.

Year 1

In year 1, you will be introduced key conceptual areas in media studies through the study of popular contemporary forms in film, television and the print media in both non-digital and digital platforms. Your first year also provides you with an essential introduction to the study of English language at degree level. 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.

• Digital Storytelling: Theory and Practice

  This module will introduce you to the practice of digital storytelling contextualised through a wider examination of amateur media.

  Through exploring the histories and cultures of such practices and an investigation of autobiographical storytelling, you will explore the ways in which self-representation can be given expression through digital storytelling.

• Representation: Understanding Media Works

  In this module you will focus on representation as a key concept and approach for contemporary media studies. Coupling a study of representation with the media’s relations with forms of individual and collective identity, the module will introduce you to the several roles the media play in the twenty-first century.

  • Theories of representation.
  • Modes of representation of identity (forms to be considered include gender, sexuality, ‘race’, national and class identities).
  • Key analytic concepts for understanding how representations work (discourse, ideology, hegemony, political economy and media industries).
• Narrative and Screen Media

  This module will introduces you to narrative theory as applied to screen media texts. You will examine competing narrative theories as a way of understanding systematically and critically a range of different screen media genres across fact and fiction. By examining and deploying archetypal plot theory, you will gain insights into the ways in which screen media tell familiar stories in sometimes unfamiliar ways.

• 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.

• 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.

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 Student View.

Year 2

In year 2, you study the history and theory of film, and examine the history, nature and impact of digital media in society. 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 second year modules is also on enabling independent study and research in preparation for the skills required in your final year dissertation or creative project.

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

• Cinema and Society
• Power and Persuasion
• Digital Media and Culture
• Researching English Language Use

Options*

• Narratives, Conflict and Power
• Studying Travel Writing
• British Literature and Twentieth-century History 
• Queer Writing
• Literature and Art History
• Regional Englishes
• Introduction to Journalism
• Creative Writing
• Documentary Film Making: Theory and Practice
• 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: From Painting with Light to Zeroes and Ones

You can also choose option modules from across our humanities and arts subjects. 

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

Placement 

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

In year 3 you have one core module, the dissertation or creative project, and you can select four options from English language and media subject areas.

Modules

• Ethics, Power, Professionalism
• Dissertation

Options*

• World Englishes
• Approaches to Analysing Discourse
• Media Ethics and Conflict
• From Script to Screen
• Women’s Writing and Feminist Theory
• Gothic: Texts and Contexts
• Public Journalism
• Postcolonial Literatures
• Adaptations
• Contemporary British Narrative Cinema
• Community Placement: Theory in Practice
• Language, Culture and Ideology
• Language of Gender and Sexuality
• (Re)Viewing Shakespeare
• Apocalypse, Dystopia, Utopia
• Victorian Sexualities
• Writing the Contemporary
• Russian Literature
• Literature and Philosophy
• Gothic: Texts and Contexts
• European Literatures and Film
• Culture Wars: Revisiting the Great Divide
• Images of War
• Autobiography and the Screen
• Language in the Law
• Language Policy and Planning
• Conversation Analysis

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

Watch students talking about their experiences of the Community Placement module. 

Meet the team 

Patricia McManus, course leader

Patricia's teaching crosses contemporary media theory and mass-mediated forms of narrative, with particular interests in feminist, Marxist and post-Marxist theoretical traditions.

Her research has primarily examined the history of the novel, particular the interaction with film and of television drama in terms of story-telling practices.

Vy Rajapillai, course leader

Vy Rajapillai lectures in media and English language. Her research interest is in the area of identity construction and second-generation immigrants. She is involved in a collaborative project with Queen Mary University, titled Consuming conflict: second generation Sri Lankan immigrant identities.

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.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

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