BA (Hons) — 2024 entry English Literature

Building on the introduction to modernism covered in the first-year core modules, this module explores a period in literature that was to bring innovation across the spectrum of cultural endeavour. Through a range of exciting and innovative works of literature from around the world, you will be introduced to the key ideas underlying the theories and practises of modernist writers in the period between 1900 and 1945. By exploring the concept of multiple global modernisms, the module builds global and cultural skills that will enable you to critically engage with the key themes central to modernist thought. As well as acquiring in-depth knowledge of the individual texts on the module, you will be able to develop a sense of how movements in modernist literature relate both to each other and to other disciplines such as philosophy, economics, politics, and art. Through the independent research undertaken for assessment and a particular focus on the skills required for advanced secondary source research, this module will also develop resourcefulness and digital skills.

This module explores the varied formal and technical challenges facing creative writers, examining the affordances and constraints of different modes of writing and the cultural, historical and theoretical contexts which impact upon how texts (including prose fiction, poetry, screenplays and dramatic scripts) are written and understood, and to translate this understanding into more effective creative practice.

This is a module for Level 5 students in the School of  Literature and Languages. It is taught over one semester, with three contact hours per teaching week.The module considers a range of approaches to teaching English as a Foreign Language, approaches which can be applied to the teaching of other languages. It provides practice and assessment in lesson planning and in teaching through peer teaching tasks. The skills developed on the module such as speaking in front of groups and decision making are transferable to a number of other careers. The module is capped at 14 students in each semester.  

This module explores a range of literary texts produced in England at the end of the Middle Ages, paying particular attention to issues of language, gender, race, social status, travel, and religion. It explores the relationship between the self and the other, focusing on ideas of perfection and monstrosity, and the divine and the demonic. The module explores three interrelated themes that speak to the historical, social, and religious contexts of late Medieval English literature: 1) Monstrous Masculinities and Femininities 2) Travellers’ Tales: Encountering the Other and 3) Visions of Another Order. Alongside analysing examples the literature of the period, you will practice translating passages from late medieval literary texts in the workshops. In addition to the set primary texts, you will examine relevant examples from historical texts and visual that help to further illuminate these three thematic strands.

This module gives students a broad and deep understanding of nineteenth-century literature in relation to a range of social, cultural and political contexts. Following a roughly chronological trajectory the module picks up key issues (industrialisation, the impacts of empire, faith and doubt) and examines them through key texts and authors of the period. The module pushes students to think in nuanced ways about the relationship between text and context and about the cultural forces which have promoted or marginalised historical voices.

This is a practical introduction to translation from French to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from French to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from French to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of Francophone cultures.

This is a practical introduction to translation from German to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from German to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from German to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of German-speaking cultures.

This is a practical introduction to translation from Spanish to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from Spanish to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from Spanish to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures.

Renaissance Lives focusses on early modern identity through the understanding of lives (real and fictional) and how these may be represented in literature and life writing. Through the module, different lives are explored through a thematic focus on gender and sexuality, race and faith. These three strands allow students to focus upon diversity and enable them to explore the relevance of renaissance lives to the present-day ideas. A visit by a professional biofiction author will further encourage students to understand how their own writing may address contemporary discourses of gender, sexuality, race and faith. This optional module develops knowledge and skills introduced at Level 4 both critical and creative and gives students a wider and deeper understanding of key material from the Early Modern period of literature in English. There are two key points of building upon various Level 4 elements: first, a sense of historical contextualisation that focuses on important political and intellectual discourses, and second, a generic pathway that covers drama, poetry, and prose, whether critical or creative. The module also ensures that students have a solid basis for understanding English literature of the Early Modern period and concepts of the self and identity. This knowledge will be extended and deepened through optional modules at level 6.

This module explores elements of poetic craft, discourse, and techniques for writing poetry through the close analysis of lyric, narrative, dramatic, and hybrid modes in contemporary poetry written for the page and / or performance and exhibition. The module introduces students to contemporary and innovative discussions including topics such as formal and free poetic structures, sound effect and rhythm, poetic voice and persona, writing communities, poetic intent and play. The module asks students to engage with the development of their own writing alongside of reading and listening to contemporary poetry, essays, and manifestos by chosen 'companion poets' they will encounter in the module.

This interdisciplinary module, focused on Victorian creative partnerships, explores connections between texts, individuals, couples, circles and movements. It investigates the ways in which female and male figures worked in various forms of partnership: as spouses, siblings, friends and lovers. It examines a range of Victorian texts including poems, short stories, plays, novels and novellas, letters and diaries as well as visual texts. It engages with the themes of gender, sexuality, identity, power, partnership, co/authorship and readership. The module introduces students to contextual debates about sexual politics, gender and representation in the nineteenth-century, and seeks to understand how writers responded and contributed to them. It also reads nineteenth-century figures and texts in relation to more recent feminist and gender theory, revealing their continued cultural importance. Authors studied include: tthe Brownings, the Brontës, George Eliot and George Henry Lewes, Arthur Hugh Clough and Matthew Arnold, Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, the Rossettis, and Michael Field.

This module allows you to explore various modes of storytelling in a contemporary context, with a view to developing your narrative skills. The course will engage with contemporary fiction, poetry, non-fiction, film, and theatre and will help you to to investigate and understand the multiple ways readers and writers engage with storytelling and narrative. There will be lectures on each topic, with workshop-style seminars that are designed to help you engage with and analyse your own writing and the writing of others, with the aim of helping students to hone your ability to edit and create. 

This module draws attention to and interrogates the changing relationship between the 'self' and 'society' in twentieth-century American culture. Approaching this topic from an interdisciplinary perspective, the module examining three interrelated areas that address the major social, political, and aesthetic developments of the 'American Century': 1) urbanisation, commerce and the American city, 2) transnationalism and American identity, and race, nation, and the body in contemporary America. In addition to the primary texts, students will examine relevant examples from film, art, music, and design that help to further illuminate these three thematic strands. In particular, this module focuses on students’ global awareness and understanding, both regarding American literary and culture, as well as the ways in which successive periods of migration and transnational exchange have led to widespread American influence in a range of cultural domains. Through analysis of a range of texts and cultural materials, students will gain deeper insight into the impact and influence of American culture in the twentieth century and beyond to develop global and cultural capabilities.

This is a module for Level 5 students in the School of  Literature and Languages. It is taught over one semester, with three contact hours per teaching week.The module considers a range of approaches to teaching English as a Foreign Language, approaches which can be applied to the teaching of other languages. It provides practice and assessment in lesson planning and in teaching through peer teaching tasks. The skills developed on the module such as speaking in front of groups and decision making are transferable to a number of other careers. The module is capped at 14 students in each semester.  

Following on from the brief introductions to Romanticism at Level 4 , this module allows students to explore in more depth and detail the profound literary and cultural innovations that took place in the Romantic period (roughly, 1789-1830), and which continue to shape culture and society today. The module forms part of a set of historically focused pre-1900 ‘period’ modules that focus on specific literary periods as a way of studying literature: students must take at least one of these modules to complement the more contemporary focus of other modules, so as to gain greater knowledge of both the evolution of English literature over time and the variant forms and concerns of literature in different historical periods. Examining a broad range of canonical and non-canonical Romantic texts (and thus highlighting the diversity of authors and styles in the period), the module each week uses a selection of representative writers to explore a key form or theme: for example, Nature, imagination, the self and subjectivity, sentimentalism and feeling, and shifting notions of masculinity and femininity. Famous writers such as Blake, Wordsworth, Keats and Byron are read alongside authors who are less well known today (for example, Charlotte Smith, Anna Letitia Barbauld, Ignatius Sancho and Henry Derozio) to give students a rich, synchronic understanding of the key concerns, debates, alliances and animosities distinctive to this specific period in British literary history. At the same time, students explore the global contexts and connections driving the evolution of English literature and of British culture more broadly in this period, and they also consider the ongoing relevance of Romantic-era concerns and debates to 21st century society (for example, Romantic writers’ diverse reactions to increasing globalization, and the emergence of modern environmental and conservationist thinking).

First defined by media scholar Henry Jenkins in 2003, transmedia storytelling is the process of creating, sharing and developing fictional content across a range of media and communication platforms, including film, television, print and social media. Transmedia storytelling is an outcome of the structure of the contemporary media and entertainment industries, which are dominated by global media conglomerates, such as the Disney corporation, that aim to maximise audience engagement with their creative properties. For example, fans of the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ can consume different iterations of the Marvel stories and characters that extend beyond the films via spin-off television series, new comics, short films, animations and websites. These act as extensions to the existing story as it moves from one medium to another. This is one of the key things that distinguishes transmedia storytelling from traditional adaptation of, for example, a book to a film. Transmedia storytelling has also been celebrated as a narrative model that promotes collaborative authorship and participatory spectatorship from fans, who frequently contribute to official and unofficial extensions of narrative storyworlds. In this module we will be exploring the concept of transmedia storytelling and how fictional storyworlds are created and extended across multiple, global media platforms. After establishing the key concepts of transmedia storytelling, we will look at a range of case studies. These will vary according current trends in popular culture, but might include Harry Potter, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gossip Girl, Star Wars, James Bond, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Please Note: This is not a creative writing module. Students may need access to one or more streaming platforms in order to access material that we will be examining in our case studies. This will be advised at the beginning of the semester, but might include Disney+, AmazonPrime, Netflix, etc.

This module takes students off campus and into local schools. They work closely with MFL or English Literature teachers, shadowing them or taking small groups of school students, and gaining an insight into the teaching profession. This module complements ELA2012 Introduction to TEFL, by allowing students to see teaching strategies and techniques in the real world. The Module has the backing of the "Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme" (www.uas.ac.uk).

This module aims to explore a variety of neo-Victorian texts to examine how the legacy of the Victorians continues to inform contemporary culture. Students will be asked to consider the significance of neo-Victorian writing in the context of postmodernity and will analyse the literary, cultural and commercial impacts of the genre. The module will begin by considering early examples of neo-Victorian texts that emerged in the 1950s and 60s before exploring the expansion of the genre in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It will cover a range of neo-Victorian productions including novels, poetry, film and TV adaptations that are informed by well-known Victorian texts in order to examine the wider cultural impact of contemporary engagements with the Victorian period, and will ask students to analyse issues of race, class, gender and sexuality which are interrogated and challenged by neo-Victorian works. The module draws upon and enhances the core knowledge and research skills acquired in second year Victorian Literature focussed modules. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

This module explores the meanings and developments of science fiction throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as well as focusing on the relationship between this innovative form and the cultural, political, ethical and ecological sustainability issues addressed in the texts. Discussion and analysis will focus not only on what worlds or peoples are imagined in science fiction and why, but also on how such core features of science fiction have been developed, challenged and reconfigured by various political and historical movements and events (such as the cold war, feminism, black civil rights movements, gay liberation, imperial endeavours, global warming and other ecological sustainability narratives, among others). The module will give particular attention to technological developments and their relationship to the human, addressing the ways in which the human is rethought and reimagined through its interaction with technological innovation. Themes that will be addressed may include alternative futurisms, artificial intelligence, body modifications, alien species and/or worlds, dystopian and utopian imaginaries, future technologies, technology and sustainability, technology and identity and struggles for freedom. Science fiction will therefore be engaged with through the lens of contemporary theories (such as postcolonialism, gender studies, ecocriticism and posthumanism), as well as with attention to changing interpretations of the meaning of the genre in its diverse socio-political and global cultural contexts.  This module connects to other contemporary literature modules on the programme in your second year and is part of the contemporary literature route that students can choose as a focus of their degree, which includes module in the first and final years of the degree. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

This is a practical introduction to translation from English to French. Students will learn to express some basic concepts and terminology in translation in French and will learn through translating short texts from English to French and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from English to French and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems and enhance cultural awareness.

This is a practical introduction to translation from English to Spanish. Students will learn to express some basic concepts and terminology in translation in Spanish and will learn through translating short texts from English to Spanish and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from English to Spanish and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems and enhance cultural awareness.

Over the past 90 years, only three women have won the Oscar for best director and only 4 more have been nominated. Hollywood’s marginalisation of women’s authorial agency reflects a global pattern of women being shut out of the top creative jobs of director and screenwriter. Instead, women who work in film are more often found in roles that tend not to be recognised as creatively significant. Why is it that women have faced such barriers to entry and success in the world of film? Why are the roles that women typically undertake considered less important or valuable to a film’s success? Are women’s films less well-regarded critically and by audiences? Has this changed over time? This module explores the relationship between gender and labour in film by looking at the types of roles women have played in filmmaking. That is, instead of thinking about how women are represented on screen via the characters they play, we will consider the part they play behind the camera in getting films, of all types, made. In doing this, we will be looking at, and questioning, perceptions of the types of roles women can, should and do undertake in filmmaking, both currently and in the past. We will consider the work of women who have risen to positions of prominence as writers, directors and producers in the mainstream global film industries as well as looking at the opportunities afforded to women in other arenas, such as independent and experimental film. Just as importantly, we will think about women’s ‘invisible’ labour in filmmaking, be that through low-valued, gendered jobs (such as make-up artists and secretaries) or through amateur and non-professional filmmaking activities. As a whole, the module will question whether, and if so how, women’s creative power and agency in film has been marginalised, and the ways women have sought to overcome this. This module is open to all students, whether or not you have previously taken any film studies modules.

This module, which assumes no prior knowledge of languages other than English, is intended to give students an insight into the diversity of human communication systems found throughout the world. In order to understand how language works, we need to examine the variety of systems to be found, some of which differ drastically from what we know and what we might expect. This module builds on the skills students have developed in constructing arguments and finding evidence in support of their reasoning through their modules at Levels 4 and 5, by demonstrating how complimentary skills are applied in scientific research related to language. Students are introduced to alternative ways of thinking about the world around us to further develop their ability to scrutinise and assess evidence.

Environmental literature is deeply entwined with queer, decolonial and intersectional perspectives: Place and race, space and class, feminist and LGBTQIA2s+* issues, all meet in the queer ecologies we will explore in this module. We will learn about the (queer) history of writing about the environment, about the role of protest in literature and about how describing the world around us in texts actually changes the shape of the natural and built environment. Building on skills and knowledge you have acquired in previous modules on literary history and on theoretical approaches, the module aims to expand your knowledge of global ecocritical and queer writing and theory and to enable you to critically analyse contemporary depictions of climate change dystopias, of human and non-human animal relationships, of protest poetry, and of queer environmental fiction. We will discuss novels, poetry, performances, Youtube videos, as well as the odd social media account, and always combine our readings with a specific theoretical concept to help you learn how to put knowledge into practice. Since the module will also give you some insight into research communication, you will have the option of creating a research-based podcast as your final assessment. The module will include a workshop on podcasting, which will teach you new digital skills and enable you to develop an independent project, potentially in cooperation with collaborators outside of the seminar room. You will also contribute to a collaborative digital glossary, taking charge of creating a communal knowledge resource with formative feedback from your lecturer and comments and questions from fellow students. This module is part of a global strand embedded in our programme, which will help students develop global sensitivity and appreciation for cultural and linguistic diversity. We will discuss a global and culturally diverse range of primary texts, as well as theory texts, and cover, for example, Indigenous knowledges from different parts of the planet.

Gaming has existed as a mode of play and expression since the earliest times of human existence. In the latter part of the 20th and into the first two decades of the 21st Century (the period we will focus on with this module), there has been a vast expansion of the forms, modes and technologies employed in gaming and game play. Out of wargaming and board gaming practices (and often the interfaces of these) in the post-World War II era, increasingly complex and sophisticated character and narrative focussed Role-Playing Games (RPGs) developed as well as other narrative forms that connect gaming with interactive textuality, such as gamebooks, Collectable Card Games, online interactive fiction, video games and multi-player online gaming platforms. There has been, in the early 21st century, additionally, a large increase in the number of board games being produced and played, while wargaming also remains an active and vibrant aspect of gaming culture. An aspect of gaming that has sometimes fallen short, in ‘quality’ terms, though, is the writing that underpins both the rules systems and the ‘story’ component of games (background, character, description. narrative, dialogue, terminology, etc.) This is perhaps unsurprising as games have been primarily written by gamers rather than professional writers; many of these, of course, go on to develop their writing skills and become accomplished writers in their own right. More and more, though, creative writers are specifically incorporated into the game design and realisation processes (for both analogue and virtual gaming environments) to improve the quality of the gaming experience. In this module students will receive an overview of the gaming field and examine aspects of this that specifically pertain to writing for games. What approaches work well for games and gaming modes? How are these different from writing for and in other forms and media? What writing skills are particularly useful? Do we have the freedom to write outside of limiting industry constraints and models? What are the new forms of writing practice that are emerging in relation to games and gaming? We will also be interested in analysing games and gaming critically as cultural objects, and situating them within the broader context of contemporary cultural and literary theory. This is not a module that will teach students how to code and/or produce and design video games (or, indeed commercial analogue games). We will touch on aspects of game design, game production, gaming studies, critical digital studies, etc., but the focus for this module will be on writing creatively for games: writing gaming. Expert guest speakers from the gaming and independent gaming industries will be included in the teaching provision for this module. If students have specific coding, visual art or musical/sound art skills that they would like to bring to their exercises and assignments, they can certainly draw on these skills, but if they don’t, that is completely fine – none of these are required for this module. In each seminar we will first spend some time discussing the set texts and the techniques and standpoints employed by writers and other artists, before moving on to the workshop part of the session where students will produce work in accordance with the task set for that week, within and outside of the classroom. We will read and discuss a selection of pieces at the end of each class. This process will help students grow in confidence, both in presentational terms and in terms of delivering and receiving feedback on their work, in a safe and supportive setting. In addition, each week there will be a scheduled 2-hour gaming session where students will gather to explore individual and collaborative gaming in practice. Different approaches to gaming will be proposed each week, or students can opt to work during this time on longer gaming experiences and projects. At the end of the semester students will produce a creative portfolio of gaming writing, alongside a critical commentary reflecting on the creative work produced and using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module, OR an academic critical essay examining some aspect of writing for games OR a Game Demo alongside a critical commentary reflecting on the demo produced and using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module. Possible submissions for the creative portfolio include online interactive fiction (e.g. Twine, Squiffy), a gamebook text, a tabletop game text (board game, card game, wargame, Role-Playing Game), a game demo, a game setting, a game system, Game Design Documentation (GDD) for a proposed game, a 'creative essay', gaming portfolio as creative essay, a zine, a website for a game, etc. This module connects to other contemporary literature modules on the programme in the 2nd and final years where the emphasis is on 20th and 21st Century approaches to creating and examining literatures and our cultural responses to them. As such, it is part of the contemporary literature route that students can choose as a focus of their degree. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.  

This module introduces students to a range of creative and critical strands and debates related to contemporary Shakespearean performance. These may include global and intercultural Shakespeare, adaptations on stage and screen, applied Shakespeare, gender - and colour-blind Shakespeare, cultural politics and ethics. Drawing on relevant critical debates on how and why Shakespeare is performed today within diverse and multicultural societies, students will be able to engage with case-studies of UK and international productions and artists. The module will pay attention to key terms such as diversity, diaspora, hybridity and inclusivity and enable students to draw on these in informed critical analysis and discussion.

The Gothic has been a fixture of British and American literary history and popular culture from its origins in the eighteenth century, and continues to capture and haunt the human imagination. Straddling both 'high' and 'low' art forms, appealing to elite as well as mass audiences, the Gothic thrives on blurring boundaries and dissolving traditional dichotomies- between, for example, self and other, human and inhuman, civilisation and savagery, public and private identities This optional level 6 module focuses on Gothic literary and cultural production from Horace Walpole's 1764 seminal Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto up to the stylized Goth aesthetic and obsession with true crime Gothic figures in twenty-first-century cinema and television. Drawing on a variety of literary and visual texts this module demonstrates how Gothic fictions are born out of hyper-tense socio-political and psychological states, symbolising and expressing anxieties about class, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality and gender. Gothic texts are situated in their historical, biographical, geographical and global contexts, offering a nuanced understanding of the proliferation of the genre across periods, disciplines and borders. As well as exploring famous Gothic figures of the vampire and the zombie, we also consider the Gothic as a mode of writing, and as a mode of cultural engagement with the traumas of post/modernity. The module confronts topics including otherness and the limits of the human, monstrous doubling, the horrors of addiction, grotesque transformation, and the ethics and dangers of science. It traces the evolution of the Gothic, covering: Gothic origin; European Gothic; Gothic satire; Romantic and Neo/Victorian Gothic; Female and Feminist Gothic; American and African-American Gothic; and Goth culture. Through studying the texts, debates and themes of the module, and through the assessments, you will develop transferable skills in critical thinking and reading, independent research and groupwork, presentation and communication, digital capabilities and analytical writing.

Often dismissed as disposable entertainment, derided for rehashing formulaic plot devices, popular genre fiction may better be considered literature that tests the generic boundaries within which it operates. This Level 6 Creative Writing module aims to establish the fundamental techniques, strategies, and conventions of popular genres and modes (such as mystery, horror, graphic narrative), as well as ways writers may choose to subvert those conventions, with an eye toward developing original creative projects that engage—in some way—with genre. This module is intended to complement the range of Creative Writing modules offered at level 6, focussing on genre construction and reception across a variety of contexts. One of the keys to becoming a more sophisticated writer is to become a more careful reader. Whether you love or hate, are exhilarated, or bored by a text, you can always learn from it. To that end, we will read and discuss relevant literary and theoretical works in detail, considering both the elements of craft that contribute to the construction of different genres (character, plot, form, structure, and so on), as well as the aesthetic and conceptual frameworks that underpin each text, particularly where writers may subvert genre expectations. And to make use of all our reading, we will learn to articulate responses to set texts through a series of writing exercises in which you are encouraged to experiment—and have fun—with the concepts introduced by the texts we read. Students should also be prepared to contribute fully to workshop discussions of their own and each other’s work. The module will provide students the opportunity to produce, revise and polish their creative writing and will encourage and enable them to reflect on their own creative work and writing practice in a productive and critically informed manner. Attendance is compulsory.

This module introduces students to the huge variety of medieval and Early Modern romance from the twelfth to the early-seventeenth centuries. The texts will be read either in Middle English or in translation (languages covered will be Latin, French, Middle English, Arabic, Spanish, and Welsh). The module explores the genre with a particular interest in gender and sexuality, instances of transgression, multi-culturalism, and multilingualism. It also investigates the traditional connection of romances with female readership. The module is subdivided into three interconnected areas: stories of knightly chivalry, tales of the supernatural, and reactions to romance. As well as the primary texts, students will study examples of contemporary historical material to help them contextualise both the romances and these three thematic areas. The module will build on students’ understanding of medieval and Early Modern texts and historical contexts developed from modules in the first and second years. Additionally, the module will enable students to further engage their interests in literary history, the development of romance as a genre, and examining literature through key critical and theoretical lenses such as gender theory, queer theory, critical race theory, and ecocriticism. After taking this module, students will have a detailed understanding of the fluid and expansive nature of romance and its changing historical and social contexts. They will also have been afforded the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, research, writing, and communication skills in ways that will benefit them on their chosen career path.

Innovations in frame-by-frame filmmaking techniques and technology have played a significant role in the evolution of cinema and the moving image. Animation could be argued as the precursor to cinema, as early animation devices preceded the invention of the motion picture camera. Today, animation and frame-by-frame filmmaking plays a significant role in cinema, from special effects in blockbuster Hollywood films to the rise in popularity and success of animated features. This module addresses animation from a historical and/or contemporary perspective by looking at examples of different types of frame-by-frame filmmaking (e.g. traditional animation, digital and CGI animation, studio animation, independent and artist animation). The focus of the module will vary according to the convener’s interest and expertise, but could, for example, focus on one example of animation in-depth (e.g. Disney animation or digital animation) or cover a range in terms of history, technology, aesthetics. By responding to the convener’s research interests and expertise, the module will introduce current research in animation and/or film studies and/or new media studies.

This module is intended to follow on from previous CW modules and help you develop with an advanced engagement with questions of form and craft. It will concentrate on the practicalities of writing creatively within the context of a broad narrative frame. The focus of the module is on prose fiction and on poetry, as well as helping you produce polished and professional quality work in either or both modes. This module also provides knowledge and advice on the processes of getting published, the workings of the publishing industry and invites reflection on the challenges and opportunities of writing professionally.    

The module offers students the opportunity to learn about children’s literature across a variety of genres, ages, as well as about its historical development and socio-cultural contexts. The module will require students to engage the critical thinking skills and theoretical knowledge that they have acquired in modules across their first and second years in a new context, enabling them to think deeply about the ways in which children’s literature should be studied with the same rigorous approach that they would apply to texts written for adults. In particular, students will be encouraged to consider how genre, form, gender, race, identity, setting, temporality,. They will also confront their own relationship to texts that they read as children or young adults and consider what components result in effective writing for children which will enable them to engage with complex critical concepts, and develop their own writing both creative and critical. Through participating in group discussions in the lecture-seminars, students will develop a detailed understanding of how to analyse children’s literature and how to write for children. The module will also afford students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, research, writing, and communication skills in ways that will benefit them on their chosen career path. At the end of the semester students will produce a work of children’s literature alongside a commentary reflecting upon their creative work OR a critical essay that focusses on two works of children’s literature using the theories, concepts and practices studied.

This module explores the centrality of texts written by and for medieval women to both the history of medieval literature and to women's literary history. You will be introduced to a range of works written for and about women in England between the 11th and 15th centuries and will examine in detail the major female authors writing from the 12th to the 15th centuries, such as the courtly writer Marie de France, the English woman mystic Julian of Norwich, and the visionary Margery Kempe. Texts will be read either in Middle English or in modernized versions, or (in the case of texts written in the French of the English, in translation). The module will explore a range of literary forms and genres, including saints' lives, romance and lais, mystical and visionary writing and women's letters. You will be asked to critically analyse and/or engage creatively with the texts, paying attention to your linguistic, literary, religious and socio- historical contexts and focusing on issues such as antifeminism, social hierarchies, literacy, multingualism and multi-culturalism, and gender and sexuality. The module provides you with a working knowledge of tools on used by researchers and writers examining and engaging with historically remote literatures and cultures, building on previous modules on global literatures and theories of gender and sexuality. These tools include not only the ability to analyse and critically evaluate texts and ideas, but also to understand them within their wider historical, geographical and social contexts, as well as practical tools of reading and translating Middle English texts.

This module explores the relationship between national and imperial identities in literature from the 1850s to 1890s by writers from Britain and beyond, including Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, Behramji Malabari and James Africanus Horton. The module introduces students to contextual debates about the nation-state and its imperial engagements, and seeks to understand how authors respond and contribute to these ideas through literature both from within and beyond Britain. The module engages with these themes through a focus on concepts of space and mobility, using literary journeys as a way into understanding how novelists construct a dialogue between national and imperial spaces in literary texts. It draws upon and enhances the core knowledge and research skills acquired in second year Victorian Literature focussed modules. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

"Literature was never only words, never merely immaterial verbal constructions. Literary texts, like us, have bodies, an actuality necessitating that their materialities and meanings are deeply interwoven into each other"-N. Katherine Hayles, Writing Machines. In this level 6 Creative Writing module, we will, as Hayles argues, consider the materiality of a variety of print-based and digital-born literature with an eye toward developing original creative projects. We will read and discuss relevant literary and theoretical works in detail, considering the medium (and technology, where appropriate) involved in their construction, as well as the aesthetic and conceptual frameworks that underpin each text. And to make use of all of our reading, students will learn to articulate responses to set texts through a series of writing exercises in which they are encouraged to experiment-to get their hands dirty, to play, to have fun-with the concepts introduced by the texts we read. Students should also be prepared to contribute fully to workshop discussions of their own and each other's work. The module will provide students the opportunity to produce, revise and polish their creative writing and will encourage and enable them to reflect on their own creative work and writing practice in a productive and critically-informed manner. Attendance is compulsory.

The module offers students the opportunity to learn the processes for writing a compelling script for film or television. Through analysing film clips, reading extracts from screenplays, engaging with theoretical concepts, and participating in class discussions and workshops students will be offered a comprehensive overview of the screenwriting process. The module builds upon the knowledge and skills from students’ BA studies in English Literature and Creative Writing at Level 4. It develops critical and creative skills for modules including the dissertation and aligns with other critical and creative modes in other at Level 6.  The two-hour workshops address the needs of in-depth writing and analysis at level 6. At the end of the semester students will produce a professionally formatted script for a short film or television episode alongside a commentary reflecting upon their creative work and/or a critical essay that focusses on films/ TV episodes of their own choice using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module.

The dissertation module is intended to provide students with an opportunity to select a research topic relating to an aspect of literary study which has engaged their own particular interest, and to explore it in detail through guided self-study. Each student will be assigned a tutor who will assist them in choosing their subject matter and literary approach, and who will provide advice, encouragement and formative feedback over the course of the writing process, as well as suggesting relevant reading material which may help inspire or critically locate the project. As well as the dissertation itself students will undertake a formative presentation in semester 1, and work on developing self-reflective skills through completing a progress log with their supervisors. This module connects to other modules on the programme undertaken by the students and can act as a culmination of their studies, in that the students can bring together and build from strands from earlier modules that they have particularly liked and excelled at, or act as a complement to other modules that the student has enjoyed but where they wish to use this dissertation module as an opportunity to explore and develop a different area that they wish to write on. As such, this module can connect with any of the modules students have studied across their degree, and allows them to tailor their pathway through the degree, and the degree itself, in their own way.  

This module provides students with the opportunity to explore the challenges of producing a large scale portfolio of creative writing accompanied by self-reflective critical commentary. This Dissertation portfolio may consist of a single extended piece of writing or a collection of pieces of a shorter length. An agreed word count for students submitting poetry should be negotiated with their supervisor, although as a rule 5,000 words of creative prose is considered equivalent to 150 lines of poetry. Each student will be assigned a supervisor who will assist them in choosing their subject matter and literary approach, and who will provide advice, encouragement and formative feedback over the course of the writing process, as well as suggesting relevant reading material which may help inspire or critically locate the project. This module also allows students to reflect at length on the project’s rigourous relationship to previous work in the field, form or genre, on the writing processes and thinking behind the creative choices made, and to locate the work productively in literary and theoretical contexts. As well as the dissertation itself students will undertake a formative presentation in semester 1, and work on developing self-reflective skills through completing a progress log with their supervisors. This module connects to other modules on the programme undertaken by the students and can act as a culmination of their studies, in that the students can bring together and build from strands from earlier modules that they have particularly liked and excelled at, or act as a complement to other modules that the student has enjoyed but where they wish to use this dissertation module as an opportunity to explore and develop a different area that they wish to write on. As such, this module can connect with any of the modules students have studied across their degree, and allows them to tailor their pathway through the degree, and the degree itself, in their own way.  

Building on the introduction to modernism covered in the first-year core modules, this module explores a period in literature that was to bring innovation across the spectrum of cultural endeavour. Through a range of exciting and innovative works of literature from around the world, you will be introduced to the key ideas underlying the theories and practises of modernist writers in the period between 1900 and 1945. By exploring the concept of multiple global modernisms, the module builds global and cultural skills that will enable you to critically engage with the key themes central to modernist thought. As well as acquiring in-depth knowledge of the individual texts on the module, you will be able to develop a sense of how movements in modernist literature relate both to each other and to other disciplines such as philosophy, economics, politics, and art. Through the independent research undertaken for assessment and a particular focus on the skills required for advanced secondary source research, this module will also develop resourcefulness and digital skills.

This module explores the varied formal and technical challenges facing creative writers, examining the affordances and constraints of different modes of writing and the cultural, historical and theoretical contexts which impact upon how texts (including prose fiction, poetry, screenplays and dramatic scripts) are written and understood, and to translate this understanding into more effective creative practice.

This is a module for Level 5 students in the School of  Literature and Languages. It is taught over one semester, with three contact hours per teaching week.The module considers a range of approaches to teaching English as a Foreign Language, approaches which can be applied to the teaching of other languages. It provides practice and assessment in lesson planning and in teaching through peer teaching tasks. The skills developed on the module such as speaking in front of groups and decision making are transferable to a number of other careers. The module is capped at 14 students in each semester.  

This module explores a range of literary texts produced in England at the end of the Middle Ages, paying particular attention to issues of language, gender, race, social status, travel, and religion. It explores the relationship between the self and the other, focusing on ideas of perfection and monstrosity, and the divine and the demonic. The module explores three interrelated themes that speak to the historical, social, and religious contexts of late Medieval English literature: 1) Monstrous Masculinities and Femininities 2) Travellers’ Tales: Encountering the Other and 3) Visions of Another Order. Alongside analysing examples the literature of the period, you will practice translating passages from late medieval literary texts in the workshops. In addition to the set primary texts, you will examine relevant examples from historical texts and visual that help to further illuminate these three thematic strands.

This module gives students a broad and deep understanding of nineteenth-century literature in relation to a range of social, cultural and political contexts. Following a roughly chronological trajectory the module picks up key issues (industrialisation, the impacts of empire, faith and doubt) and examines them through key texts and authors of the period. The module pushes students to think in nuanced ways about the relationship between text and context and about the cultural forces which have promoted or marginalised historical voices.

This is a practical introduction to translation from French to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from French to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from French to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of Francophone cultures.

This is a practical introduction to translation from German to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from German to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from German to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of German-speaking cultures.

This is a practical introduction to translation from Spanish to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from Spanish to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from Spanish to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures.

Renaissance Lives focusses on early modern identity through the understanding of lives (real and fictional) and how these may be represented in literature and life writing. Through the module, different lives are explored through a thematic focus on gender and sexuality, race and faith. These three strands allow students to focus upon diversity and enable them to explore the relevance of renaissance lives to the present-day ideas. A visit by a professional biofiction author will further encourage students to understand how their own writing may address contemporary discourses of gender, sexuality, race and faith. This optional module develops knowledge and skills introduced at Level 4 both critical and creative and gives students a wider and deeper understanding of key material from the Early Modern period of literature in English. There are two key points of building upon various Level 4 elements: first, a sense of historical contextualisation that focuses on important political and intellectual discourses, and second, a generic pathway that covers drama, poetry, and prose, whether critical or creative. The module also ensures that students have a solid basis for understanding English literature of the Early Modern period and concepts of the self and identity. This knowledge will be extended and deepened through optional modules at level 6.

This module explores elements of poetic craft, discourse, and techniques for writing poetry through the close analysis of lyric, narrative, dramatic, and hybrid modes in contemporary poetry written for the page and / or performance and exhibition. The module introduces students to contemporary and innovative discussions including topics such as formal and free poetic structures, sound effect and rhythm, poetic voice and persona, writing communities, poetic intent and play. The module asks students to engage with the development of their own writing alongside of reading and listening to contemporary poetry, essays, and manifestos by chosen 'companion poets' they will encounter in the module.

This interdisciplinary module, focused on Victorian creative partnerships, explores connections between texts, individuals, couples, circles and movements. It investigates the ways in which female and male figures worked in various forms of partnership: as spouses, siblings, friends and lovers. It examines a range of Victorian texts including poems, short stories, plays, novels and novellas, letters and diaries as well as visual texts. It engages with the themes of gender, sexuality, identity, power, partnership, co/authorship and readership. The module introduces students to contextual debates about sexual politics, gender and representation in the nineteenth-century, and seeks to understand how writers responded and contributed to them. It also reads nineteenth-century figures and texts in relation to more recent feminist and gender theory, revealing their continued cultural importance. Authors studied include: tthe Brownings, the Brontës, George Eliot and George Henry Lewes, Arthur Hugh Clough and Matthew Arnold, Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, the Rossettis, and Michael Field.

This module allows you to explore various modes of storytelling in a contemporary context, with a view to developing your narrative skills. The course will engage with contemporary fiction, poetry, non-fiction, film, and theatre and will help you to to investigate and understand the multiple ways readers and writers engage with storytelling and narrative. There will be lectures on each topic, with workshop-style seminars that are designed to help you engage with and analyse your own writing and the writing of others, with the aim of helping students to hone your ability to edit and create. 

This module draws attention to and interrogates the changing relationship between the 'self' and 'society' in twentieth-century American culture. Approaching this topic from an interdisciplinary perspective, the module examining three interrelated areas that address the major social, political, and aesthetic developments of the 'American Century': 1) urbanisation, commerce and the American city, 2) transnationalism and American identity, and race, nation, and the body in contemporary America. In addition to the primary texts, students will examine relevant examples from film, art, music, and design that help to further illuminate these three thematic strands. In particular, this module focuses on students’ global awareness and understanding, both regarding American literary and culture, as well as the ways in which successive periods of migration and transnational exchange have led to widespread American influence in a range of cultural domains. Through analysis of a range of texts and cultural materials, students will gain deeper insight into the impact and influence of American culture in the twentieth century and beyond to develop global and cultural capabilities.

This is a module for Level 5 students in the School of  Literature and Languages. It is taught over one semester, with three contact hours per teaching week.The module considers a range of approaches to teaching English as a Foreign Language, approaches which can be applied to the teaching of other languages. It provides practice and assessment in lesson planning and in teaching through peer teaching tasks. The skills developed on the module such as speaking in front of groups and decision making are transferable to a number of other careers. The module is capped at 14 students in each semester.  

Following on from the brief introductions to Romanticism at Level 4 , this module allows students to explore in more depth and detail the profound literary and cultural innovations that took place in the Romantic period (roughly, 1789-1830), and which continue to shape culture and society today. The module forms part of a set of historically focused pre-1900 ‘period’ modules that focus on specific literary periods as a way of studying literature: students must take at least one of these modules to complement the more contemporary focus of other modules, so as to gain greater knowledge of both the evolution of English literature over time and the variant forms and concerns of literature in different historical periods. Examining a broad range of canonical and non-canonical Romantic texts (and thus highlighting the diversity of authors and styles in the period), the module each week uses a selection of representative writers to explore a key form or theme: for example, Nature, imagination, the self and subjectivity, sentimentalism and feeling, and shifting notions of masculinity and femininity. Famous writers such as Blake, Wordsworth, Keats and Byron are read alongside authors who are less well known today (for example, Charlotte Smith, Anna Letitia Barbauld, Ignatius Sancho and Henry Derozio) to give students a rich, synchronic understanding of the key concerns, debates, alliances and animosities distinctive to this specific period in British literary history. At the same time, students explore the global contexts and connections driving the evolution of English literature and of British culture more broadly in this period, and they also consider the ongoing relevance of Romantic-era concerns and debates to 21st century society (for example, Romantic writers’ diverse reactions to increasing globalization, and the emergence of modern environmental and conservationist thinking).

First defined by media scholar Henry Jenkins in 2003, transmedia storytelling is the process of creating, sharing and developing fictional content across a range of media and communication platforms, including film, television, print and social media. Transmedia storytelling is an outcome of the structure of the contemporary media and entertainment industries, which are dominated by global media conglomerates, such as the Disney corporation, that aim to maximise audience engagement with their creative properties. For example, fans of the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ can consume different iterations of the Marvel stories and characters that extend beyond the films via spin-off television series, new comics, short films, animations and websites. These act as extensions to the existing story as it moves from one medium to another. This is one of the key things that distinguishes transmedia storytelling from traditional adaptation of, for example, a book to a film. Transmedia storytelling has also been celebrated as a narrative model that promotes collaborative authorship and participatory spectatorship from fans, who frequently contribute to official and unofficial extensions of narrative storyworlds. In this module we will be exploring the concept of transmedia storytelling and how fictional storyworlds are created and extended across multiple, global media platforms. After establishing the key concepts of transmedia storytelling, we will look at a range of case studies. These will vary according current trends in popular culture, but might include Harry Potter, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gossip Girl, Star Wars, James Bond, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Please Note: This is not a creative writing module. Students may need access to one or more streaming platforms in order to access material that we will be examining in our case studies. This will be advised at the beginning of the semester, but might include Disney+, AmazonPrime, Netflix, etc.

This module takes students off campus and into local schools. They work closely with MFL or English Literature teachers, shadowing them or taking small groups of school students, and gaining an insight into the teaching profession. This module complements ELA2012 Introduction to TEFL, by allowing students to see teaching strategies and techniques in the real world. The Module has the backing of the "Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme" (www.uas.ac.uk).

This module aims to explore a variety of neo-Victorian texts to examine how the legacy of the Victorians continues to inform contemporary culture. Students will be asked to consider the significance of neo-Victorian writing in the context of postmodernity and will analyse the literary, cultural and commercial impacts of the genre. The module will begin by considering early examples of neo-Victorian texts that emerged in the 1950s and 60s before exploring the expansion of the genre in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It will cover a range of neo-Victorian productions including novels, poetry, film and TV adaptations that are informed by well-known Victorian texts in order to examine the wider cultural impact of contemporary engagements with the Victorian period, and will ask students to analyse issues of race, class, gender and sexuality which are interrogated and challenged by neo-Victorian works. The module draws upon and enhances the core knowledge and research skills acquired in second year Victorian Literature focussed modules. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

This module explores the meanings and developments of science fiction throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as well as focusing on the relationship between this innovative form and the cultural, political, ethical and ecological sustainability issues addressed in the texts. Discussion and analysis will focus not only on what worlds or peoples are imagined in science fiction and why, but also on how such core features of science fiction have been developed, challenged and reconfigured by various political and historical movements and events (such as the cold war, feminism, black civil rights movements, gay liberation, imperial endeavours, global warming and other ecological sustainability narratives, among others). The module will give particular attention to technological developments and their relationship to the human, addressing the ways in which the human is rethought and reimagined through its interaction with technological innovation. Themes that will be addressed may include alternative futurisms, artificial intelligence, body modifications, alien species and/or worlds, dystopian and utopian imaginaries, future technologies, technology and sustainability, technology and identity and struggles for freedom. Science fiction will therefore be engaged with through the lens of contemporary theories (such as postcolonialism, gender studies, ecocriticism and posthumanism), as well as with attention to changing interpretations of the meaning of the genre in its diverse socio-political and global cultural contexts.  This module connects to other contemporary literature modules on the programme in your second year and is part of the contemporary literature route that students can choose as a focus of their degree, which includes module in the first and final years of the degree. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

This is a practical introduction to translation from English to French. Students will learn to express some basic concepts and terminology in translation in French and will learn through translating short texts from English to French and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from English to French and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems and enhance cultural awareness.

This is a practical introduction to translation from English to Spanish. Students will learn to express some basic concepts and terminology in translation in Spanish and will learn through translating short texts from English to Spanish and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from English to Spanish and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems and enhance cultural awareness.

Over the past 90 years, only three women have won the Oscar for best director and only 4 more have been nominated. Hollywood’s marginalisation of women’s authorial agency reflects a global pattern of women being shut out of the top creative jobs of director and screenwriter. Instead, women who work in film are more often found in roles that tend not to be recognised as creatively significant. Why is it that women have faced such barriers to entry and success in the world of film? Why are the roles that women typically undertake considered less important or valuable to a film’s success? Are women’s films less well-regarded critically and by audiences? Has this changed over time? This module explores the relationship between gender and labour in film by looking at the types of roles women have played in filmmaking. That is, instead of thinking about how women are represented on screen via the characters they play, we will consider the part they play behind the camera in getting films, of all types, made. In doing this, we will be looking at, and questioning, perceptions of the types of roles women can, should and do undertake in filmmaking, both currently and in the past. We will consider the work of women who have risen to positions of prominence as writers, directors and producers in the mainstream global film industries as well as looking at the opportunities afforded to women in other arenas, such as independent and experimental film. Just as importantly, we will think about women’s ‘invisible’ labour in filmmaking, be that through low-valued, gendered jobs (such as make-up artists and secretaries) or through amateur and non-professional filmmaking activities. As a whole, the module will question whether, and if so how, women’s creative power and agency in film has been marginalised, and the ways women have sought to overcome this. This module is open to all students, whether or not you have previously taken any film studies modules.

This module, which assumes no prior knowledge of languages other than English, is intended to give students an insight into the diversity of human communication systems found throughout the world. In order to understand how language works, we need to examine the variety of systems to be found, some of which differ drastically from what we know and what we might expect. This module builds on the skills students have developed in constructing arguments and finding evidence in support of their reasoning through their modules at Levels 4 and 5, by demonstrating how complimentary skills are applied in scientific research related to language. Students are introduced to alternative ways of thinking about the world around us to further develop their ability to scrutinise and assess evidence.

Environmental literature is deeply entwined with queer, decolonial and intersectional perspectives: Place and race, space and class, feminist and LGBTQIA2s+* issues, all meet in the queer ecologies we will explore in this module. We will learn about the (queer) history of writing about the environment, about the role of protest in literature and about how describing the world around us in texts actually changes the shape of the natural and built environment. Building on skills and knowledge you have acquired in previous modules on literary history and on theoretical approaches, the module aims to expand your knowledge of global ecocritical and queer writing and theory and to enable you to critically analyse contemporary depictions of climate change dystopias, of human and non-human animal relationships, of protest poetry, and of queer environmental fiction. We will discuss novels, poetry, performances, Youtube videos, as well as the odd social media account, and always combine our readings with a specific theoretical concept to help you learn how to put knowledge into practice. Since the module will also give you some insight into research communication, you will have the option of creating a research-based podcast as your final assessment. The module will include a workshop on podcasting, which will teach you new digital skills and enable you to develop an independent project, potentially in cooperation with collaborators outside of the seminar room. You will also contribute to a collaborative digital glossary, taking charge of creating a communal knowledge resource with formative feedback from your lecturer and comments and questions from fellow students. This module is part of a global strand embedded in our programme, which will help students develop global sensitivity and appreciation for cultural and linguistic diversity. We will discuss a global and culturally diverse range of primary texts, as well as theory texts, and cover, for example, Indigenous knowledges from different parts of the planet.

Gaming has existed as a mode of play and expression since the earliest times of human existence. In the latter part of the 20th and into the first two decades of the 21st Century (the period we will focus on with this module), there has been a vast expansion of the forms, modes and technologies employed in gaming and game play. Out of wargaming and board gaming practices (and often the interfaces of these) in the post-World War II era, increasingly complex and sophisticated character and narrative focussed Role-Playing Games (RPGs) developed as well as other narrative forms that connect gaming with interactive textuality, such as gamebooks, Collectable Card Games, online interactive fiction, video games and multi-player online gaming platforms. There has been, in the early 21st century, additionally, a large increase in the number of board games being produced and played, while wargaming also remains an active and vibrant aspect of gaming culture. An aspect of gaming that has sometimes fallen short, in ‘quality’ terms, though, is the writing that underpins both the rules systems and the ‘story’ component of games (background, character, description. narrative, dialogue, terminology, etc.) This is perhaps unsurprising as games have been primarily written by gamers rather than professional writers; many of these, of course, go on to develop their writing skills and become accomplished writers in their own right. More and more, though, creative writers are specifically incorporated into the game design and realisation processes (for both analogue and virtual gaming environments) to improve the quality of the gaming experience. In this module students will receive an overview of the gaming field and examine aspects of this that specifically pertain to writing for games. What approaches work well for games and gaming modes? How are these different from writing for and in other forms and media? What writing skills are particularly useful? Do we have the freedom to write outside of limiting industry constraints and models? What are the new forms of writing practice that are emerging in relation to games and gaming? We will also be interested in analysing games and gaming critically as cultural objects, and situating them within the broader context of contemporary cultural and literary theory. This is not a module that will teach students how to code and/or produce and design video games (or, indeed commercial analogue games). We will touch on aspects of game design, game production, gaming studies, critical digital studies, etc., but the focus for this module will be on writing creatively for games: writing gaming. Expert guest speakers from the gaming and independent gaming industries will be included in the teaching provision for this module. If students have specific coding, visual art or musical/sound art skills that they would like to bring to their exercises and assignments, they can certainly draw on these skills, but if they don’t, that is completely fine – none of these are required for this module. In each seminar we will first spend some time discussing the set texts and the techniques and standpoints employed by writers and other artists, before moving on to the workshop part of the session where students will produce work in accordance with the task set for that week, within and outside of the classroom. We will read and discuss a selection of pieces at the end of each class. This process will help students grow in confidence, both in presentational terms and in terms of delivering and receiving feedback on their work, in a safe and supportive setting. In addition, each week there will be a scheduled 2-hour gaming session where students will gather to explore individual and collaborative gaming in practice. Different approaches to gaming will be proposed each week, or students can opt to work during this time on longer gaming experiences and projects. At the end of the semester students will produce a creative portfolio of gaming writing, alongside a critical commentary reflecting on the creative work produced and using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module, OR an academic critical essay examining some aspect of writing for games OR a Game Demo alongside a critical commentary reflecting on the demo produced and using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module. Possible submissions for the creative portfolio include online interactive fiction (e.g. Twine, Squiffy), a gamebook text, a tabletop game text (board game, card game, wargame, Role-Playing Game), a game demo, a game setting, a game system, Game Design Documentation (GDD) for a proposed game, a 'creative essay', gaming portfolio as creative essay, a zine, a website for a game, etc. This module connects to other contemporary literature modules on the programme in the 2nd and final years where the emphasis is on 20th and 21st Century approaches to creating and examining literatures and our cultural responses to them. As such, it is part of the contemporary literature route that students can choose as a focus of their degree. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.  

This module introduces students to a range of creative and critical strands and debates related to contemporary Shakespearean performance. These may include global and intercultural Shakespeare, adaptations on stage and screen, applied Shakespeare, gender - and colour-blind Shakespeare, cultural politics and ethics. Drawing on relevant critical debates on how and why Shakespeare is performed today within diverse and multicultural societies, students will be able to engage with case-studies of UK and international productions and artists. The module will pay attention to key terms such as diversity, diaspora, hybridity and inclusivity and enable students to draw on these in informed critical analysis and discussion.

The Gothic has been a fixture of British and American literary history and popular culture from its origins in the eighteenth century, and continues to capture and haunt the human imagination. Straddling both 'high' and 'low' art forms, appealing to elite as well as mass audiences, the Gothic thrives on blurring boundaries and dissolving traditional dichotomies- between, for example, self and other, human and inhuman, civilisation and savagery, public and private identities This optional level 6 module focuses on Gothic literary and cultural production from Horace Walpole's 1764 seminal Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto up to the stylized Goth aesthetic and obsession with true crime Gothic figures in twenty-first-century cinema and television. Drawing on a variety of literary and visual texts this module demonstrates how Gothic fictions are born out of hyper-tense socio-political and psychological states, symbolising and expressing anxieties about class, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality and gender. Gothic texts are situated in their historical, biographical, geographical and global contexts, offering a nuanced understanding of the proliferation of the genre across periods, disciplines and borders. As well as exploring famous Gothic figures of the vampire and the zombie, we also consider the Gothic as a mode of writing, and as a mode of cultural engagement with the traumas of post/modernity. The module confronts topics including otherness and the limits of the human, monstrous doubling, the horrors of addiction, grotesque transformation, and the ethics and dangers of science. It traces the evolution of the Gothic, covering: Gothic origin; European Gothic; Gothic satire; Romantic and Neo/Victorian Gothic; Female and Feminist Gothic; American and African-American Gothic; and Goth culture. Through studying the texts, debates and themes of the module, and through the assessments, you will develop transferable skills in critical thinking and reading, independent research and groupwork, presentation and communication, digital capabilities and analytical writing.

Often dismissed as disposable entertainment, derided for rehashing formulaic plot devices, popular genre fiction may better be considered literature that tests the generic boundaries within which it operates. This Level 6 Creative Writing module aims to establish the fundamental techniques, strategies, and conventions of popular genres and modes (such as mystery, horror, graphic narrative), as well as ways writers may choose to subvert those conventions, with an eye toward developing original creative projects that engage—in some way—with genre. This module is intended to complement the range of Creative Writing modules offered at level 6, focussing on genre construction and reception across a variety of contexts. One of the keys to becoming a more sophisticated writer is to become a more careful reader. Whether you love or hate, are exhilarated, or bored by a text, you can always learn from it. To that end, we will read and discuss relevant literary and theoretical works in detail, considering both the elements of craft that contribute to the construction of different genres (character, plot, form, structure, and so on), as well as the aesthetic and conceptual frameworks that underpin each text, particularly where writers may subvert genre expectations. And to make use of all our reading, we will learn to articulate responses to set texts through a series of writing exercises in which you are encouraged to experiment—and have fun—with the concepts introduced by the texts we read. Students should also be prepared to contribute fully to workshop discussions of their own and each other’s work. The module will provide students the opportunity to produce, revise and polish their creative writing and will encourage and enable them to reflect on their own creative work and writing practice in a productive and critically informed manner. Attendance is compulsory.

This module introduces students to the huge variety of medieval and Early Modern romance from the twelfth to the early-seventeenth centuries. The texts will be read either in Middle English or in translation (languages covered will be Latin, French, Middle English, Arabic, Spanish, and Welsh). The module explores the genre with a particular interest in gender and sexuality, instances of transgression, multi-culturalism, and multilingualism. It also investigates the traditional connection of romances with female readership. The module is subdivided into three interconnected areas: stories of knightly chivalry, tales of the supernatural, and reactions to romance. As well as the primary texts, students will study examples of contemporary historical material to help them contextualise both the romances and these three thematic areas. The module will build on students’ understanding of medieval and Early Modern texts and historical contexts developed from modules in the first and second years. Additionally, the module will enable students to further engage their interests in literary history, the development of romance as a genre, and examining literature through key critical and theoretical lenses such as gender theory, queer theory, critical race theory, and ecocriticism. After taking this module, students will have a detailed understanding of the fluid and expansive nature of romance and its changing historical and social contexts. They will also have been afforded the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, research, writing, and communication skills in ways that will benefit them on their chosen career path.

Innovations in frame-by-frame filmmaking techniques and technology have played a significant role in the evolution of cinema and the moving image. Animation could be argued as the precursor to cinema, as early animation devices preceded the invention of the motion picture camera. Today, animation and frame-by-frame filmmaking plays a significant role in cinema, from special effects in blockbuster Hollywood films to the rise in popularity and success of animated features. This module addresses animation from a historical and/or contemporary perspective by looking at examples of different types of frame-by-frame filmmaking (e.g. traditional animation, digital and CGI animation, studio animation, independent and artist animation). The focus of the module will vary according to the convener’s interest and expertise, but could, for example, focus on one example of animation in-depth (e.g. Disney animation or digital animation) or cover a range in terms of history, technology, aesthetics. By responding to the convener’s research interests and expertise, the module will introduce current research in animation and/or film studies and/or new media studies.

This module is intended to follow on from previous CW modules and help you develop with an advanced engagement with questions of form and craft. It will concentrate on the practicalities of writing creatively within the context of a broad narrative frame. The focus of the module is on prose fiction and on poetry, as well as helping you produce polished and professional quality work in either or both modes. This module also provides knowledge and advice on the processes of getting published, the workings of the publishing industry and invites reflection on the challenges and opportunities of writing professionally.    

The module offers students the opportunity to learn about children’s literature across a variety of genres, ages, as well as about its historical development and socio-cultural contexts. The module will require students to engage the critical thinking skills and theoretical knowledge that they have acquired in modules across their first and second years in a new context, enabling them to think deeply about the ways in which children’s literature should be studied with the same rigorous approach that they would apply to texts written for adults. In particular, students will be encouraged to consider how genre, form, gender, race, identity, setting, temporality,. They will also confront their own relationship to texts that they read as children or young adults and consider what components result in effective writing for children which will enable them to engage with complex critical concepts, and develop their own writing both creative and critical. Through participating in group discussions in the lecture-seminars, students will develop a detailed understanding of how to analyse children’s literature and how to write for children. The module will also afford students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, research, writing, and communication skills in ways that will benefit them on their chosen career path. At the end of the semester students will produce a work of children’s literature alongside a commentary reflecting upon their creative work OR a critical essay that focusses on two works of children’s literature using the theories, concepts and practices studied.

This module explores the centrality of texts written by and for medieval women to both the history of medieval literature and to women's literary history. You will be introduced to a range of works written for and about women in England between the 11th and 15th centuries and will examine in detail the major female authors writing from the 12th to the 15th centuries, such as the courtly writer Marie de France, the English woman mystic Julian of Norwich, and the visionary Margery Kempe. Texts will be read either in Middle English or in modernized versions, or (in the case of texts written in the French of the English, in translation). The module will explore a range of literary forms and genres, including saints' lives, romance and lais, mystical and visionary writing and women's letters. You will be asked to critically analyse and/or engage creatively with the texts, paying attention to your linguistic, literary, religious and socio- historical contexts and focusing on issues such as antifeminism, social hierarchies, literacy, multingualism and multi-culturalism, and gender and sexuality. The module provides you with a working knowledge of tools on used by researchers and writers examining and engaging with historically remote literatures and cultures, building on previous modules on global literatures and theories of gender and sexuality. These tools include not only the ability to analyse and critically evaluate texts and ideas, but also to understand them within their wider historical, geographical and social contexts, as well as practical tools of reading and translating Middle English texts.

This module explores the relationship between national and imperial identities in literature from the 1850s to 1890s by writers from Britain and beyond, including Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, Behramji Malabari and James Africanus Horton. The module introduces students to contextual debates about the nation-state and its imperial engagements, and seeks to understand how authors respond and contribute to these ideas through literature both from within and beyond Britain. The module engages with these themes through a focus on concepts of space and mobility, using literary journeys as a way into understanding how novelists construct a dialogue between national and imperial spaces in literary texts. It draws upon and enhances the core knowledge and research skills acquired in second year Victorian Literature focussed modules. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

"Literature was never only words, never merely immaterial verbal constructions. Literary texts, like us, have bodies, an actuality necessitating that their materialities and meanings are deeply interwoven into each other"-N. Katherine Hayles, Writing Machines. In this level 6 Creative Writing module, we will, as Hayles argues, consider the materiality of a variety of print-based and digital-born literature with an eye toward developing original creative projects. We will read and discuss relevant literary and theoretical works in detail, considering the medium (and technology, where appropriate) involved in their construction, as well as the aesthetic and conceptual frameworks that underpin each text. And to make use of all of our reading, students will learn to articulate responses to set texts through a series of writing exercises in which they are encouraged to experiment-to get their hands dirty, to play, to have fun-with the concepts introduced by the texts we read. Students should also be prepared to contribute fully to workshop discussions of their own and each other's work. The module will provide students the opportunity to produce, revise and polish their creative writing and will encourage and enable them to reflect on their own creative work and writing practice in a productive and critically-informed manner. Attendance is compulsory.

The module offers students the opportunity to learn the processes for writing a compelling script for film or television. Through analysing film clips, reading extracts from screenplays, engaging with theoretical concepts, and participating in class discussions and workshops students will be offered a comprehensive overview of the screenwriting process. The module builds upon the knowledge and skills from students’ BA studies in English Literature and Creative Writing at Level 4. It develops critical and creative skills for modules including the dissertation and aligns with other critical and creative modes in other at Level 6.  The two-hour workshops address the needs of in-depth writing and analysis at level 6. At the end of the semester students will produce a professionally formatted script for a short film or television episode alongside a commentary reflecting upon their creative work and/or a critical essay that focusses on films/ TV episodes of their own choice using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module.

The dissertation module is intended to provide students with an opportunity to select a research topic relating to an aspect of literary study which has engaged their own particular interest, and to explore it in detail through guided self-study. Each student will be assigned a tutor who will assist them in choosing their subject matter and literary approach, and who will provide advice, encouragement and formative feedback over the course of the writing process, as well as suggesting relevant reading material which may help inspire or critically locate the project. As well as the dissertation itself students will undertake a formative presentation in semester 1, and work on developing self-reflective skills through completing a progress log with their supervisors. This module connects to other modules on the programme undertaken by the students and can act as a culmination of their studies, in that the students can bring together and build from strands from earlier modules that they have particularly liked and excelled at, or act as a complement to other modules that the student has enjoyed but where they wish to use this dissertation module as an opportunity to explore and develop a different area that they wish to write on. As such, this module can connect with any of the modules students have studied across their degree, and allows them to tailor their pathway through the degree, and the degree itself, in their own way.  

This module provides students with the opportunity to explore the challenges of producing a large scale portfolio of creative writing accompanied by self-reflective critical commentary. This Dissertation portfolio may consist of a single extended piece of writing or a collection of pieces of a shorter length. An agreed word count for students submitting poetry should be negotiated with their supervisor, although as a rule 5,000 words of creative prose is considered equivalent to 150 lines of poetry. Each student will be assigned a supervisor who will assist them in choosing their subject matter and literary approach, and who will provide advice, encouragement and formative feedback over the course of the writing process, as well as suggesting relevant reading material which may help inspire or critically locate the project. This module also allows students to reflect at length on the project’s rigourous relationship to previous work in the field, form or genre, on the writing processes and thinking behind the creative choices made, and to locate the work productively in literary and theoretical contexts. As well as the dissertation itself students will undertake a formative presentation in semester 1, and work on developing self-reflective skills through completing a progress log with their supervisors. This module connects to other modules on the programme undertaken by the students and can act as a culmination of their studies, in that the students can bring together and build from strands from earlier modules that they have particularly liked and excelled at, or act as a complement to other modules that the student has enjoyed but where they wish to use this dissertation module as an opportunity to explore and develop a different area that they wish to write on. As such, this module can connect with any of the modules students have studied across their degree, and allows them to tailor their pathway through the degree, and the degree itself, in their own way.