Ways of Reading provides an overview of the skills and approaches necessary for the interpretation and evaluation of poetry, prose and drama. You will be introduced to a range of influential critical theories to literary texts from the early and mid 20th century. The module also encourages you to make practical applications of these approaches to the primary literary texts.

Critical Theories is based around the study of critical essays which have had a lasting impact on literary studies. The module introduces you to significant and contemporaneous ideas in literary criticism which scholars still implement in the 21st century. The content of the module has been selected to highlight the difference in literary studies between reading for understanding and interpretive readings.

Literary History introduces the development of English Literature. Beginning with the classical and biblical background which inspired examples of English Literature, the module will first focus upon international literature(which might include, but is not limited to, books of the Bible, classical epic and drama, and significant poetry and prose. You will then turn to the development of English literature from early examples to the eighteenth century/Romantic period, such as Old and Middle English, Renaissance drama, and significant poetry and prose.

The Medieval Outlook focuses on the period between the end of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. You will learn about the emergence of Europe as a distinct entity, comprised of a variety of peoples with diverse cultures and languages. ‘Christendom’ is often used to describe medieval Europe and we will look at how the Church did indeed give a type of cohesion to the continent. The Church assumed leadership of societies after the fall of Rome and held a deep and powerful influence on the medieval outlook. We will consider how this influence manifested itself through a study of the state, power and authority as well as popular beliefs and the medieval world-view. We will also consider the tensions which arose between the bishop of Rome and the development of more secular authority and culture. The module will predominantly focus on England but will place the country’s medieval past into a broader European context.

The Dawn of Modernity focuses on the immense social, political and religious changes which took place in Early Modern England. Reformation of the church, the outbreak of civil war, the emergence of radical sectarian groups and an increasingly politicised people created a rapidly changing society. The module will explore the diverse responses to those changes and the fear that people lived in a ‘world turned upside down’. Although the period can be characterised as one of tension and crisis, you will also consider continuities from the medieval period, and the existence of political and social consensus, climaxing in the restoration of monarchy after the short-lived republic. The module will consider whether we can truly agree with the perception of the early modern period as one of approaching modernity through a study of key developments in church, state and culture during the period 1500-1660.

Europe Re-made introduces you to the key developments that transformed European society between 1789 and 1919. At the start of this period, on the eve of the French Revolution, Europe was predominantly an agrarian society with very limited industrial and urban development. In most European states, landed elites were still dominant as a conservative influence resistant to political and social change. By 1919, Europe had been transformed into a society in which state power lay in the hands of urban-based political parties with industry and trade as the dominant forms of economic activity. The module is primarily concerned with the broad political, economic and social influences that caused this transformation which was of immense significance not only for Europe but also for the course of world history during the twentieth century.

Imperialism, Liberation, Globalisation examines some of the main events, political and social movements, economic developments and ideologies which dominated the twentieth century around the world. You will study the rise and fall of the great ideologies of Communism, Nazism and Fascism, the causes and outcome of the Second World War and the development of the Cold War between the Super Powers after 1945. The module will also look at international relations and the global economic system after the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1989-1991.

Time Detectives introduces you to the tools and methods required to become an independent historical researcher. These skills include selecting and interpreting primary evidence, independently locating books and articles, making effective use of digital tools and archives, applying these research skills to a specific historical problem, and producing a clear, convincing and original argument.

History and Society: Theory, Practice and Impact introduces you to the conventions of academic history and outlines a range of concepts and ideologies that are regularly employed within historical discourse. The module also examines the way that history and ideas about the past are employed in a wide variety of non-academic contexts, such as politics, popular culture and journalism.

Literature Dissertation Project provides an opportunity to study a topic of your choice in depth and develop your own ideas through individual research, culminating in the production of a 5,000-word long essay or ‘mini-dissertation’. The topic may develop a particular, pre-established interest or arise from a desire to study an issue or subject in more depth.

Pilgrim’s Progress: British Children’s Literature from the 18th Century to the Present Day explores British children’s literature from its origins in the eighteenth century. The module progresses through the Romantic period’s celebration of childhood and Victorian ambiguities about the angelic versus the feral child, to the Golden Age of the Edwardian period and beyond into territory darkened by war, overshadowed by the implications of empire, and the oncoming of adolescence. The module will analyse the relationships between children and adults, nature, animals, class, gender, race and sexuality, underpinned by theoretical and methodological approaches to the history and representation of childhood in literature.

Renaissance Drama explores the drama of the English Renaissance, a period of extraordinary civil and cultural change. The module evaluates the dramatic literary output of the reigns of up to ten monarchs beginning with the Tudors.  The diversity of Renaissance drama will be acknowledged and the period problematised as much as it is defined. You will explore canonical and non-canonical drama by male and female authors. Central themes and concepts under study may include monarchy, rebellion, class, nationalism, religion, heresy, superstition, witchcraft, gender and sexuality, power and self-fashioning.

Romanticism provides an introduction to texts, authors, genres and central themes from the first stirrings of what has been traditionally conceived of as the Romantic age in the 1760s, until the dawn of the Victorian age seventy years later. Poetry, the prose essay and the novel are all studied on this module.

Special Author 1 focuses on a single author (such as Hardy or Dickens) or a related group of authors (such as the Brontës) whose works are sufficiently extensive to merit a whole semester’s study. You will examine the author’s work in the light of recent critical and theoretical approaches to authorship and canonicity and develop an ability to theorise the relationship between an author and his/her literary work. You will acquire a specialist knowledge of a literary period and a major writer through examination of the author’s development in relation to relevant historical, cultural and literary contexts.

Contemporary American Literature enables you to study a range of significant contemporary American literature from post World War 2 onwards. The module enables you to examine a variety of ways in which America is imagined and constructed within fiction. You will explore how persistent figures, landscapes, and mythic concepts are engrained in American culture and embedded in the wider world’s imagination. Such concepts retain imaginative power because of frequent re-enactments in popular cultural productions. This module will trace the complex histories and fictional appropriations and discursive shifts that form these literary productions. The aim is to concentrate specific study on American fiction within its historical, social, cultural, political, critical and theoretical contexts.

Special Topic 1 enables you to begin to develop your independent research skills within a structure which provides a clear and continuing framework of support. The module will take you through weekly subject-based sessions to structured study of your chosen extended special subject research. You will have considerable choice of subject matter within three broad pathways which draw on current staff research specialisms. You will work towards producing a guided but independent research project, with specialist staff support.

The Graphic Novel acts as an introduction to the contemporary graphic novel, examining the cultural and political impact of some key examples of the form. You will be encouraged to read these works as a writer, examining the elements of character development, structure, and use of research and developing those with specific reference to the demands and opportunities available in the graphic novel format. The module is both critical and creative. You will study examples of draft scripts for graphic novels, with your final assessment being a mock script for a proposed graphic novel, replete with artistic direction. There will be at least one visiting graphic novelist due to give a talk as part of the module and one visiting collaborative artist.

Communism in Eastern and Central Europe After 1945 examines the rise, stagnation, collapse and ongoing legacies of the communist experiment that ruled half of Europe during the decades after the Second World War. The module examines both the Soviet Union itself during the post-Stalinist era and the countries of east-central Europe, allowing you to choose to study the history of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania or Yugoslavia. This history is of growing relevance to you, given that twenty years after its collapse the communist period can now be seen in historical perspective, and given the close relationships which many of the successors to these states have developed with the UK since the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007.

Urbanisation, Immigration and Economic Crisis: The United States 1880-1941 examines the processes of cultural, social and economic change in the United States from 1880 onwards. The module examines the causes of such change and their impact on American culture and society. It analyses the reasons why U.S. political leaders and social reformers saw such changes as a threat to core American values, even the very survival of the Republic itself. The responses they advanced to deal with this threat are also assessed. The module concludes by examining the causes of the Wall St Crash, 1929, the ensuing Great Depression and the effectiveness of Roosevelt’s New Deal programmes in addressing the problems that resulted from them.

Mission and Manifest Destiny: U.S. Foreign Policy and Expansionism 1840-1939 examines the process of frontier expansion within the United States during the nineteenth century. The module assesses the impact of the move west on native American populations and also the ideological justifications advanced to justify this expansionism, such as mission, manifest destiny and American exceptionalism.

Rise to Globalism: U.S. Foreign Policy Since 1939 examines the rise of the United States as a global superpower from American entry into the Second World War in 1941 through to the present day. It examines the extent to which the ideology underpinning U.S. foreign policy, under successive administrations, has been shaped by American historical experience and values, such as the concepts of American exceptionalism, mission and manifest destiny. You will also study the challenges facing U.S. foreign policy planners from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama and the effectiveness of the various strategies that have been advanced to overcome them. The module examines both the opportunities and limitations on the exercise of American power in the modern world.

The Rise of the British Empire focuses on the expansion of the British Empire in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Particular attention is given to the debates amongst historians on these subjects. At the heart of the module are fundamental, and much disputed, questions regarding the nature of imperialism and the process by which Britain attained and lost an empire that at different times stretched across Africa, Asia, America and the Pacific.

The Fall of the British Empire explores the reasons behind the end of the British Empire in the twentieth century, from the First World War until the 1960s. Reflecting the scale of the Empire, the module deals with a great variety of territories across the globe, from Australia to Iraq. It provides you with an opportunity to interpret how and why this world-changing process came to pass.

Migration and Mobility in Contemporary European History equips you with a better understanding of the historical context behind one of the most controversial issues facing Europe today. By placing current debates within a historical perspective stretching from the late 19th century right up to the present day, the module will enable you to understand political and social issues ranging from refugees to migrant workers, from cosmopolitanism to immigration controls, and from anti-racist activism to anti-migrant backlashes within a longer term context. By also examining the social and political history of daily journeys such as commuting for work, you will be encouraged to take a broad perspective on mobility.

Digital Detectives provides extensive practical experience with digital archives and will help you to develop a range of advanced digital research skills. Digital tools and archives are becoming increasingly central to the process of historical research. The module will be taught entirely in computer rooms and will take the form of weekly two-hour workshops. The historical content of the module will be structured around the history of crime and society in 18th and 19th century Britain.

Introduction to Contemporary French History: From the 1930s to the Present covers a subject that is both related to and distinct from the familiar Hitler and Stalin centric stories of 20th century Europe. You will examine the history of contemporary France during turbulent periods of political conflict and social change before, during and following the Second World War and France’s subsequent wars of decolonisation in Algeria and elsewhere, as well as its politics and society today. By taking up this comparatively rare opportunity to study the recent history of an important neighbouring country, which is often stereotyped and misunderstood in the UK, you can develop a wider international awareness.

Making History is a placement-based module in which you will apply your historical skills and knowledge to a public-facing project of your choosing. You will have the option of either identifying an external partner yourself (subject to approval from the programme team), selecting from a list of approved external partners, or working on a public history project within the department. The precise nature of each project will be determined through discussions between yourself, your tutors and external partners but each project should involve making meaningful use of the historical skills and knowledge you have developed during your degree.

The World of the Crusades examines the history of one of the most important phenomena of the Middle Ages. The module looks at the evolution and varieties of crusading in the Middle East and Europe from 1095 until the end of the Middle Ages and attempts to give you an understanding of this complex and often misunderstood phenomenon. In examining the causes that led to the emergence of crusading, the aim is to familiarise you with the religious and political culture of Europe and the Middle East. By charting the evolution of the movement, you will gain a wider understanding of medieval history. The module will also consider the effects of the crusades on Europe, the Middle East, Christianity, Islam and East-West relations, paying considerable attention to the afterlife of the crusades and their use in modern discourse and politics.

History on Screen looks at how British, American and German cinemas respectively have represented the historical period up to 1945 on screen, using a combination of contemporary and retrospective film productions. The module will thus explore not only the nature of cinematic representation in general, but also how each nation in turn constructs, or indeed, in the particular case of Germany, reconstructs, national identity through the prism of its past.

The Victorians at Work recognises that Victorians saw literature as a form of social commentary. This period survey module explores Victorian prose and poetry that addressed the pressing social and cultural questions of the period, such as the impacts of industrialisation, urbanisation, scientific advance and secularisation. You will examine the work of a range of canonical and popular Victorian authors and place their writing in the relevant literary, cultural and historical contexts.

Modernisms develops your understanding and appreciation of the key features of early 20th century movements in the literary arts. The module will examine a range of different forms, styles and practices in order to focus on the heterogeneous interpretations of the term modernism and engage with ongoing debates in modernist studies.

Contemporary Literature in English develops your understanding and appreciation of the key features of late 20th century and early 21st century movements in the literary arts. The module examines aesthetic paradigms relevant to the period including realism, the postmodern, late modernism and metafiction. The aim is to understand the continuations and reactions to the earlier Modernist period.

Hosting a Literary Festival enables you to make a direct connection between the subject matter of your degree and your plans for a graduate career by engaging with workplace practice via a group project. You will work collaboratively to research, plan and initiate an in-house literary festival while reflecting on and evaluating your ability to do so.

Special Author 2 focuses on a single author (such as Christopher Marlowe, Jane Austen or Angela Carter) or related group of authors (such as the Brontës) whose works are sufficiently extensive to justify a whole semester’s study. The module will examine the author’s work in the light of recent critical and theoretical approaches to authorship and canonicity, and develop an ability to theorise the relationship between an author and his or her literary work. You will acquire a specialist knowledge of a literary period and a major writer through examination of the author’s development in relation to relevant historical, cultural and literary contexts.

Sexuality and Subversion is devoted to the critical analysis of textual representations of sexuality and especially of same-sex desire and sexual dissidence in British prose. The module focuses mainly on the novel, but also on key autobiographical prose texts, from the 19th century to now (with particular focus on the 20th century). It problematises perceptions that sexual radicalism originated in the late 20th century by interrogating its earlier textual representation(s). Texts, their contexts, and relevant literary and cultural theories combine to reveal the changes and continuities in the textual representation of subversive and dissident sexualities and sexual identities over time.

Special Topic 2 enables you to pursue independent research within a structure which provides a clear framework of support. The module will take you through weekly subject-based sessions to more independent study of your chosen extended special subject research. You will have considerable choice of subject matter within three broad pathways which draw on current staff research specialisms. You will work towards producing a significant independent research project, with specialist staff support.

The Writer at Work places creative practice within its cultural and industry context through a detailed case study. focusing on the career of a significant 21st century author, who may be working in a single literary genre or across several, including script, fiction, poetry, non-fiction or electronic media. Examples might include Alice Munro, Alasdair Gray, Caryl Churchil, Iain Sinclair. You are able to study a writer’s body of work in greater depth than is usual at this level, while also gaining insights into the author’s creative and professional practice in relation to the creative industries.

Black Life and Black Protest in the United States 1895-1945 examines African American life and history from the 1890s through to the end of the Second World War. It considers the reasons for the widespread introduction of racial segregation in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century and its impact on African American communities. You will examine the efforts of African American leaders to challenge discrimination, from Booker T. Washington through to Asa Philip Randolph, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. The extent to which developments in this period sowed the seeds for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s are also considered.

Black Life and Black Protest in the United States Since 1945 analyses the reasons for the emergence of the post-war civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The contribution of leading individuals within the movement, like Martin Luther King, is also examined together with the life and career of Malcolm X and the Black Power movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The module concludes by assessing the legacy of the civil rights era for present day race relations and the extent to which the election of Barack Obama in 2008 means that the United States can now be described as a post-racial society.

Seeds of Conflict in the Holy Land 1840-1923 examines the origins of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict before the commencement of the British Mandate for Palestine in 1923. The module analyses the development of Zionism and Palestinian Arab nationalism under the Ottoman Empire, British support for Zionism in World War I, and the escalation of political conflict and violence by the 1920s. A principal focus will be the impact of the War.

British Rule in Palestine explores the origins and development of British rule in Palestine, a seminal chapter in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Middle East and the British Empire. The module focuses on the political objectives and impact of British rule in Palestine, with particular reference to the evolution of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict.

The Special Relationship: Britain and the USA concentrates on the major diplomatic, economic and cultural meeting points of arguably the two most influential nations of the 20th century. You will study how their relationship – at times good and at times bad – influenced the course of international history. It is a relationship of unparalleled closeness and complexity which persists into the present day. By analysing the principle issues that arose between these two competitive yet cooperative states, we may be in a position to judge to what extent the relationship actually deserves the epithet ‘special’.

History: Interpretations and Context explores the close relationship that history has with contextual developments within wider British society, in the period from circa 1840 to the present day. The relationship operates in both directions, as history and perceptions of the past act to inform notions of national identity and national values, through popular cultural media. By exploring the relationship between history and wider British society, the module also introduces you to the uses made of the past in a number of areas of employment, such as advertising, TV production, the press, marketing and commerce. You will reflect on how popularly held notions of national identity become points of connection for journalists, politicians and advertisers with the population at large.

A Century of Crime and Its Contexts: Circa 1840-1940 examines a range of crimes that occurred in England and Wales over the century between approximately 1840 and 1940. During the chronological period covered, crime became an issue of national importance and perceived as originating partly in major social change and upheaval, such as urbanisation, the First World War and expanded ownership of the motor car. The module places the crimes in their criminal justice, social, cultural and economic contexts. The aim is to use crime and punishment as a lens through which to explore and analyse important changes over time and assess the impact of key events.

HIS2036 The World of the Crusades (20 credits) added as an optional module in Year 2. HIS2035 Making History (20 credits) replaces HIS2034 History in Practice: Community Project (20 credits) as an optional module in Year 2.

HIS3040 A Century of Crime and Its Contexts: Circa 1840-1940 (20 credits) added as an optional module in Year 3.

112-120 UCAS Tariff points are required to join this programme with effect from September 2020 entry.

A Level English and A Level History or equivalent are preferred.