English BA(Hons)

This module introduces you to the structure of language as a system. You will learn all the basics of linguistic description, using mostly, but not only, the English language to illustrate. The module focuses on the fundamental linguistic concept of ‘levels’ of language, starting from the smallest (sounds) and building up to sentence structure. Emphasis is on the development of practical skills in analysing language structure.

This module introduces you to a diverse range of literary texts, representing the principal genres on which the Western literary tradition is built. It also explores how these genres have been adapted, modified, and reformed in response to historical and cultural change. It helps you situate this knowledge in relation to overarching questions about the key concepts, skills and terms used throughout the study of literature at university level.

This module aims to develop your understanding of key theoretical concepts and the productive ways in which these can be used in reading literary and cultural texts. It encourages you to engage with challenging ideas around nation, identity, history and culture.

This module pays close attention to issues which influence what writers write and how they write it. It explores a range of techniques for writing for specific contexts and critically evaluates how contemporary writers respond to socio-political and aesthetic issues through irony, satire, parody and allegory. It also considers how literary writers can employ techniques such as performance poetry, the satirical sketch and dramatic monologue to create character, create dramatic tension and energy, free up creativity and overcome writer’s block. You'll be introduced to a number of issue-based literary and dramatic texts and will be given guided opportunities to develop your own form of expression.

You will develop knowledge and understanding of, and expertise in, the craft of creative writing by studying a representative range of contemporary, modern and pre-Twentieth century prose and poetry. You will learn how the formal, technical and stylistic elements of creative texts are used to enable, effect and complement intention, theme and content. You will apply your knowledge by writing in a variety of forms and deploying a range of techniques. You may choose to specialise in writing prose, to specialise in writing poetry, or to write in both genres—again according to your choice. Although course materials will be differentiated to support specialisation, exemplar and stimulus materials will include both prose and poetry. You will demonstrate theoretical as well as practical learning by critically commenting on your own and others’ work in the light of your study of craft.

For this module, you'll either complete a work placement plus associated documentation, or undertake a work-related exercise, producing a tangible end-product and an evaluation of the process of its production. You'll also give a presentation based on the research you've done around career planning.

The aim of this module is to develop the tools of syntactic analysis and description that you began to acquire in 'Structure to Sense'. You'll be introduced to a more formal syntactic framework, specifically Minimalist Generative Syntax, which will be contrasted with other generative and non-generative approaches. You'll be introduced to the theoretical motivations behind Minimalism and apply the theoretical apparatus to solve syntactic problems. This will provide a more nuanced understanding of the grammatical features of language, how languages differ and how grammatical relationships are realised.

This module acquaints you with the different theories and models which describe and explain how languages diversify and develop over the course of their history. Using English as a baseline, but also drawing upon other languages, you'll explore descriptive methods employed in the fields of sociolinguistics and historical linguistics in order to chart variation and change across communities over time.

This module focuses on the linguistic analysis of style in language. It aims to improve your skills in text analysis through the introduction of a range of cutting-edge theories, frameworks and methods for literary and non-literary stylistic analysis. You'll have the opportunity to explore the relationship between form and function in language by analysing a wide range of texts and investigating such issues as text style, genre style and authorial style.

After considering the scope of pragmatics (language use) and its place in the study of language and communication, this module covers its major conceptual foundations (speech act theory, deixis, presupposition, implicature, relevance theory, context) and then proceeds to introduce its major developments and applications (the pragmatic perspective on conversational structure; interpersonal pragmatics, intercultural pragmatics; discursive pragmatics; metapragmatics.)

You’ll enhance your understanding of key theoretical concepts, inviting you to choose a particular literary topic and conceptual focus for your own original analysis of works of literature in relation to other fields of intellectual debate such as historiography, philosophy or film studies. It encourages you to challenge and build upon the concepts and methodologies that have underpinned literary criticism in the past by engaging you in interdisciplinary perspectives and advanced debates in contemporary literary theory. The module incorporates a series of concept workshops in addition to a core of lectures and seminars on a distinct literary topic, which you will choose from the range of available options. These options relate to the research expertise and scholarly publications of individual members of academic staff. The options on offer may include: Global Shakespeares; Extraordinary Gentlemen; Frontiers and Borders in American Literature; 20th-Century Poetry; 20th- Century Drama; South Asian Writing in English; Old Worlds, New Worlds and Other Worlds.

This module aims to support you in the production of a portfolio of original work in a category to be negotiated with the tutor. The production of a self-reflective commentary on the creative process is integral to the project. You'll be asked to provide a project proposal outlining the content of your project. Regular tutorials will be available to help you manage your time and offer constructive feedback to help with rewriting and drafting of creative work. It is recognised that a single piece of creative work may not be appropriate for all students, so a portfolio may contain a mixture of poetry and prose or other kinds of creative writing.

This module is intended to explore the boundaries of genre: the hazy area between fiction and non-fiction. Through study of exemplary texts, you will become acquainted with a variety of experimental narrative and poetic possibilities which they can apply to their own writing practice. You will produce a portfolio of work—narrative fiction, poetry or hybrid/experimental forms to demonstrate different approaches to innovative writing. A self-reflective commentary on intentions and the creative process will accompany the portfolio.

This module provides an introduction into the way in which children acquire language. Along with overviewing some general issues such as the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar, the module explores the procedure of acquiring social skills through language learning. This ‘socialisation’ process spans expression of one’s emotions via language, through the proper use of conventional language, to distinguishing between the norm of language use in group and individual settings. The module aims to train you to collect and critically analyse language data produced by children.

This module provides an introduction to forensics as it is applied to both speech (Forensic Phonetics) and text (Forensic Linguistics). On this module you will learn about the roles speech and text play as evidence in the courtroom as well as for criminal investigations. You will be introduced to a range of topics from both forensic phonetics and forensic linguistics that will enable you to situate the use of language in the real world and to analyse speech and written language from a forensic perspective. The topics introduced through this module will be supported by lectures and hands-on lab work.

This module advances your knowledge and understanding of sociolinguistic identity and the different ways in which identity and ideology are constructed and signalled through language use. You'll examine different theories and methods which have been used to describe and explain how language and identity have interacted over time.

The module will introduce and develop your understanding of a range of current approaches in the area of psycholinguistics. The module covers a range of psycholinguistic theories and models, and you will learn how these theories and models are developed and refined through evidence and experimental methodologies.