
English Language and Literature BA
School of English
You are viewing this course for 2021-22 entry.
Key details
- A Levels AAB
Other entry requirements - UCAS code Q304
- 3 years / Full-time
- Find out the course fee
- Industry placement
- Study abroad
Course description

This degree is a uniquely integrated single honours programme which focuses on the interface between language and literature. You'll have the opportunity to study language, literature and their interaction in a department dedicated to high-quality teaching, world-leading research, and innovative public engagement.
You'll be uniquely positioned to explore the interface between language and literary study. Our combination of core and optional modules in language, literature, linguistics, theatre, film and creative writing means that you have the opportunity to tailor your degree to suit your tastes and interests.
As well as having access to the range of modules available across the School of English, you'll study dedicated modules that explicitly explore the relationship between literature and language.
For example, you'll use linguistic techniques to analyse literary language, think about why audiences find some styles of writing particularly persuasive, and examine the techniques authors use to make their works feel 'realistic'. We have the largest group of researchers in the UK working in this area and their research will inform the content of the modules you will study.
Our core module in the first year is Practical Stylistics, the starting point for the integrated study of language and literature which is central to our Sheffield degree. You'll find out how to use a range of linguistic models to investigate different textual effects in prose fiction, dramatic texts, poetic texts, newspapers and political writing from a range of genres and periods. In your first year, you also take core modules in both language and literature, and are able to choose from a wide selection of optional modules across the School of English.
In your second year, your core modules continue the work that you began in Practical Stylistics, exploring the language of literary and non-literary texts and the creation of effects such as realism and persuasiveness. You're also able to select from language and literature modules across the School of English.
In your final year, you take at least two specialist modules, working with staff on an area that is closely related to their own research and that continues to bring language and literature together. You'll also have the opportunity to conduct your own research project, either through certain optional modules or by undertaking a dissertation.
Studying both language and literature allows you to explore the full range of teaching offered in the School of English and ensures that you are prepared for a wide range of careers when you graduate.

Modules
Over the course of each academic year at Sheffield, you will need to study modules that equate to the value of 120 credits. Some of these credits will be taken up by our core modules, which are designed to give you the breadth of knowledge and ways of thinking necessary to the degree being awarded.
For your remaining credits, you will be able to choose from an extensive range of optional modules, allowing you to shape your degree to the topics that interest you.
UCAS code: Q304
Years: 2021
20 credits of Literature modules, plus:
- Practical Stylistics
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How are literary effects created through language? How can we describe these effects? This course will aim to provide literature students with a gentle introduction to language, and provide language students with experience of applying linguistic analysis to literary texts. The emphasis will be upon a practical hands-on approach, and topics covered will include sentence structure, lexical choice, cohesion, narrative structure, discourse analysis (with reference to drama and dialogue) and point of view in narrative fiction. The texts studied will be predominantly literary and twentieth century, and will include extracts from novels, plays, poetry and short stories.
20 credits - The Sounds of English
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This module is an introduction to the subdisciplines of Linguistics known as Phonetics and Phonology, focusing specifically on the sounds of the English language. It is designed to provide a solid understanding of how speech sounds are made and how they function in use. The lectures will present descriptions of English speech sounsd and theories to explain their behaviour in a range of different accents and contexts, and the workshop classes will provide hands-on experience in using and thinking about the sounds of English. The module serves as an essential basis for more advanced linguistic study.
10 credits - The Structure of English
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This module is an introduction to the syntax of natural languages, focussing on the syntactic structure of contemporary English. This module is intended as a sister module to the 10-credit 'Sounds of English' module, which runs in parallel. It is designed to provide a firm grounding in the descriptions of English sentence structure(s), and to introduce students to the main theories and methods of syntactic argumentation. The lectures will cover major topics in the formal description of English sentences, while the workshop classes will provide hands-on experience in analysing and thinking about sentence structure. The module serves as an essential basis for more advanced linguistic study.
10 credits
Optional modules:
You will take a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 60 credits from this group.
- Varieties of English
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This course explores the extraordinary diversity of the English language today, and is concerned with describing the features, use and status of contemporary varieties of English in Britain and around the world. Extraterritorial varieties are located within histories of expansion, colonialism, and globalisation, and considered in relation to the role of English as an international language. We investigate developments which led to the social and geographic distribution of certain present day varieties in Britain. Students will apply tools of description for all linguistic levels, and develop awareness of sociolinguistic aspects of language such as social indexing, attitudes and standardisation, as well as the relationship between variation and change.
20 credits - History of English
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This module traces the history of the English language of the Fifth century AD through to the present day. Students will learn about the development of English over this period, looking at the factors which have shaped the language, and learning a variety of techniques for studying the language. The module will also introduce students to the range and variety of the English language at all periods, and to the ways in which English influences, and is influenced by, other languages.
20 credits - Early Englishes
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Early Englishes works backward over a whole millennium of English, 1600 to 600. Each week's lectures and seminar focus on one century and one text representative of that century (for example, Beowulf and Piers Plowman). We will use a variety of techniques , literary, linguistic, anthropological, cultural historical, to analyse each text, thereby opening up discussion of the issues that preoccupied the English of the time, from glorious monster-slaying to the slow surrender of pagan belief to terror at the imminent arrival of Antichrist and on to the first expressions of love and desire. Texts will initially be studied in translation so no prior knowledge of Old or Middle English is necessary, but students will also be given the opportunity to examine texts in the original language.
20 credits - Linguistic Theory
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This module explores how language is structured by examining central issues in linguistic theory, building upon the concepts introduced in EL112 Sounds of English and ELL113 Structure of English. Students will be instructed in (1) foundational theories and concepts in areas such as phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, (2) the linguistic evidence that informs these approaches, (3) the analytical techniques required to apply these theories to language data, and (4) the relevance of such theoretical models for the wider study of language. The module will develop analytical tools in using linguistic theory, training students to rigorously interpret language data within theoretical frameworks
20 credits - Introduction to Creative Writing
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The aim of this unit is to help students to develop their expressive and technical skills in writing poetry and prose and to improve their abilities as an editor and critic of their own and other people's writing. Students will be guided in the production of new work and encouraged to develop an analytical awareness of both the craft elements and the wider cultural and theoretical contexts of writing. This module explores poetic techniques for creating new poems and narrative techniques for generating some prose work through the critical study of published examples, imaginative exercises, discussion and feedback on students' own writing. This exploration will help students to develop their own creative work while sharpening critical appreciation of published poetry and modern and contemporary fiction. The course is designed to give students the expereince of being workshopped as well as to establish basic creative writing techniques on Level 1 to preparing students for the challenges of Creative Writing Level 2.
20 credits - Contemporary Literature
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This module introduces students to a diverse range of texts in English (prose, poetry, and film) with a focus on texts published since 2000. Texts will be chosen to provoke thinking and debate on urgent and controversial topics that might include: globalisation and neoliberalism; ecology and animal lives; artificial intelligence and the posthuman; political activism and social justice; migration and displacement; state violence and armed conflict. We will discuss formally and conceptually challenging works, raise ethical and philosophical questions and begin to discover how current critical and theoretical approaches can help us to engage with contemporary texts.
20 credits - Shakespeare
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This unit introduces students to the plays and poetry of William Shakespeare. Students will read a wide range of his works and will analyse them in the context of the cultural and historical energies of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. We will consider the range of dramatic styles and genres that he engages, alongside the conditions of performance, kinds of publication, and the characteristics of the language in which he worked. We shall also relate the texts to critical methods that help illuminate the relationships between drama and the culture, politics, and religion of the period.
20 credits - Introduction to Cinema
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This module aims to study a cross-section of the most important American films up to the present day and to develop both a formalist and an institutional analysis of these works. Its intention is to study the growth of the classical Hollywood style, a matter of a sophisticated range of technical stratagems as well as of a genre-based cinema, and of the institution of Hollywood itself, the most significant force in cinema to-day.
20 credits - Studying Theatre: A History of Dramatic Texts in Performance
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Covering classical, contemporary and popular texts, Introduction to Theatre aims to turn an interest in theatre and theatre-going into a more thorough appreciation of the ways in which playwriting, acting, design and performance have shaped theatre's development. Each week students will study a particular play and the historical context that informed its first performances and its theatrical afterlife. The course emphasis is on theatre as a social practice and practical discipline. Seminars and lectures will focus on the play in performance, and the processes that underlie production. Students do not need previous knowledge or experience, but should be prepared to try some new approaches to texts, for example through practical workshops.
20 credits - Foundations in Literary Study: Biblical and Classical Sources in English Literature
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This module provides foundational knowledge about the treatment of Biblical and Classical sources in English Literature. It is an important unit for the study of literature and the Humanities, preparing students for work at higher levels. Typically a Biblical or Classical source and a literary text will be discussed together, to expose a range of meanings and to prepare participants for their own research about both the Bible and Classical material as literature and the treatment of Bible and Classical material in Literature. It will also prepare students for independent research. It is recommended that all students of English take this module.
20 credits - Renaissance to Revolution
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This module surveys the poetry and prose from the early modern period in England, i.e., that written between the beginnings of the sixteenth century through the seventeenth century to the late eighteenth century. We will look at different genres, from court complaint to sonnets, prose fiction, erotic verse, restoration drama and the works of writers such as Donne, Herbert, Spenser, Marlowe, Dyrden, Milton and Pope. The texts studied will be related to critical methods that help us understand the relationships between literature and the culture, society, and politics of the period in which it was produced.
40 credits
In the second year, you take two core English Language and Literature modules, one in each semester. These modules continue the work that you began in Practical Stylistics, exploring the language of literary and non-literary texts.
Core modules:
- The History of Persuasion
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In all areas of life language plays a crucial role in defining what kind of event is taking place, who is in a position of authority and whose assertions should be trusted and believed. The aim of this module is to explore the nature of texts produced within four different areas: science, religion, the mass-media, and the market place. We shall consider the linguistic characteristics of each discourse and discuss how authority is constructed and persuasion achieved within each area. We shall also examine the emergence of each discourse from a historical angle and explore the controversies which surround communication in all four contexts. Students will have the opportunity to use stylistic techniques in the analysis of both historical and contemporary texts and to explore the social and cultural history of communication. Where appropriate, comparisons will be drawn with more literary genres with the aim of investigating (and problematising) the distinction between literary and non-literary discourse.
20 credits - Writing the Real
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This module explores the often problematic relationship between literature and 'the real world', using a range of theoretical and stylistic approaches. We will consider why 'realism' is such a difficult term to get to grips with; why describing a text or film as 'realistic' can be a very politically charged act; how ideas of 'the real' have changed over time; and what effects the inclusion of 'real' materials into fictional works may have. We will explore 'the real' in a wide range literary texts and films, including works by Elizabeth Gaskell, Ken Loach and Harold Pinter.
20 credits
Optional modules
For your remaining 80 credits, you will take at least 60 credits within the School of English, which may be within English Language or English Literature.
- Literature and Critical Thought (a)
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This course introduces writers, concepts and approaches fundamental to contemporary literary theory, and explores their application to diverse relevant texts. Students will engage in a transhistorical study of the formal, literary and cultural functions of genre (e.g. in the forms of comedy and tragedy). They will also encounter theorists such as Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Ferdinand de Saussure, Mikhail Bakhtin, Roland Barthes, Michael Foucault, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan and Jean Baudrillard. Lectures will introduce and explain this material, and seminars will discuss and apply it to the study of literature.
40 credits - Literature and Critical Thought (b)
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This course introduces writers, concepts and approaches fundamental to contemporary literary theory, and explores their application to diverse relevant texts. Students will engage in a transhistorical study of the formal, literary and cultural functions of genre (e.g. in the forms of comedy and tragedy). They will also encounter theorists such as Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Ferdinand de Saussure, Mikhail Bakhtin, Roland Barthes, Michael Foucault, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan and Jean Baudrillard. Lectures will introduce and explain this material, and seminars will discuss and apply it to the study of literature.
20 credits - Romanticism to Modernism (a)
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This module focuses on a diverse range of texts (including poetry, prose, drama and film) produced between the late eighteenth to the late twentieth century. It pays detailed attention to the varied styles, issues, and movements produced by the rapid technological, political and cultural shifts that characterise these two centuries. Drawing on the expertise of the teaching team, the module introduces cutting-edge research carried out within the department in areas such as romanticism, the Gothic and science fiction, experimental literature, colonial and postcolonial contexts, war studies, and animal studies
40 credits - Romanticism to Modernism (b)
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This module focuses on a diverse range of texts (including poetry, prose, drama and film) produced between the late eighteenth to the late twentieth century. It pays detailed attention to the varied styles, issues, and movements produced by the rapid technological, political and cultural shifts that characterise these two centuries. Drawing on the expertise of the teaching team, the module introduces cutting-edge research carried out within the department in areas such as romanticism, the Gothic and science fiction, experimental literature, colonial and postcolonial contexts, war studies, and animal studies.
20 credits - Crime Writing: from the fin de siècle to the Golden Age
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How did the genre of crime writing become so influential? This module will examine the cultural history of crime writing from 1890-1950, in a range of genres including detective novels, short stories, plays and films, and true crime writing or reportage. By focusing on a number of narratives of crime, the module will invite an analysis of how this genre is engaged with and subverted by writers wrestling with a modernity that included developments including two World Wars, imperialism and anticolonial movements, women’s suffrage and presence in the workplace and a hugely increased use of technology, alongside the rise of criminology and psychoanalysis.
20 credits - Phonetics
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This course will give students a broad overview of phonological theory, consider the development of modern framework and explore such framework in depth. It is hoped that students will have a working knowledge of phonology by the end of the course.
20 credits - Sociolinguistics
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This module explores the workings of language in its rich social setting. It includes an investigation of accent and dialect, register and style in relation to social class, gender, age, ethinicity, region and social networks. The module also examines sociolinguistic situations around the world, such as multilingualism and diglossia, pidgins and creoles, new Englishes and other globalised forms of language. The module is intended to be enabling and offers an opportunity for students to develop a sense of their own ethical responsibilities as language users and analysts. Students will be provided with the methodological tools necessary to carry out independent fieldwork and will be encouraged to undertake their own exploration of sociolinguistics.
20 credits - Syntax
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This module builds on what students have learnt in ELL113 Structure of English at Level 1, providing a more in-depth look at the structure and organising principles of sentences. We develop the tree structures students learn in first year, and see how these structures form a system of representation that can be used for any language. This involves thinking about the universal constraints on the grouping of words into phrases, and consideration of various operations that move elements around inside sentences to generate the word orders we see written or hear spoken, while at the same time ensuring that sentences satisfy formal constraints. In other words, the module provides an opportunity for students to think in more depth about why sentences are structured the way that they are.
20 credits - Exiles and Monsters: An Introduction to Old English
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This module explores the language and literature of Anglo-Saxon England, enabling students to read and understand the earliest English literature. Students will learn how to read Old English, developing a good understanding of Old English grammar and gaining familiarity with the language and literature through translating a range of set texts. The module will examine the historical background and cultural contexts of these texts, introducing students to the breadth and variety of Old English texts, and to differing critical approaches to them.
20 credits - First Language Acquisition
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This second-year module is aimed at students who have already taken Introduction to Linguistics at Level 1. In this course, we focus specifically on the first language acquisition of syntactic (and semantic) knowledge. Addressing both theoretical and methodological issues, the course explores the relationship between the logical problem of language acquisition -- how very young children manage to acquire quite abstract and subtle properties of their target grammars in the absence of clear positive evidence -- and the developmental problem of acquisition -- how children recover from systematic errors, and acquire subtle language-specific properties. We also explore the related tension between nativist vs. emergentist explanations for language acquisition and development.
20 credits - Phonology
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This module aims to examine phonological theories and the data on which they are constructed, exploring phonological organisation and processes in different languages. Segmental and prosodic (e.g. syllable-based) phenomena will be investigated, using rule- and constraint-based frameworks. As well as being a core part of theoretical linguistics, an understanding of phonology is essential to the studies of historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, speech pathologies, language acquisition, and computerised speech synthesis and recognition technologies.
20 credits - A Sense of Place: Local and Regional Identity
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This module takes an interdisciplinary approach to issues of regional and local identity in contemporary Britain. Lectures focus on different aspects of the 'local' involved in the creation, dissemination and commodification of regional and local identity. Topics covered include: perceptual geography; archaeology; material culture; place-names; dialect; 'blason populaire' and regional sayings; regional literature; regional songs as 'anthems'; regional festivals and customs; the marketing of regions in the tourist industry. From 2006 the module will be involved in the 'Business in the Curriculum' initative. Students will work in teams with representatives of cultural and heritage organisation to solve 'real life' problems.
20 credits - Big Data: Language & Digital Corpora
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This module introduces the theoretical and practical issues of using language corpora in linguistic studies and explores how the corpus-based approach and other methodologies can be combined in the study of language. The module builds on the knowledge acquired from other modules (Structure of English, Varieties of English, History of English, as well as Sociolinguistics), but focuses on actual language phenomena. Students will be introduced to the notion of the linguistic corpus and will be expected to become familiar with at least one of the major computerised corpora currently in the public domain.
20 credits - Historical Linguistics
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Language change is a fact of all living languages, and in this sense historical linguistics is just as much about the present and future of any given language as it is about its past. This module introduces historical linguistics as the branch of study that uses evidence for change to explain how and why languages change, how languages are related, and encourages students to reflect on and discuss the ways in which studying historical linguistics bears significantly on other areas of linguistics, in terms of theory, methods and fundamental questions about what language is, what it is for, and what it tells us. The subject will be approached by 1) levels of linguistic inquiry, i.e. to do with semantic, phonological, morphological, syntactic and pragmatic change; but also 2) from the perspective of 'big questions', e.g. language families and linguistic prehistory, the role of acquisition in change, methods of linguistic reconstruction, and historical sociolinguistics.
20 credits - Satire and Print in the Eighteenth Century
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Against a background of political, religious and cultural ferment, new ideas of the individual's relationship to the state emerged in the early-eighteenth century. New kinds of readers, authors, and an increasingly powerful book trade reshaped the literary map of Britain. Those fraught relationships are captured in the prose and poetry of the satirists upon this course. The political, religious and economic satires of writers including Defoe, Pope, Swift, Ramsay, Finch, Gay, Leapor, Montagu, Addison and Steele will be read as a new and troubled relationship between the individual and the state emerged alongside a vigorously contested idea of 'Britain' in literature.
20 credits - Creative Writing Poetry 2
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We learn by example: a creative writer is first and foremost a creative reader and a critical reader of his/her own work. This module explores poetic form and techniques for creating new poems through the critical study of published examples, imaginative exercises, discussion and feeback on students' own writing. This exploration will help students to develop their own creative work while sharpening critical appreciation of the formal aspects of poetry. Subjects covered will include: metre, rhythm and free verse; rhyme and verbal patterning; traditional forms such as sonnet and terza rima; new ways with form.
20 credits - Representing the Holocaust
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This course will examine fictional and non-fictional, literary and filmic, representations of the Holocaust, and considers the use and extension of conventional textual forms to do so, including documentary film, memoir, short story and cartoon. Texts covered will include Elie Wiesel's 'Night', Claude Lanzmann's film 'Shoah', Martin Sherman's 'Bent', Martin Amis's 'Time's Arrow' and Ida Fink's stories in 'A Scrap of Time'.
20 credits - The Novella and the Uncanny
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This course will explore novellas from across the last 150 years which represent uncanny experiences of haunting, madness, obsession, and psychological and political disorientation, with these intense experiences often refracted through the consciousness of a central character. We will consider whether the particularities of this literary form lend themselves to representing experiences at the 'limits of reason'. Texts will include works by Kafka, Camus, George Eliot, Ayn Rand, Pynchon and others. The course will encompass the study of some relevant theory, including Freud's essay 'The Uncanny' - which itself contains an analysis of Hoffman's bizarre short story 'The Sandman'.
20 credits - Road Journeys in American Culture: 1930-2000
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This module analyses the development of road narratives from the 1930s to the present, looking at the ways in which this narrative trope tells the story of American culture and society throughout the twentieth-century. The module aims to address some or all of the following questions. Do road journeys reflect or run away from political realities 'at home'? To what extent is the road journey a gendered space predominantly occupied by men? Are certain groups of people allowed to travel and other groups not? Is the road journey a metaphor for American colonization and expansion, or something else more ambiguous? Texts to be studied include films such as 'The Wizard of Oz', 'Bonnie and Clyde', The Straight Strory', and 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' novels such as 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac, 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov, and 'The Music of Chance' by Paul Auster, and poems by Elizabeth Bishop and Amy Clampitt.
20 credits - Irish Fiction
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The module will look at Irish fiction as an engagement with the extraordinary political changes undergone by Ireland in the transition to a free Republic, looking at stories/novels which stage (political) violence and mental/political disturbances of all kinds, from domestic abuse through to terrorism, attacks on the Big Houses, outrages of the struggle against Britain and during the civil war. It will also be looking at a range of topics, which may include: representations of Dublin and city spaces more generally; relations between Irish writing and the Revival; comedy and satirical modernism; allegories of Ireland in the gender politics and psychology of the novels and short stories; critique of Catholic and nationalist ideologies; staging of secular/Nietzschean versions of heaven and hell; the relationship between Irish culture and Europe / European modernism. The three key writers will be James Joyce, Flann O¿Brien and Samuel Beckett ¿ and consideration of texts by Elizabeth Bowen, Sean O¿Faolain, and Frank O¿Connor.
20 credits - John Donne
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This module focuses on the work of one of the most charismatic, provocative, and intellectually challenging poets and preachers of the early modern period, John Donne. Ranging across Donne¿s writings, we will consider his erotic and religious poetry, political satires, letters, and sermons. The module will examine the social and literary circles in which Donne¿s work was written and read, with a particular emphasis on contemporary cultures of print and manuscript, and also seek to locate Donne¿s work in the wider context of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century society, exploring, for example, his engagement with court politics, religious controversy, debates about marriage, and the exploration of the New World. The module will conclude with an examination of the critical reception of Donne¿s work and, in particular, the ways in which his biography has been constructed from the seventeenth-century to the present day.
20 credits - Shakespeare on Film
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This module deals with issues arising from the transposition of Shakespeare¿s plays to film. It will consider such issues as the relationship between text, staging and the cinematic adaptation. The course will look at, for example, the comparative strengths of films that attempt textual fidelity (Branagh¿s Hamlet) and those that reflect the auteur/director¿s need to `rewright¿ the original (Derek Jarman¿s The Tempest); and analyse the problems, in terms of space, language and otherwise, associated with adapting stage drama for cinematic purposes. In particular, this module will look at some of the most exciting, unconventional and successful adaptations of Shakespearean plays to screen.
20 credits - Radical Theory
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The premise of this course is the necessity to re-interpret the university as a site for philosophical speculation and theory-based intervention. Run collectively, the course will address, to use Walter Benjamin's terms, the catastrophe of the status quo, and is structured around three aims, which are: 1) to address `moments' of crisis such as, for example, climate change; the neoliberal, market-driven higher education system; the state of exception; the myth of the human; 2) to theorize these crises, and 3) to explore the relationship between theory and practice: in particular to explore theorized agency as enabling political activism.
20 credits - Good Books: Intertextual Approaches to Literature and the Bible
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Literature, film and television constantly return to the Bible as a source of narrative, character and image. Biblical texts are translated, rewritten, transposed and radically challenged by literature from the medieval period to the present day and so intertextual readings of the Bible and literature provide insight into the ways authors engage with politics, philosophy, and tradition. Our module explores a range of intertextual relationships, from medieval dream poetry through to contemporary writing and cultural representation, including a range of genres and approaches. We will analyse film, TV and visual media as well as literary forms, to explore the ways in which creative writers interpret and re-imagine biblical narratives and tropes.
20 credits - Creative Writing Prose Fiction 2
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The aim of this unit is to help students to develop their expressive and technical skills in writing prose fiction at Level 2 and to improve their abilities as an editor and critic of their own and other people's writing. Students will be guided in the production of new work and encouraged to develop an analytical awareness of both the craft elements and the wider cultural and theoretical contexts of writing. The emphasis throughout will be on reading as a writer and writing as a reader.
20 credits - Literature, Ecology, Capital
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Fredric Jameson famously noted that it `seems to be easier for us today to imagine the thoroughgoing deterioration of the earth and of nature than the breakdown of late capitalism¿. This module explores how literature represents the relationships between ecological crisis and the crises of capitalism. We will consider texts concerned with (for example) petroculture, habitat loss, biotechnology, meat and tourism. Chronologically, we will move from the late nineteenth century to the present. Given the global nature of the topic, we will be concerned with a diverse range of national literatures.
20 credits - New Realisms: Contemporary British Cinema
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This module will explore the ways in which contemporary British directors working within the broad traditions of British realist cinema have responded to and sought to represent the contemporary period. Students will study films by directors such as Andrea Arnold, Shane Meadows, Andrew Haigh, Clio Barnard, Duane Hopkins, Joanna Hogg, Steve McQueen, and Francis Lee and will consider these works in a range of theoretical, formal, and institutional contexts.
20 credits
In the third year, you take at least two specialist modules that bring language and literature together.
These modules allow you to specialise a little as you come to the end of your course, and work with a member of staff on an area that is closely related to their own research.
The modules on offer change from year to year. You may also take a Language and Literature dissertation.
40 credits from this short list:
Researching Readings (details TBC)
- Dialect in Literature and Film
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This module will explore the way in which non-standard varieties of English are represented in literature and film, and how these representations have changed over time. We will explore a range of texts and films, investigating both how dialects are represented, and why writers and filmmakers choose to use these dialects in these ways. Authors studied will include Charles Dickens, Angela Carter and James Kelman. Films studied will include Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, Howards End, and The Full Monty. The module will be assessed by a group work project (40%) and an independent research essay (60%).
20 credits - Experiments in Digital Story-Telling
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This module focuses on experimental uses of digital technology for story-telling and it offers students opportunities to engage in critical reading of narratives written by others as well as developing experimental narratives of their own. We¿ll look at several different kinds of digital artefacts including texts that have non-linear structures (hypertexts, for example), narratives that take the form of site-specific installations, narrative games, and multimodal texts that combine text and image in interesting ways. Students will also work in a small group on an experimental narrative of their own. (Note that the technical skills needed for this work will be basic and will be taught as part of the course.)
20 credits - Text-Worlds
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This module introduces students to Text World Theory, a cognitive-linguistic model of discourse processing. It provides an opportunity to explore the text-world approach to the analysis of discourse, as well as a range of related ideas and frameworks from the disciplines of linguistics, psychology, philosophy, narratology, and stylistics. We will examine, for example, the influence of context on the production and reception of discourse, the linguistic means through which mental representations of discourse are created, and the ways in which multiple worlds can be constructed across extended stretches of language. Students will be introduced to the core components of Text World Theory and will develop the skills necessary to apply this approach to a range of discourse types in a practical and systematic manner.
20 credits - Narrative Style in the Contemporary Novel
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In this module you will consider how the contemporary novel in English experiments with narrative style and technique, and the effects that are generated as a result. The module will start with a basic recap of key narrative concepts, in order to enable appreciation of the ways in which contemporary writers play with traditional narratological concepts. Some of the styles we will look at include: disruptions to chronological sequence; second-person narration; first-person free indirect discourse. We will also look at how such techniques generate or hinder the construction of experiences such as identification and empathy in the reader.
20 credits
Optional modules:
- Dissertation
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This module provides third year students with an opportunity to develop work done in Approved Modules and Core units, or study a relevant topic not included in these courses. Students are expected to show a capacity for research and for organising a long essay. The Dissertation is an essay between 8,000 and 10,000 words, the result of a sustained period of independent study at Level 3. The Dissertation takes the place of a second semester Approved Module. Disertation topics must be approved by the Dissertation convenor, Cathy Shrank. She will take into account appropriate courses that have been taken. She may advise against taking the Dissertation. It is exected that students will formulate a topic with the help of a potential supervisor chosen from the full-time academic staff and after discussion with their Personal Tutor. Registration for the Dissertation depends on availability of supervisors. Dissertation students have a preliminary meeting with their supervisors early in Semester 1 and then meet supervisors at least three times during Semester 2. Normally supervisors read one near-complete draft of the Dissertation not later than the first week after the Easter vacation. The Dissertation is due at the end of Semester 2 and normal assessment submission regulations apply to it.
20 credits - Dissertation
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The 'Dissertation' module is always taken in combination with the 'Research Practice' module and, together, these two units give students the opportunity to spend a whole year researching a topic of particular interest to them, engaging with new data or primary sources, and working on material more advanced than that normally covered in taught modules. The final results is a dissertation of between 8,000 and 10,000 words. Students receive support and research training throughout the year, attending workshops and one-to-one sessions with a supervisor. In the process, they develop research and communication skills valuable in academic and professional contexts.
20 credits - Research Practice
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'Research Practice' is normally taken in combination with the 'Dissertation' module, and, together these two units give students the opportunity to spend a whole year researching a topic of particular interest to them, engaging with new data or primary sources, and working on material more advanced than that normally covered in taught modules. 'Research Practice' focuses on the planning of the larger project. Students receive appropriate support and training in workshops and one-to-one sessions with a supervisor. By the end of the module, students have designed an appropriate programme of research and are ready to implement it.
20 credits - Psychology of Language
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This third-year module in psycholinguistics examines the relationship between the human mind and language, addressing both theoretical and methodological issues. We look at the processes involved in producing and comprehending speech, and in reading, exploring the ways in which we represent and store linguistic knowledge. The core linguistic modules will be investigated (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics), with a focus on phonology. Evidence from speech errors, impaired speech, and neuroscience alongside classic psychological experimental work in the field will be considered. Students will gain a thorough grounding in psycholinguistic theory and practice, and should acquire the tools to undertake their own research in the future.
20 credits - Creating Worlds in Performance and Literature
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This optional module will explore different understandings of world(s) along with practices of world-making in fiction and performance. Students will encounter diverse strategies for creative writing and theatre-making that seek to create story-based worlds that audiences/readers can step into and inhabit metaphorically (in literature) and literally (in performance). This will involve a combination of lectures/seminar discussions and a number of practical workshops where students would be able to engage with different materials such as text, light, sound, performance and spatial design, experimenting with the making of ‘worlds’, immersive environments and atmospheres. Students will work towards developing (in small groups or alone) and presenting their own creative storyworld. • No previous experience in theatre or writing is necessary and there will be plenty of opportunities to participate in the module in non-acting forms.
20 credits - Sociolinguistics Project
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This module will teach students about the process of conducting a project in sociolinguistics. Students will collect, transcribe, and analyse data using state of the art sociolinguistic methods.
20 credits - Language attitudes, perceptions and regard
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This module will involve students learning about the various ways that non-specialists react to language variation. Students will learn about why such reactions matter, and be taught about the latest developments in this burgeoning field.
20 credits - Narrative Style in the Contemporary Novel
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In this module you will consider how the contemporary novel in English experiments with narrative style and technique, and the effects that are generated as a result. The module will start with a basic recap of key narrative concepts, in order to enable appreciation of the ways in which contemporary writers play with traditional narratological concepts. Some of the styles we will look at include: disruptions to chronological sequence; second-person narration; first-person free indirect discourse. We will also look at how such techniques generate or hinder the construction of experiences such as identification and empathy in the reader.
20 credits - Dialect in Literature and Film
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This module will explore the way in which non-standard varieties of English are represented in literature and film, and how these representations have changed over time. We will explore a range of texts and films, investigating both how dialects are represented, and why writers and filmmakers choose to use these dialects in these ways. Authors studied will include Charles Dickens, Angela Carter and James Kelman. Films studied will include Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, Howards End, and The Full Monty. The module will be assessed by a group work project (40%) and an independent research essay (60%).
20 credits - Theolinguistics
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This module examines the ways in which people talk to and about God, both in religious and secular contexts. Among the topics that will be covered are the nature and problem of religious language, religious genres, approaches to investigating religious language, the significance of metaphor in religious language, and the use of religious language in everyday talk. A significant portion of the module will focus on critical theolinguistics, which is the exploration of how religious language is used to assert power and/or control.
20 credits - Text-Worlds
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This module introduces students to Text World Theory, a cognitive-linguistic model of discourse processing. It provides an opportunity to explore the text-world approach to the analysis of discourse, as well as a range of related ideas and frameworks from the disciplines of linguistics, psychology, philosophy, narratology, and stylistics. We will examine, for example, the influence of context on the production and reception of discourse, the linguistic means through which mental representations of discourse are created, and the ways in which multiple worlds can be constructed across extended stretches of language. Students will be introduced to the core components of Text World Theory and will develop the skills necessary to apply this approach to a range of discourse types in a practical and systematic manner.
20 credits - Experiments in Digital Story-Telling
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This module focuses on experimental uses of digital technology for story-telling and it offers students opportunities to engage in critical reading of narratives written by others as well as developing experimental narratives of their own. We¿ll look at several different kinds of digital artefacts including texts that have non-linear structures (hypertexts, for example), narratives that take the form of site-specific installations, narrative games, and multimodal texts that combine text and image in interesting ways. Students will also work in a small group on an experimental narrative of their own. (Note that the technical skills needed for this work will be basic and will be taught as part of the course.)
20 credits - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
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An introduction to the theory and practice of English Language Teaching, which will also be useful for students intending to teach languages other than English. The course covers topics in the following areas:- language acquisition; aspects of the psychology of language; approaches to language teaching; methods and materials for language teaching. Sessions tend to be practical and students have opportunities to try out ideas through occasional microteaching sessions in which they teach small groups of their peers.
20 credits - Language and Gender
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This module will explore the relationship between language use and gender identity. We will consider how gender has been defined in social and linguistic research and examine a variety of theoretical perspectives, methodologies and findings (incorporating both quantitiative and qualitative linguistic work). The approach is interdisciplinary (drawing upon sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology and discourse analysis) and will address the issues of power, status, socialisation and ideology.
20 credits - Historical Pragmatics
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Historical pragmatics is an exciting and relatively new field which takes a holistic approach (i.e. inclusive of linguistic, social and historical factors) to studying how language users communicated and constructed meaning in earlier periods. Based on the study of English, the aims of this course are: 1) to introduce the study of historical discourse as evidenced by (for example) correspondence and courtroom dialogue; 2) to introduce topics such as sociopragmatics, (im)politeness, and the 'new philology', grounding them in historical pragmatic theory; and 3) to offer an opportunity to perform historical pragmatic analysis through textual study and corpus applications
20 credits - Advanced Syntax
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This module builds on the material covered in ELL 221 Syntax, focusing on both the universal and language-specific rules that govern syntactic structure in human language. The topics covered will expand our understanding of areas of structure that could not be explained in Syntax, including further instances of movement, a more nuanced understanding of verbal structure, and a greater emphasis on data from languages other than English.
20 credits - World Englishes
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The module gives an introduction to the historical and social development of the English language, leading on to consideration of global spread of English in different parts of the world, including postcolonial contexts and the development of `new' Englishes and creoles. The module provides an analysis of linguistic features (phonology, grammar and lexis) of several varieties of Englishes, and leads on to critically examine issues such as multilingualism, language contact and change, language planning/policy, attitudes towards variation; and globalisation and identity in the classroom. Throughout the module, students are encouraged to draw on their own experiences of linguistic diversity.
20 credits - America and the Avant-Garde, 1950's-1990's
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We require a situation like it really is - no rules at all. Only when we make them do it in our labs do crystals win our games. Do they? I wonder? (John Cage). In this module we will be looking at a range of avant-garde experiments in poetry, prose and performance that have been carried out by contemporary American writers and artists. As well as discussing the innovations of performance poetry, happenings and assemblages, we will also be comparing the work of different movements such as the Beats, the Black Mountain Poets, FLUXUS, and Mail Art.
20 credits - Writing Fiction 3
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This module explores techniques and strategies for creating fiction through the critical study of short excerpts from a wide range of novels and short stories, imaginative exercises, discussion and feedback on students own writing. This exploration will help students develop their own creative work while sharpening critical appreciation of both classic and contemporary fiction. Subjects covered will include: narrative voice, character, dialogue, plot, mood, pace and style. Examples will include work by Laurence Sterne, Dickens, Joyce and Anthony Burgess, JG Ballard, Martin Amis, Irvine Welsh, Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Houellebecq.
20 credits - Modern Literature
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This course focuses on the literature of the period 1900-1945, in particular on Anglo-American and Irish Modernism, its origins around World War 1, and the texts of the 1920s and 1930s which register its impact in Britain and North America. While the Modernism movement will be at the centre of the course, represented by Joyce, Woolf, and Eliot for example, we will examine a full range of texts of that period and pay attention to the vast range of styles, issues, and non-modernists movements of the periods. The aesthetic revolution of Modernism will be changed
20 credits - Crime and Transgression in Romantic Literature
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This course will examine the politics of crime and transgression in Romanticism through a variety of literary genres. We will examine a range of themes, such as that of the Promethean wanderer, and consider the emphases which emerge from the different genres' uses in the Romantic period. Sexual, religious, metaphysical and familial transgressions will all be scrutinised through a variety of poetic, dramatic and fictional texts.
20 credits - Contemporary Literature
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This module is about a variety of texts and genres from 1945 onwards. In this period the 'canon' is unfixed and contentious, and the syllabus reflects this. Students will also be encouraged to bring to their study of the texts a consideration of literary theory and literary movements, including gender studies, post-colonialism and post-modernism.
20 credits - Women Playwrights on the International Stage: 1880s-1930s
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This module introduces plays from the 1880-1930s to demonstrate the contribution of women writers to modern drama. Studying plays in the 'Social Realist' tradition, by Elizabeth Robins and others, we examine the tensions attached to being a woman writing in a period marked by dramatic increase in women's activism. We also address plays within Symbolist and Expressionist modes by Rachilde and others who aligned themselves with the primarily male avant-garde, where representations of 'the feminine' are typically highly ambivalent. Plays are studied in conjunction with non-dramatic documents, including texts of pro- and anti-suffrage speeches and examples from the visual arts.
20 credits - Afro-American Literature 1: Beginnings to the Harlem Renaissance
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The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line, W.E.B. Du Bois writes in 1903. The course will attempt to trace 'the problem' and explore Du Bois' prophecy by reading African-American literature written during slavery in the 19th-century (the slave narratives), during Reconstruction, during the New Americanization of the early-twentieth century, during the Harlem Renaissance, and in the aftermath of the Harlem Renaissance. As well as knowledge of individual texts, the course aims to investigate practices and problematics of an Afro-American tradition in relation to an Anglo-American tradition and in relation to questions of individuality and race.
20 credits - No Animals were Harmed in the Making of this Module: Animals in Film
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Animals have played a crucial role in film as an artistic medium, from the literal use of animal products in film stock to the capturing of animal movement as a driver of stop-motion, wide-screen and CGI film technology. The wish to picture animals¿ lives, whether naturalistically or playfully, brings about filmic genres such as wildlife film and animation. By analysing a range of key films, the module will consider these and other major aspects of animals in film such as: animals¿ role in different film genres, from art-house documentary to horror; the range of literal and symbolic ways animals appear in film; animals in the film star-system; animal lives and the ethics of film-making; adaptation and the different challenges of filmic and literary representation of animals.
20 credits - Fin de siècle Gothic
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The module examines a range of Gothic texts and their fin de siècle contexts. Writers explored include R.L. Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Vernon Lee, Oscar Wilde, M.R. James, Bram Stoker, and H.G. Wells. Students will explore a diverse range of contemporary contexts which will enable them to see how theories of degeneration, images of Empire, models of medicine, notions of decadence, and ideas about history can be applied to the fin de siècle Gothic. The focus on ghosts, vampires, and aliens will help identify how a language of `otherness' articulated the culturally specific anxieties of fin de siècle Britain. Teaching involves a mixture of lectures and seminars.
20 credits - Imagining the North
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This module will consider the narratives and imagery that underpin the literary and filmic constructions of 'the north of England' in the post-war period, with particular emphasis on the representation of Sheffield. It will explore the psycho geography of the north in relation to its constituent tropes and myths, and some seminars will be given by guest experts on such topics as dialect and architecture. A wide variety of representational forms will be considered, including fiction, poetry, drama, documentary and fiction film, and television plays, while drawing on other cultural forms such as music and visual art. The module may include field trips, engagement with city institutions such as Sheffield Archives, and use of Special Collections archives, such as the Jack Rosenthal, Barry Hines and Richard Hoggart papers.
20 credits - War on Screen
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This module offers an examination of the interconnections, reciprocal relationships and parallel development of warfare and cinema, and war on film. The module will span aspects of close textual analysis, film history and cultural history, theories of representation, and film adaptation from literature in examining the filmic depiction of conflict through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Debate on and critical appraisal of the module¿s textual range will encompass concepts of realism and spectacle, film genre and ideology, and cinema¿s connection to national culture, history and identity.
20 credits - Sex and Decadence in Restoration Theatre
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The period between the Restoration of Charles II and the death of Queen Anne, witnessed an astonishing development of theatrical practice and culture; the professional Restoration stage, unlike its Renaissance predecessor, used actresses rather than cross-dressed boys to play female parts and the introduction of moveable scenery to these theatres brought with it different styles of acting, plotting and realism. On this module, we will consider how this new kind of theatre enabled the emergence of two key Restoration theatrical types, the rake and the courtesan. We will analyse what these new roles might tell us about changing attitudes towards sex - as leisure activity, moral behaviour, easy (or hard) work - in the later seventeenth century. A key question we'll be considering, too, is the degree to which the theatricalisation of sex (or sex talk) might be thought to be political in a period still haunted by the period of civil-war and Cromwellian interregnum. Was Restoration drama, sexually adventurous at every turn, as decadent and morally bankrupt as many outraged contemporaries thought? Was it really as politically and socially conservative as some modern day commentators suggest? Or was the Restoration propensity to talk sex on stage emblematic of the most revolutionary of cultural shifts, heralding the advent of core Enlightenment values such as equality, privacy and individual freedom? Did Restoration theatre, in other words, help make sex modern?In order to answer such questions we will scrutinise the relationships between sex, ethics and politics in drama by a wide range of playwrights (including Aphra Behn, Margaret Cavendish, William Congreve, John Dryden, George Etherege, George Farquhar, Nathaniel Lee, Thomas Otway, Thomas Shadwell and Nahum Tate).
20 credits - Creative Writing Poetry 3
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The aim of this unit is to help students to develop their expressive and technical skills in writing poetry at Level 3 and to improve their abilities as an editor and critic of their own and other people's writing. Students will be guided in the production of new work and encouraged to develop an analytical awareness of both the craft elements and the wider cultural and theoretical contexts of writing poetry. The emphasis throughout will be on reading as a writer and writing as a reader.
20 credits - The Brontës
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Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life, nor ought it to be so advised Robert Southey, Poet Laureate, to a young Charlotte Brontë in 1837. Just ten years later she and her sisters, Emily and Anne, caused a sensation: their first novels, published under pseudonyms just weeks apart, were read and reviewed with astonishment, praise and censure. Now some 200 years since their births, the Brontë siblings (including their brother, Branwell) sustain a thriving industry of literary tourism and their works can be read and enjoyed via a multitude of editions and adaptations. This module will explore the art of the Brontës, their writings, drawings and paintings (and Brontë portraiture), from collaborative juvenilia to Charlotte's final novel, Villette. These works shed light upon the socio-cultural trends and political upheavals of the 1840s and 1850s, from the plight of the governess to machine breaking in the industrial North. This module will also ask how and why the Brontës have enjoyed such a varied and long-lasting cultural afterlife.
20 credits - Identity/ Crisis: Trauma, Narrative, Self
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With reference to range of cultural texts, this module will explore the ways in which our identities are bound up with narratives, both those we claim to `write' for ourselves and those which are written for us, or on us. This idea comes into sharp relief in the context of the representation of trauma and distress. We will study the ways in which trauma disturbs the smooth surfaces of life-narratives and often prompts a rethinking of the categories of identity, experience, and history. Some work on trauma suggests that only literary, `poetic' texts can deal adequately with the `unspeakability' of acute crisis and its uncanny irruptions and repetitions. We will scrutinise this notion, engaging with Sarah Kofman's critical question: How can one speak of that before which all possibility of speech ceases?.
20 credits - Romantic and Victorian Poetry
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This module is on the core literature programme in the School of English. It aims to give a sound grasp of poetry from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century (roughly, 1790 to 1910). We study authors such as Charlotte Smith, William Wordsworth, S.T. Coleridge, Walter Scott, John Keats, Percy Shelley, George Gordon (Lord Byron), Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Alfred (Lord) Tennyson, Matthew Arnold, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Thomas Hardy. Teaching involves a mixture of lectures and seminars, and there is a mid-session formative assessment and an end-of-semester summative assessment.
20 credits - Romantic and Victorian Prose
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This module is on the core literature programme in the School of English. It aims to give a sound grasp of prose - short stories, novels and essays - from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century (roughly, 1790 to 1910). We study authors such as Edmund Burke, Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin, Ann Radcliffe, Mary Shelley, William Hazlitt, Jane Austen, Maria Edgeworth, Walter Scott, the Brontë sisters, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Lewis Carroll and Robert Louis Stevenson. Teaching involves a mixture of lectures and seminars, and there is a mid-session formative assessment and an end-of-semester summative assessment.
20 credits
The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it's up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research; funding changes; professional accreditation requirements; student or employer feedback; outcomes of reviews; and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption. We are no longer offering unrestricted module choice. If your course included unrestricted modules, your department will provide a list of modules from their own and other subject areas that you can choose from.
Learning and assessment
Learning
You will learn through a mix of lectures and smaller group seminars. We keep seminar groups small because we believe that's the best way to stimulate discussion and debate. All students are assigned a personal tutor with whom they have regular meetings, and you are welcome to see any of the academic staff in their regular office hours if there's anything you want to ask.
Our staff are researchers, critics, and writers. They're also passionate, dedicated teachers who work tirelessly to ensure their students are inspired.
Assessment
In addition to writing essays and more traditional exams, our modules use a range of innovative assessments that can include designing websites, writing blog posts, delivering presentations and working with publishing software.
Programme specification
This tells you the aims and learning outcomes of this course and how these will be achieved and assessed.
Entry requirements
With Access Sheffield, you could qualify for additional consideration or an alternative offer - find out if you're eligible
The A Level entry requirements for this course are:
AAB
typically including an arts and humanities subject
The A Level entry requirements for this course are:
ABB
typically including an arts and humanities subject
A Levels + additional qualifications | ABB, typically including an arts and humanities subject + B in a relevant EPQ ABB, typically including an arts and humanities subject + B in a relevant EPQ
International Baccalaureate | 34, typically with 5 in a Higher Level arts and humanities subject 33 typically including an Arts & Humanities subject at Higher Level 5
BTEC | DDD in a relevant subject DDD in a relevant subject
Scottish Highers + 1 Advanced Higher | AAABB + B, typically including an Arts and Humanities subject AABBB + B typically including an Arts and Humanities subject
Welsh Baccalaureate + 2 A Levels | B + AA, typically including an arts and humanities subject B+AB typically including an arts and humanities subject
Access to HE Diploma | 60 credits overall in a relevant subject with 45 at level 3 including Distinctions in 36 credits, + Merits in 15 credits 60 credits overall in a relevant subject with 45 at level 3 including Distinctions in 30 credits, + Merits in 15 credits
Mature students - explore other routes for mature students
You must demonstrate that your English is good enough for you to successfully complete your course. For this course we require: GCSE English Language at grade 4/C; IELTS grade of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component; or an alternative acceptable English language qualification
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General Studies is accepted
We also accept a range of other UK qualifications and other EU/international qualifications.
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the department.
School of English
We're a research-intensive school with an international perspective on English studies. Students can specialise in their chosen subject, whilst taking modules from other programmes, forging interdisciplinary connections. We are famous for our pioneering work with communities, locally and internationally. We encourage our students to get involved and to apply their academic learning, working in partnership with external organisations both within the city of Sheffield and beyond.
Our staff are researchers, critics, and writers. They're also passionate, dedicated teachers who work tirelessly to ensure their students are inspired.
We keep seminar groups small because we believe that's the best way to stimulate discussion and debate. Our modules use a range of innovative assessments and can include designing websites, writing blog posts, and working with publishing software, in addition to writing essays and delivering presentations.
We're committed to providing our students with the pastoral support they need in order to thrive on their degree. All students are assigned a personal tutor with whom they have regular meetings. You are welcome to see any of the academic staff in their regular student consultations if there's anything you want to ask.
The School of English is based in the Jessop West building at the heart of the university campus, close to the Diamond and the Information Commons. We share the Jessop West Building with the Department of History and the School of Languages and Cultures.
School of EnglishWhy choose Sheffield?
The University of Sheffield
A Top 100 university 2021
QS World University Rankings
Top 10% of all UK universities
Research Excellence Framework 2014
No 1 Students' Union in the UK
Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2019, 2018, 2017
School of English
Research Excellence Framework 2014
Graduate careers
School of English
The academic aptitude and personal skills that you develop on your degree will make you highly prized by employers, whatever your chosen career path after university:
- Excellent oral and written communication
- Independent working
- Time management and organisation
- Planning and researching written work
- Articulating knowledge and understanding of texts, concepts and theories
- Leading and participating in discussions
- Negotiation and teamwork
- Effectively conveying arguments and opinions and thinking creatively
- Critical reasoning and analysis
Our graduates are confident and articulate. They have highly developed communication skills, equipping them for a wide range of careers in journalism, the charity sector, marketing and communications, theatre and television production, PR, copywriting, publishing, teaching, web development, accountancy, and speech and language therapy, among other fields.
Many of our students go on to postgraduate study, research, and an academic career.
Placement/study abroad
Work experience
You can study our courses with the Degree with Employment Experience option. This allows you to apply for a placement year during your degree where you'll gain valuable experience and improve your employability.
Study abroad
There are opportunities to study abroad, for a semester or a year, as part of a three or four year degree programme. We have exchange agreements with universities in the USA, Australia, Canada, Singapore and throughout Europe.
Fees and funding
Fees
Additional costs
The annual fee for your course includes a number of items in addition to your tuition. If an item or activity is classed as a compulsory element for your course, it will normally be included in your tuition fee. There are also other costs which you may need to consider.
Funding your study
Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a bursary, scholarship or loan to help fund your study and enhance your learning experience.
Use our Student Funding Calculator to work out what you’re eligible for.
Visit us
University open days
There are four open days every year, usually in June, July, September and October. You can talk to staff and students, tour the campus and see inside the accommodation.
Taster days
At various times in the year we run online taster sessions to help Year 12 students experience what it is like to study at the University of Sheffield.
Applicant days
If you've received an offer to study with us, we'll invite you to one of our applicant days, which take place between November and April. These applicant days have a strong department focus and give you the chance to really explore student life here, even if you've visited us before.
Campus tours
Campus tours run regularly throughout the year, at 1pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Apply for this course
Make sure you've done everything you need to do before you apply.
How to apply When you're ready to apply, see the UCAS website:
www.ucas.com
The awarding body for this course is the University of Sheffield.