English Language and Literature BA (Hons)

This level 4 core module is designed to challenge students’ inherited assumptions about literature by focusing their reading through a number of critical and theoretical approaches. The module offers a survey of several ways of reading and is designed to empower students by giving them awareness of critical strategies they may never have thought of before.  Throughout, students will be encouraged not to accept critical theories passively as received wisdom, but to challenge their relevance and validity, forming a pragmatic understanding of which approaches are most useful and workable in different contexts.  The emphasis will be on the application of theory to the students’ critical practice, achieved through a balance between the discussion of literary theory (normally through secondary explanations, but also involving some primary theory) and the close reading of literary texts.  The devotion of the whole module to criticism and theory allows a degree of specialisation to complement the students’ more general foundational work. A new theoretical approach will be introduced every two weeks, allowing one week for discussion of the asynchronously available seminar materials and lecture, and another week for the application of said critical ideas to the selected literary texts. 

1. To demonstrate the relevance of particular theories or critical approaches to the interpretation of literary texts.
2. To develop a basic awareness of how texts can be read in different ways.
3. To encourage an understanding of some of the significant preoccupations of critics and thinkers about literature.
4. To enable students to gain a foundational knowledge of several critical approaches.

This a foundational core module uses a range of texts from the Renaissance to the present day. The module introduces students to the key skills of literary analysis required at degree level. The module will explicitly consider the skills involved in reading, writing essays and understanding how literature interacts with social, historical and cultural contexts, as well as introducing students to the important foundational techniques, tools, and terminology of literary criticism. Students will focus on the close, analytical reading and interpretation of prose, poetry and drama; for example, Romantic poetry, a play by Shakespeare, a contemporary novel. The lecture programme will complement the seminars: lectures will cover, for example, individual authors, genre, context, literary periods, learning resources and study skills.

The aims of the module are as follows: 

• To introduce students to the key forms of literary writing (poetry, prose and drama)
• To introduce students to a range of techniques, tools and terms useful in the analysis of literature at degree level
• To introduce students to the learning resources available to them, including using secondary sources and understanding context
• To ensure students are aware of the key skills involved in active and critical reading, as well as researching, writing essays and delivering presentations at university

This module applies and builds on some of the descriptive tools studied in EN4305 Foundations of English, with a focus on analysing written and spoken English discourse. A variety of text types representing a range of purposes, audiences and genres will be studied. These may include ‘literary’ discourse (e.g. poetry, plays, literary prose) as well as news texts, adverts, speeches, letters, electronic media and informative (academic) discourse. Students will be taught key concepts within the area of Discourse / Text Analysis and Stylistics, including concepts such as discourse, genre, register, implied audience, cohesion and foregrounding. Students will also be introduced to some of the central principles of Conversation Analysis, including basic concepts from Pragmatics (such as presupposition, inference, speech acts, theories of politeness) to help interpret data. The module encourages students to develop their understanding of the relationship between linguistic form and textual function, as well as gain further experience in analysing real data, including contemporary examples of discourse.

1. To enable students to identify and analyse variations in spoken and written English discourse and identify linguistic bases for textual ambiguity.
2. To encourage awareness of the relationships between language form and function in a range of texts.
3. To consolidate an understanding of the application of key linguistic frameworks (phonology, syntax, semantics
   etc.) being learnt in concurrent modules.
4. To provide formative opportunities for students to collect their own written or spoken data for subsequent analysis.

This module considers both the structural and historical foundations of English with the aim of providing students with the key tools for analysing English as well as the knowledge of how English has developed over time to become a language with worldwide significance.

This module introduces students to some of the core descriptive frameworks in linguistic study – the sound system (phonetics/phonology), word structure (morphology), and sentence structure (syntax). Students will learn to transcribe natural speech using the International Phonetic Alphabet; to divide words into morphemes (bound and free; derivational and inflectional); and to break down sentences into their constituent parts (clauses, phrases, words).

In the teaching of the core descriptive frameworks, the main focus of the module will be Present-Day Standard English but English will also be considered in terms of its historical development and regional context. In studying the history of English, attention will turn to semantics and etymology and students will be introduced to the Oxford English Dictionary Online for investigating the origin, meaning and structure of words.

The skills developed in this module will provide a core foundation for other modules at Level 4 and beyond.

1. To acquaint students with the basic descriptive frameworks for describing English – phonetics/phonology, morphology and syntax.
2. To enable students to distinguish between form and function at all these levels.
3. To promote an awareness of the value of linguistic tools and terminology in describing and analysing language in a context.
4. To encourage students to analyse spoken and written data using the linguistic frameworks introduced in this module.

The module explores a wide range of Gothic novels, short stories, poetry and film from the late-eighteenth century to the present day. Students will investigate the distinctive features of the Gothic genre in literature in relation to historical, cultural and literary contexts; for example, students may explore the role of the Gothic in Romantic poetry, or its relationship to ideas of the Sublime, or nineteenth century fin-de-siècle preoccupations with degeneration, or the relationship between the Gothic and Horror or Magic Realism in contemporary literature. The module will enable students to further their knowledge of literary history through analysis of the continuities and developments of Gothic themes and conventions, and to critically consider the issue of the relationship between 'high' and 'popular' culture. The module examines the Gothic genre via a range of critical and theoretical approaches which explore relevant issues such as gender, politics, sexuality, race, class, religion and psychoanalysis. Texts studied may typically include Frankenstein, 'The Fall of the House of Usher', 'Carmilla', The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Dracula, The Shining, and Let the Right One In. 

1. To introduce students to the Gothic genre, raising awareness of the relationship between Gothic literature and wider historical and cultural contexts.
2. To enable students to critically analyse a range of Gothic texts from the eighteenth century to the present.
3. To enable students to apply theoretical and critical approaches to the study of Gothic texts and conventions.
4. To encourage students to develop an awareness of the Gothic in relation to both popular and élite cultures.

This module considers how gender, as a core facet of identity, is defined and redefined in and by literature, film and popular culture. Students will be equipped with key gender theorists’ ideas in order to enable them to consider gender’s role in their own lives. Further, the module enables students to bring to bear a gendered lens when considering the construction of identity in a wide range of texts (including books, films, news stories, and music videos). It builds on the work many of the students will have done in their first year, considering gender’s function in literature, and it encourages creativity through its assessment options. The module’s key concerns – gender and identity – and its intersectional approach – make it entirely consistent with wider University initiatives around decolonizing the curriculum. Texts and theorists studied may typically include extracts from foundational works like Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble; Laura Mulvey’s theories of the gaze; or Kimberlé Crenshaw’s ‘Mapping the Margins’; and more recent books and articles by, for example, Kate Manne (Entitled), Chandra Mohanty (‘Under Western Eyes Revisited’) or Sara Ahmed. Online materials and resources such as the Everyday Sexism and Hollaback! projects will also be employed.

1. To introduce students to key gender theories, raising awareness of the relationship between gender and identity in wider historical and cultural contexts.
2. To enable students to analyse the role of gender in a range of texts and artefacts (literary, filmic, and popular cultural).
3. To enable students to apply theoretical and critical gender approaches to the study of literature, film, and popular culture texts.
4. To encourage students to develop an awareness of how gender works in and on identity (of writers, artists, and also of fictional characters). 

This optional module will introduce students to various forms of children’s literature – such as ‘penny dreadfuls’, story papers, short stories, series fiction, comics, picture books, poetry and young adult fiction – across a range of genres, including fairy tales, fantasy, the school story, adventure fiction, detective fiction, social realism and horror. Students will explore the connections between genre, form, audience and ideological functions in children’s literature. Students will be encouraged to think about cultural contexts and social change and to consider how children’s literature reflects developments in adult constructions of and anxieties about childhood from the nineteenth century to the present day. Issues covered include representations of the ideal child, family, adult/child hierarchies, childhood spaces, education, gender and class, along with the didactic functions of children’s literature, its various audiences and the uses of censorship.

Typical texts studied on this module could include fairy tales by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes, Disney adaptations of fairy tales, extracts from ‘penny dreadfuls’ and story papers – including Talbot Baines Reed’s Parkhurst school stories and Frank Richards’ Greyfriars stories, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Little Lord Fauntleroy, Carolyn Keene’s The Secret of Shadow Ranch, Batman comics, Enid Blyton’s Five on a Treasure Island, Philippa Pearce’s Tom’s Midnight Garden, Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, picture books by Anthony Browne, Jacqueline Wilson’s The Illustrated Mum, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Lil Chase’s Secrets, Lies & Locker 62, Judy Blume’s Forever, Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind and R. L. Stine’s The Boyfriend.

• To introduce students to a range of forms and genres of children’s literature.
• To develop a critical awareness of the construction of representations of childhood in children's literature.
• To explore and critically assess the cultural and social contexts of children’s literature.
• To explore critically a range of key themes issues in children’s literature.

Embedding the Chester ‘Citizen Student’ principle at the heart of English Literature teaching, this module introduces students to the legacies of materials representing community, activism, and protest, from the English Civil War to the present. Where possible, the module will include a field trip and workshops with specialists in different fields, enabling students to explore issues of equality and social justice in relation to varied forms of communication and storytelling, and the role of heritage organisations in communicating traditions of activism, human rights, liberation, and protest.

Assessment includes an opportunity for students to try their hand at creative work in different media, accompanied by critical reflection on those creative processes and their place in the traditions of protest studied on the module.

Texts to be analysed are likely to include not only fiction, drama, and poetry, but also protest songs, films, political tracts, graphic storytelling, and material culture. Thus, texts are likely to range in historical scope and form from Milton’s Paradise Lost, to life-writing about pirates and outlaws, to publicity materials for the ‘Pits and Perverts’ event of 1980s queer/ workers solidarity in Pride.

This module is informed by principles of ‘inclusive curriculum’, and materials centring marginalised experiences / voices.

1. To develop students’ confidence in analysing a variety of literary forms and media across four centuries, and to develop awareness of interdisciplinary Humanities research;
2. To guide students in analysing representations of citizenship and protest as both historically-specific AND as participating in long-standing traditions;
3. To enable students to demonstrate understanding of the legacies of literature and other media in producing, communicating, and reflecting upon discourses of citizenship and protest across four centuries;
4. To enable students to produce a piece of work with potential to contribute to, and reflect critically upon, the traditions of citizenship and protest discussed in the module

The purpose of this module is threefold: to equip aspiring writers with knowledge that will help them to get their own work published and potentially to earn income as a writer; to provide insight into the publishing industry that will advantage those considering a career or freelance work in publishing; and to develop relevant professional writing skills that are also transferable to other occupations. The module will explore opportunities for publication, introducing the protocols – and pros and cons – of submitting work to literary magazines, competitions, agents, and publishers, as well as the alternative route of self-publishing (or ‘independent publishing’) and the pitfall of ‘vanity publishing’. It will also consider how a writer’s career can be enhanced by developing a public profile through such means as websites/blogs, social media, interviews, signings, readings, festivals, and workshops. The module will take students through the process of book production from drafting a proposal to reviewing the finished product, introducing such key aspects as copyediting and proofreading (using industry-standard markup), cover design and blurb-writing, and printing and e-publishing (including print-on-demand and ‘enhanced books’). It will also consider contemporary issues in publishing, such as environmental impact and diversity (of workforce, publications, and readers), as well as key events in the publishing calendar. The Research Project encourages students to explore an aspect of publishing that particularly interests them. The Portfolio of Professional Writing provides an opportunity to develop factual and persuasive writing skills in a range of short authentic forms (such as a book proposal, cover blurb, book review, author profile, website content, social-media post, reference article, and magazine pitch).

1. To develop knowledge and understanding of publishing as a creative industry.
2. To develop a critical awareness of opportunities for the aspiring writer to get their own work published and potentially to earn income as a writer.
3. To develop understanding of a range of jobs in publishing and the key skills these require.
4. To develop factual and persuasive writing skills that are specific to publishing and transferable to other occupations.

This module investigates the concept of creativity in English and considers the textual styles and techniques which constitute so-called ‘literary’ language. Students will be encouraged to investigate genres and discourses of English both as a conventional art form – e.g. poetry and literary prose – and as everyday English which draws from the techniques associated with the former, e.g. advertising, humour, song lyrics, personal narratives, blogs, reviews, greetings cards, news stories and diaries. The module explores to what extent there is a qualitative difference between the creative use of language in canonical literary texts and more ephemeral modes of discourse. This module will look in more detail at some of the stylistic techniques explored in ‘Language and Text’ including foregrounding, deviance, metaphor, point of view and narrative. One of the aims is to give students the linguistic tools to investigate their own data and to explore to what extent they would consider it as consisting of ‘creative’ and/or ‘literary’ language.

1. To explore the concept of ‘creativity’ in English discourse.
2. To extend awareness of stylistic techniques and concepts associated with literary language in fictional and non-fiction discourses.
3. To investigate the boundaries between creative and conventional discourse.
4. To encourage students to collect their own spoken and written data to share in seminar discussions and for description/analysis in assignments.

This module introduces students to some of the ways that language can be used to influence, manipulate, inspire and oppress individuals and groups on the micro and macro-levels. The module will explore a variety of spoken and written discourses such as: political speeches, leaflets and manifestos; advertising; ‘protest’ song lyrics; broadcast news interviews; and charity / pressure group appeals. The role of language in shaping identities, and in perpetuating / challenging dominant ideologies will be investigated. Students will be introduced to the concepts of rhetoric, stereotyping, ideology, and some of the analytical concepts used in Critical Discourse Analysis such as modality, transitivity and parallelism. The aim is to encourage a stronger awareness of the power of language in everyday contexts and so students will collect their own instances of language for discussion and analysis in seminars and in assignments for assessment. This module is designed as an introduction to more specialist modules at Level 6, such as EN6314 Discourse and Ideology in the News and EN6308 Corpus Linguistics.

1. To acquaint students with some of the analytical tools and frameworks used in critical discourse analysis.
2. To introduce students to some of the contexts in which power relations are instantiated in language.
3. To promote an awareness of the ways that individual and group identities can be shaped by language.
4. To encourage students to collect their own spoken and written data to share in seminar discussions and for description/analysis in assignments.

This module introduces students to the development of the English language from its roots in Proto-Indo-European through to the global nature of English in the present day. Students will be acquainted with forms of Old, Middle and Early Modern English and will study a number of relevant texts as socio-historical exemplars of the periods in which they were produced. Students will be encouraged to develop a critical awareness of the ways in which language changes, as well as the link between variation and change at a range of linguistic levels. For Modern English, the course will focus on such issues as the development of Standard English as a prestige form and its consequences in terms of the rise of prescriptivism, the spread of global English and the effects of language contact between English and other languages. As part of the course, students will become accustomed to using online resources such as the Oxford English Dictionary and the Historical Thesaurus of English to study the English language diachronically, as well as other methods of using data to investigate the historical development of particular features of English.

1. To introduce students to some of the major language-internal and external (socio-historical) influences on the development of the English language.
2. To foster an awareness of the phonological, grammatical and semantic variation and change that English has undergone since its early evolution.
3. To give students the opportunity to investigate how English texts can be representative of language change and to compare forms of English across a range of time periods.
4. To examine the development of the standardisation process in English, and consider the subsequent effects of its implementation on a local and global scale.

This module introduces students to the links between language and identity, with a focus on how producers of popular culture texts exploit these links in order to communicate with their audience. The content provides students with an overview of the linguistic features of different varieties of English and considers how standard and non-standard variants of language are used by social groups as markers of different kinds of identity. Building on these skills and knowledge, as well as those developed in the field of discourse analysis, students will apply these models and analytical tools to a range of texts from the fields of film, television and popular music, analysing how popular culture texts encode, create and represent different identities through language use. The module will consider the importance of popular culture in the spread of ideological values within a society, and will go on to consider a range of different genres. By examining the linguistic techniques employed by text producers and their effects on reaching and constructing a particular target audience, students will hone their ability to make links between discursive structures, linguistic features and individual/ group identities.

1. To develop students’ understanding of the relationship between speakers’ linguistic choices and their identity.
2. To encourage students’ appreciation of the role of popular culture texts in communicating ideology to an audience.
3. To familiarise students with ground-breaking research in the study of popular culture across a range of disciplines.
4. To develop students’ ability to analyse texts from a range of genres linguistically and systematically.

This module acts as a bridge between the Level 4 modules - EN4305 Foundations of English and EN4302 Language and Text – and the more advanced specialist optional modules at Level 6. Advances in English also makes thematic connections with several optional modules at Level 5 so that content from the former will synchronise with that of this core module. Content will include revising and advancing core knowledge and skills application in the structures of English, such as morphology, syntax, lexical semantics, phonetics and phonology. There will also be more challenging applications of these to various aspects of language in use and language theories. This might include conversation analysis, language variation and change (including discourse analysis of historical and contemporary Englishes), approaches to metaphor, transitivity analysis and semantics. The module embeds basic research methodologies and approaches to data collection – e.g. computer-assisted approaches to language collection and analysis, ethics, use of surveys and questionnaires – to assist Level 5 English Language students with data analysis projects in other modules on their programme later in the year, and also to prepare those who opt for the EN6310 Dissertation module. There may be some variation in specific module content and the topic schedule annually depending on its relationship with other modules. For instance, an introduction to transitivity analysis, the pragmatics of conversation or metaphor theory will be timed to pave the way for more advanced applications of these in optional modules, and more advanced knowledge of theories of phonology or syntax in this module may precede application of these theories in other modules.

Combined Honours students who might only choose one other option at Level 5 are still being introduced to a broad sweep of English Language themes and topics, and Single Honours students will be able to build on their core knowledge in a wider range of optional modules. By the end of the module students should be well-equipped to have made informed choices about options at Level 6 and assimilated the appropriate skills and knowledge to succeed in more advanced specialist modules at that level. Overall, Advances in English is a holistic module which binds its associated core and optional modules diachronically and synchronically.

1. To build on core knowledge of the structures of English and introduce more advanced approaches to English language study at the morphological, syntactic, phonological and lexical semantic levels.
2. To develop more advanced skills in the application of structures of English to a variety of historical and contemporary discourse types.
3. To encourage an awareness of how knowledge of English language structures, approaches to discourse analysis and theories of language can be applied in a cross-modular fashion.
4. To deepen students’ awareness of research methodologies appropriate to the collection and investigation of original and relevant data for projects of their own choice across a variety of other English Language modules.

This module offers English students the opportunity to reflect on the transferable employability skills they have developed during their studies and to apply them in a relevant workplace context. As a work-based learning module, much of the students’ time will be spent working for a local company with an established relationship with the Department of English on a placement which requires them to use the skills typically developed on the English programmes, such as clear written and spoken communication, being critical, and recognising and applying language effectively in a range of contexts. Alongside students’ experience in the workplace, they will receive support, training and instruction from both their placement provider and their tutors on how best to develop and extend their abilities when applying them in the workplace. This will include reflection on what subject-specific skills they have developed, how to apply them in the workplace, and developing positive employment behaviours such as curiosity, organisation and positivity. Taught sessions will also focus on how knowledge about linguistic structures (as taught on this module) can be applied effectively in workplace communication and relations.

1. To develop students’ experience of working in a vibrant and engaging workplace relevant to their studies.
2. To foster in students a greater understanding of the transferable skills they develop on their English degree.
3. To encourage students’ awareness of how their skills are applicable and valuable in a range of workplace contexts.
4. To support students’ ability to reflect upon their employability and market themselves in terms of their skills and experience.

This module explores the process of child language acquisition before moving on to consider the development of children’s language skills in an educational setting. The first part of the module will be dedicated to the exploration of children’s acquisition and use of different aspects of language such as phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, and conversational skills. Attention will also be dedicated to the various theoretical debates surrounding first language acquisition, and the place these theories have in the field of linguistics more generally. Then, the module will progress to consider the impact of education on children’s development of language. This will allow students to learn about the teaching of English in primary schools in England where some controversy has surrounded the teaching of phonics and the introduction of the Key Stage 2 ‘SPaG’ (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) tests. There will be time to consider the tests, and the extent to which the tests’ questions are biased towards children whose acquired language is non-standard; the teaching of Standard English in schools; the contextualised teaching of grammar through children’s literature and across the curriculum; and the development of children’s writing.

1. To develop students’ understanding of the stages of first language acquisition;
2. To encourage students to think critically about the theoretical debates surrounding the study of first language acquisition;
3. To enable students to appreciate the complexities and controversies surrounding the teaching of English;
4. To encourage critical evaluation of the place of Standard English in education.

Part A:      

Preparation for Experiential Overseas Learning will take place at the university of Chester during level 5 and will include:  

• The multiple facets of Global citizenship
• Ethical engagement and practice
• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Intercultural communication

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Theories and models Intercultural competence
• Theories and models of Integration and Multiculturalism

• Critical thinking skills and models of Reflection
• Experiential learning models
• Self-directed experiential learning

Personal and placement-related skills

• Enhanced independence
• Improved command of multicultural behaviour
• Increased knowledge and confidence in their individual facets of personal identity
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development
• Team building and team work

Part B:            Overseas

Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours 

The purpose of this module is to enhance students’ prospects of completing an overseas placement to the best of their ability consequently it aims to:

• To equip participants with appropriate knowledge and skills to study or work in a different cultural, linguistic and/or social environment; enhancing ethical, cultural and intercultural awareness.
• To enhance students understanding of the ethical issues related to living and working abroad.
• To increase students Global Citizenship skills
• To provide an opportunity for students to reflect critically on their experience of living and learning within an unfamiliar culture, to their 'home' culture or ethnic group.

To challenge students to learn about themselves as global citizens in terms of life skills, career choices and academic development outside the classroom.

Preparation for the year abroad will take place in Chester during level 5 and will include:

• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Host-country orientation, study methods– economic, political and social reality of the country
• Orientation specific to exchange – health, education, gender issues
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Practical matters relating to living and studying in the wider world

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Critical thinking skills, experiential learning       and models of reflection

Personal and placement-related transversal skills

• Effective self-motivation and independent resourcefulness
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development

Whilst abroad:

Students will undertake study at one of UoC’s partner universities; it is expected that students will choose a series of modules at the university abroad, which equal a full-time study load. This must be agreed by the host institution and the International Tutor. Students must supply details of their courses/modules on a learning agreement within 4 weeks of arrival at the host university, note students who fail to supply this within 4 weeks may have the opportunity withdrawn.

1. To experience academic life in country outside of the EU, enhancing cultural and intercultural awareness and increasing transversal skills.
2. To reflect on the impact of the experience in their destination on one’s own personal, academic and professional development.
3. To engage with the experience of study at a partner university to gain extensive first-hand knowledge and understanding of the relevant society from the perspective of the resident.
4. To further develop independent learning techniques.
5. To foster critical evaluation.

This module is designed for Level 5 Modern Language or English Language students intending to spend a year abroad and/or considering teaching English as Foreign Language. It is also suitable for students of all disciplines interested in a career in TEFL. Students will develop their knowledge of English grammar and structure and acquire a basic understanding of the communicative approach to teaching English as a Foreign Language.  Students will also be introduced to a range of methods of teaching, learning and assessment. This knowledge will be applied practically in the planning of motivating learning activities and lesson structures, utilising the loop input approach. Students will also be acquainted with a variety of language learning resources. To complement their theoretical knowledge students will also be provided with practical teaching experience, ideally with authentic foreign learners of English, where they will have to opportunity to experiment with various learning and assessment techniques. Some teaching practice will also be in the form of micro-teaching sessions with peers on the module.

1. To develop students' awareness of English language grammar and structure.
2. To raise students’ awareness of phonology and the appropriate methods and materials to teach English pronunciation successfully.
3. To introduce students to some basic contemporary pedagogical theory related to the teaching of English as a Foreign Language.
4. To introduce students to a range of teaching and learning materials
5. To provide students with practical skills for the English language classroom.
6. To establish sound approaches to critical reflection with regard to observation, practice and professional development.
7. To enable students to enhance their transferable and interpersonal skills such as self-presentation, time management, communication and problem solving.

This module allows students to spend several weeks working on one major project working in a professional, 'simulated real world' working environment. Students will plan, execute and evaluate their work for the selected context appropriate to the programme of study.

The experiences gained in this module are invaluable to those students who see themselves working in their chosen field in the future. The staff teaching on this module bring a wealth of professional experience which they use when supervising the project work of the students.

The exact role of each student will vary according to the project undertaken, (and often with outside agencies) under staff supervision or direction. All work created will be designed to emulate best professional practice.

The aims of the module are as follows: 

• To provide opportunities for students to engage with the processes necessary for the realisation of practice based work, drawing on and further developing skills gained in previous modules.
• To approximate the demands of professional practice in making and delivering the work created, in order to prepare students for the greater autonomy expected at Level 6.
• To enable students to contextualise their experiences in relation to current theoretical debates
• To encourage students to consider longer term plans for their own career development as makers and producers of collaborative work in diverse contexts.

Pre-placement:

• Structured approaches to researching, selecting and securing a suitable work placement relevant to the student’s interests and career aspirations*.
• Writing an effective CV. Constructing a letter of application.*
• Interview skills.*

 *Note: Students are required to undertake these pre-placement tasks during term 1 level 5, as part of the placement acquisition process and will be supported by the Work Based Learning team and the Careers and Employability department.

 Induction Programme and Placement:

• The organisational context: research-informed analysis of the placement organisation’s aims, structure, culture.
• Self- assessment of needs: identification of the range of transferable skills, competencies and attitudes employees need and employers expect graduates to possess. (Employability Skills: e.g. verbal and written communication, analytical / problem solving capabilities; self-management; team working behaviours; negotiation skills; influencing people; positive attitude, resilience, building rapport).
• Devising a strategy for integrating into the workplace and work based teams
• Completion of online assignment tasks covering sourcing and obtaining placement; health and safety procedures in general; general workplace integrity; placement requirements. 

During and post-placement: Learning effectively in and from the workplace:- 

• Devising and implementing strategies to improve own approach and performance
• Critical analysis/evaluation of approach to skill development and performance in the workplace;
• Influencing the Placement Provider’s appraisal;
• Devising an action plan to develop gaps in transferable skills based on the placement experiences;

This module aims to enhance students’ prospects of gaining graduate level employment through engagement with a University approved work placement**, which will enable them to:

• Develop their understanding of workplace practice and lifelong learning;
• Enhance their work readiness and employability prospects through development of transferable skills;
• Take responsibility for their own learning and acquisition of workplace employability skills;
• Articulate, in writing, their employability skills.

This module involves the analysis of a range of science fiction texts, normally selected from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They will be considered as literary texts in their generic context but will also be placed in a range of historical, cultural, and ideological contexts. This module will analyse the formal characteristics of science fiction, but will also consider the genre as a ‘literature of ideas’, considering how science fiction has engaged with, and represented, cultural and technological changes since the late nineteenth century.   The sequence of seminars on the module will normally reflect the chronological development of science fiction.  The seminars will focus on core set texts (supplemented by additional material as appropriate), but will encompass social, literary and scientific contexts as well as text-based critical analysis.  There will be discussions of the role and technique of the science fiction writer; teaching may also include workshop sessions. An optional creative writing project is offered, particularly for Creative Writing students.

1. To analyse critically a range of science fiction texts.
2. To develop a critical awareness of the relationship between science fiction and the wider historical and cultural context(s) in which it is produced.
3. To encourage a detailed understanding of the complex thematic continuities and recurrent concerns of, and debates in, the field of science fiction (and where appropriate, to use this understanding in creative writing).
4. To enable students to deepen their engagement with English and American literary and cultural history and to analyse issues of canonicity with regard to science fiction.

This is an optional module for students of English at level six. It is designed to complement the other modules in the programme (each with their own range of authors or groupings of texts) by allowing students to examine the work of one author in detail. It enables students to consider a variety of texts by the one author from a range of critical perspectives. The module also affords students the opportunity to explore the relationship between the work of one author and his/her social, cultural and intellectual context (occasionally, where appropriate, a group of authors may be considered as one specific topic. The Brontes, for example, may be studied just as William Shakespeare, J.R.R Tolkien or Angela Carter may be). This module implicitly emphasises the higher-level skills of analysis, synthesis, reflection and application with the aim of producing an informed personal response to the author under consideration. This will enable students to apply the analytical skills and knowledge acquired at earlier levels to the work of the author in question and to develop their own informed personal response to his/her work.

1. To allow students to examine the work of one author in detail.
2. To allow students to analyse a variety of texts by that author from a range of critical perspectives.
3. To examine these texts in their historical, cultural and intellectual contexts.
4. To enable students to acquire the higher level skills of analysis, synthesis, reflection and application with the aim of producing an informed personal response to the author in question.

This level 6 optional module offers students the opportunity to apply the critical skills acquired studying literature at levels 4 and 5 to explore how and why writers represent, question and problematize concepts of crime, deviance and subversion in their work. In representing issues, identities and behaviours which challenge established social norms, the module explores how these texts probe ideological and cultural constructions of what constitutes the criminal, the deviant and the subversive. Areas with which the module may engage could include: the psychology of the criminal; culturally non-normative sexuality and sexual behaviour; criminality and class; political debate and the censored author; representations of violence; the individual and the justice system. Texts studied would span genres, cultures and historical periods and may include works by Mikhail Bulgakov, Patricia Highsmith, Oscar Wilde, Baudelaire, Sarah Waters, Shirley Jackson and Truman Capote. Throughout, students are encouraged to examine texts within their social, historical and literary contexts to consider how literature reflects, questions and challenges the cultural and ideological preoccupations of the society in which it is produced.

1. To analyse critically literary representations of crime, deviance and subversion in a range of texts, employing appropriate theoretical approaches where relevant.
2. To interrogate what different cultures and eras represent as crime, deviance and subversion and reasons for this.
3. To develop a critical awareness of the relationship between literary texts and their historical, cultural and ideological contexts in terms of what constitutes crime, deviance and subversion.
4. To enable students to develop the higher level skills of analysis, synthesis, reflection and argument with the aim of producing informed, well-evidenced responses to the issues raised by the module content.

This module focuses on women’s writing from the 1840s, when feminists first began to press for social change, to 1970 when the Equal Pay Act was passed. This period saw women writers developing narratives focusing on female protagonists who ventured out from the domestic sphere to seek wider opportunities in the world of work and education, seeking intellectual fulfilment and economic independence. This module aims to develop students’ understanding of these narratives by examining the social and political contexts of women’s writing of the period, allowing them opportunities to acquire the critical concepts and vocabulary specifically associated with a range of feminist and gender theories, along with the skills to apply these theories to literary texts. Recent work on mobility studies, place studies, women’s property, and material culture studies are also relevant and will be explored where appropriate. The module also engages with historical and recent debates surrounding gender and sexuality. The module will engage with historical debates, non-fiction primary sources and the work of feminist and gender theorists, along with the close analysis of the ‘journey from home’ narratives in a range of novels, poetry and plays authored by women. The authors studied on the module could include: Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell, Margaret Oliphant, Elizabeth Robins, Rebecca West, Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf, Daphne Du Maurier, Elizabeth Bowen, Muriel Spark, Shelagh Delaney, Fleur Adcock, and Angela Carter.

1. To enable students to evaluate women’s writing within its historical and cultural contexts.
2. To introduce students to the complex theoretical positions associated with feminist and gender theory.
3. To promote the analysis of key narratives which characterise the work of many women authors publishing between the 1840s and 1970s.
4. To enable students to understand the historical debates regarding women’s rights and how these have been reflected in female-authored texts.

This optional module will introduce students to a range of twenty-first-century young adult fiction – including crossover fiction, stand-alone novels, series fiction, comics and graphic novels, film and television and fandom – across a range of genres, such as dystopian fiction, superhero narratives, crime fiction, LGBTQ fiction, fantasy, social realism and fan(dom) fiction. Students will be encouraged to consider the ways in which contemporary YA fiction responds to recent social, political, cultural and technological advancements and the extent to which twenty-first-century YA narratives push boundaries, celebrate diversity and emphasise accountability in their representations of adolescent identities and experiences. Issues covered include the role and representation of gender and sexuality, citizenship and political regimes, terrorism, criminality, technology and social media, and fandom and consumer culture in contemporary young adult fiction.

Typical texts studied on this module could include Cecily von Zeigesar’s Gossip Girl, Anne Cassidy’s Looking for JJ, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, Jack Thorne’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Cassandra Clare’s The Bane Chronicles, David Levithan’s Every Day, Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars, Barry Lyga’s I Hunt Killers, Lisa Williamson’s The Art of Being Normal, Rob Thomas’s Veronica Mars, Frank Miller’s All-Star Batman and Robin, Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son, Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, Joanna Kenrick’s Screwed and Malorie Blackman’s Boys Don’t Cry. 

• To introduce students to a range of twenty-first-century young adult texts and to identify key developments and emerging trends in the young adult fiction market in relation to contemporary cultural and social contexts;
• To explore the relationship between young adult texts and the contemporary publishing industry and fan communities;
• To cultivate a critical awareness representations of adolescence and adolescent-centred themes and issues in young adult fiction;
• To examine relationships and interactions between texts, readers and authors of young adult fiction in the twenty-first century.

This module explores issues which have been and are still being debated within the disciplines of English language and linguistics. It also aims to engage students with some of the language controversies which occur in the public realm, such as those involving government proclamations and policy, and prescriptive attitudes of non-linguists towards language use. The debates are often presented in terms of mutually either / or binary positions, and the aim is to problematize these simplistic positions. We will also find that often the arguments stray beyond issues of language and into wider domains concerned with human behaviour and other social concerns. Content will typically include the following five major strands which, although comprising separate headings, often intersect and overlap. These are: 1) English in education; 2) Language and thought; 3) Global English; 4) The nature of language; 5) Attitudes to English. These broad headings encapsulate a rich collection of recurrent controversies associated with the nature and use of language. For instance, under language and thought, students will explore the nature of ‘political correctness’ and whether it is possible to think outside of language. Other debates which often engage the news media will also be explored, such as government policy on English teaching in schools (e.g. the pros and cons of ‘phonics’ in literacy teaching, and grammar testing), and attitudes towards spelling, grammar, and accents. Students will also explore some of the more deep-seated disagreements between linguists such as the varying theories of child language acquisition and how these reflect wider conflicts within the world of linguistics. The relative value of a selection of viewpoints will be discussed. The readings which form part of the debate will not only include those from academics who are representative of certain schools of thought, but also texts aimed at the general public (e.g. Gwynne’s Grammar by Neville Gwynne), comment from journalists, politicians and the public, and informal on-line debates. As students engage with the public debates, they may also find that often the viewpoints expressed go beyond language and reveal deep-seated ideologies about the world in general. Students should be able to objectively summarise varying sides of the debates in the seminar and in writing, and will also be given the opportunity to take a well-argued position themselves, especially in the seminar paper presentations (Assessment 1) and the ‘live’ on-line blog (Assessment 2).

1. To promote an exploration of and engagement with contemporary controversies and disagreements within the study of English language and linguistics.
2. To investigate the ways that a variety of language issues have been tackled in non-academic domains such as government representatives, the public and the news media.
3. To encourage students to collect and investigate contemporary data pertaining to ongoing debates about language issues.
4. To train students to present a balanced overview of various perspectives explored on the module, using spoken and written modes of delivery.

In this module, students will move beyond the structures of the English language to investigate the structures of language and communication in a wide selection of languages. The ethos of the module is based on Kipling’s quote ‘what know they of England, who only England know?’, and encourages students to see the structures of English in a broader typological context.

Students will study the variation exhibited across languages in morphology, phonology, orthography, syntax and semantics, in a way which will provide a comparative context in which to understand the structures of English, both past and present. A diverse range of languages with different typological and genealogical profiles will be studied, with students developing specific detailed knowledge about one particular language of their choice. These skills and knowledge will then be applied to transferable contexts in which an appreciation of the linguistic differences between English and other languages is instructive, such as the teaching of English as an additional language, British Sign Language, language documentation and maintenance, and the construction of artificial languages (conlanging).

Students will end the module with a broader understanding of the structures of English, informed by their experience of comparing its structures with those in a wide range of languages. Students will work with data in languages unfamiliar to them and gain valuable problem-solving skills as well as a useful awareness of the diversity of languages and the ways in which they are classified, documented and studied by linguists.

1. To encourage students’ appreciation of the complex parameters of variation exhibited by languages at a range of linguistic levels.
2. To develop students’ understanding of the structures of English and how they vary from other languages.
3. To familiarise students with ground-breaking research in the study of language typology and documentation.
4. To develop students’ ability to apply their knowledge of typological approaches to language variation in a range of transferable contexts.

This module explores genres, functions, values and ideology in news discourses. Much of the focus will be on the national UK print news media and their on-line equivalents. Students will explore the relationship between style and sub-genre (e.g. news reports, editorial columns, opinion columns), how these are influenced by audience and newspaper type (e.g. ‘popular red-tops’, ‘qualities’, ‘mid-markets’) and the concept of ‘newsworthiness’ (often labelled ‘news values’).

The module draws from two approaches to print news discourse: 1) Standard models which explore some of the typical linguistic features of news report discourse (e.g. Busa, 2014) and which may assume that the role of journalists is to construct an objective representation of news events. This also involves investigating news report discourse from the perspective of practitioners, referring, for instance, to practical guides to journalism aimed at trainee reporters (e.g. Pape & Featherstone, 2005; Keeble, 2005) and the concept of ‘news values’, i.e. what constitutes ‘newsworthiness’ (Bednarek and Caple 2012; 2017); 2) A critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach to news discourse which seeks to examine how various contextual and institutional factors intersect and impact on routine ideologies expressed consistently in various national newspapers (e.g. the Daily Mail’s consistent campaign against ‘migrants’ and the European Union’). The latter approach tends to reject the possibility of objectivity in the news (e.g. Conboy 2006; 2007, Richardson 2007, Baker et al, 2013). Students will therefore learn to distinguish between the overt expression of attitudes and values (e.g. in editorial columns) and their covert expression in news reports (e.g. Davies, 2020)

The module will involve training students to distinguish between what constitutes news discourse (e.g. reports and editorials) and other discourse types situated in news publications (e.g. reviews, advice pages, letters to the editor) which are not in themselves news discourse. Students will be given an insight into the differences between research based on quantitative approaches (e.g. using computer-assisted corpus tools) and qualitative analysis which may consider phenomena such as constructed oppositions, modality, presupposition/implicature, transitivity and metaphor to show how ideology is embedded in specific news reports and diachronically through consistent patterns of representation over time.

Topical case studies might include ‘immigrant’ stories, the representation of social class (e.g. benefit claimants, industrial action), political discourse in general election campaigns, the discourse of ‘good’ v ‘evil’ in crime stories, and nationalism in sport. This will involve exploring how popular news discourses rely on stereotyping and the stigmatisation of certain groups (and why).

Students will also consider the way the conventions of news discourse are reinforced linguistically and also how they are exploited and subverted in satirical texts (e.g. Daily Mash), using Ermida’s framework for news satire in the press (in Chovanec & Ermida, 2012).

The module will rely on close readings of contemporary news texts and students will collect their own data for the assessed project.

1. To give students a critical awareness of the forms and functions of stable and variable features of a variety of news discourse types such as reports and editorial columns and the news values associated with them.
2. To train students to consider the concept of objectivity in news discourse and to what extent it is achievable taking into account the contexts of consumption, production and ownership.
3. To allow students to explore the representations of individuals, groups, events and nations in contemporary news discourse.
4. To give students the opportunity to collect, present and analyse data from a news media source and on a topic of their own choice.

Forensic linguistics is the application of linguistic tools or methods to forensic problems. This module will use practical workshops to introduce a range of tools from two sub-fields of linguistics – sociophonetics and corpus linguistics – so that students gain confidence and competence in the analysis of language using these tools. The module will also explore theories and existing applications of such tools in the field of forensic linguistics and students will learn the ways in which these tools can be used to analyse language evidence such as a disputed written document or a recording of spoken language in civil or criminal cases. As one of the many challenges faced by forensic linguists is to present data to a non-specialist audience, the module will explore ways in which data can be interpreted and presented clearly and convincingly to such an audience.

1. To introduce students to theories and methods from the fields of sociophonetics and corpus linguistics and how these can be applied in a forensic linguistic context.
2. To give students the opportunity to experiment with a variety of computer software packages and corpora.
3. To allow students to use computational tools for the analysis of data in a forensic linguistic context.
4. To explore some of the challenges faced by forensic linguists in their analysis of (sometimes limited) data and their presentation of findings to a lay audience.

This module gives the student the opportunity to research in depth and write at length about a topic of their own choice.

The aims of the module are as follows: 

• To enable the student to identify and independently pursue a suitable research topic derived from the content of the programme of study
• To encourage the student to apply appropriate methods and theories to the selected topic under consideration
• To provide the opportunity for the student to articulate their thinking.