English Literature BA (Hons)

Rethinking Modernity (Core)

We have never been modern, at least according to the French sociologist Bruno Latour. And yet, the idea of ‘modernity’, and the closely related notions of progress and civilization, has governed how we think and talk about society, politics and culture. This module will encourage you to think critically about ‘modernity’ as a conceptual framework across Humanities disciplines by considering how ‘the modern’ has shaped work in History, Literary studies, Media and Cultural Studies. Along with key theorists and positions that underpin these areas, you will also study issues arising from post-colonial and feminist thought in order to challenge and rethink the notion of modernity.  

• Credits: 20

The Public Role of the Arts and Humanities (Core)

Module description coming soon.

• Credits: 20

Introduction to Critical Theory (Core)

The module introduces critical theory and its application to the reading of literary texts. Beginning with classical descriptions of form and unity, the module traces the major developments in critical theory to the present day.

London Theatre (Core)

This module introduces you to the contemporary London theatre scene by encouraging you to see a range of productions in London, and training you how to write and review these shows as your assessment.

Doing History (Optional)

In this module you will think about the kind of work that historians do – why they write history in the ways that they do, why they ask particular types of questions, what assumptions they bring to their work, what historians think about other people’s ways of producing accounts about the past, and the role of historical knowledge in contemporary culture.

Revolutions and Rebellions (Optional)

In this module you will examine a series of world revolutions and major rebellions against political authority. The module’s content covers two principal fields – different ways of conceptualising revolutions and rebellion, and specific examples of revolutions and rebellions that have occurred across four continents. The module begins by examining ideas and ideologies of revolutions, providing you with a vocabulary and conceptual repertoire that you can use to discuss revolutionary activities throughout the remainder of the module. The specific examples of revolutions and rebellions that we cover are located in a period that runs from the mid-18th to the early 21st Centuries.

Current Writers and Writing (Optional)

Module description coming soon.

• Credits: 20

Introduction to Narrative (Optional)

Module description coming soon.

• Credits: 20

What is Politics? (Optional)

What makes a topic, theory or decision a political one? Who should care about political events, and about the academic study of politics? What methods or approaches are used to study politics? This module introduces you to key questions, theories and concepts in the study of politics at undergraduate level. You will investigate a selection of central political concepts from a range of perspectives.

Introduction to International Relations (Optional)

International relations is the academic discipline that tries to provide a theoretical and conceptual framework for understanding and analysing international politics. This module will familiarise you with the origins and evolution of the discipline and show how different schools of thought have emerged, and how they can help us understand the nature of the international system.

Film, Style and Form (Optional)

This module introduces you to film and television style. Beginning with a consideration of the variety of forms and approaches to the moving image, you will consider the micro elements of cinema such as mise en scène, cinematography, editing, sound, montage and special effects. You will also consider the macro structures such as narrative and genre, with a focus also on the identities of the producers, performers and audiences for screen industries.

Digital Cultures (Optional)

This module considers the role of digital and social media in 21st-century life.

It will examine some ways of viewing digital media in terms of technological developments, the politics and economy of media, social media, participation and online communities, and the remediation of previous media forms through digital platforms. It also engages you with the ethical and political issues involved in contemporary media production and consumption.

Media History (Optional)

This module will examine media products and institutions in light of technological and historical developments. By studying the origins of film and broadcasting industries, you will examine how cinema and visual culture has developed historically. This module will examine key areas of media production and practice and how this might be understood commercially as well as culturally and politically. It will also case study significant mediated forms of popular entertainment and their historical and social context, such as sport and the media, television comedy and popular music. The module will develop your understanding of public and private broadcasting, film standardisation, TV scheduling, press regulation, and the commercial imperatives of film and television production, distribution and exhibition.

Digital Production (Optional)

This module will introduce a range of concepts relating to the creation, production and editing of digital short films. Whilst taking this module, you will begin to explore filmmaking both as a technical endeavour, and as a creative discipline.

Every step of the process of taking a script idea to the end result of a completed film will be discussed, performed and reflected upon within the lectures and workshops, and in the practical production and the development portfolio.

British Film and TV (Optional)

This module will explore the key issues in analysing British film and television, as well as social changes that have transformed representations of Britishness in the media concerned. A variety of approaches will be taken, including close attention to particular auteurs in film and television as well as a more general discussion of important film and television genres.

Foundations in Biblical Interpretation (Optional)

This module provides a foundation of the variety of approaches to the interpretation of the Bible today which are in play in scholarly and popular discourse. It will look at ways in which biblical texts can be interpreted in their ancient contexts and how the history of their interpretation can be understood. It allows you to reflect on your own and others’ reading of the Bible thoughtfully, critically and creatively.

Key Concepts in World Religions (Optional)

This module will introduce you to a variety of religious thought from around the world. It will begin with the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It will then turn to the East and explore Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, before finally exploring Daoism and Confucianism. It will study both the practices and beliefs of each tradition. Each week it will examine either a pre-eminent thinker or a central concept within each tradition in particular detail.

Fundamentals of Systematic Theology (Optional)

The module introduces you to the central themes of Christian theology. It analyses each theme in its Scriptural foundations and doctrinal bases, before introducing an important contemporary discussions drawing on recent theology.

This approach provides an overview of the history of each theme, as well as equipping you with the fundamental terminology of systematic theology and some awareness of its contemporary relevance.

You will also be introduced to different modes of theological reasoning, enabling you to adopt and articulate your own positions on the matters studied. You are encouraged to engage with ongoing theological debates, and begin to engage critically with the interlocutors studied. The module provides a foundation and context for more specialised systematic theology modules of subsequent years.

The Nature of Religion (Optional)

The module offers a detailed exploration of the concept of religion, and the various ways in which leading scholars, both classic and contemporary, have tried to define it. You will be introduced to a foundational, theoretical debate in the study of religion.

The module will centre around the reading, interpreting, discussing, and critiquing a number of primary texts from within the sociology and anthropology of religion. Authors will include some or all of the following: Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Peter Clarke, Steve Bruce, Irena Borowik, Linda Woodhead, Timothy Fitzgerald, and Christian Smith.

Introduction to Ethics (Optional)

The module will introduce you to ethics. It will include an overview of the main value theories and normative ethical theories, both historical and modern. You will also be taught to think about the status itself of ethical claims and ethical language.

Romanticism: English Literature and its Background 1776-1832 (Core)

The module asks you to read literature of the ‘Romantic’ period in the context of revolutions and profound changes that were happening in society. While the big six male poets – Blake, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and Keats – are considered, the module brings to the fore works by working-class and women writers, such as Shelley’s Frankenstein, Austen’s Persuasion, and John Clare’s poetry.

Gothic Cultures 1760-1900 (Core)

Starting with Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto (1764), which was written at Strawberry Hill, you will examine the result genre of Gothic fiction that flourished during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Curating London (Core)

In this module, oriented towards the achievement of your career aspirations, you first examine the history of, and writing about, the capital city, and are then asked to plan and execute an enterprising project on the subject. You may create an education website on some aspect, design a walking tour of a part of the city, or curate a small exhibition or film season on a particular theme.

Narrative and Identity in the 19th Century Novel (Core)

Module description coming soon.

Working with the Liberal Arts (Optional)

This module combines a work placement with field trips to various cultural institutions such as museums, art galleries and cultural centres, publishing houses, theatres, memorials, archives, and public spaces, predominantly in London but potentially in other cities too.

The intention is to witness first-hand how and why these various spaces engage with the themes that run through the liberal arts degree - including identity, power, representation, knowledge. More importantly the visits will provide opportunities to speak with those employed in different roles in these institutions (directors, curators, artists, conservators, technicians, editors, publicists, educationalists, archivists, for example) in order to find out more about potential careers in the liberal arts, but also to learn vocational skills relevant to careers in the field.

• Credits: 20

Researching the Liberal Arts (Optional)

You will be encouraged to think about the different research methods associated with the Humanities and Liberal Arts, and work in a group to apply these methods to a defined problem.

You will be briefed on a specific problem, question or issue within the field of the Humanities, Liberal Arts or Creative Industries by a practitioner or researcher actively engaged with it. You'll then have a series of research skills workshops before choosing how you will apply a given research methodology to produce a report on the subject.

• Credits: 20

Liberty or Death: The French Revolution (Optional)

The French Revolution continues to shape our lives in innumerable ways, from the way we do politics to our art and literature. It gave birth to the modern nation-state and the modern restaurant, our concepts of left and right and the very idea of a national anthem. Yet the Revolution remains a subject of intense and passionate historical debate.

You will consider the historical significance of this period by examining the following questions: Why did the Revolution happen? What was new about the regime that emerged after 1789? What role did ordinary men and women play in events, and how did their lives change? Why, ultimately, did the Revolution lead to terror, war, and dictatorship?

Australia: Great Southern Land (Optional)

This module explores the political and cultural history of Australia from its earliest origins to the start of the 21st century.

Public Histories (Optional)

On this module, you will look at some ways in which the relationship between public and orthodox academic histories has been characterised. It discusses the different ways that producers of histories and other forms of past-talk have conceptualised the ‘before now’.

The module assesses arguments for and against using the past as a way of engaging with contemporary social and political issues. It looks at the relationship between history and memory, and questions why people believe they have a responsibility to remember the past – and why cultures collectively remember what they do.

In order to maintain coherence in the coverage of content, the module will always be organised around two case studies. Each case study will examine how academic and public histories are implicated in their particular set of concerns.

Popular Culture, Politics and History (Optional)

On this module, you will explore ways in which historians and others have written about popular cultural forms – principally film and popular music. For convenience’s sake, the topics are organised chronologically, from the 1950s to the 2000s.

The main point of working through these topics is to allow a number of important themes to recur in class discussions: modernism (more specifically that dimension of modernist practices that is future-oriented), activism (focused on immediate social and political concerns), historicism (consciously invoking a tradition), memory (directed towards pedagogy, commemoration, consolation and identity formation) and nostalgia (expressing a longing for things past).

The range of examples covered is wide and trans-national. By the end, you will have a better understanding of the critical importance of modernist and postmodernist popular culture.

Writing Genre Fiction (Optional)

This module aims to combine the analytical and interpretive skills required to assess the creation of works within a particular genre of fiction with the creative skills involved in contributing to that genre. The module will consider both the aesthetic and commercial concerns and demands of writing within established genre categories and attempt to address questions of distinctions between popular and literary fiction.

Writing Lyrics and Poetry (Optional)

This module aims to help you develop skills in the use of rhythm, rhyme, metre and the innovative application of language in relation to writing poetry and song lyrics. It aims to develop a practical knowledge of the creative process through various stages of analysis and drafting.

Journalism 1: News Writing (Optional)

An introduction to writing news journalism in print and online. This module considers the role of news in society and aspects of the research and production of short and longer news pieces. Emphasis is placed on mastering the strict, clear style of news-writing, researching a publication's voice and leadership, and the possibility of journalism as a career.

The Publishing Industry (Optional)

The module aims to introduce you to the world of professional publishing, and the processes involved in preparing texts for publication. It aims to examine the publishing industry from both a UK and an international perspective and explore the relationship between writers, editors, agents and publishers. The primary focus is on commercial book publishing, but the module will also consider academic and electronic publishing and self-publishing.

North American Cinema (Optional)

This module explores the history of Hollywood as a dominant mode of production together with subordinate modes of production. Areas of study include the studio system and the Paramount decree; New Hollywood and independent cinema; key genres such as film noir, melodrama and action-adventure; classification and censorship; distribution, exhibition practices and film festivals; and African-American cinema.

Screen Theory and Criticism (Optional)

The module outlines key film and media theories, including classical film theory; spectatorship and apparatus theory; ideology and Marxist criticism; postmodern theory; queer theory; affect theory; and postcolonialism. It also considers non-theoretical methodologies such as media industry studies and film criticism. Guest speakers will give an industry perspective on the interpretation of and writing about film and television.

Documentary and World Cinema (Optional)

Beginning with documentary, non-fiction film will be explored in terms of its form and traditions, with case-studies of notable examples in this branch of filmmaking. The module will then consider world and transnational cinema as well as global media forms such as anime. Notions of film movements, authorship and national cinemas will be discussed and problematised.

Multimedia Production (Optional)

This module will build upon ideas discussed at Level 4 to further your understanding of a range of concepts and practical skills relating to the creation, production and editing of a short media product. You will operationalise this enhanced comprehension of the necessary skill set required by key personnel within a production team and you will focus upon areas of pre-production, shooting, editing and finishing to deliver a media product in a timely and budget-conscious manner.

Screenwriting 1 (Optional)

This module will introduce you to the ideas and practices required in the development and writing of scripts for television. Through seminar discussions, practical writing workshops, screenings and critical evaluation of exemplar television programmes, you will first explore an existing piece of television and re-imagine it as a piece of fan fiction. You will then develop an original idea by going through the process of script development (proposal, pitch, outlines and treatment), which will then culminate in the production of the opening pages of a teleplay.

God in Christ (Optional)

This module involves a detailed study of the central Christian doctrines surrounding Christology and the Triune God, focusing particularly on intellectual developments in recent years. The first half of the module works from the Chalcedon Definition, and studies key tensions in Christology as they have affected important discussions in systematic theology, and the second half works from the Nicene Creed to the Doctrine of the Trinity in recent theology.

You learn about the complex theological dynamics involved when the understandings to fundamental doctrines change, and about the interplay with the historical and cultural contexts which stimulate such changes. You will also engage in critically evaluating these developments. The module uses visual theological aids throughout, to provide contextual and culturally-rich understandings of intellectual changes.

Religion and Reason (Optional)

This module will introduce you to the study of religion from the perspective of natural reason. The difference between natural theology and revealed theology will be explained. Key arguments both for and against the existence of God will be explored and you will learn how to critique and evaluate each argument.

Ecclesiology (Optional)

This module examines the historical origins of the Church and its Scriptural foundations. The different theological schools for understanding the significance and character of the Church are also studied, as they have developed in theological tradition. Different images for understanding the Church today are brought into discussion, to evaluate different ways of approaching the Church as a place of belonging for the contemporary believer.

The module also considers the trajectory and possibilities in the light of the culture in which we live at present, encouraging individual application of the module content to differing contexts.

Medieval Islamic Thought (Optional)

This module will introduce you to the rich history of Islamic medieval philosophy. The origins, beliefs and practices of Islam will be explored. However, the bulk of the course will focus on key Islamic thinkers, the debates and disagreements they had, and the views they held during the medieval period. Attention will also be drawn to the influence ancient Greek philosophy had on Islamic philosophy, as well as the influence Islamic philosophy had on European Christian philosophy.

Religion in Contemporary Society (Optional)

Module description coming soon.

Bioethics (Optional)

Social changes and technological innovations from the late 1960s have given rise to a new area of study: bioethics. This subdiscipline grew out of medical ethics, but has since expanded beyond the professional ethics of medical practitioners to tackle fundamental ethical questions relating to health and society. This module enables you to apply your knowledge of ethics to the fast-moving world of new developments in biology, especially genetics.

Theological Anthropology (Optional)

Theological anthropology seeks to understand the human being in light of theological claims, to explore the ramifications of this understanding for human life, and engage in constructive dialogue with other accounts of being human. The module is focused particularly on claims surrounding creation and creatureliness, redemption and salvation, and also death and ultimate destiny.

Scriptural, doctrinal and historical sources for each of these foci are covered, and particular tensions in systematic theological understanding will be entered into. On this basis, critically constructive encounters with other approaches to understanding humanity will be undertaken, enabling you to discern how theological anthropology can or cannot inform the perpetual uncertainties of the human condition.

The Aspiring Entrepreneur (Optional)

Entrepreneurship education is essential for developing the human capital necessary for the society of the future. It is not enough to add entrepreneurship on the perimeter – it needs to be core to the way education operates. Educational institutions, at all levels (primary, secondary and higher education) need to adopt 21st century methods and tools to develop the appropriate learning environment for encouraging creativity, innovation and the ability to “think out of the box” to solve problems (Wilson et al 2009).

The intention is that this module will enable you to engage in a range of activities and reflect on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. As part of the curriculum framework, this module serves as a stepping-stone to promoting further entrepreneurial activity within the university. The progression route from the module, naturally links to Start-up St Marys (an entrepreneurial extra-curricular programme) which you will have access to. By completing the Aspiring Entrepreneur module, you will be equipped with the necessary skills and abilities to successfully engage in the St Mary’s Start-up programme and importantly, you will have enhanced their employability skills which in turn will improve graduate outcomes.

The Aspiring Entrepreneur module will support you in identifying the range of skills required and your current competencies in these, in order to successfully engage in future entrepreneurship. The module will explore a range of both technical skills and the leadership traits required by successful entrepreneurs. These skills are increasingly advantageous to both the individual and the organisation they operate in. With an extensive range of experience in both entrepreneurship and reflection, the Centre for Work-based  Learning academic team will be able to facilitate the development of the soft skills related to leadership, ethics, communication, and new working models (Sousa, 2018). 

Responsible Leadership in the 21st Century (Optional)

Module description coming soon.

An Interdisciplinary Encounter With the Sacred (Optional)

Module description coming soon.

Dissertation/Independent Project (Core)

Module description coming soon.

Modernisms in English Literature (Core)

This core module concerns the great flowering of European culture from the late nineteenth century until the Second World War. Authors examined include Thomas Hardy, T S Eliot, Joseph Conrad, Henry James, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf.

Literature and the Unconscious (Core)

Taking texts like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and R L Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde as examples, this module proposes a psychoanalytic approach to reading literature, and asks you to examine the literary text as an expression of those repressed anxieties and desires we call ‘the unconscious’.

New Voices: Twentieth-Century Literature (Core)

Module description coming soon.

Renaissance Kingship (Optional)

This module explores the nature of kingship in early-modern Europe, focusing on England, France, Spain, the Ottoman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. It will discuss comparatively, and through current historiography, contemporary theories of kingship and how it functioned in practice as the principal (but not exclusive) focus of social hierarchy and legal authority in European entities before the rise of the modern state.

Creative Non-Fiction (Optional)

This module will enable you to engage in a variety of narrative strategies practised in the most popular and lucrative area of publishing - creative non-fiction. You will develop a practical understanding of how to approach the memoir, autobiography, creative journalism and the non-fiction novel and story with integrity and originality.

The Paradox of Horror (Optional)

This module investigates the paradox of horror - why audiences of horror cinema find films which are designed to shock, disgust and frighten so entertaining, enjoyable and appealing. The module will also focus on marketing strategies and the ways that horror film-makers and distributors use online social media channels to engage audiences.

Screenwriting 2 (Optional)

The module will further develop your skills in scriptwriting and will focus specifically on the filmic medium. You will be introduced to a range of film texts from short experimental cinema through to big-budget features. This module allows you to experience the whole creative film process from conception to completion, through various stages of story idea, outline, drafting and rewriting and selling scripts.

Global Media (Optional)

This module will introduce you to media across the world. It provides an overview of contemporary developments in the global media and communication industries and their impact on audiences and cultures worldwide.

Lectures will focus on institutional practices and patterns of media in specific countries and regions such as Japan, China, Europe, Africa and the Arab world.

You will be provided with knowledge of key trends and developments within those media systems and learn to pay specific attention to their respective socio-political contexts.

Political Communication (Optional)

This module examines the central role of political communication in contemporary politics. It explores the art of communication in the public sphere in theory and in practice, using a variety of case studies from the UK and beyond. It encourages you to reflect on the ethical dimension of the various means used to persuade audiences.

Hindu Texts (Optional)

Module description coming soon.

Metaethics (Optional)

Module description coming soon.

Christian Ethics (Optional)

Module description coming soon.

Christian Spirituality (Optional)

This module will provide an introduction to the main themes and developments of the Christian spiritual tradition. This will include an overview of the history of spirituality, the traditions associated with specific writers and religious orders, different methods of prayer and the practice and importance of spiritual direction. The work will be placed in the context of your ongoing relationship with spiritual direction. The place of Mary in spirituality and theology will also be covered.

Ecclesiology and Mariology (Optional)

Module description coming soon.