BA (Hons) English Literature (with Foundation Year)

Designed to ease your transition to university-level study, this module builds your core academic and self-management habits through active, seminar-based practice. Every week, you'll perform close-reading analyses, participate in collaborative discussions, conduct research using diverse methodologies, and work through guided writing and essay-planning exercises.

By engaging in these practical activities, you'll learn to synthesize complex arguments, support your claims with scholarly evidence, and master professional referencing techniques. You'll emerge as a confident, self-directed learner equipped with the foundational analytical, research, and communication skills needed to excel throughout your English Literature degree.

In this module, you will explore Shakespeare’s work not only as a cornerstone of English literary tradition, but as a global phenomenon. You’ll delve into Shakespeare’s language, themes and genres through recent interpretations and adaptations in performance, film and visual art. You’ll enhance your understanding and analytical skills as you explore the cultural context in which Shakespeare wrote. You’ll develop new insight into Shakespeare’s impact in the past and his ongoing relevance across the globe today.

In this module, you will get to grips with core elements of literary criticism and theory. You’ll debate pressing critical questions, and develop your awareness of issues that are key to understanding literature and society. You’ll build on the knowledge you’ve gained in your other introductory English Literature modules and you'll learn to think carefully about yourself and your place in the world. You’ll develop your knowledge of a range of theoretical and critical concepts, and you'll learn:

• how these concepts can be applied to literary texts from different periods
• how these theories relate to issues of language, culture, and textuality.

You’ll cover one text over two weeks, engaging with a new theory or critical framework each week. You’ll gain skills and insights that you’ll be able to use throughout your whole degree.

American culture is central to what we read, watch, and buy, but how much of America are we seeing? You'll explore writings by Native American, LGBTQ+, African American, and women writers, and consider how they use documentary styles, challenge taboos, and blur artistic boundaries as they create work that unsettles the status quo

You will deepen your awareness of cultural diversity and develop your understanding of the different kinds of values, power, privilege, purposes and cultural capital attributed to different literatures, peoples and literary voices in North America.

As the first step in your 'Supportive Challenge' pathway, this module eases your transition into university life while strengthening your foundation in English Literature. Through hands-on learning and practical components like the Reading Lab, you'll experiment with diverse reading methods, explore a broad array of media, and critically evaluate your personal motivations, strengths, and strategies for success.

From this reflective work, you will create a personalized action plan to maximize academic and extra-curricular opportunities throughout your degree. You will emerge with greater resilience, confidence, and a strong baseline of core attributes, competencies, transferable skills (ACTS) essential for both your university journey and your future career.

In this module, you will investigate Oxford’s rich literary life, both past and present. You’ll dive into texts written, performed and set in Oxford, as you think about how the city’s literature is shaped by its geography, population and reputation.

You’ll read established texts and writers, as well as literature outside of centres of power and privilege. You’ll think critically about yourself and your own writing and analysis, in relation to the city’s spaces. You'll spend some time getting to know your new home by walking around it, and you'll be asked to create your own guided literary tour of the city.

How is political opinion, authority and democracy shaped and influenced? In this module, you’ll explore foundational issues in political philosophy through exploring the main political ideologies. You’ll start your journey with Liberalism as the default position in the West since the English, American and French Revolutions. Your focus then shifts to the ideologies that arose in response to Liberalism, including:

• Conservatism
• Communism
• Fascism
• Communitarianism
• Anarchism
• and Feminism.

You’ll also consider questions linked to the theory of knowledge, such as can any ideology be rationally justified?

You'll start an exploration of how educators can support and encourage curiosity and exploration in children, through the use of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM).

You'll focus on understanding and developing teaching methods that can enhance childrens' learning. Incorporating STEAM concepts into each of these areas. You will have the chance to

• investigate
• observe
• and create opportunities for hands-on experiments and problem-based learning.

You'll also join discussions on the challenges and difficulties that may arise when implementing STEAM in different educational settings.

In this module, you’ll dive into art and artists through the century. You’ll explore the Camden Town Group of painters. You’ll examine the abstract sculptures of Barbara Hepworth. And you’ll analyse the collages of Pop artists like Peter Blake. You’ll scrutinise paintings, sculptures and films. You’ll discuss how British artists tried to create modern forms of expression. And you’ll investigate the ways they promoted their work, like:

• exhibitions
• manifestos
• books
• little magazines.

You’ll participate in on-site visits, where you’ll examine works of art firsthand. You’ll also attend exciting lectures and seminars where you’ll explore your ideas and enrich your understanding of modern British art.

Explore the study and understanding of Culture and Society by looking at relevant Customs, Icons and Symbols with a particular emphasis on communicative practice of reading and written language in contexts.

In these modules, you’ll gain the practical language skills to succeed in your Spanish degree. As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of Spanish, you’ll develop strong skills in Spanish speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in Spanish, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between Spain and other countries.

How has humanity changed the environment — and how has the environment changed us?

You'll explore six centuries of environmental change through the history of sustainability, conservation and resource use, from the Columbian Exchange of the late fifteenth century to the Great Acceleration of the mid-twentieth. You'll examine how environmental change has been experienced and contested at local, national and global levels, and examine the political, economic, social and cultural forces shaping the consumption of energy, food and natural resources — while also considering what history can teach us about future policy solutions.

You'll also work with diverse historical sources, from demographic and institutional records to maps and plans, and develop practical digital history skills through designing your own digital map of environmental change.

In these modules, you’ll gain the practical language skills to succeed in your French degree. As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of French, you’ll develop strong skills in French speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in French, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between France and other countries.

On this module, you'll build your sense of a criminology community through collaborating and planning a criminology newsletter. This will help you take ownership of your criminology studies.

You'll build on the skills and knowledge you gained on Creating Criminology 1, where you will have interacted with guest speakers from careers and with recent alumni. You'll get to use alumni as interviewees for your Criminology newsletter. You'll also engage with discussions for your future after university, and where you can make a positive impact with your Criminology degree.

How does the media police our morals as a society and define our ideas of acceptable behaviour? In this module, you will gain the critical skills to analyse popular representations of crime in the media. You’ll examine news reports and other forms of mass-media, and you’ll develop a knowledge of crime as a cultural construct.

This module aims:

• To equip a wide range of health and social care professionals with the in-depth knowledge and skills required for successful study to underpin future level 6 and level 7 Continuing Professional Development or programme study.
• To equip the students with up to date study skills, basic numerical and IT skills and analytic and critical thinking skills, required to analyse and evaluate data and evidence.
• To introduce students to a range of information technologies for self-directed learning and communication.

In this module, you’ll investigate the changing face of society. You’ll explore how markets and welfare states have transformed over time. You’ll discover how states, economies and societies interact with each other. And you’ll dig into key questions on politics and power, exploring different political systems.

We’ll explore pressing global topics, including

• international migration patterns
• the formation of ethnic minorities
• religion in modern society
• the challenges of climate change

You’ll explore a wide range of social issues, taking place all over the world. And you’ll develop a strong understanding of how these issues impact individuals and groups.

What do we mean when we talk about ‘culture’? How do human ideas, customs and behaviours become a way of life? In this module, we’ll investigate the key theories and concepts of culture. You’ll gain invaluable critical skills as you reflect on different aspects of culture. And you’ll explore the impact of modern culture on individuals and society today.

You’ll explore cultural artefacts and activities. And you’ll look at how culture relates to identity, power and representation.

This module is the foundation of the culture pathway through the Communication, Media and Culture programme. This will be fantastic preparation for many of your level 5 modules.

You will develop an understanding of the way humans and non-humans shape and are shaped by their environment, and how this is reflected and explored in literature. You’ll study a variety of genres and kinds of writing across different eras and cultures. This may include:

• classical pastoral
• eco-poetry
• climate fiction
• non-fiction nature writing
• speculative fiction.

You will explore the historical, social and political issues that influence written representations of relationships with the environment, and you'll consider the formal and stylistic features of this writing. You’ll apply and extend this learning through a community engagement project involving literature and environments.

In this module, you will consider what it means for texts to break the rules. You’ll learn the ways that literature has transgressed social, cultural and formal literary boundaries and conventions. This may include topics such as:

• censored and banned texts
• gender, sexuality and transgression
• literature and protest
• modernist and avant-garde transgression
• genre blending and subversion.

You’ll examine shifting ideas of transgression in different historical periods and will explore how these ideas are shaped and altered by cultural, aesthetic, legislative and scientific factors. Through these investigations, you will explore the power of literature to challenge authority and influence today's world.

In this module, you will learn how to use leading and transferable tools and techniques within textual studies and digital humanities. You’ll explore, experiment with, and develop expertise in using different digital archives, tools and software for literary study. You’ll develop skills in:

• research
• creative thinking
• project planning
• digital literacy
• information handling.

You’ll apply and extend these skills by designing and undertaking innovative, small-scale research investigations into literature and other cultural artefacts.

As the second module in your 'Supportive Challenge' pathway, this experiential course immerses you in the real-world complexity of 'wicked problems' - challenges far too multifaceted for a single discipline to solve alone. You'll engage in hands-on, cross-disciplinary projects, collaborating directly with academics, peers, and external partners from diverse fields to explore issues beyond your primary subject area.

Through this collaborative practice, you'll strengthen your self-efficacy, resilience, and adaptability when navigating complex, unpredictable environments. You'll leave this module with a deeper insight into your own core values, a broader perspective on your chosen discipline, and the practical problem-solving skills needed to thrive in the modern workplace.

As the second step in your 'Supportive Challenge' pathway, you will tackle complex, real-world 'wicked problems' that require insights beyond a single discipline. Through hands-on, cross-disciplinary projects, you will collaborate directly with academics, peers, and external industry partners to address multifaceted challenges facing contemporary society.

This immersive collaboration builds your self-efficacy, adaptability, and resilience, giving you the confidence to navigate unpredictable professional environments and work effectively in diverse teams. Ultimately, you will gain a deeper understanding of your own values, articulate your unique strengths, and master the practical problem-solving skills needed to thrive in the future world of work.

This module will introduce you to the Romantic and Victorian periods through the theme of the supernatural. You’ll investigate the radical technological, social and scientific changes during these periods, and the new uncertainties which arose from these changes. You will discover how writers and artists explored the resultant challenges to established certainties and distinctions between:

• faith and doubt
• good and evil
• right and wrong.

You'll examine this through their portrayal of metaphorical angels and demons.

You’ll also study a range of novels, short stories, plays and poems, and different kinds of writing, such as Gothic novels and poems and Sensation novels.

What shapes the stories we tell? This module explores the forces behind literature itself, from scientific ideas to the emotions, memories and experiences that make us human.

You'll read across a sweeping stretch of literary history, from medieval and early modern texts to contemporary writing. Topics across the module include haunted spaces and ideas of home, to nature and the natural world, to questions of artificial personhood and the technologies that define our lives. You'll move between the domestic and the civic, the familiar and the otherworldly, building a richer picture of how literature holds all of these forces in tension.

In this module, you will study a range of American literary texts from the 19th century to the present day, and you'll consider their historical and cultural contexts. You will develop detailed knowledge of the literature and culture of America, exploring key topics such as:

• race and ethnicity, especially in Black and Native American writing
• slavery and its legacies
• American self-mythologising and national identity
• the effect of the Cold War on American writing
• the Harlem Renaissance.

In this module, you'll deepen your knowledge and understanding of children's literature and the importance of positive early literacy experiences for young children. You'll have the opportunity to read and think about a variety of texts and authors, with a focus on picture books. Also, you'll discuss the significance of diversity and representation in children's literature.

You'll develop your critical reading skills and explore how words and pictures work together. You'll look at how children learn to read. You'll also learn to choose texts that support their reading development and enjoyment.

Finally, you'll consider how the digital world might affect children's experiences with literature.

In this module, you’ll develop your talent and range as a creative writer. You’ll build on the skills you gained in your Creative Writing 1: Voice and Craft in Poetry and Prose module in Year 1. You’ll experiment with a number of forms and prose styles, including:

• crime writing
• travel writing
• science fiction
• historical fiction.

You’ll also explore techniques of writing poetry through forms such as the ballad and the sonnet. You’ll enhance your creativity, and reflect on your creative choices, as you critically examine what you and your fellow students write.

Develop your knowledge and understanding of the future visions of different periods and advance your resilience and openness through your capacity to imagine a future and recognise and acknowledge diverse futures.

You're focus on literature, media, culture and art from the nineteenth century onwards, and will examine how the future has been invented as a concept in philosophy, literature and culture. Also you'll engage in theoretical and philosophical debates and in conceptualising the future, while

• exploring dystopias and utopias
• the human-technology nexus
• the impact of digital technologies and advances in digital humanities
• human and nonhuman futures, and divergent futures.

This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a literary topic that fascinates you. With the supervision and support of a lecturer, you will design your own project, choosing your own topic and approach. You will study your selected topic in depth, and will demonstrate your new critical understanding through an assessment method of your choosing, such as a:

• blog
• video documentary
• long essay
• performance
• report.

You will develop skills in project planning, self-motivation, critical and creative thinking, and research.

This module offers the opportunity to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply your skills in different contexts to enhance your employability. It will help you develop self-management, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills.

You’ll receive support to secure a place at a partner institution abroad, where you can choose modules related to your degree or explore new areas that complement your studies.

Studying at an international university will help you enhance your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with students and tutors, allowing you to build lasting relationships. You'll also improve your study skills by focusing on your chosen areas of interest, gaining valuable international experience that will strengthen your CV.

This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.

You'll bridge your English Literature degree with the contemporary professional world through hands-on, authentic activities drawn from both inside and outside the classroom. Drawing on your full university journey, you will gather concrete evidence of your core attributes, competencies, and transferable skills (ACTS). You'll then channel these insights into a personalized plan of action, learning to articulate your literary expertise, personal motivations, and strategic strengths in formats tailored directly to graduate employers.

This reflective process delivers a crucial step-change in your self-efficacy and career readiness right as you prepare to graduate. You'll leave university with strong self-knowledge, clear direction, and the ability to confidently communicate your value to future employers. Ultimately, you will gain the insight and practical tools necessary to identify relevant opportunities and make an immediate, meaningful impact in whichever field you choose next.

You'll build your knowledge to an advanced level by:

• Practice Intensive Reading: Focus your attention on a single literary work or tightly related body of text through slow, deliberate analysis.
• Investigate Context and Reception: Analyze the historical, political, and material conditions under which texts are produced, while tracing their adaptations, reception histories, and cultural afterlives.
• Apply Advanced Theory: Deploy targeted critical and theoretical approaches to interrogate key scholarly debates.
• Construct Original Claims: Formulate persuasive, independent arguments detailing why these literary works remain relevant today.

You'll discover how text, context, and reader reception dynamically interact to create shifting layers of meaning across time. You'll acquire the analytical precision, theoretical fluency, and sophisticated argument-building capabilities necessary for high-level literary research.

What historical questions matter most to you? In this independent research project, you'll pursue an original piece of historical research on a topic of your choice, supported by individual supervision and drawing on the knowledge and skills developed throughout your degree.

You'll investigate, analyse and interpret historical evidence, developing your ability to manage a substantial project and communicate complex ideas effectively. You can choose to present your findings through a traditional dissertation or an alternative, public-facing format, such as a museum guide, educational resource, policy analysis or community history project.

As the culmination of your studies, this module enables you to demonstrate intellectual curiosity, initiative and historical expertise while developing the research, communication and project management skills valued across a wide range of professional and academic settings.

In this module, you’ll meet literary agents and editors as you explore the submissions process for publication. You will produce a 3000 word piece of writing on a theme or idea that interests you, refining your writing practices. You’ll consider how this piece could work as part of a larger published work, for example:

• as chapters of a novel or memoir
• as poems, short stories or essays within an anthology.

This will develop your understanding of how a book works as a whole.

This module gives you the chance to study specialist areas of literature in depth. The topics available are drawn from the research expertise of your tutors, enabling you to engage with leading insights and approaches in the field. Available topics may alter from year to year, but recent topics have included:

• Experiencing Shakespeare
• The American Civil War in Literature, Memory and Myth
• Literature and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

This module gives you the chance to study specialist areas of literature in depth. The topics available are drawn from the research expertise of your tutors, enabling you to engage with leading insights and approaches in the field. Available topics may alter from year to year, but recent topics have included:

• Urban Jungle: the American City in Modern and Postmodern Literature and Culture
• Women and Modernism
• African-American Avant Gardes.

This module gives you the chance to study specialist areas of literature in depth. The topics available are drawn from the research expertise of your tutors, enabling you to engage with leading insights and approaches in the field. Available topics may alter from year to year, but recent topics have included:

• The Victorian Supernatural
• Literature and Madness
• Video Games, Digital Narratives and Interactive Texts.

The Independent Study Module gives you the opportunity to explore a legal topic in greater depth, working closely with an academic whose research interests align with your chosen area. It allows you to investigate issues that go beyond the taught curriculum and develop expertise in a subject that reflects your interests and future ambitions.

You'll build advanced research, analysis and academic writing skills as you engage with legal scholarship, case law and contemporary debates. Students on our named pathways complete their project within their area of specialism, providing an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and showcase their expertise.

Whether you're considering postgraduate study, legal practice or another professional path, the module enables you to pursue an area you're passionate about while developing the independent learning skills valued by employers and researchers alike.

This module is compulsory if studying one of the named pathways.