Course summary

History and English share a deep and powerful kinship. After all, we can only understand texts by studying the past – a past we can only access by reading and analysing texts. On this degree, you will explore how writers have been – and continue to be – shaped by the world and culture they inhabit, and what their work can in turn tell us about the past. The disciplines of English and History are inseparable. Major historical events affect authors, works, literary and cultural movements, even language itself, in important and complex ways, from the Norman Conquest to the Reformation, and from the Civil War to the Cold War and beyond. The English and History BA brings together these two naturally complementary subjects by grouping modules in such a way that they support and enrich one another. You will explore English Literature and History from every period, and encounter a broad range of approaches and methodologies. A variety of option modules will allow you to deepen your understanding of those subjects that you find most fascinating. Our graduates leave Leicester with an unrivalled breadth of knowledge and skills. This course will help you to understand how writers have been influenced by their wider contexts, how they have represented the world around them, and how to read and interpret texts in light of their history. You will have access to library collections that include material that dates back to the 12th century. Our 'special collections' of manuscripts and historical books offer a direct connection with the past. In your first and second year you will divide your time equally between English and History modules. You third year offers you the chance to specialise more in the area that interests you the most. You will have the opportunity to study a vast range of English and History modules from the Middle Ages to the present day.