Course summary

The Joint Honours in BA English Literature and History is a cross-disciplinary course, which develops and assesses skills that are common to both disciplines alongside others that are specific to each. The course offers you the opportunity to acquire a range of both literary-critical and historical knowledge. The English part of your degree not only provides a thorough grounding in the ‘great tradition’ of English literature – from Chaucer and Shakespeare through to plays, poems and novels written in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries – and in literary theory, but it also offers a wide range of imaginative and carefully designed modules. The history element offers you one of the most varied, exciting and wide-ranging courses in the country. You will explore the full range of history from the end of the Roman Empire to the present day. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, this would increase the course from three years to four. In the first year of your degree, you'll get an introduction into the disciplines of literature and advanced historical study. In the second year, you are required to engage with a range of periods and styles of literary and historical study. The third year will include a dissertation as well as optional modules for both subjects.