Course summary

Literary critics are often concerned with how historical forces shape poems, plays and novels, while historians are interested in how literary texts shape cultural and political history. This joint honours course aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of the relationship between these distinct but complementary subjects. You will join two large departments with researchers in a great diversity of fields and will be encouraged to develop expertise and research skills relevant to both English and history. Mandatory units encourage analysis of the links between the two disciplines while optional units, which are offered across both departments, will allow you to explore your interests in particular periods of writing and history and develop more subject-specific skills. Your final-year dissertation will ask you to bring together the skills you have developed while studying both disciplines.