University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2017/18 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > Department of English > English (BA) > Specification
Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
Programme code | 1ENGL001U |
---|---|
Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
Sian Harris
|
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | Department of English |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Relevant QAA subject benchmark groups | English (2023) (benchmark statement) |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 3 years (full time) |
This programme aims to develop students’ interest in and knowledge and understanding of English literature from the medieval period to the present day, and to increase students’ familiarity and appreciation of literatures in English. In following a programme of wide and varied reading through a broad and diverse curriculum, students engage in close reading and the interpretation and analysis of the principal literary genres in prose, poetry, drama and other types of imaginative writing, and learn to identify the formal and rhetorical characteristics of diverse texts, using appropriate critical, theoretical and stylistic concepts and terms. They learn how literary language, modes and genres vary in different historical periods, countries and social contexts. They study the relations between texts, between literature and other cultural forms, and the influence of literature and modes of literary analysis. They learn about how texts are composed and produced, and their reception histories, as well as the effect of different forms of dissemination, including manuscript, print, digital and performance. They also gain familiarity with some of the interdisciplinary approaches associated with English studies, such as critical and cultural theory, women’s studies, gender and queer studies, postcolonial studies, digital humanities, medical humanities, medieval studies and book history. Students are encouraged to read many widely known authors, while also being given opportunities to develop their own interests in particular authors and texts, including the less-read and non-canonical. Successful graduates will be able to read closely and critically, analyse texts and respond to the expressive power and nuance of language using appropriate terms and approaches, develop independent and creative interpretations of texts, and articulate a critical understanding of complex texts and ideas. They will be able to write clearly, precisely and effectively, be versatile researchers, active learners and good communicators. They will be well qualified for postgraduate study in English or related arts and humanities subjects, as well as postgraduate vocational and professional training. They will also be able to demonstrate a range of subject-specific and generic skills of value in graduate employment, including high-order critical, analytic and research skills, and advanced competence in oral and written communication.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
---|---|
|
Lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials and one-to-one supervisions and consultations. Lectures provide a structured overview of core texts and critical approaches, particularly in mandatory units in Years 1 and 2. Tutorials offer opportunity for in-depth analysis and critical response in discussion with tutor and peers. Seminars and workshops offer flexible formats for a range of activities, which may include presentations, group work, open discussion and topic-based tasks. Tutorials, seminars and workshops are opportunities for deeper examination of subject content. Supplementary methods may include contributions to online forums, formative writing tasks, directed preparation tasks. Directed reading of literary texts and criticism. Independent reading, research and writing. |
Methods of Assessment | |
Coursework essays of various lengths which involve extensive written analysis, knowledge and understanding of the texts. Methods of assessment to complement coursework essays include but are not limited to: Critical commentaries, annotated bibliographies, individual and group presentations with handout, unseen examinations, take-home examinations, poster presentations, online discussions. Portfolios of short writing tasks may include critical responses, blog posts, reviews, reflective journals. At levels I and C, special subjects allow students to address research-engaged topics in detail and depth. At level H, an optional dissertation (choice between one-semester and two-semester projects). Methods are mapped to level of study; see section 17. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
---|---|
|
Intellectual skills are developed through diverse methods including lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, seminar presentations, individual supervision, and structured online activity. Lectures promote active listening, notetaking, synthesis of information delivered orally and visually, and encourage independent investigation beyond the core curriculum; Seminars, workshops, tutorials and one-to-one supervisions and consultations cultivate the ability to work constructively with others, responding to changing individual and group dynamics; Tutorials promote confidence in collaborative analysis in a small-group setting. Intellectual skills are also developed by: Studying a broad and diverse range of primary and secondary texts in printed, digital and other forms; Communication and discussion of ideas; Independent research into set and self-devised topics; Extensive use of libraries and digital resources; Direct instruction, facilitated opportunities for active questioning and debate with peers and tutors, peer critique and feedback; Occasional sessions outside the classroom (including performances, field trips to libraries, archives, exhibitions etc.) |
Methods of Assessment | |
A variety of assessment methods are used as per individual unit aims and objects. Coursework essays of various lengths which involve extensive written analysis test the ability to analyse texts and present reasoned arguments. Unseen and take-home exams test problem-solving and improvisation skills. Research skills are assessed by means of extended written coursework and an optional dissertation. Presentations (individual and group) test the ability to select and analyse relevant materials, to present clear arguments, and to work individually and in teams (as relevant). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
---|---|
|
Seminars and tutorials develop oral communication by requiring students to engage in group work, open discussions, and to give short talks/presentations to initiate discussion. The ability to think and work independently is stimulated by coursework essay and dissertation tasks. The full range of scheduled teaching, independent study and assessments promotes independent management of multiple kinds of work and task according to deadlines. |
Methods of Assessment | |
A variety of assessment methods are used as per individual unit aims and objects. Coursework essays of various lengths which involve extensive written analysis test the ability to analyse texts and present reasoned arguments. Unseen and take-home exams test problem-solving and improvisation skills. Research skills are assessed by means of extended written coursework and an optional dissertation. Presentations (individual and group) test the ability to select and analyse relevant materials, to present clear arguments, and to work individually and in teams (as relevant). |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Students are expected to acquire the foundations on which to build appropriate expertise in line with the aims and objectives of the programme. They will acquire familiarity with significant authors, themes, contexts and concepts of study in English literature from the early medieval period to the early eighteenth century. They will be introduced to some of the major theoretical and critical preoccupations informing degree-level English studies, and to a wide range of poetry from different periods and genres, as well as to technical terms, literary conventions and contexts appropriate for critical analysis. Through Critical Practice students will be introduced to the conventions of scholarly discourse and presentation, become familiar with academic writing as a critical practice, receive some training in IT skills, and begin to develop research skills and good study habits. They will also develop communication skills through formative writing exercises and group oral presentations. Students’ work may require substantial direction and guidance from tutors, but students will also take the first steps towards choosing their own topics and conducting independent research. |
---|---|
Level I/5 - Intermediate |
Students are expected to expand the range and depth of their knowledge in core areas of the discipline, develop their capacity to evaluate material using a variety of critical perspectives, and advance their written and oral communication skills. Students will improve their familiarity with significant authors, themes, contexts and concepts of study in English literature from the early eighteenth century to the present day. Students will have the opportunity to deepen and extend their knowledge and understanding of early medieval to early eighteenth century English literature through more specialised options. Working with staff on research-engaged Special Subject units, they will be expected to enhance their understanding of particular topics and authors. Students will have the opportunity to consolidate what they have learned in Year One and to use their knowledge, understanding and skills to evaluate critically and formulate evidence-based arguments. Students will extend their analytical skills and their ability to structure their work and present it fluently. They are expected to develop their capacity for self-directed learning (for example, through the researching and writing of essays and coursework assignments). |
Level H/6 - Honours |
At level H students are expected to broaden and deepen their knowledge, and to apply relevant conceptual and methodological approaches to more complex and specialised topics in literary study. Students will be encouraged to demonstrate independence as learners and in their own critical judgements, and to reflect both on the nature of literary study as a discipline and their own progress as critics of literature and culture. Students will have the opportunity to deepen and extend their knowledge and understanding of the main authors, themes, contexts and concepts of study in English literature from the early eighteenth century to the present day through more specialised options. Working with staff on research-engaged Special Subject units, students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to engage in sophisticated critical evaluation of particular texts, topics and authors. Students will also have the opportunity to undertake an independently conceived and researched dissertation conducted either over 15 or 30 weeks. Students will be able to demonstrate skills valued in graduate employment including critical, analytic and research skills, and competence in oral and written communication, as well as time-management and organisational skills. |
Level M/7 - Masters |
Not specified |
Level M/7 - Postgraduate Certificate |
Not specified |
Level M/7 - Postgraduate Diploma |
Not specified |
Level M/7 - Postgraduate Masters |
Not specified |
Level D/8 - Doctoral |
Not specified |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
Workload Statement
In common with the rest of the University, units in the Faculty of Arts
adhere to the credit framework which sets out that 20 credits normally
equates to some 200 hours of student input. Some of this time will be spent
in class, with the remainder divided between preparation for classes and
preparation for, and completion of, the assessment tasks. Some of this
activity may occur within the University’s online learning environment,
Blackboard, which you may use to prepare wikis, to interact with other
students, to download tutorials or to receive feedback.
Assessment Statement
Please select the following link for a statement about assessment. This is University of Bristol access only.
https://www.bris.ac.uk/arts/current/under/assessment.html
Students on the English Single Honours programme may elect to study abroad for one teaching block in their second year. Current destinations for study abroad include Ireland (Trinity College Dublin), France (University of Paris-Sorbonne), Germany (Heidelberg), the Netherlands (Leiden), North America (North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Rochester), Canada (McGill) and Australia (Adelaide; Macquarie). Students take a single 60 credit Study Abroad/Erasmus unit (HUMS20002) that replaces all units in one Teaching Block.
English may also be studied as a Joint Honours programme with Classical Studies (QV38), Philosophy (QV35), Theatre (4CC8) or Film (6T3X), and as a pathway on the Liberal Arts BA (2ZB7) and the Liberal Arts integrated Masters with Study Abroad (MLibArts) (2T23).
English accepts annually a large number of Study Abroad Programme students (especially from the USA, but also from elsewhere overseas) and ERASMUS students (from countries including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain).
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Critical Issues | ENGL10017 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Approaches to Poetry | ENGL10039 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Critical Practice | ENGL10041 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Literature 1150-1550 | ENGL10042 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Literature 1550-1740 | ENGL10043 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
One from the following: | |||||
Texts in a Global Context | ENGL10044 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Transformations | ENGL10046 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Women Writers | ENGL10047 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Choose open units | OPEN | 20 | Optional | ||
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Literature 1740-1900 | ENGL20063 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Literature 1900-present | ENGL20064 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
For students who take optional unit HUMS20002, this replaces all of the Year 2 units in a single teaching block, including units that are normally mandatory in this programme. | |||||
One of the following: | |||||
Old English Language and Literature | ENGL20065 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Arthurian Literature | ENGL20060 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Chaucer and Chaucerians | ENGL20061 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
One of the following: | |||||
Shakespeare | ENGL20068 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Writing the City: London 1550-1740 | ENGL20069 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Writing the Margins | ENGL20109 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Select TWO from the following (but not more than one in each teaching block): | |||||
Darkest London | ENGL29026 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
American Literature: 1945 to Present | ENGL29007 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Paradise Lost: Inception and Reception | ENGL29032 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Dangerous Books | ENGL20023 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Travellers' Tales | ENGL20024 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Literature and the Sea: The Seafarer to The Shipping News | ENGL20020 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Black British Literature | ENGL20041 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Presenting the Future | ENGL20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
War Stories: Women Writers and Conflict from WWI to 9/11 | ENGL20043 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Gender, Desire and the Renaissance Stage | ENGL20206 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Poetry of the 1960s | ENGL20032 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Revenge Tragedy | ENGL29008 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Fairy Tale in English | ENGL20028 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2 | |
Writing the Working Classes | ENGL20030 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Creative Writing: Poetry | ENGL20051 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Author as Character | ENGL20048 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Queer Writing | ENGL20049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Contemporary Multi-Ethnic Writing of America | ENGL20019 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Literature and Science: Newton to Darwin | ENGL20054 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Utopian Literature | ENGL20058 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
African American Literature | ENGL20111 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Concise Crimes: The Short Story in Detective Fiction | ENGL20112 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Creative Writing, Prose Fiction: Representing the World | ENGL20113 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Introduction to the Medical Humanities | HUMS20004 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Study Abroad/ Erasmus | HUMS20002 | 60 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2 | |
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
List A - Choose 20 CP | |||||
American Revolutions | ENGL30108 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Decolonising Literature and Literary Studies | ENGL30111 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
List B - Choose 20 CP | |||||
American Nature Writing | ENGL30130 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Charles Dickens | ENGL39020 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Contemporary Literature and Science | ENGL30049 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Hero or traitor? Outlaws in Literature | ENGL30069 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Illness Narratives | ENGL30089 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
James Joyce | ENGL30045 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Kings, Queens, and Sycophants | ENGL30131 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Literature and Medicine | ENGL39011 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Literature's Children | ENGL39015 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Samuel Beckett | ENGL30029 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Shakespearean Tragedy: Textual and Literary Criticism | ENGL39027 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The History of the Language of English Literature | ENGL30123 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Twentieth-Century Women Writers | ENGL30105 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
U.S. Postmodernist Fiction | ENGL30078 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Writing for Art | ENGL39019 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Writing the Anthropocene 1945-Present | ENGL30124 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Writing the Self: Literature and Autobiography | ENGL30107 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Beyond the Battlefield: Environment and Conflict | HUMS30002 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
List C - Choose 20 CP | |||||
Celebrity Culture: Icons, Industry and Aesthetics | ENGL30110 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
List D - Choose 20 CP | |||||
Novel Territories: Eighteenth-century Prose Fiction | ENGL30115 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Victorian Fiction: Art and Ideas in the Marketplace | ENGL30117 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List E - Choose 40 CP - You may only choose one dissertation unit | |||||
Creative Writing Dissertation | ENGL30126 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Dissertation (English) | ENGL39024 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Dissertation | ENGL30112 | 40 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Research Project on Literature and Community Engagement. | ENGL30208 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Charles Dickens | ENGL39020 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Courtly Desire from Troubadours to Elizabethans | ENGL30120 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Creative Non Fiction | ENGL30127 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
James Joyce | ENGL30045 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Illness Narratives | ENGL30089 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Imagining Americans | ENGL30121 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Literature and Medicine | ENGL39011 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Kings, Queens, and Sycophants | ENGL30131 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Modernism and the Movies | ENGL30128 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Postcolonial Environments | ENGL30122 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Rewriting the Bible | ENGL30129 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Victorian Materialities | ENGL30079 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Writing for Art | ENGL39019 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Writing the Self: Literature and Autobiography | ENGL30107 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Beyond the Battlefield: Environment and Conflict | HUMS30002 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Translation and Adaptation | THTR30007 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
English (BA) | 120 |
Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:
For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.
All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.
Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.
The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).
An Ordinary degree can be awarded if a student has successfully completed at least 300 credits with a minimum of 60 credits at Level 6.
The pass mark for the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine and Dentistry is 50 out of 100. The classification of a degree in the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry is provided in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
University of Bristol,
Senate House,
Tyndall Avenue,
Bristol, BS8 1TH, UK
Tel: +44 (0)117 928 9000