Collaborative Organisation and Form of Collaboration
Qualification and Programme Title
B.A. English Literature and Classical Literature and Civilisation Full-time
Programme Code
7480
Delivery Location
Campus
Language of Study
English
Length of Programme
3 Year(s)
Accreditations
This programme has no outside accreditations
Aims of the Programme
The wide range of reasoning, research, independent learning, communication and organisational skills acquired from this half of the programme equips graduates to pursue further study or employment in English and related disciplines, and is readily transferable to a wide range of commercial, cultural and professional careers.
Students engage with the range of literature in the English language from the medieval period to the present, with concentration on British literature. This aims to produce individuals who possess a broad range of knowledge and understanding of English literature; critical skills in the close reading and analysis of literary texts; responsiveness to the central role of language in the creation of meaning; rhetorical skills of effective communication and argument, both oral and written; bibliographic skills appropriate to the discipline; understanding of the role of cultural norms in understanding and judgement; and awareness of how different social and cultural contexts affect the nature of language and meaning.
A progressive structure in which each level builds on the skills and knowledge of the last. First-year foundation courses in literature, equipping students with knowledge and methods enabling them to take ownership of their own learning. Courses in a wide range of kinds and periods of literature over the three years. A choice of focused final-year options, some providing a route into graduate study at Birmingham.
Programme Outcomes
Students are expected to have Knowledge and Understanding of:
Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods:
and assessed using the following methods:
1) A substantial number of authors and texts from different periods of literary history, including a high proportion from periods before 1800 in the original language, and of the principal literary genres relating to those periods.
2) Different critical and theoretical approaches in the study of literature, and of the literary, cultural and historical contexts that inform both the writing and reading of texts.
3) Specific periods, or writers, or literary subjects and themes, from different periods of literary history, including a high proportion from periods before 1800.
4) Thematic and generic links between texts across a wide historical range.
Lectures and seminars and an individually supervised dissertation at LH
Assessment at LC is predominantly by a mix of by unseen examination (including MCQs) and assessed essay with an element of assessment by group presentation and group bibliography; LI assessment is by unseen examination and assessed essay or project; A major dissertation is a feature of LH, which also offers assessment by extended essay and by (pre-release) examination depending on the choice of modules.
Students are expected to have attained the following Skills and other Attributes:
Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods:
and assessed using the following methods:
1) Engagement with texts, primary and secondary: By the end of LC: the ability to demonstrate confidence in reading whole novels, plays and poems and different kinds and lengths By the end of LI: the ability to read, with understanding, literary texts from different periods and genres By the end of LH: the ability to synthesise a wide range of primary and secondary reading and the ability to range independently in reading beyond prescribed texts in order to diversify and contextualise study.
2) The capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of literary discourse, including own work and the work of peers: By the end of LC, the ability to apply notions of genre and literary periodisation to specific primary texts; By the end of LI, the ability to accurately locate literary texts in relevant historical and generic contexts; and to analyse the literary effects produced by different types of intertextuality By the end of LH, the ability to choose appropriate modes of analysis and apply them effectively to primary texts in the course of a piece of independent research
3) The capacity for independent thought and judgement, and the ability to handle information and argument in a critical and self-reflective manner: By the end of LC, the ability to discuss the rationale for key differences between university-level literary study and the methods and expectations experienced at earlier stages of education By the end of LI, the ability to construct arguments informed by, but not dependent upond, secondary material By the end of LH, the ability to construct detailed, balanced and substantiated critical arguments; and to locate those arguments in their appropriate scholarly fields.
4) Skills in critical reasoning, and the ability to apply and critique systems of analysis and interpretation: By the end of LC, the ability to apply selected critical/theoretical approaches to the reading of literary texts By the end of LI, the ability to distinguish between and use appropriately different critical approaches By the end of LH, the ability to evaluate the relative merits of a range of critical/theoretical points of view
5) The ability to formulate appropriate research questions, undertake large scale substantive research, apply relevant methodologies and sustain an argument through a lengthy piece of individual project work.
6) The ability independently to use libraries, catalogues, bibliographies and other reference sources, including EEBO, ECCO, LION, ODNB, and OED and resources of all kinds, both printed and electronic; to make appropriate use of the internet, the e-library, the physical library and other appropriate libraries; and to choose and use suitable editions of literary texts, applying a basic understanding of textual transmission.
7) The documentation, citation and presentation, according to an agreed stylesheet, of scholarly written work.
8) Effective skills of communication both written and oral, and the ability to apply these in appropriate contexts, including the ability to present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments cogently and coherently
9) The ability to work with and in relation to others through the presentation of ideas and information and the collective negotiation of solutions.
10) The ability to acquire substantial quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way, to sift and organise material independently and critically, and evaluate its significance.
11) Information technology skills that contribute to digital literacy such as word-processing and the acquisition, use and critical evaluation of data in electronic formats.
12) Time-management and organisational skills, as shown by the ability to plan and present conclusions effectively in unseen examinations, the ability to carry out a substantial piece of independent research and to present it in writing, and the ability to budget time and prioritise work to meet deadlines.
Lectures and seminars; an individually supervised dissertation at LH; Peer-review of formative essays and formative presentations;
Assessment at LC is predominantly by a mix of unseen examination (including MCQs) and assessed essay with an element of assessment by group presentation and group bibliography; LI assessment is by unseen examination and assessed essay or project; A major dissertation is a feature of LH, which also offers assessment by extended essay and by (pre-release) examination depending on the choice of modules; Group presentation
