You will encounter the canon of great authors, from Shakespeare onwards, but you also study themes like Film, Gender, and Empire. In other words, the degree combines traditional and contemporary aspects of the subject. Buckingham's unique tutorial system makes for highly personalized teaching. If you'd like to try out a tutorial, come along to one of our free taster sessions.
What is Buckingham English?
- It is an encounter with the complexity and beauty of great literature
- It aids you on your journey to becoming a professional-level writer, able to write fluently and well in any context
- Like philosophy, it teaches you to argue and debate your ideas
- As a central liberal arts subject, it is a clear space to address the big questions of meaning and existence
We don't think that formal essays are always the best way of assessing how students understand a subject, so you will find that you have opportunities to write a book review, reportage, poems and short stories, even part of a screenplay. You will learn a number of skills, not least how to write fluently and persuasively. As a result, our graduates go on into a range of careers in media, teaching, publishing, academia, business, and marketing.
BA English Literature Single or Flexible Honours options
Make your degree as unique as you! If you choose BA English Literature (Single or Flexible Honours) you'll have the freedom to tailor your English Literature degree to reflect your interests and passions by combining it with a wide range of other subjects taught here at the University. This means that when you graduate you will have a highly personalised degree that will suit you and your aspirations perfectly.
If you choose Flexible Honours you have the freedom to select up to a third of your modules from the whole range of what is taught at the University. This means you can mix and match lots of different subjects >with English Literature or focus solely on English Literature. At every stage, your Personal Tutor will be on hand to advise and guide your choices.
Availability of modules are subject to timetabling constraints, minimum and maximum class sizes and any agreed pre-requisite modules.
Dissertation
If you choose BA English Literature (Single Honours) in two terms of your final year you are given the opportunity to research, develop, and write a Dissertation of 6,000 - 8,000 words. This sounds daunting, but you have six months to complete it, and plenty of guidance from us, so many of our students have found it one of the most rewarding parts of their studies.
The final dissertation has to be bound, fully'styled' and sourced (in other words, a professional piece of report writing in every sense), and is your chance to connect together many of the skills you have acquired on the English Literature programme here at Buckingham. Your bound dissertation makes an ideal accompaniment to your CV if you are applying for jobs where research and report-writing are important.