University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2021/22 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > Department of English > English Literature and Community Engagement (BA) > Specification
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Programme code | 1ENGL008U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
Marie-Annick Gournet
Helen Thomas-Hughes |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | Department of English |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Mode of study | Part Time |
Programme length | 6 years (part 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, 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.
The programme also aims to develop students’ understanding of community engagement, and specifically the ways in which literature can create and connect communities. They study and evaluate the theory and practice of community involvement through classroom seminars and the development and running of their own community projects.
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 |
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Seminars, workshops, and one-to-one supervisions and consultations. Seminars and workshops offer flexible formats for a range of activities, which may include presentations, group work, open discussion and topic-based tasks. Seminars and workshops are opportunities for deeper examination of subject content. One-to-one meetings allow students to discuss their work in detail with a tutor. 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 | |
Critical 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: Reflective journals; reflective essays; take-home exams; presentations; critical commentaries; drama staging projects. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Intellectual skills are developed through diverse methods including seminars, workshops, tutorials, seminar presentations, individual supervision, and structured online activity. 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 and promote confidence in collaborative analysis. 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. ‘Take-home’ exams test problem-solving and improvisation skills. Research skills are assessed by means of extended written coursework and a dissertation. Presentations 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 |
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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 | |
All units are assessed through written coursework and extended essays. These require a detailed and expansive handling of literature and extensive reading to support arguments and conclusions. Some units may require oral class presentations to a satisfactory standard to gain credit points. |
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. 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. They will begin the study of historic literature with a unit on Shakespeare and the drama of his period, bridging from the most commonly-studied author in English to the examination of literature in historical context, in preparation for the chronological spine across Levels I and H. They will also begin to acquire a grounding in the theory and practice of community engagement, and so begin to devise their own community engagement project. 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. |
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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. They will begin the chronological study of literature from the late middle ages to the eighteenth century, and deepen their understanding of the roles that gender and postcolonial studies play in literary thought and practice. Students will run their Community Engagement groups and evolve these projects to maturity over two years. 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 nineteenth century to the present day, and deepen their understanding of American literature. Students will also have the opportunity to undertake an extended study of one author, and then an independently conceived and researched literature-based dissertation or community engagement-based research project. |
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.
UG Workload Statement
Success as an undergraduate student depends on you being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. Programmes are designed to assist you in this development, in many cases by starting with units in which timetabled teaching, such as lectures and practical classes, provides the foundations of knowledge and skills in a subject, moving on to individual research-based work. Over time you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for your own learning, guided by the feedback on your work that you will receive. At the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing and it is this skill of independent studies, above all others, that will serve you best when you leave the University.
Most programmes use credits and a 20 credit unit broadly equates to about 200 hours of student input. This includes all activities related to the teaching, learning and assessment of taught units.
A component of this is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes activities such as lectures, laboratories, tutorials and fieldwork. Some of this activity may be online and could consist of activity that is synchronous (using real-time environments such as Blackboard Collaborate) or asynchronous (using tools such as tutor moderated discussion forums, blogs or wikis).
In some programmes there are field courses and/or placements that will take place in concentrated periods of time.
Outside scheduled activities you are expected to pursue your own independent learning to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include, reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks, working on examples sheets, completing coursework, writing up laboratory notes, preparing for in-class progress tests and revising for examinations.
We recognise that many students undertake paid employment. To achieve a sensible balance between work and study, you are advised to undertake paid work for no more than 15 hours per week in term-time.
Professional Programmes
Many undergraduates in the Faculty of Health Sciences will be following the professional programmes of:
For these professional programmes, full time attendance is compulsory unless absence is formally approved. Academic activities are timetabled throughout the 5-day week and student workload is around 40 hours per week on average. Where possible, students in the early years are permitted Wednesday afternoons for sport and extra-curriculum activities. This may not be available in later years of professional programmes as when a student progresses through the curricula there is an increasing exposure to clinical and professional activities. Students in clinic or on placements may need to stay later than core times of 08.00 – 18.00 or even overnight to observe out-of-hours activities. This increasing exposure to clinical activities means that students on these professional programmes often have longer term dates than the University standard. Individual years within programmes are likely to vary in length (for example because of the timings of placements) and further information on this will be found in individual programme regulations. Another important point to note is that many of the assessments sit outside of the standard University examination timetable and are likely to be more frequent meaning that students will more oftentimes be engaged in revision activities and self-directed learning.
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty Assessment and Feedback Statement for Undergraduate Students. University of Bristol access only.
From the second to fourth years of study students will be involved in running a reading group in the community or at their workplace. A range of possible placements will be offered, in different settings and raising a variety of challenges. As an alternative to a placement arranged by the University, the student may undertake to lead a reading group in their workplace, where agreement is reached with the employer. All placements will involve a supervisor/ key contact at the external location and will be monitored by tutors from the course.
Ms Hilary Betts
Department of English
University of Bristol
3/5 Woodland Road
Bristol BS8 1TB
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Introduction to Critical Theory and Thought | ENGL10054 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Academic Skills for the Study of English Literature and Community Engagement | ENGL10058 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
The Short Story | ENGL10061 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
60 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Understanding Critical Theory and Thought | ENGL10056 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Community Engagement: Theory into Practice | ENGL10059 | 20 | Mandatory | D | TB-4 |
Poetry | ENGL10101 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Certificate of Higher Education | 60 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Students must take ENGL20117, ENGL20120 and ENGL20118. If any of these have been previously studied students can take ENGL20125 as an alternative. | |||||
English Literature and Community Engagement Personal Option Unit | ENGL20125 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2,TB-4 | |
Period Unit 1 - 1150-1550 | ENGL20117 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Literature and the Politics of Gender | ENGL20120 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Communities, Education and Ways of Knowing | ENGL20118 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
60 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Students must take ENGL20134, ENGL20124 and ENGL20121. If any of these have been previously studied students can take ENGL20125 as an alternative. | |||||
English Literature and Community Engagement Personal Option Unit | ENGL20125 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2,TB-4 | |
Period Unit 2 (1550-1780) | ENGL20134 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
American Literature | ENGL20124 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Writing Your World: Literature, Creative Writing and Community | ENGL20121 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Diploma in Higher Education | 60 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Students must take ENGL30136, ENGL30137 and ENGL30023. If any of these have been previously studied students can take ENGL30139 as an alternative. | |||||
English Literature and Community Engagement Personal Option Unit | ENGL30139 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2,TB-4 | |
Special Author Study | ENGL30023 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Period Unit: 1900 - Present | ENGL30136 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Interrelation of Culture Between Britain, Africa and the Caribbean | ENGL30137 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
BA English Literature and Community Engagement | 60 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Students must take ENGL30136 and ENGL30137. If either of these have been previously studied students can take ENGL30139 as an alternative. | |||||
English Literature and Community Engagement Personal Option Unit | ENGL30139 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2,TB-4 | |
Interrelation of Culture Between Britain, Africa and the Caribbean | ENGL30137 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Period Unit: 1900 - Present | ENGL30136 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Select 20CP from the following list | |||||
Dissertation | ENGL30207 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Research Project on Literature and Community Engagement. | ENGL30208 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
English Literature and Community Engagement (BA) | 60 |
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.
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