Bachelor of Arts - English Literature (Including Placement Year) (Q303)

Studying English Literature at the University of Essex will revolutionize the way you think about literature. Students are challenged to reflect on how literature shapes, and is shaped by, the world. Drawing on key texts and ideas, students develop critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills that will help them make their own mark. Essex's BA English Literature is truly global and politically engaged, offering a wide range of module choices from different places, cultures and historical periods. Students will study everything from foundational texts and authors, including The Epic of Gilgamesh, Dante and Ovid, through to the most challenging contemporary texts from the last decade.

Students will ask and answer important questions. What did love, death and race mean in the Renaissance? What is the legacy of slavery in the Americas and how is this reflected in different genres of writing? How did suffragettes change the world and its literature? Whether its dystopian fiction, the Caribbean origins of zombie narratives or the issue of human and non-human rights in a digital age, Essex will ensure students pursue their interests to the fullest and that they’ll be supported by experts in the field.

At Essex, they believe in radical, challenging and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of literature and while they take note of conventions, they’re not bound by them. While they’ve had Nobel prize-winners and Oscar winners among their staff they don’t rest on their laurels.

In the Department students can study modules which examine a variety of genres, including travel writing, the podcast, and autobiography among others, and work across different media, including books, newspapers, plays and film. From the English Civil War to dystopian literature and film, the modules not only span momentous historical, political and social worldwide events, but also examine the alternative worlds that literature has produced.

Students can decide whether they would like to combine their course with a placement year. Students will be responsible for finding their placement, but with support and guidance provided by both the department and the Employability and Careers Centre.

A good literature degree opens many doors.

The number of careers that lead from courses in literature is almost as large as the number of graduates, but two particular areas in which graduates have had recent success are publishing and the theatre. One of Essex's former students is now in charge of editorial at a large publishing house, and another has just taken over running one of the country’s major theatres.

Essex's recent graduates have gone on to work in a wide range of desirable roles including: the Civil Service, journalism and broadcasting, marketing, museum and library work, commerce and finance, and teaching.