Module |
Credits |
Compulsory/optional |
Year Abroad
|
0 Credits |
Compulsory |
A Study Abroad year is an optional additional year that increases the length of the Honours degree award to a four-year full-time degree. The additional year comprises an agreed programme of study in a partner institution abroad with whom the University of Hertfordshire has an institutional agreement. The programme of study will support, supplement and extend the more usual three-year programme. Success in the third year will be recognised in the title of the award, but does not carry additional credit towards the Honours programme. A student would normally confirm the intention to study abroad during the first ten weeks of study at Level 5. This will enable a place to be negotiated at a host institution and the Study Programme and learning contract to be arranged and agreed. |
The Humanities Placement Year
|
0 Credits |
Compulsory |
The Placement Year provides you with the opportunity to set your academic studies in a broader context and to utilise the intellectual skills you have gained through your degree in the work place. You will also strengthen your time management, organisational and communication skills as well as develop employability skills.
You will gain experience of applying for jobs and of working within a commercial, business or professional environment prior to graduating thus increasing employability skills such as teamwork, communication skills and commercial awareness.
You will gain experience in a field that is often a destination for Humanities students such as PR, marketing, management and research. You will have developed valuable industry skills and experience as well as being able to apply many of the intellectual skills you have learnt through your degree to a real world situation. |
Placement with Study Abroad
|
0 Credits |
Compulsory |
Students on this unique module will have the opportunity to undertake both a semester at a partner university and to undertake a semester of placement, thus both improving their cultural awareness and employability. Students who have been on the Placement Year and Study Abroad Year, both normally undertaken after level 5 and before entering the final year, have reported high levels of satisfaction with both and many have said the Placement or Study Abroad year was one of the highlights of their university career. The Placement Year is offered by only a handful of universities offering Humanities subjects, so this module is a fantastic opportunity for students to explore both aspects of Study Abroad and Placement both here and abroad. |
Eighteenth Century Bodies
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
Gender and sexuality have histories; this module will explore some of the ways in which they were constructed in the shifting social contexts of the long eighteenth century and their intertwining with concepts of power, class, nation and ethnicity. By examining a generically broad range of textual materials - plays, poems, novels, medical and religious discourses, advice books - this module will analyse a variety of models of sexual behaviour and male and female identities, paying close attention to the historical moment in which the text was written. Possible topics for study include: Restoration libertinism as represented in the works of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, Aphra Behn and William Wycherley; bourgeois sexuality as in Samuel Richardson's 'Pamela' and Henry Fielding's 'Shamela'; prostitution and the commodification of sexuality as in Defoe's 'Roxana', John Gay's 'The Beggar's Opera' and John Cleveland's infamous pornographic novel, 'Fanny Hill; or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'; the psycho-sexual anxieties of Gothic novels, for example William Beckford's 'Vathek' and Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey'. |
Literature Project
|
30 Credits |
Optional |
The Literature Project is intended to give you the opportunity to carry out a substantial up-to-date research project based on a topic or author of particular interest. As well as enabling you to follow up particular enthusiasms, the module aims to further develop skills in planning, research, time-management and presentation. The module is taught via a programme of one-to-one tutorials with a designated supervisor. You may choose a topic from any area of literary studies but the choice of a topic must be agreed with the module leader before the end of Semester B preceding the next academic year in which the work will be undertaken. If you are taking 120 credits or more in English Literature at Level 3 (i.e. you are intending to graduate with a Single Honours degree in English Literature) your programme of study should include this module or 3HUM0231, the Independent Study and Research Project, but not both. |
Between the Acts: Late Victorian and Edwardian Literature 1890-1920
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
This module studies texts written between 1890 and 1920 in order to consider the period of transition between the end of the Victorian age and the end of the First World War. Students will be invited to consider ways in which the set texts challenge 'Victorian' ideas of stability and respectability as well as their engagement with such concepts as heroism, the `monstrous', suburbia, marriage and sexuality, trauma, class and nationhood. The texts studied will include a range of different genres and styles, from the so-called `problem play' of the 1890s and 1900s, to the horror story; from the best-selling exotic romance to the literature of World War One. Authors studied may include Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, Elizabeth Robbins, E.M. Forster, Ford Madox Ford, Rebecca West, Henry James, Elinor Glyn and Rudyard Kipling. |
Children's Literature:Growing up in Books
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
This module critically analyses works of children's literature published since 1950. Primary texts will range from picture books designed for very young children to works of cross-over fiction which aim to bridge the gap between the child and the adult reader. This will enable us to consider the ways in which children's literature works on the page and in culture to mediate and interpret the process of 'growing up' in modern society.
We will engage in close critical analysis of the primary material (considering, for example, questions of genre, narrative conventions and the relationship between words and illustrations) - and this will be linked at every stage to a consideration of the ways in which literature for children interacts with wider cultural and historical contexts. You will be expected to engage with key theoretical and critical debates around children's literature.
Authors studied may include Sendak, Seuss, Dahl, Lewis, Morpurgo, Rowling and Pullman |
Spanish Mini Project
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
This module provides students with an opportunity, under tutorial guidance, to choose a topic of interest to them related to an aspect of the social, political, economic or cultural life of a Spanish -speaking country, to research a topic, using authentic materials to write an essay on the topic in Spanish. |
Spanish Project
|
30 Credits |
Optional |
This module provides students with an opportunity, under tutorial guidance, to choose a topic of interest to them related to an aspect of the social, political, economic or cultural life of a Spanish-speaking country, to research a topic, using authentic materials obtained from the Learning Resources Centre, via the Internet, Spanish radio or satellite television and to write a project on the topic in Spanish. Students are encouraged to conduct interviews with native Spanish-speakers, having completed the necessary University formalities to obtain Ethics approval. |
Texts and Screens: Studies in Literary Adaptation
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
Literature and film have had a close and complex relationship since the beginning of the twentieth century when silent cinema adopted the novel as a fruitful source for its own stories. The cinema is still one of the most frequent ways by which we first encounter literary texts. By using a number of case studies this module aims to introduce you to some of the key issues involved in adapting literary texts for the cinema, including questions of narrative technique, concepts of genre, questions of representation and notions of 'fidelity' and 'authorship'.
As well as close readings of the set texts (both written and cinematic) the module will also engage with recent theoretical approaches to film and literary studies. The texts chosen for study will vary from year to year but might include such notable examples as Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare; Zeffirelli; Lurhmann); Goldfinger (Flemming/Hamilton) and Trainspotting (Welsh/Boyle). |
African-American Literature
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
This module will introduce you to some key works of African-American literature, from the late nineteenth century to the present day. You will study a range of genres, such as fiction, poetry, drama, autobiography, and nonfiction. We will trace how a unique African-American literary voice relates to a number of important modes of expression: oral culture, 'signifying', folklore, the visual arts, and music (such as spirituals, blues, jazz, work songs, gospel, and hip hop). We will identify several key themes and preoccupations in the work of African-American writers: freedom, identity, mobility (both geographical and social), and self-expression, amongst others. These will be mapped against historical events and developments, including slavery and abolition, segregation and the Jim Crow laws, the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights movement, the feminist movement, and the election of Barack Obama as President. We will also explore how issues of gender, sexuality, and class specifically inform these works. |
Spanish Route A - 6a
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
This module further improves the students' competence and confidence from study at levels 4 and 5 in
understanding and responding to more advanced written and spoken Spanish. Students develop skills which
will be of value both professionally and socially and will be exposed to a wider variety of contexts and language
registers.
The module will enable students to participate more fully in discussions and develop logical argument. They
will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and
grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line
materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites. |
Spanish Route A - 6b
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
This module enables students to improve further their competence and confidence from the previous semester
in understanding and responding to more advanced Spanish. Students continue to develop skills which will be
of value both professionally and socially. The module will enable students to play a more active and
spontaneous part in discussions and to use a wider range of phrases which express different shades of opinion
in speaking and writing. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of
the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based,
supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line news reports, blogs and magazine websites. |
Spanish Route B - 6b
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
Emphasis will continue to be placed on ensuring that students have a grammatically sound command of both
the written and the spoken forms of Spanish. A thematic approach to language learning will be used, improving
the student's linguistic ability and knowledge of more complex Spanish. The module will be based on selected,
more complex carefully graded texts and materials compiled from a variety of sources made available to
students through Studynet. Students will participate in discussions on a variety of topics focusing on cultural
issues, tourism and the world of work |
Spanish Route B - 6a
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
Emphasis will be placed on ensuring that students have a grammatically sound command of both the written
and the spoken forms of Spanish. A thematic approach to language learning will be used, improving the
student's linguistic ability and knowledge of more complex Spanish. The course will be based on selected,
complex carefully graded texts, online and audiovisual materials compiled from a variety of sources made
available to students through StudyNet. Typical themes of study will focus on social, economic and cultural
issues. Student will be expected to take part in discussions on the various topics studied. |
Generation Dead: Young Adult Fiction and the Gothic
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
All over the country in the world of young adult fiction teenagers who die aren't staying dead. This module will interrogate the new high school gothic, exploring the representation of the undead or living dead (werewolves, vampires and zombies) in dark or paranormal romance. Texts range from Twilight, Vampire Diaries and Daniel Waters's zombie trilogy to Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies and Eden Maguire's The Beautiful Dead. We'll also look at examples of werewolf fiction (Shiver) and at the folklore inspired novels of Marcus Sedgwick.
Y.A.F. has attracted some of the most gifted writers who address these themes as a means of confronting death or discrimination or to engage with Christianity or Mormonism and embrace the enduring power of love. We will be theorising folklore, investigating the ethics of writing for young adults, and grappling with undead issues such as the notion of free will, damnation and redemption, the sexualisation of early teens, the effects of prejudice and the politics of difference. |
Spanish Route C 6a Post Year Abroad
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the students' linguistic ability primarily through the study of selected themes. The module will be based on materials taken from newspapers, magazines, journals, the Internet, and audio and video recordings, chosen specifically to illustrate contemporary issues of current interest to those living and working in the Spanish-speaking world. Typical themes f or study might include contemporary cultures in the Spanish-speaking world; current events in the Spanish-speaking world; the impact of globalisation on the Spanish-speaking world. Students will be expected to research their own materials and present them in discussions, analysing them and reflecting upon them. Complex and more subtle grammatical points will be analysed through the study of texts. Students will be exposed to varied teaching formats, including lectures, small group work and independent study in the digital language laboratory. |
Twenty-first Century American Writing
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
This module will survey contemporary American literature from the twenty-first century. We will investigate key literary texts and cultural movements from the period alongside historical contexts and new theoretical frameworks. Examining works of narrative, drama and poetry, we will look at a variety of textual strategies that contemporary authors use to investigate the contemporary world. Structured through six key themes--including 9/11, the transcultural, sexuality and race--the module will provide students with the change to explore new and diverse literary material that attempts to explore America in today's "globalized" world. Texts studied will vary but typically will include novels (Philip Roth's The Human Stain), poetry (Claudia Rankine's Citizen) and drama (Moises Kaufman's The Laramie Project). |
Euro-Crime on Page and Screen
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
The twenty-first century has seen a resurgence of interest in crime fiction, films and television dramas ranging from renewed interest in the "who-dunnits" of Agatha Christie to the more explicit violence of contemporary "Nordic Noir". This module examines examples of European crime writing beginning with the popularity of detective fiction in the early 1900s before looking at how successive European writers and film/programme makers have modified the form to suit their times, often using the crime at the centre of their narratives as a jumping off point for exploring questions of national and cultural identities. The written and filmed texts studied will take us to different European countries. Typical examples include, but are not limited to, stories from Britain's "Golden Age" (1920s and 1930s), novels and film adaptations of work by Georges Simenon (Inspector Maigret, France), Arnaldur Indriðason (Detective Erlendur, Iceland), Stieg Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sweden), and Andrea Camilleri and Giancarlo de Cataldo (Inspector Montalbano and Romanze Criminale, Italy). Works will be read in translation. |
Spanish Route C6A - Advanced Spanish - Current Issues in Spain and Latin America
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the student's linguistic ability primarily through the study of selected themes taken from online newspapers, magazines, websites chosen specifically to illustrate contemporary issues (culture, society, business and politics) in the Spanish-speaking world.
Students will be expected to research their own materials and present them in discussions, analysing them and reflecting upon them. Complex and more subtle grammatical points will be analysed through the study of texts. |
Spanish Route C6B - Advanced Spanish - Current Issues in Spain and Latin America
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the student's linguistic ability primarily through the study of selected themes taken from online newspapers, magazines, websites chosen specifically to illustrate contemporary issues (culture, society, business and politics) in the Spanish-speaking world.
Students will be expected to research their own materials and present them in discussions, analysing them and reflecting upon them. Complex and more subtle grammatical points will be analysed through the study of texts. |
The Literary Professional
|
15 Credits |
Optional |
This module enables you to incorporate practical experience, and critical understanding of the workplace, into your study of English Literature and/or Creative Writing. It focuses on students' understanding of how 'literature' (the writing process, the marketing and retailing of texts, their critical analysis, or literary history) is encountered by a non-academic audience. You must find a suitable work placement by the end of the previous semester, with guidance from the module leader. Placements could range from a school or college to literary heritage sites, literary festivals; publishing companies; a bookshop; arts organisations or theatres. Placements should be for a minimum of 24 accumulated hours. In workshops, you will critically analyse the sector in which your work placement has been undertaken, reflect on your experiences, and develop a broader appreciation of how literature is engaged with outside higher education. Assessment comprises a presentation and a portfolio including the development of a new curriculum vitae.
Please note a) students must source their own work placement with the assistance of the module leader; b) students may not take this module at Level 6 if they have already completed the Level 5 'Literature at Work' module. |