BA (Hons) English Literature Bachelor's degree at the University of Brighton

How do texts make meaning? How can we understand the relationships between readers, writers, and texts? This module introduces questions crucial to the study of literature and culture through examining reading, writing and thinking as dynamic and dialogic cultural practices. You will develop the skills necessary to become an effective writer, thinker and critic, enabling you to develop informed responses to texts and ideas in dialogue with others as a member of a collaborative intellectual commu

You will explore literary representations of empires and revolutions in different parts of the world, from the 1500s to the early 1900s. You'll learn about literary history by reading texts that both supported and questioned ideas of empire and revolution. You will also look at how power is culturally reproduced and how marginalised people have used literary forms to gain different degrees of cultural and social power.

During this module you will explore poetry from a diverse selection of writers, time periods and cultures. Learning how to analyse and interpret poetry and understand poetic forms and techniques, you'll discuss poetry as a political act, a form of protest and an agent of social change to discover the dynamic possibilities of poetry as a relevant means of communication and connection essential in our changing world. Students co-create this module and you will develop your own practice through cur

You will be introduced to research in literature during this module. Through research tasks and seminars, you will develop an understanding of research methods and processes in literature and reflect on and evaluate research practices. You will also complete an individual research project on a topic related to your course so that you develop your own research interests, skills and practices.

Taking inspiration from Edward Said's book The World, the Text, and the Critic (1983), this module enables you to explore some of the key debates in contemporary literary studies. Organised around decolonial, feminist, queer, ecocritical and other approaches to texts, you will develop critical writing skills and knowledge of social, cultural and political contexts in the interpretation of literary works and the wider world.

You will explore the development of cultures and identities and look at how literature engages with and responds to particular historical contexts. You'll investigate elements of, for example, personal, collective and national identity; class; gender; sexuality; ethnicity; and social transformation. You will also consider the influence of relevant political and intellectual movements and ideologies.

You will explore women's writing and feminist theory, looking at areas including politics, gender, sexuality, roles, identities and cultures in this module which is co-created with students. By examining and participating in feminist practice and debating the ways in which feminisms have informed and transformed the content, form and purpose of women's writing, you will work together to research, analyse, evaluate and enact practices and processes of feminisms and women's writing across differen

In this module you will explore a tradition of LGBTQ+ writing in the context of the history and politics of sexuality and queer identities over the past two centuries. The module uses key dates in that history to examine and debate how representation and writing have been both tools of oppression and liberation. Primary texts and films/TV shows could include The Well of Loneliness, Stone Butch Blues, The Black Flamingo, Swimming in the Dark and Fairytales for Lost Children.

You will study the diversity of writing that has emerged from the experience of British and Western European colonisation, including the rich tradition of Black British writing that has dealt with the aftermath of Empire and colonial legacy. You will explore the political