BA (Hons) English and Law Bachelor's degree at the University of Derby

This module aims to introduce some of the fundamental concepts of literary criticism, enabling you to put these into practice in the analysis of texts. It will encourage the critical examination of seemingly ‘natural’ assumptions about the nature of language, of meaning, and of interpretation. It will also acquaint you with the methodology and terminology which underpins current critical practices while building your analytical skills. Through this focus on skills the module will encourage you to reflect on your personal development, and to begin the process of linking your academic studies to your future goals. Assessment is by two pieces of coursework.

Assessment: Coursework

This module builds a critical understanding of literature from the Enlightenment era. You will examine a selection of English and European texts that will allow you to explore the major narrative genres of poetry, drama, fiction, and prose. In the course of the module, you will study the modes of narrative transmission of the period and identify a range of formal features, such as point of view, characterisation, and setting. You will also study some of the major literary trends, for example, epistolary writing, neoclassicism, sensibility, and satire, as well as literary representations of the period’s concerns and issues, such as education, science, industrial progression, and feminism. You

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

Focusing on the genres of the gothic, horror and science fiction, this module will explore representations of nonhuman ‘others’ in the literature and cinema of the fantastic. In examining this perennially popular area of culture, we will consider the ways in which cultural anxieties concerning the mind, the body, gender, race and technology are articulated in fantasy; we will also investigate the ways in which ideas of what constitutes the human have continually changed, and the ways in which these changes have been represented in fiction. From ghosts and vampires to cyborgs and aliens, we will consider a range of texts in the light of theoretical models drawn from such fields as psychoanaly

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

This module explores the legal and constitutional foundations of public power in England. More than any other area of law it has to draw on the rich historical, political and social traditions that veil the distinct absence of full mechanisms of legal accountability of central government and law-making institutions. The traditional underlying principles of the British constitution will be explored and examined in their historical context and their relevance in light of modern constitutional arrangements explored. The effect of external influences such as membership of the European Union, the European Convention on Human Rights and international law obligations will also be addressed. Finally

Assessment: Exam

The study of Law at LLB Honours level needs to be placed into its theoretical, societal, historical and administrative context. The issues of professional practice – in particular those relating to professional ethics – require focused examination. This module provides the opportunity for student to do this. An undergraduate student of Law also needs to acquire appropriate skills. As well as skills which relate to the study and method of Law, students require reinforcement and development of their communication, research, information technology and basic legal research skills together with development of general critical abilities. This module seeks to provide a structured route, allowing st

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

Administrative Law and Human Rights focuses on the process and rationale for judicial review of bodies exercising public functions. It takes the students through each stage of the process, using practical examples and case law to illuminate the key methods and principles for the control of public power by the courts. It is essentially a practice-focused module that will equip the students through teaching and assessed practice to undertake a time-constrained simulation of the first stage of judicial review as their summative assessment. In the teaching and learning students engage with as part of the module, particular emphasis is placed on the UK human rights framework and the ongoing dialo

Assessment: Practical

This module will introduce you to some of the key figures and concepts which inform current critical practice, and acquaint you with the terminology and discourses which constitute that practice. The focus is upon poststructuralist approaches to literature and culture, and we will thus be discussing ideas which have developed from linguistics, psychoanalysis, Marxism, postmodernism, gender studies and post-colonialism, in relation to specific textual examples. We will also consider subsequent developments ‘post-Theory’. Assessment is by two coursework essays.

Assessment: Coursework

This module will address the seismic cultural changes which have been drawn together under the umbrella term of ‘Modernism’. Roughly corresponding to the period from the late nineteenth century to the Second World War, Modernism embodied a decisive change in approaches to literature: modernist novelists such as Virginia Woolf and James Joyce moved away from realist narrative conventions and experimented with form; Modernist poets such as T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound introduced a fragmented and allusive style of poetry whose impact remains significant today. In the course of this module, you will study some significant modernist writings in their intellectual and historical contexts; we will al

Assessment: Coursework

This module is an exploration of the British and European realist novel in the nineteenth century. You will study a selection of key texts and consider their wider cultural and socio/historical themes and issues. In the course of the module, you will also examine the narrative modes and generic conventions relating to realism. Assessment is by coursework and seminar participation, including a presentation and engagement in discussion.

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

The Romantic era in British Literature – approximately the half century between 1780 and 1830 – was an especially rich one in the history of British poetry as well as being a period of great historical change and artistic innovation. This module aims to familiarise you with the key achievements of a number of important late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century British poets. The period was one of social and political upheaval, as a consequence of (for example) the impact of the French Revolution and the long war with revolutionary, and then Napoleonic, France; the agitation for Parliamentary reform and political rights; the movement to abolish the slave trade and slavery in the British co

Assessment: Coursework

This module is designed to develop your research skills and to apply them to different contexts. It will provide an advanced understanding of research methodologies and to consider different ways in which scholars undertake research. It will then enable you to put these skills into practice into two different contexts. The first of these is a short, group, applied research project, based upon a brief from an external partner. You will then produce an extended piece of academic writing based upon an individually devised research question. The module will encourage you to think about how research skills are transferable beyond university and prepare you for the greater emphasis on independent

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

Criminal law is a fascinating and ever-changing area of law. This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the essential elements of criminal liability which include the guilty act, the required mental state and the proof of causation, along with a consideration of any relevant defences, and the relationship between these. The module aims to explore these concepts in relation to the application of these to a variety of both fatal offences and non-fatal offences. The module also considers mechanisms of liability which deal with discrete areas of criminal liability and the application of these concepts in practice.

Assessment: Coursework, Exam

Criminal Practice and Property Offences enables students to gain an understanding of how criminal liability arises in relation to a range of specific offences relating to property and to understand how the criminal law operates to protect property rights and impose liability. The module will also consider the liability of parties for their actions prior to the completion of a criminal act in relation to a range of offences. It equips students for further study and gives an understanding of general procedural requirements. The assessment strategy is in place in order to enable students to gain academic understanding of the substantive law and how such law ‘works in practice’. The module has l

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

The purpose of this modules is to develop an understanding of where the practice of law sits within the context of running a business and the wider context of the domestic and global environment within which the law is practiced. Through this module students will also develop the skills which are required to resolve complex issues and problems that materialise during the course of legal practice and representation of commercial and corporate clients. The module addresses the broader aspects of legal practice and places the student in the role not only of a legal advisor but also as the person who will have to structure transactions, resolve issues, and overcome obstacles. Students will also

Assessment: Coursework

The nature of European Union law means that no study of the English legal system is complete without an understanding of the impact of this wide-ranging area of law. Its impact can be most clearly felt in public law and this module will build on the understanding of the structure and decision-making process of the European Union gained in that module. However, European Union law cannot be seen as a stand-alone set of rules. Students will analyse the extent to which the law of the European Union creates rules to further the aims of the key treaties and the impact that this has had on the legal systems of the member states in diverse areas of law such as commercial law and employment law. The

Assessment: Coursework

This module forms part of the placement year typically completed between the second and final stage of a degree programme. The module provides a framework for the development of reflective skills appropriate to all areas of professional practice including for example aspects of problem solving such as objective setting, planning, negotiating, demonstrating, and reflecting. The emphasis in this module is on the analysis and evaluation of work completed within the organisation and future employability planning. During the module students will develop a reflective portfolio where they record the skills, knowledge and experience developed during the placement experience and evaluate how this wil

Assessment: Coursework

This double module, extending over two semesters, aims to facilitate your undertaking a piece of independently researched work, on a subject area generated by you in negotiation with a designated supervisor. The topic will be theoretically-based, in depth, and will extend your understanding, skills, and analyses developed through the first two years of the programme. Your approach in terms of research methodology, theoretical basis and level of engagement will reflect the increased intellectual sophistication of the subject at Level Six. The varying skills accrued in this module will prove essential to your future employability and personal development, as well as providing an excellent fram

Assessment: Coursework

This module provides you with an opportunity to experience working in a cultural, creative, arts, heritage or related organisation and to develop valuable academic and transferable skills. The main focus is to negotiate and conduct a work-based project with an employer or other outside body. This might be a museum or gallery, a cinema or theatre, a radio or TV station, or an educational establishment, for example. It allows you to bring your academic skills to an organisation, to complete a project that would be useful to them (and, in many cases, the wider community), and gives you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience relevant to your chosen career path.

Assessment: Coursework

This module will examine the legacies of modernism, with particular reference to the French philosophical and literary movement known as Existentialism and the subsequent development of postmodernism. In relation to a diverse range of innovative and subversive works of literature, we will consider in depth existentialist notions of responsibility, bad faith, freedom and the absurd as well as postmodern ideas concerning the fictional nature of ‘reality’. Therefore, as well as engaging with major British, European and American writers of the twentieth century, we will consider concurrent developments in film, visual art, theory and philosophy. Assessment is by coursework and seminar participat

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

The module aims to nurture your ability to read a wide range of contemporary dramatic texts more pleasurably and critically. It is organised around issues of intercultural performance, self-awareness, self-determination, resistance, and identity through the study of South African theatre in the apartheid era, West European, African and Caribbean theatre. Your study will include the analysis of wide ranging performances, dramatic texts and film/video/dvd recordings of African, Western European and Caribbean theatre. You will consider aesthetic, historical and socio-political contexts which produce this theatre, and the role of the dramatist as a voice of the community. The module also looks a

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

The module aims to explore the effects of colonialism and independence on both the coloniser and the colonised through the study of literary texts and post-colonial theoretical debate. It will concentrate on modes of representation, and will concern itself with the interdependent images of the colonial encounter at moments on both sides of the advent of independence. A range of concepts including the colonial encounter, creolisation, and hybridity will be discussed. Attention will be paid primarily o the British colonial (ad-venture) in India, Africa,and the Caribbean. The broad historical-geographical base is intended to enable you to examine and apply theories concerning representation and

Assessment: Coursework

This interdisciplinary module will engage with a number of literary and cinematic representations of crime and transgressive behaviour, in the context of a range of historical factors and critical-theoretical perspectives. Beginning with Thomas de Quincey’s mischievous plea for murder to be considered as one of the fine arts, we will discuss texts chosen from a range of genres, chiefly drawing on British, European and American writings. As well as examining the origins of the detective story and the significance of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, emphasis will be placed on the figure of the criminal as existential (anti-) hero and the separation of aesthetics from morality. Assessment is

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

Often regarded as the most profound of literary genres, tragedy stages conflicts between desire and law, individuals and institutions, human beings and inhuman demands. Beginning in Ancient Greece, the form evolved significantly during the Renaissance and is synonymous with Shakespeare’s greatest works. This module will examine tragedy and the tragic in plays from Classical Greece and Renaissance England, taking in some of Shakespeare’s major tragedies as well as the bloody revenge dramas of the Jacobean age. It will address, too, the rich critical and theoretical heritage which has grown out of a recurrent and widespread fascination with this bleak, often grim, but compelling and cathartic

Assessment: Coursework

In this module, you will read widely in modern and contemporary poetry in order to gain some understanding and appreciation of the range of poetry currently practised in the English speaking world. We will consider the way in which poetry evolves out of a conversation with other poems (tradition) out of a dialogue with other media, and out of a response to contemporary life and its philosophical traditions. The module emphasises the close link between a careful and attuned reading and appreciative critical writing, and you will have opportunity through seminar discussions to familiarise yourself with the poetic techniques and formal effects that underpin modern experimental poetry. At the sa

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

This module aims to introduce you to a selection of contemporary texts dealing with the complex problematics of identity and, more specifically, its unique relationship to gender. You will also study key developments in form and current critical and theoretical and contextual debates surrounding the subject. Assessment is by coursework and seminar participation, including a presentation and engagement in discussion.

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

The Eighteenth Century was a crucial era in the development of ‘modern’ ideas about society, politics, literature, and the self. This module gives you the opportunity to study in depth one aspect of the literary culture of the eighteenth century. The narrow focus will allow you to become familiar with the historical contexts and generic conventions relevant to the topic of the module. Through the detailed study of one topic or issue, we will aim to gain critical insight into eighteenth-century intellectual life more broadly. To broaden your perspective of the era, you will also engage with the analysis and evaluation of the visual image in terms of art and of cultural documents. Assessment i

Assessment: Coursework

The module examines the law relating to the sale and supply of goods and services, agency, product safety, insurance and consumer credit. In this capacity it builds on general principles of contract law by focusing specifically on contracts of sale and supply of goods and services as well as addressing the rights and protection afforded to consumers. It equips students for further study and gives a broad understanding of both substantive and procedural requirements. The assessment strategy is in place in order to enable students to gain academic understanding and how such law works in practice in the commercial sectors. It provides a foundation to further vocational study with ILEX (Institut

Assessment: Coursework, Exam

This module explores the nature of the company as a business medium. Students will examine how the law regulates the company, evaluating the significance of internal procedures, documentary records and financial aspects. Further, the roles of directors, shareholders, the company secretary and auditors are explored. Analysis of reconstructions, mergers and acquisitions is undertaken as well as the implications and options available on insolvency. Module content includes topics applicable for the relevant ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives) module and serves to prepare students wishing to undertake the ILEX assessments for this area of study. Students are assessed by coursework and written ex

Assessment: Coursework, Exam

This module explores the key principles and policies which underpin employment law with a particular emphasis on the regulation of the employment relationship in the workplace. Assessment is by way of an essay and an individual written assignment based around a role-play workshop.

Assessment: Coursework

Evidence is a significant area of law which is directly relevant to all court actions and the information introduced during such proceedings. Emphasis is placed on evidence in criminal court proceedings with some comparative consideration of the civil court process and rules of evidence. The module explores the body of legal rules regulating the roles and input of the judge, jury and witnesses, and the court process. Rules relating to the level of proof and burden of proof required in court actions and the role and rights of the police in obtaining evidence are studied. Specific types of evidence are studied along with issues of their admissibility and their value and weight. It is assessed

Assessment: Coursework, Exam

This module will enable students to appreciate the main areas of law and practice which need to be addressed on the breakdown of relationships. Students will examine the divorce process with particular reference to ancillary relief and children issues. They will also consider the impact of law on unmarried couples and same-sex partners. The module will give students a practical grounding in the practice and procedure of the divorce process, including drafting a petition, the strategic considerations involved in advising and decision making, and advocacy.

Assessment: Exam, Practical

This module seeks to provide students with a structured route to develop appropriate legal-specific research skills. It aims to equip students with both the practical and analytical abilities to complete a research project and also the skills to present an academic paper. Students are given the freedom to identify their preferred research topic areas. The module equips students, where necessary, to address ethical and professional research issues, but also scaffolds the development of pure normative research approaches. Students will develop advanced research skills through independent learning, online and collaborative sessions with limited guidance from academic staff.

Assessment: Coursework

This module explores the law and procedure relating to the protection of intellectual property and the exploitation of the results of intellectual, scientific, technical, artistic, literary, musical and entrepreneurial endeavour. Its main focus is the law of the UK in its European setting, but appropriate reference is made to the international perspective. The module is assessed by a portfolio of work.

Assessment: Coursework

In our globalised world, concern about the protection of human rights has continued to receive increasing attention. This module addresses the development of human rights protection through the consideration of a variety of international instruments and assessing their impact and efficacy in eradicating abuses. It examines the role of culturally entrenched practices in shaping the conversation on human rights protection and the challenges that result from this. Specific areas of human rights concern such as the right to life, freedom of speech and other concerns such as transnational corporations and accountability for human rights violations would be considered. Through a series of case stu

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

This module provides an introduction to international law and its application to world affairs. The first aspect of this module explores the nature of international law and the attributes that make it distinct from national law. It also explores and challenges foundational issues such as the role of custom as a source of international law, the nature of international legal personality and the role of non-state actors in international law. The second part of the module is a more applied aspect which looks at the role of international law and the limitations it faces in dealing with specific issues that arise in world affairs. Contemporary issues considered are likely to include terrorism, the

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

This module draws together two pertinent strands operative in international relations between states. These are the process of sustainable development and the regulation of international business transactions. The module will explore and analyse the theory and practice of sustainable development as well as analyse international business transaction as it relates to the sale of goods and the provision of services. In this capacity, the module will link these two strands and will engage students with live and contemporary development problems facing governments and then allow the students to implement functional and realistic business solutions to these problems. The module places the student

Assessment: Coursework, Practical