Undergraduate English and Comparative Literature at Goldsmiths

Study in a friendly department where you’ll get to know the staff and students, but that’s large enough to offer you a wide range of courses and specialisms Undergraduate English

Study

in a friendly

department where

you’ll get to know the

staff and students, but

that’s large enough to

offer you a wide range

of courses and

specialisms

Undergraduate

English and Comparative Literature at Goldsmiths

 Choose from eight

undergraduate programmes

 Speak to your personal tutor throughout your studies and get advice and feedback on your work

 Keep up with current debates through the Goldsmiths Writers’ Centre

 Make use of the Goldsmiths and University of London libraries, including Senate House

Key features

ECL at Goldsmiths

Cervantes Bukowski Dostoevsky At Goldsmiths,

English and Comparative Literature is critical and

creative From classical literature and linguistics,

to creative writing and contemporary fiction, we

combine a core of modern specialisms with coverage

of literature that goes from the 14th to the 21st

century, so you can do a traditional English degree

with us or a more comparative or creative one.

As a department we’re interested in a field

of enquiry that extends from Old English

literature to newly published writing in English,

French, German, Spanish and Italian There are

opportunities to learn about film, theatre, and

visual arts, in addition to studying literature

and language As a result, you can study

texts and films across a variety of periods

and genres And, because we have specialists

in areas such as American and Caribbean

literature, you’ll get the chance to delve into

subjects you can’t explore elsewhere

Whether you want to become an

award-winning writer or apply your

studies to another career, you’ll leave

with a University of London degree

that’s as rigorous as it is respected

Why choose English and Comparative Literature at Goldsmiths?

We’re engaged. As a student here you can get involved in a cultural sphere beyond your studies Stay in touch with current debates through our dedicated Writers’ Centre, the Goldsmiths Prize for boldly original fiction, and our popular speaker series, which has featured guests including Doris Lessing, Alan Bennett, Ian McEwan and Sharon Olds

We’re nurturing. We may be one of the largest departments in Goldsmiths but that doesn’t mean you won’t get personal support Take advantage of our personal tutor system, learn from an approachable team of academic staff and become part

of the student-run English Society

We’re vibrant. As one of the first departments in the UK to offer creative writing, you’ll learn from renowned contemporary writers and be part of a hub

of literary excellence – our graduates have gone on to win prestigious awards from the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature to the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year

Watch our film at

vimeo.com/

goldsmiths/

english

If you want to boost your academic profile and progress to the BA English degree:

Integrated Degree in English

(including Foundation Year)

1 year full-time (Foundation) followed by

3 years full-time (undergraduate degree)

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/

integrated-degree-english

This is a four-year degree at Goldsmiths The foundation year takes an overview approach to literary history, and includes components in Renaissance studies, 18th-century literature, Victorian literature and modernism Novels, plays and poetry will

be studied, and a variety of approaches

to literary criticism are discussed and critically assessed You also learn study skills, and critically evaluate your own work

Our degrees

BA (Hons) English

3 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/ba-english

Our English degree gives you the opportunity

to develop the critical and verbal skills needed

for a confident, effective reading of literary

and non-literary texts It develops your core

skills in analytical and imaginative reading and

writing, and is structured to give you a broad

foundation in literary and cultural studies, as

well as the opportunity to study the topics

that really interest you Course options offer

an historical view of writing in English, and

let you specialise in areas including thematic

and genre-based approaches to literature,

comparative analysis, and literary theory

Our staff have diverse cultural backgrounds

and research areas, so are ideally placed to

offer you insights as you develop your own

interests in American, British, European, Irish,

Caribbean or other literatures in English

BA (Hons) English & American Literature

3 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/

ba-english-american-literature

This dedicated degree gives you the

opportunity to read across a varied range

of literary and critical works from both sides

of the Atlantic You’ll be able to examine

American literary and cultural contexts, the

formation of an American literary aesthetic

from Puritan times to the present day,

and the critical concepts and ideologies

that shape the American nation You will

cultivate an understanding of the main

cultural, historical and political concepts

underpinning America and its literatures, and

be introduced to selected works spanning

literary history from Homer to the present day

Our graduates have an excellent

employment record – 100% of last year’s

graduates were in work or further study

six months after finishing the degree

BA (Hons) English & Comparative Literature

3 years full-time

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/

ba-english-comparative-literature

Enabling you to study literature and culture across linguistic and national boundaries, this degree offers you the opportunity

to read a generous range of works within

a comparative context Over the course

of the three years you’ll read and discuss works spanning literary culture from Homer to the present day You will

be introduced to the study of themes, genres and movements across national literatures, and the relationship between literature and other disciplines You will have the opportunity to look at the arts during three major periods – the Baroque, Romanticism and modernism, and examine cross-national influences

in a variety of genres and media

BA (Hons) English with Creative Writing

3 years full-time

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/

ba-english-creative-writing

This prestigious degree promotes your intellectual curiosity and creativity by combining the study of English literature with the practice of creative writing It will develop your analytical and critical abilities

as well as your imaginative skills You will study compulsory and option courses from a wide range offered, while each year taking a creative writing course These creative writing workshops specialise in prose fiction or poetry, and are designed to develop your knowledge while laying the foundations of your writing practice They are taught by practitioners and active researchers, so you will have access to experts and you will be interacting within

a community of writers who will be supporting the development of your work

BA (Hons) English & Drama/Drama & English

3 years full-time

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/ba-english-drama

This degree brings insights from a range of

perspectives to develop your analytical and

imaginative skills You’ll develop an awareness

of literary-historical contexts and of

relationships between theatrical texts and

other literary genres It can be studied through

two pathways: Drama or English, depending

on which you decide will be your main focus

These pathways diverge at the end of the

second year, so for the first two years of the

degree all students have a similar choice of

courses In your first year, literature courses

focus on poetry, the literature of the Victorian

period and classic texts from Homer to

Margaret Atwood You also study theatre

history, performance theory and approaches

to production The second and third years

offer greater flexibility, with an excitingly

varied choice of literature and drama courses

BA (Hons) English & History

3 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/ba-english-history

This degree familiarises you with thematic and

genre-based approaches to literature, verbal

analysis and literary theory Throughout the

degree you will be introduced to the skills

of the historian, encouraging you to analyse

societies and their structures in a way that

will inform and complement your literary

studies You’ll also have the opportunity

to apply your academic skills within the

workplace, through our History at Work

scheme Our staff come from a variety of

cultural backgrounds and, with their diverse

research specialities, they’ll be able to help you

develop your own interests Interdisciplinary

BA (Hons) English Language & Literature*

3 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/

ba-english-language-literature

This degree, new for 2013, will give you an in-depth understanding of the English language based on critical study and analysis

of a wide range of literary and non-literary genres, including print and digital media You will become familiar with historical, geographical, socio-cultural and situational language variation, and develop a critical understanding of how language can be used as a resource to project identities and

to shape representations of reality At the same time, the programme offers a broad foundation in literary studies, including thematic and genre-based approaches

to literature, comparative analysis, and literary theory

*New programme: subject to validation

BA (Hons) Media & English

3 years full-time

www.gold.ac.uk/ug/ba-media-english

This degree allows you to explore critical perspectives in literature and media alongside each other while developing your skills in creative writing (script and short story) and editing The degree will stimulate and develop your critical faculties and at the same time help you improve as a creative writer (film,

tv, radio, print and new media) You’ll follow thematic and research interests that bear on your own original writing, and be taught by leading scholars and researchers in Media and Communications, and English and Comparative Literature The creative writing course each year, which is taught by working

Our degrees continued

Your future: skills and careers

A degree in English opens up a wide range of careers

by developing critical and analytical skills, proficiency

in assessing evidence, the clear expression of ideas,

and the ability to bring together insights from a range

of subjects You also learn to solve problems, to think creatively, and to communicate with clarity – all of

which are attractive to a variety of employers.

According to data collated by Unistats, the

definitive UK university guide and part of the

Higher Education Funding Council for England

(HEFCE), Goldsmiths’ English undergraduate

students go on to attain the highest-paid

jobs of English graduates in the UK

Where do ECL graduates work?

English graduates go on to work in a very

varied selection of careers, including:

• Journalism

• Editing

• Writing

• Advertising

• Marketing and public relations

• Teaching (schools and higher education)

• Events management

• Information management

• Archivism

How Goldsmiths equips you

for the world of work

Everything we do at Goldsmiths is committed

to preparing our students for life beyond

study You’ll develop independent thinking

and real-world skills, which employers are

looking for when recruiting graduates And

we nurture creative talent and dynamic

thought, and a commitment to being at the

forefront of your chosen field, whatever

that may be Our Careers Service offers

support, guidance and practical advice

on how to take your first steps to finding

a job and having the career you want

Graduate insight

Ben, graduated in 2008 with

a BA in English & Drama

“Every university is formative but not all are supportive Goldsmiths is I directed my first play in my third year and it was only through Goldsmiths awards and fellow students that I was able to this Since then, I’ve written and directed many different things but I wouldn’t have were it not for the confidence, skills, and people that Goldsmiths gave me This year, I’ve written opera for the Welsh National Opera I never thought I’d write opera but Goldsmiths challenged me to try new things and, through a combination of perseverance and luck I was asked to work for the Welsh National Opera as a writer-in-residence.”

Contact us

See www.gold.ac.uk/ug/

english for full details of our

degrees If you need more

information, please email

course-info@gold.ac.uk

To find out more about us, go

to www.gold.ac.uk/ecl

or email english@gold.ac.uk

Student insight

Alex

“I could probably only describe the atmosphere here to be a fusion of eccentricity and libertarian expression

If you want to be an individual then there

is nowhere that will encourage you more When I looked at my course it appeared to endorse this notion of diversity and has given me a freedom to choose what I 0