Drama and English Literature

BA (Hons)

Intermediate award(s): CertHE, DipHE
Full-Time

This course is available in Clearing, call us on 0845 271 3333 for more information

The combination of Drama and English Literature enhances your theoretical and practical understanding of a varied selection of texts and performance practices.

Course overview

The combination of Drama and English Literature offers a challenging and stimulating course of complementary study that seeks to enhance your theoretical and practical understanding of a varied selection of texts and performance practices. It is also intended to equip you with a set of skills much in demand by a range of potential employers.

Reading English Literature allows you to study some of the most interesting and exciting books ever written. The English Literature course strikes a balance between the study of writers such as Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, Dickens, and Woolf, and the exploration of less traditional areas like modern science fiction, children's literature and contemporary women's writing. Drama offers an excellent balance of theory and practice, enabling you to engage with key performance texts and practices across the 20th and 21st centuries.
Our Department of Music and Performing Arts offers outstanding technical and theatre facilities that will give you the opportunity to hone those skills in a variety of exciting performance events. Study visits to local and national theatres help broaden your outlook and add a further dimension to your studies, both in English Literature and Drama.

You will take half of your degree from Drama and half from English Literature.

Additional course information

Our Department of Music and Performing Arts is especially proud of its extensive programme of public concerts, theatrical performances and workshops. There is a regular series of weekly lunchtime concerts given by visiting professional musicians, and visiting artists and performers are regularly invited to give masterclasses and workshops. Our department's bi-annual full-scale opera productions exploit to the full the superb resources of the Mumford Theatre.

The English Literature course also offers opportunities to take modules in related subjects like Film, Philosophy or Writing (creative or journalistic). Whatever area you choose to study, you will enjoy the full support of our highly experienced teaching staff.

Module guide

Year one core modules
  • Introduction to English Literature 1 (Semester 1)

    This module gives students an outline knowledge of the history of English Literature from the Anglo-Saxon period to the end of the eighteenth century. It uses a selection of texts taken from volume 1 of The Norton Anthology of English Literature, supplemented by handouts, to give students examples of different literary forms belonging to every period of English literary history prior to the Romantic movement. The juxtaposition of pieces by well known authors such as Chaucer, Marlowe, Milton and Swift with less familiar texts is intended to encourage reflection upon what constitutes the 'canon'. Students are expected to acquire a basic knowledge of the terms used in English literary history ('Medieval', 'Tudor', 'Renaissance', 'Reformation', 'Early Modern', 'Restoration', 'Augusta', 'NeoClassical', 'Enlightenment', 'Sensibility') and are encouraged to think critically about these terms. During the course of this module (and its sister module in semester 2) we want students not only to acquire a sense of literary history and an outline knowledge of the main literary periods. We also hope they will engage in a direct and pleasurable way with a variety of extremely interesting texts. We have chosen a selection of poems, plays, and works of prose fiction which we ourselves find pleasurable and interesting to read and we hope students will find them equally exciting, even if some of them seem difficult at first. The module complements Ways of Reading by offering a broad overview rather than focusing on specific critical approaches but we hope that some of the close reading skills acquired while taking Ways of Reading can also be put into practice on this module. The core book for the module and an essential purchase is Greenblatt, S. et al, eds (2006) The Norton Anthology of English Literature (8th edition), vol. 1, New York and London: W.W. Norton. It can be usefully supplemented by one of a number of recent histories of English Literature. A good and student-friendly one is Alexander, M. (2007) A History of English Literature, 2nd edition Basingstoke: Macmillan. All the texts listed below which will be taught in the first semester are available in the Norton anthology except Etherege, The Man of Mode which will need to be purchased separately. Some references to Anglo-Saxon poetry will be made in the introductory lecture and students are encouraged to look at Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf which can be found in the Norton anthology.[Anglo-Saxon poetry]Geoffrey Chaucer, 'The Miller's Tale', Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, Selected Renaissance lyric poems (including Shakespeare and Donne),John Milton, Paradise Lost Book 1, John Milton, Paradise Lost Book 2, George Etherege, The Man of Mode, John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, selected poems, Aphra Behn, Oroonoko , Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels Book 4, Olaudah Equiano, Interesting Narrative of [his] Life.

  • Performance Processes

    This module aims to provide you with an introductory understanding of the development of Western performance, engaging in an examination of both practice and critical material. Through a consideration of significant moments, key movements and practitioners in the history of Western performance, you will be encouraged to question the nature and function of performance, theatre and music and consider their interdisciplinarity. Within this context, you will be introduced to a range of performance texts as examples for a practical exploration. The historical investigation of key movements and practitioners will be approached with an emphasis on performance processes rather than end product. You will be introduced to a variety of working methodologies and practices from the historical trajectory of Western performance, addressing their political, cultural and socioeconomic significance. Through relating theoretical and practical approaches, the module will seek to examine changes in form and conventions in performance practices.

  • Studio Performance

    In this module, you will be part of a studio-based collaborative live performance, based on a selected text or combination of texts, which often involves our active deconstruction or reinvention of the piece to be performed. The notion of 'text' might include play-text, music theatre text, other devised performance works and live or recorded music too. We will analyse our text's significant actions and meanings, and explore the variety of ways in which these could be made manifest in performance. Lighting and sound designs will be developed for the performance and documented for use by back-stage technicians. You will be encouraged to explore the possibilities for effective set design in the studio and to make use of available resources for costume design. Throughout rehearsals, we will investigate ideas of postmodern performance in practice and consider how the production of such work might differ from traditional techniques in theatre-making.

  • Ways of Reading

    This module introduces students to studying English at University and also provides opportunities for students to develop skills such as reading critically and communicating clearly. The first semester offers an overview of the degree structure and an examination of some key critical terms, problems and approaches that concern students of English, including, for example: the literary canon and value; narrative theory; realism and representation; genre; the production of meaning; relationships between literature, history and the world; selected approaches to literature, including formalist, new historicist, feminist, psychoanalytical and postcolonial criticism, and relationships between literature and identity. These topics are explored through a selection of critical texts included in the Module Study Pack and short extracts from plays, novels, short stories and poems (extracts provided). Students attend a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar each week; a library induction session is substituted for one session. This part of the module is assessed by a multi-phase assessment package of two essays which allows students to develop their reflective, critical and essay-writing skills; this assessment comprises part of the student's Personal Development Planning (PDP). In the first stage of this assessment, students write a diagnostic essay (1500 words) in which they reflect on their learning experience. This essay is supported by two essay-writing workshops. In the second stage of this assessment, students develop their essay-writing skills through analysis of a critical text and reflection on this process (1500 words). Both essays are marked with particular attention to the quality of their writing, argument, presentation and referencing apparatus. In the second semester students attend a two-hour seminar each week. In these seminars students develop the ideas and skills introduced in the first semester and receive further guidance on writing essays and presenting work. Topics include referencing and bibliographies; appropriate register, tone and vocabulary; work on clarity, the construction of coherent arguments and the substantiation of points by evidence. In the first part of this semester students are also given guidance on oral presentation skills. They practice these skills and develop their knowledge of topics introduced in the first semester by giving an assessed presentation (5 minutes). As part of this assessment, students are required to produce a one-page handout for members of the seminar group. The later part of the second semester develops some of the ideas introduced in the first semester through additional critical reading and detailed application of ideas to selected literary texts covered in English Literature 1 and 2. This work assists students in preparing the final assignment which consists of a critical analysis of a literary text or concept (2500 words).

Year two core modules
  • Making Performance
  • Politics and Performance
  • Shakespeare and His Contemporaries
Year three core modules
  • Devising Performance
  • Major Project in Drama or English

Assessment

Assessment is carried out via a very broad mix of methods including examinations, essays, reports, oral presentations, studio and public performance, an individual major project plus a range of practice-based research techniques.

A proportion of the degree is aimed at facilitating your creative development and integrates practice and theory. This extends to the forms of assessment that our students encounter.

Personal Development Planning (PDP) is an integral part of assessment at Anglia Ruskin which encourages you to reflect, and evaluate, personal progress in the module and the degree course, and on the skills and abilities acquired in the degree course and their value outside the domain of academic literary studies.

Facilities

Our outstanding facilities include two dedicated drama centres, complete with a flexible black-box performance space, and the Mumford Theatre, a full-size receiving house for professional touring companies.

You can also access the Anglia Ruskin Music Centre, which includes lecture and practice rooms, a recital hall and a group of five state-of-the-art computer music studios for the creation, recording and manipulation of acoustic and electronically produced sound. The studios house a range of technological equipment, including a wide selection of specialist computer hardware and software. All computers have full internet and intranet access and are supported by extensive online facilities and resources.

Libraries

Our campus libraries offer a wide range of publications and a variety of study facilities, including open-access computers, areas for quiet or group study and bookable rooms. We also have an extensive Digital Library providing on and off-site access to e-books, e-journals and databases.

We endeavour to make our libraries as accessible as possible for all our students. During Semester time, they open 24 hours a day from Monday to Thursday, until midnight on Friday and Saturday and for 12 hours on Sunday.


IT Resources

Our open access computer facilities provide free access to the internet, email, messaging services and the full Microsoft Office suite. A high speed wireless service is also available in all key areas on campus. If you are away from campus or a distant learner, our student desktop and its many applications can be accessed remotely using the internet. Your personal student email account provides free document storage, calendar facilities and social networking opportunities.

Throughout your studies you will have access to our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), providing course notes, reading materials and multi-media content to support your learning, while our e-vision system gives you instant access to your academic record and your timetable.

Study abroad options

Our English Literature Department has exchange agreements with Université de Franche-Comte, Besançon, France; Université de Provence, France; Universidad de Huelva, Spain; Universidad de Sevilla, Spain; and Valparaiso University, Indiana, USA.

Special features

Our Drama and English Literature degree offers a distinctive and creative integration of practice and theory, as well as vocational experience. Teaching is provided by first-class, research-active staff who are recognised, nationally and internationally, as experts in their field and who are often professional practitioners.

Our Drama and English Literature Departments have an outstanding reputation for both teaching and research. They consistently score highly in The Guardian's subject league tables and are two of Anglia Ruskin's departments rated 'Excellent' by The Sunday Times University Guide.

Course Leader

Dr Sue Wilson

Links with industry and professional recognition

We have fostered close links with The Junction, an arts venue in Cambridge, where you can see a variety of theatre and music performance works. Visiting artists and performers are regularly invited to give master-classes and workshops across our courses. We also offer a number of internships with local theatre companies which all students can apply for in order to gain direct experience of running a professional company.

There will be an opportunity to apply for an internship with award-winning theatre company NIE towards the end of your course in order to experience the production side of running a professional, touring theatre company.

Work placements

Work placement opportunities are available via the third-year Enterprise in the Creative Arts module, which encompasses such areas as education, artist management, marketing and events management.

Associated careers

The practical and vocational skills gained through this course, combined with the ability to specialise in a particular field, will make you particularly attractive to potential employers within the industry.

In addition to the most popular choice of teaching, our graduates go on to a huge variety of careers, including journalism, television, radio, performing, arts administration, gallery work, fundraising, personnel work, publishing, librarianship, marketing, local authority work, publicity, social work, tourism and IT-related industries.

An important feature of the curriculum is the modules that have a vocational bias, which encourage you to acquire, and reflect on, vocational experience through self-organised placement projects.

Research shows that the study of the creative arts and humanities to an enhanced level provides the ideal training for any position requiring quick thinking, self-reliance, imagination, teamwork, and the ability to organise both yourself and others.

UCAS Tariff points: 220 - 260
Additional Requirements: Required subject(s): A-level (or equivalent) Drama, Theatre Studies or related area at grade B
Entry requirements listed are for September 2013 entry. Entry requirements for other intakes may differ.

Please note AS levels are acceptable only when combined with other qualifications.

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

We welcome applications from International and EU students. Please select one of the links below for English language and country-specific entry requirement information.

If we have confirmed you do not meet our entry requirements you might want to consider a preparatory course at Cambridge Ruskin International College (CRIC), our partner college, based on our Cambridge campus, before coming to study with us.

How to apply

UCAS code

WQ43

Location

Duration

3 Years

Available starts

September

Student finance

Open Day

Saturday 22 June
Undergraduate Open Day

Advice & support

Employability

Faculty

Arts, Law & Social Sciences

Department

Music and Performing Arts

Contact us

UK and EU applicants:International applicants:
Bookmark this page with: