BA Art and English Literature

This course aims to foster an independent approach to formulating literary and artistic problems and arguments. In Art, the course provides a basis for a professional practice as an artist, where every year you will be allocated a studio space that will be the focal point of your activities. In parallel the English Literature syllabus provides you with knowledge of a variety of different kinds of literary texts, from a range of periods, as well as perspectives on different methods for critical textual analysis. Why study this course? Join a lively community at one of the top art departments in the UK. You can explore a vast range of media, experiment with emerging art forms and develop as an artist. You will complement your practical art with modules in Contemporary Art theory and the History of Art. The studios are busy places with events, screenings, performances and exhibitions regularly taking place. You will receive a dedicated space, accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and a studio tutor to help develop your individual and professional practice. Trips to museums and art galleries help prompt thoughts on how art is displayed and received. You will gain professional experience by taking part in your own exhibitions, public art commissions and events. Your teaching staff are all artists, curators and researchers of international standing and will encourage regular exhibitions and open debate. In your English Literature modules, you will read more of authors and genres that you already know (from tragedy to Gothic, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Plath and Beckett). But you will also encounter aspects of literary studies that you may not know so well, from children’s literature to publishing studies and the history of the book. Our academics have published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary Caribbean and American fiction. As you progress through your degree, your module choices become more diverse and specialised: you can do archive work on "Studying manuscripts", or look at the politics of literature in "Writing global justice". Everyone in the English Department, from new lecturers to professors, teaches at every level of the degree: this gives you the benefit of our expertise and makes you part of the conversation about our research and its impact outside the classroom. Our innovative placement modules and Professional Track programme will ensure that you have the ‘complete package’ that employers are looking for: a good degree, workplace skills and experience. After the course As well as the practical experience gained on this degree our students also graduate with a range of transferable skills, such as self-motivation, time management and strategic thinking. You will enter the job market as a self-confident graduate with well-developed skills in oral communication, research and writing, together with a high level of cultural literacy and critical sophistication. Many of our graduates develop successful careers as artists, writers and curators. These include a number of famous alumni, such as Turner-prize nominated artists, and PhD students who are award-winning artists and curators at influential museums. Others have found employment in galleries, education, art therapy and film and video production. Our graduates have excelled in fields as diverse as law, business administration, web-design, teaching and journalism. Recent employers include Tate, Whitechapel Gallery, The Burlington Magazine, Christies, Microsoft, the BBC, Oxford University Press and Waterstones.