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BA English

Academic Year 2018/19

A programme specification is required for any programme on which a student may be registered. All programmes of the University are subject to the University's Quality Assurance processes. All degrees are awarded by Queen's University Belfast.

Programme Title

BA English

Final Award
(exit route if applicable for Postgraduate Taught Programmes)

Bachelor of Arts

Programme Code

ENG-BA-S

UCAS Code

Q300

HECoS Code

100320

ATAS Clearance Required

No

Mode of Study

Full Time

Type of Programme

Single Honours

Length of Programme

3 Academic Year(s)

Total Credits for Programme

360

Exit Awards available

INSTITUTE INFORMATION

Teaching Institution

Queen's University Belfast

School/Department

Arts, English and Languages

Framework for Higher Education Qualification Level 
www.qaa.ac.uk

Level 6

QAA Benchmark Group
www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements

English (2015)

Accreditations (PSRB)

REGULATION INFORMATION

Does the Programme have any approved exemptions from the University General Regulations
(Please see General Regulations)

N/A

Programme Specific Regulations

Each level requires 120 CATS in English, though students have the option of taking 40 CATS in other subjects in the Faculty from an approved list at Stage 1.
At Level 2 a student may substitute up to 20 CATS of optional modules with the equivalent number of CATS from a list of approved modules beyond those listed.
At Level 3 a student may substitute up to 20 CATS of optional modules with the equivalent number of CATS from a list of approved modules beyond those listed.
A student who has transferred into this Single Honours Programme having only completed 60 CATS at Level 1 in the Single Honours subject may at Level 2 or Level 3 substitute up to 20 CATS from a list of approved modules beyond those listed.
On completing Level 1 a Joint Honours student who has passed 60 CATS at Level 1 in English modules may be admitted to this Single Honours Programme having obtained the approval of the Adviser of Studies for the Programme.
A Joint Honours student wishing to be admitted to the Single Honours Programme must have passed the following modules: ENG1001, ENG1002 and ENL1001.
The English subject entry requirement may be waived on a case-by-case basis in discussion with the English subject lead or Adviser of Studies.

Students will be notified each academic year of the optional modules being offered in the following academic year. Students are advised that not all optional modules will necessarily be offered in each academic year. Also, the delivery of a module may be subject to a minimum number of enrolments as well as unforeseen circumstances (eg illness of a member of staff). The range and content of optional modules will change over time as degree programmes develop and students' choice of optional modules may also be limited due to timetabling constraints.

Students with protected characteristics

N/A

Are students subject to Fitness to Practise Regulations

(Please see General Regulations)

No

EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF PROGRAMME

This BA degree, incorporating both English language and literature, is designed to provide students with:

• an intellectual training in the distinct yet complementary fields of English literary and linguistic study;

• the widest possible opportunity to pursue and extend their subject knowledge and understanding;

• a university curriculum, in accordance with the national English benchmarking statement, that reflects the chronological, cultural, and generic diversity of English literary and language studies, drawing, where applicable, on the unique character of Northern Ireland, and taking advantage of a variety of critical and pedagogical approaches;

• a flexible curriculum that develops new areas of teaching in response to advances in scholarship, interests and abilities of staff members, and student feedback;

• an atmosphere of intellectual inquiry, by offering modules which encourage a stimulating interchange of ideas;

• the necessary intellectual, practical, and key skills to enable students to develop as independent, reflective lifelong learners and able employees and entrepreneurs;

• a broad yet enriching context for future employment, in which graduates appreciate the continuing value of an education in this discipline.

More generally, the programme attracts students from local, national, and international contexts, through a variety of entry routes, and delivers the best possible learning and teaching experience, in an environment of equality, tolerance, and mutual respect.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes: Cognitive Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

recognise and appreciate the varying effects of different literary and linguistic forms of expression;

respond to, and differentiate between, different ideological and theoretical positions;

analyse and interpret material from different geographical, cultural, and temporal contexts;

think independently, originally, and self-reflexively;

demonstrate a capacity for critical reflection and judgment in the light of evidence and argument;

discriminate between substantive and peripheral concerns in their understanding of literary and linguistic issues;

identify, collate and organise relevant data and information from a variety of primary and secondary sources in support of their argument;

understand complex tasks and an ability to present appropriate solutions in written form;

work autonomously, manifested in self-direction, objective-setting, prioritising and time-management;

reflect on their own learning, seeking and making use of constructive feedback;

produce intellectually coherent academic analysis within word limits and time deadlines;

apply requisite referencing and presentation formats in the production of written analyses.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Class discussion in which analysis and interpretation of texts takes place allows the students to develop a comparative understanding of different approaches to material. It allows for both tutor- and student-led opportunities for the discussion and comprehension of directed reading and secondary source information.

Analytical literary-critical exercises – both formative and summative – test students’ ability to engage with, contextualise, and interpret texts. The ability to collate and obtain information is developed through introductory training in the use of libraries and online resources.

Extended essays test their ability to order and shape information, and to recognise ways in which the presentation and prioritisation of material is conducive to its rhetorical effect.

In all modules, students are encouraged to refer to current critical and theoretical debate in order to form their own judgement of the text or data in question. They work towards a number of deadlines for formative and summative work, and for class presentation, thereby learning to prioritise assignments and objectives, and in doing so hone their time management skills.

Methods of Assessment

Progress through the degree is one in which the autonomous learning undertaken by students is gradually increased, from lecture/tutorial based teaching at stages 1 and 2, to student-centred learning, through 2- or 3-hour seminars, at stage 3.

Extended essays and the dissertation test students’ ability to order and shape information, and to recognise ways in which the presentation and prioritisation of material is conducive to its rhetorical effect. In all modules, students are encouraged to refer to current critical and theoretical debate in order to form their own judgement of the text or data in question.

Class discussion, in which analysis and interpretation of texts takes place, allows students to develop a comparative understanding of different approaches to material.

Analytical literary-critical exercises – both formative and summative – test students’ ability to engage with, contextualise, and interpret texts.

The dissertation, examinations and essays require students to demonstrate coverage of material, appropriate methods of analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments, and the ability to form an independent argument.

Feedback is provided for each type and instance of assessment and students may seek dedicated feedback sessions with course tutors.

The Personal Tutor system facilitates student reflection upon academic performance and assists in developing strategies for improvement.

Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

read texts with a developed awareness and appreciation of their formal, structural and generic properties;

assess critical interpretations of the ways in which different cultural and historical contexts inform the reading and writing of texts;

analyse the forms, function, and development of language;

utilise a critical vocabulary and engage with different critical perspectives in the analysis of texts;

be aware of key debates concerning the development of the discipline of literary criticism;

write coherent, structured and relevant essays in answer to specific questions on literature and language;

select and utilise primary quotation and secondary critical material in the formulation of an argument;

display familiarity with bibliographic convention and should be able to research, reference and present written work according to the requirements of the subject area.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures provide specific contextual and theoretical information as well as offering practical examples of different critical approaches.

Tutorials and seminars allow for close reading of texts in a group situation, while developing students’ ability to formulate their own arguments and responses.

Formative work – both written and oral – enables students to combine the knowledge and skills developed through lectures and tutorials, and to formulate, and receive feedback on, their own independent arguments.

Module and programme information and style sheets guide students in their choice of, access to, and citation of relevant secondary materials.

Methods of Assessment

Assessment methods vary in accordance with the specific learning outcomes of particular modules as detailed below or in the Arts, English and Languages Handbook.

All assessment methods, whether the dissertation, essays or oral presentations, aural tests or examinations, require students to demonstrate the English subject skills which are detailed in the Marking Criteria and the English Assessment Policy made available in Module Resources.

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

display a broad knowledge of a range of periods in literary history, including literature before 1660, and an understanding of the social and political contexts in which texts are both written and read;

have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of particular periods, movements and authors according to individual progression through the degree;

demonstrate knowledge of English, American, Irish and postcolonial writing, and familiarity with debates surrounding the shaping of individual and cultural identity;

understand the rhetorical, stylistic and aesthetic strategies of the different genres of prose fiction, drama and poetry;

display familiarity with a range of theoretical approaches to literature and language, and with the key critical debates that form and inform the disciplines themselves;

exhibit an awareness of major structural levels of linguistic organisation in speech and writing;

demonstrate familiarity with major periods in the development of the English language and of contexts of language production and variation.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Knowledge and understanding are developed through lectures, tutorials, seminars (many of which will be enhanced by learning aids such as hand-outs, and key readings available online through Queen’s Online) and through the assessment and feedback process.

Lectures and tutorials together provide knowledge and the opportunity to discuss, evaluate and apply that knowledge to texts.

Seminars offer the more sustained opportunity to debate and evaluate a breadth of knowledge gained independently from directed reading and from the sharing of resources and information.

Extensive background reading is required throughout the pathway, developing students’ specialist knowledge of particular genres and periods of literature in addition to a broad base of knowledge about literary history.

Methods of Assessment

A range of assessment methods ensures that these skills are evaluated in different ways.

Formative written work assists the development of understanding, critical judgment, and independent thought, both through the feedback given, and through the process of writing itself.

The dissertation, examinations, essays and seminar presentations and language project work require that students demonstrate coverage of material, appropriate methods of textual and linguistic analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments, and the ability to form an independent argument.

Learning Outcomes: Transferable Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

manage time efficiently and effectively;

demonstrate basic word-processing and IT skills;

collate and process information from a variety of sources;

use libraries and online resources;

respond positively and productively to feedback on work;

think both creatively and maturely in diverse intellectual situations.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Class presentations and student interaction hone communication and rhetorical skills. Student centred learning situations encourage and test the ability to present and summarise knowledge to their peers in a coherent, structured form, and inter-personal skills are developed in seminars and tutorials.

In some language modules, students undertake directed lab work in addition to lectures and tutorials, acquiring skills in analysis and in the manipulation of speech and language data.

Methods of Assessment

Writing skills tutorials and lectures develop essay writing on stylistic, rhetorical and bibliographical levels. The ability to source and collate information is developed through introductory training in the use of libraries and online resources. IT courses are available through the university and can be used to develop computing skills as required. All students are required to word-process essays, thus testing their acquisition of IT skills.

In keeping with the Education Strategy’s focus on ‘digital literacies’ module convenors have been asked to factor the acquisition and development of digital literacies in their modules.

display interpersonal skills and the ability to work productively in a group context;

demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

At all stages there are modules which offer a mix of individual and collaboratively produced presentations.

Erasmus programme and Exchange programmes with international universities.

Methods of Assessment

Individual and group presentations; learning portfolios and coursework projects are embedded in modules across the programme.

For most international exchanges, students enrol on the host institution’s undergraduate programme.

understand the role and use of feedback in assessing and improving performance;

respond constructively to criticism.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Students receive online feedback on their uploaded assignments and may seek further feedback in one-to-one meetings with tutors.

Engagement with Personal Tutors promotes student reflection upon academic performance. Personal Tutors also discuss career options with students; and the Schools work closely with the Careers Liaison Officer to present students with information on possible careers.

Methods of Assessment

Feedback (on Queen’s Online, on draft materials, or in class) provides students with an ongoing feedback experience throughout their degree.

Each student is allocated a Personal Tutor in stage 1 and meets with him/her throughout the duration of the degree programme.

The stage 3 dissertation is the final result of a year-long drafting process in consultation with an individual supervisor.

MODULE INFORMATION

Stages and Modules

Module Title

Module Code

Level/ stage

Credits

Availability

Duration

Pre-requisite

Assessment
S1 S2 Core Option Coursework % Practical % Examination %
English in Transition ENG1001 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
English in Context ENG1002 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Introduction to English Language ENL1001 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Introduction to Creative Writing ENG1090 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Adventures in the History of Ideas ENG1008 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Mapping the Anglo-Saxon World ENG2003 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Foundations for Speech Analysis: The Phonetics of English ENL2001 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 70% 30% 0%
Language and Power ENL2002 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 0% 20%
History of English: Studying Language Change ENL2004 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Shakespeare and Co ENG2050 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Irish Literature ENG2081 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Acting Shakespeare DRA2022 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
An Introduction to Critical and Cultural Theory ENG2000 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Havoc and Rebellion: Writing and Reading Later Medieval England ENG2041 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Reading Revolutions: The English Bible, Medieval to Early Modern ENG2045 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Modern American Fiction: Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality ENG2173 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Inventing America ENG2172 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 20% 0%
Modernism and Modernity ENG2060 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Fiction to Austen (1660-1820) ENG2061 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Romantic Poetry, 1789-1832 ENG2063 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Enlightenment and its Discontents ENG2064 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Dickens and the Cult of Celebrity ENG2066 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Troubles Drama, 1961-1998 DRA2015 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Women's Writing 1700-1820 ENG3020 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 20% 0%
Shakespeare on Screen ENG3087 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Speech Worlds: Phonology in Acquisition and Disorder ENL3003 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Televising the Victorians ENG3069 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Language in the Media ENL3004 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 70% 10% 20%
Double Dissertation English Literature ENG3000 3 40 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Double Dissertation English Language ENL3000 3 40 YES YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Contemporary US Crime Fiction: the Police, the State, the Globe ENH3008 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Marvels, Monsters and Miracles in Anglo-Saxon England ENG3011 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Special Topic in Creative Writing ENH3019 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Contemporary Irish and Scottish Fiction Devolutionary Identities ENG3060 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 20% 0%
The Structure of English ENL3110 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Digital textualities and the History of the Book ENG3178 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Contemporary Literature: Poetry and Precariousness in the Twenty-First Century ENG3184 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Irish Gothic ENG3330 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Stevens & Bishop ENG3333 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Writing Africa: The Colonial Past to Colonial Present ENG3185 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Stylistics: Analysing Style in Language ENL3011 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 20% 0%
Work-based Learning AEL3001 3 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Restoration to Regency in Contemporary Fiction ENG3090 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%

Notes

Level 1 Students have the option of taking up to 40 CATS in other subjects in the Faculty from an approved list.

Level 2 At Level 2 a student may substitute up to 20 CATS of optional modules with the equivalent number of CATS from a list of approved modules beyond those listed.

Level 3 At Level 3 a student may substitute up to 20 CATS of optional modules with the equivalent number of CATS from a list of approved modules beyond those listed.