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BA English and Linguistics

Academic Year 2019/20

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 and Linguistics Final Award
(exit route if applicable for Postgraduate Taught Programmes)
Bachelor of Arts
Programme Code ENG-BA-JS UCAS Code QQ31 HECoS Code 100320
ATAS Clearance Required No
Mode of Study Full Time
Type of Programme Joint Honours Single 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

Transferring from Single to Joint Honours:
On completing Level 1 a Single Honours student in English who has completed 40 CATS at Level 1 in the other subject and has achieved an average mark across the 40 CATS of 60 or above may be admitted to this Joint Honours Programme subject to having obtained the approval of the Adviser of Studies in the subject in which they have only 40 CATS.

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

The Joint Programme in English and Linguistics is designed to provide students with:

• an intellectual training in the separate and overlapping disciplines of English literature and language which, while discrete subjects, are also complementary and mutually enriching;

• a discipline-specific perspective enabling the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the inter-relationship between texts and contexts, a familiarity with debates surrounding culture and identity, both individual and communal, and skills in synthesising and developing ideas and arguments from diverse literary and other contemporary sources;

• a progressive programme of study about the structure and function of language in all its varieties, including the everyday uses of language, and the major influences which have shaped the English language over the last millennium and a half;

• a programme that draws on the expertise of staff and on the unique resources (data and methodologies) generated by major research projects in the Faculty;

• a range of skills that together foster the ability to practise self-motivated learning and increase the capacity to undertake independent learning in a progressive way;

• 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;

• a grounding in the field of linguistics that will equip students with skills and knowledge appropriate to undertaking further vocational or academic study;

• 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.

Together, these subjects together equip individuals with the ability to:

• think critically, process and understand complex information;

• evaluate primary and secondary sources;

• interpret a variety of types of data and information;

• pursue independent learning;

• work well in groups and formulate arguments.

Furthermore, students benefit from a multi-disciplinary education that gives them a large skill set and opens a wide range of career options following graduation.
The curricula will be delivered in accordance with the national English and Linguistics benchmarking statements: in English, these reflect 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; in Linguistics, these standards reflect the distinctive aims and methods of a language-based education together with its characteristic subject-matter.
More generally, the Joint Programme in English and Linguistics aims to:

• attract students from local, national, and international contexts, through a variety of entry routes, and deliver the best possible learning and teaching experience in an environment of equality, tolerance, and mutual respect;

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

• develop a broad context for future employment, in which graduates appreciate the continuing value of an education in these two disciplines.

The programme will thereby foster an atmosphere of intellectual inquiry in each discipline, by offering modules that encourage a stimulating interchange of ideas.

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;

recognise the importance of explicit referencing and the ethical requirements of study, which requires critical and reflective use of information and information technology in the learning process;

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

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Teaching on the Joint Honours Programme in English and Linguistics takes place in formal lectures, small group tutorials, and seminars, many of which will be enhanced by electronic media, including the facilities of Queen's Online.

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.

Group presentations encourage students to develop their own interests, collaborate with peers, negotiate the demands of teamwork and develop their understanding of a topic.

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: Knowledge & Understanding

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

undertake descriptions of and negotiate theories and models about language structure and its variety, function and use;

understand the key theoretical concepts that are used in linguistic analysis;

demonstrate close and detailed analysis of a number of levels of language as well as of texts and corpora and other data from a broad range of discourse varieties and oral and written registers;

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.

In Linguistics, lectures and tutorials together provide knowledge and the opportunity to discuss, evaluate and apply theories and models to a wide range of spoken and written data. They also provide instruction and guidance for practical analysis.

Methods of Assessment

Assessment is by a variety of traditional and innovative methods, including timed unseen written examinations, data analysis, essays, critical book/article reviews, portfolios, individual and group presentations, and seminar and tutorial reports and contributions.

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: Subject Specific

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

understand and reflect upon the nature of the different but overlapping disciplines of English Literature and Linguistics;

research, gather, sift and deploy information and concepts relevant to each discipline;

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;

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.

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.

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

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

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 and Feedback Policy made available in Module Resources.

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.

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

Individual and group presentations; developing skills at stage 1 through a dedicated skills module.

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.

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.

MODULE INFORMATION

Stages and Modules

Module Title Module Code Level/ stage Credits

Availability

Duration Pre-requisite

Assessment

S1 S2 Core Option Coursework % Practical % Examination %
Introduction to English Language ENL1001 1 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 50% 30% 20%
Language and Power ENL2002 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 0% 20%
Special Topic in Creative Writing ENH3019 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Double Dissertation English Language ENL3000 3 40 YES YES 24 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%
Double Dissertation English Literature ENG3000 3 40 YES YES 24 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%
Stevens & Bishop ENG3333 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%
Shakespeare on Screen ENG3087 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Shakespeare and Co ENG2050 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%
Mapping the Anglo-Saxon World ENG2003 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Irish Literature ENG2081 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Speech Worlds: Phonology in Acquisition and Disorder ENL3003 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 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%
Romantic Poetry, 1789-1832 ENG2063 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Modernism and Modernity ENG2060 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Contemporary US Crime Fiction: the Police, the State, the Globe ENH3008 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Televising the Victorians ENG3069 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Restoration to Regency in Contemporary Fiction ENG3090 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Representing the Working Class ENG3064 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
English in Context ENG1002 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Love Across the Divide: Northern Irish Literature and Culture 1968-Present ENG3187 3 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%
Special Topic in Irish Writing Literary Responses to the Peace Process in Northern Ireland ENH3020 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Utopia / Dystopia: The Future in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Literature ENG2065 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Unruly Women: Shakespearean Anti-heroines in Contemporary Adaptation ENG3188 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 20% 0%
English in Transition ENG1001 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Irish Gothic ENG3330 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%
Writing Africa: The Colonial Past to Colonial Present ENG3185 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Enlightenment and its Discontents ENG2064 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Modern Poetry ENG2067 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Women's Writing 1700-1830 ENG3020 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 20% 0%
Renaissance Performance, Gender, Space ENG3181 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Writing New York, 1880-1940 ENG3183 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Work-based Learning AEL3001 3 20 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
An Introduction to Critical and Cultural Theory ENG2000 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Language in the Media ENL3004 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 70% 10% 20%
Introduction to Creative Writing ENG1090 1 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%
3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%

Notes

Level 1 Students must take the 4 core modules, plus 40 CATS of optional modules from a range of faculty approved modules across a variety of subject areas of which students will be notified.

Level 2 Students must take ENL2001, ENL2002 and 80 CATS from the range of optional modules listed.

Level 3 Students must take 120 CATS points from the optional modules.