Media and English Literature BA (Hons)

Employability is discussed a lot at universities, but where does this idea come from, and what can literature teach us about work? This module interrogates the purpose of Literature, as both a degree and subject matter. It shows the value of literary study to understanding and navigating issues around the gendered, classed, and racialised nature of work. The module also provides opportunities for external placements, career planning, and work-related learning. You will reflect on and learn to articulate your key skills and strengths, including in mock interviews. Guest speakers will share experiences and introduce you to career pathways such as publishing, teaching, journalism, and the civil service.

This module is an opportunity to engage with the more vocational elements of working with media and explore your entrepreneurial potential. You will work in groups to produce a creative portfolio and will eventually pitch your idea to a panel. This could be, for example, a magazine, a film festival, or an exhibition. You must take into account:

• Marketing and advertising
• Business cases
• Product development
• Effective communication of ideas.

On this module you will engage in debates about the production, reception and contexts of media and cultural products that have caused controversy. This includes debates about taste and the reception of text in different traditional, new and emergent media. We will introduce you to the terminology of aesthetic discussion and dispute, defining and discussing terms such as:

• Propaganda
• Artistic licence
• Canonical status
• Acceptability
• Pornography
• Censorship.

This module considers the various forms and uses of music within the fields of cultural production, focusing on the evolutions of these processes and movements as indicators of cultural change. You will explore the possibilities for social, political and cultural exploration offered by the study of music, considering its use within the context of counter-cultural production, innovation, reception, distribution, protest and socio-cultural moments. You will discuss concepts and theories surrounding authorship, activism, mode of production, meaning and representation.

Through this module you will become familiar with important critical debates surrounding visual culture. You will come to appreciate the vital relationship between word and image, from traditional illustration all the way through to contemporary internet culture. This will allow you to investigate how visual strategies can be used to communicate complex ideas.

On this module you will develop your research skills in preparation for the more extensive independent research project you will complete in your final year. You will focus on selected science fiction primary texts as well as related theoretical, philosophical, inter-textual and historical secondary material. You will also develop important academic skills through research. Our focus on science fiction includes major discussions within the genre, including:

• Race
• The environment
• The relationship between human and machine
• What it is to be human.

On this module we will explore the different ways books and films tell stories, and what happens to literature and literary characters when they are translated onto the screen. We will introduce you to the theory, methods and conventions behind the process of adaptation. In addition to examining specific examples of film adaptation, you can choose to experiment creatively on an adaptation project of your own, using what you have learnt.

On this module you will consider the relationship between American literature and the physical and symbolic spaces of its settings. In American culture, concepts of space and setting have a particular relevance that dates back to events such as the development of Puritan settlements, the experiences of Native Americans, the conflict between North and South, enslavement, and the rapid growth of metropolitan cities. You will be challenged to think creatively, critically, and innovatively about physical space and literature. We will explore the relationship between American socio-economic history and the development of a specifically American literary tradition.

On this module we will consider whether we can meaningfully approach literary texts outside of their historical contexts. We will question whether a text can mean anything to anybody, or if are there more objective ways of understanding them. This module engages with some of the most fundamental questions in literary studies. It will equip you with the theoretical background and skills to offer insightful readings of any text, irrespective of when and where it was published.

The module explores the ways new forms of news and entertainment in the eighteenth century revealed the unstable boundaries between truth and fiction, facilitating the emergence of literary forms that come to typify the literature of later periods, such as the novel. Print provided a forum for writers to express concern over different forms of power, an issue debated in terms of empire, political and religious authority and personal identity, and responsibility. Literature of this period also reflects questions of personal liberty, love, sexuality, and desire. 

Science fiction has a history of encouraging readers and viewers to reflect on their post industrial choices, and consider how they have affected the wellbeing of the planet and its inhabitants. On this module we will draw on a range of critical perspectives around utopianism to approach landmark texts in the history of science fiction. You will have the opportunity to get involved with our ongoing science fiction writing project Terra Two: An Ark for Off-World Survival (https://yorkstjohnterratwo.com/).

This module considers the sentimental turn literature took at the end of the eighteenth century, and explores its impact on what followed in both the Romantic Movement and the Gothic Revival. The writers we study on this module reckon with the power of the imagination, the limits of perception, the nature of human society, and the affective potential of literature itself, as well as processing the events of an age characterised by revolution. The literature of this period not only reflects the reader's world, but seeks to change it.

On this module we will consider how diseases and contagion are represented in narratives from the late Eighteenth century to the present day. We will trace connections, similarities and differences in the literary significance of the spread, symptoms, and management of disease, and explore contagions from rabies to zombie viruses. The module considers the ways in which disease in the text can reflect contemporary anxieties about society. As well as covering a broad range of historical periods, the module also draws on a number of genres from novels to films to TV series and introduces non-literary texts such as medical handbooks and advertisements alongside literary works.

This is a dynamic module that explores Shakespeare’s works in their present day and early modern contexts through a range of perspectives. Considering their creative potential for performance, we will look at contemporary stagings of his plays, film and television adaptation, as well as looking at his poetry, such as his sonnet sequences. We will consider Shakespeare's place in a national and global culture, and explore current discussions around colour/gender-conscious casting, looking at the implications of casting on the way we understand the texts. We will engage with a range of theoretical approaches, from new historicism, cultural materialism and postcolonialism, to feminist and queer readings.

On this module you will encounter varied and interesting texts produced within and written about major conflicts of the 20th and early 21st centuries. We will start with depictions of the mechanised horror of the Western Front, and progress through representations of The Second World War, the Holocaust, the Spanish Civil War, Vietnam, the Troubles in Northern Ireland and 9/11. We will work with texts from a wide range of genres that include poetry, novels, graphic memoir, and journalism. We will also examine the complex relationships between language, experience, trauma, and memory.

This module is an introduction to the theory and practice of convergence technology, transmedia activity and network theory. You will discuss the continuing development and evolution of communication technologies and how they shape our everyday lives. You will consider these developments in relation to social, political and cultural factors and speculate on how these may affect the production and consumption of meaning and content through media.

An understanding of globalisation is essential for engaging with the processes of cultural, political and social change in the modern world. On this module we will introduce you to the major theoretical debates and ideas surrounding the contested idea of globalisation. You will also examine the role media plays in reflecting and reacting to the processes of globalisation, and its influence on emergent, resistant and dominant cultures.

This module is an opportunity to read and produce a range of fictional forms, from flash fictions to novellas, short stories to novels. You will develop an understanding of:

• Characterisation
• Voice
• Plot
• Narration
• Dialogue
• Point of view

By the end of the module, you will have written your own fiction portfolio.

This module will give you the opportunity to explore a range of creative nonfiction texts including:

• Memoir
• Biography
• The creative essay
• Hybrid forms
• Nature writing

You will develop your understanding of voice, structure and audience in relation to these forms and consider the blurred lines between fact and fiction in nonfiction writing. By viewing, reading a range of nonfictional texts we will ask you to make to produce your own creative nonfiction texts.

From the sonnet to the prose poem, on this module you will learn about the formal qualities of poetry and discover how to produce dazzling imagery and perfect rhythm; manipulating voice and pace. You will study a range of contemporary poets, supplemented by visits and readings from some of them. You will produce your own portfolio of work by the end of the module.

This module addresses the essential elements of scriptwriting. This includes writing convincing dialogue, creating interesting characters and constructing coherent stories. We will also introduce you to the cultural, theoretical and industrial contexts of scriptwriting. You will develop your expressive and technical skills in writing scripts for 1 or more of the following disciplines:

• Radio
• Television
• Stage and film

You will then create your own original script.

As you progress towards your final year you will become increasingly independent in your learning. You will write a dissertation (an extended project which runs for the whole of the academic year) on a topic of your choice, and with the support of an academic supervisor. For many students this is one of the most enjoyable parts of their degree, as it gives you the opportunity to specialise in something you are passionate about and explore it in great depth.

In this module we will explore and analyse different forms of animated film and video games. This will include analysis of the different visual styles and genres in animation. You will examine the production, distribution and consumption of animated films and video games in contemporary culture. You will consider both large media companies like Disney and Studio Ghibli and smaller, independent studios, engaging in debates about realism, hybridity and ideology in animation.

On this module you will explore how new and emergent media, communications and technologies shape our way of living, acting and understanding the world and our place in it. Building on previous modules, you will learn about the development of various technologies and consider our changing relationship with them. You will consider how they contribute to and challenge philosophy, ethics, morals and meaning. We will also think about how these developments might influence aesthetic trends in production, consumption and cultural value.

This is an opportunity to get involved with a current staff research project. The topics on offer in any particular year will reflect the research being carried out by your tutors. This is a great way to be part of the research culture within the department and add to the creation of new knowledge. You will build further on the research skills you have already developed, which will help you with your own independent dissertation.

On this module we will examine texts from the English-speaking Caribbean, a region that has produced 2 Nobel Prize winners in Literature. We will introduce you to a range of writing from and about the Caribbean, allowing you to appreciate the longstanding global impact of this writing, and consider how it is currently being marked and remembered. We will particularly focus on the close connections of the past and present between Britain and the Caribbean.

The Victorian poet Matthew Arnold said of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre that “the writer’s mind contains nothing but hunger, rebellion, and rage.” These are also themes that characterise much of the writing of the Victorian period. Whether the issues are societal or domestic and individual, many Victorian novels protest against the privations and injustices writers saw around them. At the same time, there were also funny, rude, and sensational texts, and texts which imagined a different kind of future in the emergent genre of science fiction. This module includes a variety of writing from across the Victorian era, and considers texts within the political, environmental, and social contexts in which they were produced.

Twentieth-century literature was formed in the crucible of revolutions, global conflicts, shifts in the planet’s ecology, and profound technological and social challenges to traditional patterns of life. This was an age of both genocide and Apartheid on the one hand, and an upsurge of claims for self-determination and human rights on the other. Literature developed in equally radical and often contradictory fashion, responding to political, social, and wider cultural shifts. On this module you will examine experimental and provocative texts across a range of forms, interrogating how modernity unfolded in the twentieth century, and asking questions about its continuing role in shaping the present.

This module takes a literary trend, such as the vogue for young adult vampire fiction during the late 2000s, or the enthusiasm for fantasy fiction we’re experiencing in the 2020s, and situates them in a longer historical view. We will encourage you to consider broader narratives of formal emulation, subversion, and experimentation, and confront questions about literary value, originality, and influence. We may look, for instance, at a recent work of Gothic fiction such as Colleen Hoover’s Verity (2018), alongside nineteenth-century sensationalist novels, eighteenth-century Gothic novels, the occult works of early modern figures, and perhaps even tracing the novel’s influences all the way back to Dante’s thirteenth-century exploration of hell in Inferno.

On this module you will investigate the theatrical experimentation that took place over the last century, and consider its impact on the contemporary stage. You will consider the major movements and perspectives of the period against the background of wider intellectual, cultural and aesthetic debates. Through this we will explore the creative dynamics between:

• Tradition and innovation
• Word and image
• Writing and performance
• Reading and spectatorship

This module will examine a selection of texts from 20th century American literature, and relate these works to their cultural, social and political backgrounds. We will focus on texts that demonstrate formal innovation and experimentation, and the module reading list will reflect the huge variety evident in twentieth century American narrative and representation. You will read Native American, African American and Chinese-American texts alongside literature produced in the wake of radical social change such as Beat writing, Vietnam narratives, and responses to queer San Francisco.

On this module you will examine texts from a variety of locations, including Europe and the USA, Africa and the Asian subcontinent. Using these texts we will debate the contradictions of contemporary global society. You will consider:

• Whether local traditions or global culture has more impact in the modern world
• What those in one part of the world do or do not owe to those living in another
• Whether the popularity of literary texts which aim to represent and understand ‘the other’ is something to celebrate, or simply another form of exoticism

On this module we will explore issues surrounding gender and sexuality. We will explore the ways that different genders and sexualities are presented in film, literature, TV and a host of other media. We will investigate how different cultural groups use popular culture and literature to reinforce, challenge, transgress, or disrupt traditional gender expectations. This module challenges you to draw on all of the skills, theories and approaches encountered throughout your degree to interrogate the representation of gender roles and sexuality in popular culture.

On this module you will explore concepts and issues surrounding globalisation, localisation, regionalism and national identity, particularly in relation to city cultures. You will consider the representations, symbolic and social structures, development, uses and experiences of the modern city. This will involve the experiential exploration of contemporary cities, as well investigating technological advances and futuristic narratives of the city. You will also have the opportunity to take part in an international field trip as part of this module. previous locations have included Istanbul, Madrid and Amsterdam.

On this module you will engage in debates concerning American mass culture and its relationship to social formation, cultural movements and modes of expression. We will examine contemporary popular culture as site of ideological, political and cultural discourse, considering how it uses and subverts America’s ideas and imagery. Through this we will assess how popular forms react to social and cultural changes. These forms include:

• Animation
• Comic books
• Movies
• Television
• Websites
• Music.

This module is an opportunity to explore and participate in contemporary literature. You will start to develop the relationship between your creative practice and the theory, philosophy, and politics that uniform and inspire contemporary work. You will engage with writing that challenges the traditional boundaries of literature and is fresh, exciting and innovative. You will also consider a broad range of materials and techniques that will help you to develop your own innovative creative practices.

On this module we will encourage you to consider the historical, theoretical, cultural and political dimensions of genre, as well as exploring the conventions which are attributed to specific genres. You will also be given the opportunity to critically explore differentiations between high and low culture and investigate genres such as tragedy, satire and gothic, romance, horror, and noir. The module will help you to develop an awareness of literary and generic concepts between and across different forms. Through this you will develop skills in original composition, drafting and editing.

This is a second opportunity to get involved with a current staff research project. As with Research Now I, the topics on offer in any particular year will reflect the research being carried out by your tutors. It's a great way to be part of the research culture within the department, while building your own research skills further.