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Our degrees are flexible, allowing you to choose the modules that best suit your interests. After the groundwork of Part 1, you will choose your individual pathway through the broader period or thematic modules of Part 2 and a wide range of specialised options in Part 3. You can, in effect, design your own degree by picking the modules that appeal most to you.
YEAR ONE - THE BEDROCK OF YOUR DEGREE
Your first year will teach you new methods for getting to grips with literature, including literary theory and criticism, textual analysis and comparison.
YEAR TWO - PICK YOUR SPECIALISMS
During your second year, you will be able to pick from a wide range of modules covering key historical periods, themes and concepts. Here at Reading we allow you to choose all six of the modules in your second year, giving you a real breadth of experience and expertise.
YEAR THREE - BECOMING AN EXPERT
In your third year you delve further into specialised fields of expertise. You will also have the opportunity to carry out a personalised research project in the form of your dissertation. This project is on a subject of your choice and will involve individual supervision and mentoring from one of our academic team.
Please note that module content described in the films and leaflet below are relevant for September 2023 entry only.
Read about the wide choice of modules available to you throughout your degree.
Hear from Dr Chloe Houston how this first-year module will help you understand two pairings of historical moment and genre: the Renaissance stage and the Victorian novel.
Hear from Dr Nicola Abram how this first-year module provides a secure foundation in both the practical skills and theoretical literacy needed for the degree-level study of literature.
Hear from Professor Peter Robinson how this first-year module helps you gain skills of close reading that are foundational to the study of English, as well as an overview of the history of poetry in English.
Hear from Professor David Brauner how in this first-year module, you will engage with work by white and African-American writers, covering a number of genres and sub-genres, from poetry, the short story and drama, to crime fiction.
Hear from Professor Conor Carville how in this first-year module you will develop your skills in creative writing across a range of genres.
Become part of a diverse and inclusive community of readers and writers, united in our passion for our subject.
Read our Department of English Literature brochure
Read our joint degrees leaflet
Read more in our Literature and Languages Foundation Year leaflet