BA Literature and Sociology

Program Overview

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Travel the world with the turn of a page. Our literary expertise is geographical as well as chronological - here you don’t just study English literature, you study world literature in English . Alongside the English literary canon, you read some of the most important novels, poems, and plays from the United States, the Caribbean and Europe. Studying literature alongside sociology means that you can investigate what connects people with each other, as well as what divides them. We consider every aspect of our daily lives, from how we relate to politicians, celebrities and friends, to how we define ourselves, our families, and others. You can study topics ranging from digital media and society, to psychiatry and mental illness, to Japanese culture, to the art, film and personal testimony of war. Topics from both literature and sociology you can choose from include:

• Modernist cityscapes in literature
• Writing of the US South
• Victorian literary realism
• Culture, identity and subjectivity
• Citizenship, multiculturalism and human rights

Our Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies offers modules which examine a variety of genres, including travel writing, the podcast, and autobiography among others, and work across different media, including books, newspapers, plays and film. From the English Civil War to dystopian literature and film, our modules not only span momentous historical, political and social worldwide events, but also examine the alternative worlds that literature has produced. Meanwhile our Department of Sociology ranked among the top 50 departments in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2020) for English language and literature.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

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Placement year

When you arrive at Essex, you can decide whether you would like to combine your course with a placement year. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre. If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.

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Our expert staff

Our sociology academics have their fingers on the pulse of modern society; whether it’s the battle between Apple and Spotify or the exploitation of female bodybuilders, we embed our innovative and sometimes controversial research into your course. As well as publishing bestselling books, our academics have appeared in radio and television broadcasts such as Professor Mike Roper on the BBC World Service broadcast, London: The Psychology of War and Professor Pam Cox in the BBC TWO series Shopgirls: The True Story of Life Behind the Counter and Servants: The True Story of Life Below Stairs. Our literature staff specialise in a range of areas including modernism, comparative and world literature, Shakespeare, the Renaissance, travel writing, nature writing, translated literature, cultural geography, Irish and Scottish writing, U.S. and Caribbean literature, and the history of reading.

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Specialist facilities

• Links with the Institute of Social and Economic Research, which conducts large-scale survey projects and has its own library, and the UK Data Archive, which stores national research data like the British Crime Survey
• Our students’ Sociology Society , a forum for the exchange of ideas, arranging talks by visiting speakers, introducing you to various career pathways, and organising debates
• Meet fellow readers at the student-run Literature Society or at the department’s Myth Reading Group
• Learn from leading writers and literature specialists at weekly research seminars
• Write for our student magazine Rebel or host a Red Radio show

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Your future

Sociology and literature students can acquire key skills in communication, time-management, research and analysis, and good standards of presentation. The number of careers that lead from courses in literature and creative writing is almost as large as the number of graduates. Two particular areas in which graduates have had recent success are publishing and the theatre. In addition, former students of our Department have become professional writers, or have gone into teaching, journalism, broadcasting, marketing, film and video production, museum and library work, graphics and printing, finance, and the Civil Service. Recent graduates have been employed as:

• Subtitling for Sky TV
• An assistant director for a music video for an internationally-acclaimed band
• An English teacher
• A media studies teacher

We also work with the university's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

Program Outline

Course structure

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

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Components

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose. Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

Status	What this means
Core	You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory	You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

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Modules

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits. In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available. Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code . For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

HR	100	4	FY
The department or school the module will be taught by. In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.	The module number.	The UK academic level of the module. A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course. A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules. A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.	The term the module will be taught in. AU : Autumn term SP : Spring term SU : Summer term FY : Full year AP : Autumn and Spring terms PS: Spring and Summer terms AS: Autumn and Summer terms

Year 1 Year 2 Final Year This interdisciplinary module serves several functions. Firstly, you will develop an understanding of your degree in the context of the wider world and specifically the graduate jobs market. You will come to understand the employability and career-development opportunities that are available to you during and after your time at Essex, and you will begin the life-long process of continuous professional development with a firm grounding in the practical skills and reflective practice involved. The module is divided into two parts: career-development learning; and Speaker Weeks, when a member of staff will interview guest speakers about their careers in fields that are allied to the arts and humanities. These will cover a range of career areas that may be of interest to humanities graduates in general: from media, arts, journalism, education, publishing, to entrepreneurship in related areas. These weeks are intended to be inspiring but also full of practical tips and ideas, with an emphasis on showing how careers develop over time, and what pathways students can explore to get to where they want to be; as well as what kinds of extra-curricular activities students can engage in now to open more doors professionally before and after graduation. In the career-development learning part of the module, you will cover topics such as the Graduate Labour market, the Humanities graduate, self-reflection and personal development, and how to research and apply effectively for jobs. Skills such as CV writing and interview technique will be covered. Two-hour interactive lecture/seminars will introduce students to careers resources and ideas, but will also include discussion and group work. View The Humanities Graduate: Future Pathways on our Module Directory Which writers re-worked Homer’s Odyssey? Or borrowed ideas from Dante’s Inferno? Examine how key literary texts and genres have been used by successive generations of writers up until the present day. Shift from classical text to a more modern example, studying the long cultural traditions that exist. View Origins and Transformations in Literature and Drama on our Module Directory How can sociology help you understand the world in which you live? What are some of the major features and trends in present-day societies? Using sociological tools, you analyse key features of different societies, such as stratification, poverty, racism, consumption, multinational corporations, religion, and the gender division of labour in low-income countries. View The Sociological Imagination on our Module Directory COMPONENT 04: OPTIOL Option(s) from list or Outside Option(s) (30 CREDITS) COMPONENT 05: OPTIOL Option from list or Outside Option (15 CREDITS) Want to study sociological classics? Wish to read and interpret original texts by Marx, Durkheim and Weber? Then study a selection of the contemporary writers who followed? We look at classic and modern thinkers, carrying their ideas into new contexts and inverting approaches to social understanding. View Power and Agency in a Global World on our Module Directory COMPONENT 02: OPTIOL Sociology option(s) from list (30 CREDITS) COMPONENT 03: COMPULSORY WITH OPTIONS LT203-5-FY or LT204-5-FY (30 CREDITS) COMPONENT 04: OPTIOL Literature option(s) from list (30 CREDITS) How do you understand contemporary society? What role do key topics like modernity, post-modernity, feminism and capitalism play? And what do contemporary theorists like Foucault and Bourdieu say? Learn why philosophical knowledge is vital for sociological understanding, while deepening your own awareness of the subject. View Rethinking Modernity on our Module Directory COMPONENT 02: OPTIOL Sociology option(s) from list (30 CREDITS) What fascinates you? Pursue a topic that you are enthusiastic about and have chosen, with support and guidance from our expert academic staff. Gain invaluable training for future graduate work, as you learn how to sustain a written argument over 10,000 words. View Independent Literature Project on our Module Directory COMPONENT 04: OPTIOL Final year option(s) from list (30 CREDITS)

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Placement

On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

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Year abroad

On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree. Our Programme Specification gives more detail about modules on your year abroad.

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Teaching

• Teaching will mainly take the form of lectures and classes of about 20 students
• Innovative ways of engaging with texts include editing 16th century sonnets and archival research
• Lab sessions to improve technical research skills
• A typical timetable involves a one-hour lecture and a one-hour class for each of your modules every week

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Assessment

• Your final mark for each module is determined half by coursework and half by examination
• A mark for class participation is included in your Literature coursework mark