COURSE CURRICULUM

The English Literature and History BA (Hons) at Northumbria University is structured to develop students’ expertise in both disciplines over three years. In Year 1, students build a strong foundation through core literary modules such as Introduction to Literary Studies, Talking Texts, and Gothic Stories, alongside history modules including The Making of Contemporary Europe, Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, and Making History. International and EU students may also take an academic language support module. Year 2 advances students’ understanding of literature and historical contexts through core modules like Early Modern Cultures, Modernism and Modernity, and Literary Revolutions, while offering a wide range of optional history and literature modules, covering topics from twentieth-century America, European revolutions, the Holocaust, and social history, to independent research projects and contemporary cultural studies. Year 3 allows students to specialise and tailor their degree through optional modules in Gothic literature, Shakespeare, Romanticism, twentieth and twenty-first century history, environmental studies, and creative writing, while providing the opportunity to complete a Joint Honours Dissertation or a Dissertation with Public History. Across the program, students develop critical thinking, research, and communication skills, gaining the ability to interpret literary texts and historical sources in tandem, and preparing them for academic, cultural, and professional careers with a strong foundation in both disciplines.