English Language and Literature

The English Language and Literature course gives you the chance to study writing in English from its origins in Anglo-Saxon England to the literature of the 20th and early 21st centuries. As well as the literature of the British Isles, it includes works from many other parts of the world, and gives you a considerable degree of choice over which periods and topics you would like to concentrate on. But you can, if you wish, still opt to cover the full historical sweep of English literature. Studying literature at Oxford involves the development both of sophisticated reading skills and of an ability to place literary texts in their wider intellectual and historical contexts. It also requires you to consider the critical processes by which you analyse and judge, to learn about literary form and technique, and to study the development of the English language.

The Oxford English Faculty is the largest English department in Britain. Most Oxford colleges have at least two Fellows in English who are responsible for tutorial teaching in their own college but also give lectures to all students in the English Faculty. You thus have the opportunity to learn from a wide range of specialist teachers.

Library provision for English at Oxford is exceptionally good. All students have access to the Bodleian Library, the English Faculty library, other faculty libraries, and their own college libraries. The English Faculty has long pioneered the use of electronic resources in teaching, and currently has a wide range of resources and facilities. The English Faculty building has its own computer room and all colleges have computing facilities for undergraduates to use.

In your first year you will be introduced to the conceptual and technical tools used in the study of language and literature, and to a wide range of different critical assumptions and approaches. At the same time, you will be doing tutorial work on Early Medieval literature (650–1350), Victorian literature (1830–1910) and Modern literature (1910–present day).

In your second and third years you will extend your study of English literary history in four more period papers ranging from Late Medieval literature to the Romantic age. These papers are assessed by three-hour written examinations at the end of your third year. You will also have coursework papers over the second and third years: a portfolio of work on Shakespeare; a Special Options paper on a topic selected from faculty lists; and an 8,000 word dissertation on a subject of your choice. Submitted work therefore constitutes almost half of your final assessment.

Alternatively, in the second and third years, you can choose to follow our specialist course in Medieval Literature and Language, whose compulsory papers cover literature in English from 600–1550 along with the history of the English language up to 1800, with a further paper either on Shakespeare or on manuscript and print culture. Optional papers for this course include Old Norse, Medieval French, Archaeology, and any of the modern options available to candidates reading for the more general undergraduate course in English.

A number of English graduates (about 7%) choose to undertake research, while many more use the communication and analytical skills they develop at Oxford in careers ranging from advertising to acting, including publishing, teaching, librarianship, public relations, journalism, the legal professions, management consultancy and finance. Recent English graduates include a projects coordinator in education for a London theatre, a trainee solicitor, and a teacher.

Helen, who graduated in 1977, is now an organic farmer and cheesemaker for her company Vesterhaugen Gardsysteri. She says: ‘Since graduating I’ve worked as a care assistant, a landscape gardener, a farmworker, a farmer and cheesemaker.

I currently sell hunting and fishing permits for a local group, am the livestock contact-person for an old Norwegian cattle breed, and run cheesemaking courses too.’

Jonathan, who graduated in 1985, is CEO of Curly Lizard Films. He says: ‘I’ve been an international documentary producer and director for 15 years, producing single films and series across Europe and Asia, after a lot of work experience and TV agency journalism. The training in independent thinking I gained from my degree has proven to be very beneficial to my career.’

Lucy, who graduated in 2009, is a freelance journalist for national newspapers. She says: ‘Whilst at Oxford I wrote news stories and features for The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Independent and others. I am now a city reporter at The Evening Standard, and contribute to a wide range of newspapers and magazines. I have also had two books published this year: Pimp Your Vocab and A Guide To Uni Life.’