English

In this course students explore the rich heterogeneity of the Victorian novel through close examination of works by a range of canonical and non-canonical authors. Students examine the changing shape of the novel throughout the 19th century (from the sprawling "monstrosity" of the triple-decker to the compact neatness of the proto-modernist aesthetic of the 1890s), as well as the range of novelistic genres that proliferated at this time (including realism, sensation, the industrial novel, Victorian gothic, horror, adventure, and science fiction), and consider the ways in which the cultural, social, and political values of Victorian Britain are both encoded and contested in the novels of the age.

This interdisciplinary course increases students’ vocabulary in the areas of business, tourism and law. Students analyze academic tests such as research reports, textbook chapters, and academic articles in the fields of business, tourism, and law. They also complete language tasks that are linked to the industry, such as reading and understanding the language of various types of contracts; reading and understanding the structure and content of annual reports and other company reports; analyzing the language of tourism products and services; and knowing how to interpret and use surveys and statistics published by official bodies.

English Lit and Pop Music? Yes! This course reads a variety of English literature, produced from the Middle Ages up through last week, in light of popular music of the last fifty years—and vice versa, too. The course takes both fields seriously (though fun is encouraged too), with an emphasis on connections with King's College London. A variety of genres, eras, and voices, from English lit, the English department, and the music world come together here. Archival work, both at KCL (e.g., the Duffy archives) and beyond, provides an important foundation and opportunities for discovery.  

This course is a comprehensive tour through the writing life and theatrical legacy of William Shakespeare. Taking its cue from the First Folio (1623), the book that preserved many of Shakespeare’s plays for posterity, the course spends one week on each of the main genres in which the author wrote and introduces students to key questions raised by plays such as The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Richard III, Hamlet, and Othello, among others. It overviews the major plays of Shakespeare’s career and the critical questions that shape how we read them today, while giving students the chance to engage with the material conditions of Shakespeare’s world. The course includes trips to the playwright’s birthplace and grave in Stratford-upon-Avon, classroom sessions in the Bodleian Library in which students can view Shakespeare’s original early printed books, and the opportunity to see a performance of a Shakespeare play.

This course examines the kinds of fiction that are usually described as "genre" or "popular" works. It provides a practice-led exploration and analysis of a range of significant genre texts and techniques. The emphasis is on the genre novel, but also considers the theory of genre fiction, and how genres operate in the literary marketplace.

This course takes a thematic approach to the literary representation of medical professionalism, disease and illness (physical and mental), across a range of literary texts dating from the 18th century through to the present, including poetry, prose fiction, and memoir. No prior medical knowledge is required, but students are encouraged to give attention to specific cultural contexts and historically shifting medical paradigms.

This course offers an introduction to cultural criticism by looking at how critical thinkers have made connections between culture and society and analyzing a selection of novels and other texts in which key concepts of criticism are explored imaginatively. Through theoretical reflections, the course answers the question: what is the relationship between literature and other forms of art and the culture and society from which they originate? Each week of the course is organized around a key idea or concept in cultural criticism. Assumed previous knowledge includes an elementary knowledge of literature, literary history, and literary theory.

This course enables students to write better creative prose and poetry. For prose, students develop an awareness of how fiction and creative non-fiction is constructed with emphasis on the short story and the literary essay. The focus is on a deeper understanding of the creative process through language, imagery, ideas, methods of characterization, narrative movement, and dramatic tension. For poetry, students develop an awareness of the creative process, and understand some of the techniques poets use to shape material into finished works. Issues of texture in language and content are raised and a variety of techniques are discussed, using examples drawn mainly from recent and contemporary works.