BA English

About this course

English as an academic discipline is far more than the study of literature in isolation. It encompasses the history of the language, the formal and stylistic analysis of texts across genres and periods, the theoretical frameworks through which meaning is produced and interpreted, and the critical traditions that have shaped how we read and write. It is a discipline that trains the closest possible attention to language, and that takes seriously the idea that how something is said is inseparable from what is being said. At Goldsmiths, this part-time programme allows you to study while managing other commitments, making it accessible to students at different life stages. Goldsmiths has a distinctive intellectual reputation, particularly in the arts, humanities and critical theory, and the English programme reflects this by encouraging engagement with experimental, postcolonial and contemporary writing alongside more canonical literary traditions. You will develop skills in close reading, literary and cultural analysis, academic writing and independent research, engaging with poetry, prose, drama and other textual forms across a range of historical periods and cultural contexts. The skills developed through English study are among the most transferable of any humanities discipline. Publishing, journalism, editing, copywriting, public relations, marketing, broadcasting, education, law and the civil service all regularly recruit graduates whose analytical ability and writing skills were developed through literature and language study. Many English graduates also go on to postgraduate study, taking masters programmes in literature, creative writing, cultural studies, film studies or linguistics, or pursuing teacher training to enter the classroom. The discipline's emphasis on close attention and rigorous argument provides an excellent foundation for almost any career that places a premium on communication.

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