Literature and Languages
Undergraduate Applicants
Student Choice
Optional Modules: Choices of Your Own
Students studying English at Stirling have an uncommon degree of choice about what they study, and when. There are two kinds of 'optional' module taught in the Department. In semesters 4 and 5 students choose from a range of 'optional core' modules, which focus on specific historical periods, or on particular theoretical perspectives on writing. These modules are taught by lecture and tutorial. (Note that the semester 5 'optional cores' on historical periods can also be taken in semester 7.)
From semester 5 onwards, students are free to choose from a wider range of advanced 'optional seminars', taught in smaller seminars for 2 hours each week. These more specialised optional seminars pursue critical, theoretical, historical or thematic approaches to a very wide range of topics, from Shakespeare in the Movies to African Writing in English; from Jane Austen to Literature and the Environment; from Modern Gothic writing to Medieval Dream Poetry; from Language and Gender to Contemporary Scottish Literature.
For a more detailed explanation of the choices available to students as they progress through the degree, and for a listing of optional seminar modules currently offered, consult the Departmental Programme Guide.
Tailoring your Degree
There are special opportunities at Stirling for studying Scottish Literature, Post-Colonial Literature and Creative Writing, as well as a full range of English literature from early times to the present day. Separate pages explain the Scottish Studies programme as a degree in its own right, or one linked with either English or History. On the practical side, there is a strong interest in Publishing Studies in the Department and a successful postgraduate M.Litt is offered in this subject.