BA English Literature and German / Course details

BA English Literature and German will enable you to explore a wide range of texts dating from a variety of periods.

You will also develop a firm grounding in the German language, and the opportunity to explore German culture, linguistics, history, and literature.

You will be equipped with the skills and expertise needed to thrive in a German-speaking environment.

English Literature

• You will explore more than 1,000 years of literature and culture: from medieval romance to the postcolonial and postmodern.
• You can specialise in English Literature, American, Irish and post-colonial literatures, cultural theory, creative writing, and film.
• You will engage with a range of literary/non-literary genres including film, music and texts, from Anglo-Saxon times to the present.
• Benefit from our research activity in English and American Studies, with more than 12 active research groups ranging from Anglo Saxon literature to 21st century writing and film.
• Enjoy creative writing course unit options in your second and third years of study.

German

• Our core German language courses (at post A-Level or beginners' level) are complemented by a variety of other subject areas, including linguistics, and a wide range of cultural and historical units that use German-language sources to improve your core language competence, as well as your wider knowledge of German-speaking countries.
• Specialisms in German include historical and contemporary linguistics, literary studies, screen studies, gender and sexuality, modern cultural history, minority cultures, and Holocaust studies.
• Our teaching, praised in the Teaching Quality Assessment and by external examiners, is backed up by an innovative Independent Language Learning Programme, enabling you to take control of your own learning experience.
• Enjoy strong links with the Goethe Institute and the Austrian Cultural Forum, which sponsor a varied programme of cultural events.

The course unit details listed below are those you may choose to study as part of this programme and are referred to as optional units. These are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme. Although language units may show here as optional, they are a mandatory part of your modern languages degree and you will take the units relevant to your level of language in each year of study. It Is compulsory to study language at all levels of your modern languages degree.

Study abroad

Your year abroad  will offer the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of life in a German-speaking country, and further develop your language skills.

Literature events

Manchester Literature Festival holds literary events across Manchester throughout the year, many in partnership with the University.

The Centre for New Writing  also hosts a regular public event series, Literature Live, which brings contemporary novelists and poets to the University to read and engage in conversation.

Meet like-minded students

You can get to know your fellow students outside of your course by joining the English Society.

Learn more about our English Literature and Creative Writing societies .

You can also join the very active German Society, which organises film nights, plays, trips and other types of cultural activities.

Learn more about our Modern Languages and Cultures societies .

You will be taught mainly through lecture and tutor-led sessions.

Tutorials will give you the opportunity to consider the same texts and topics as the lectures, but with a different approach. 

Tutorial groups usually meet at least once a week, and numbers are kept as low as possible so that you can get to know one another and share your ideas. 

Other course units (mainly those in your final year) are taught through a weekly seminar led by a specialist member of staff.

For some course units, you will join in group work and other forms of collaborative learning. 

You'll also have access to our virtual learning environment, Blackboard and other digital resources to support your learning.

You will spend approximately 12 hours a week in formal study sessions. 

For every hour spent at University, you will be expected to complete a further two to three hours of independent study.

You will also need to study during the holiday periods.

The individual study component could be spent reading, producing written work, revising for examinations or working in the University's Language Centre .

A significant part of your study time will be spent reading, taking notes, preparing presentations and writing essays (which examine aspects of a subject in greater depth).

You will be assessed using a variety of formats, including:

• written examinations;
• coursework essays;
• research reports;
• practical tests;
• learning logs;
• web contributions;
• oral presentations;
• final-year thesis.

Your second-year work counts toward 33% of your final degree result.

Your third-year work accounts for the remaining 67%.

The John Rylands Library

Home to one of the world's richest and most unique collections of manuscripts, maps, works of art, and objects.

You'll have access to the Library's impressive special collections, including papyri, early printed books, key archives such as the Women's Suffrage Movement archive, and Shakespeare's first folio.

Find out more about the John Rylands Library .

The Centre for New Writing

The University is home to a major hub for new writing excellence and award-winning teaching staff, including Granta Best Young British Novelist Kamila Shamsie and Jeanette Winterson CBE.

The Centre also hosts Literature Live - a public event series which brings contemporary novelists and poets to the University to showcase their work.

Find out more about the Centre for New Writing .

The University of Manchester Library

One of only five National Research Libraries; you'll have access to our internationally renowned archival collections which range from the medieval period to the present day.

From a miniature 'Book of Hours' which once belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots, through major Victorian novelists such as Elizabeth Gaskell and George Gissing, key American writers including Walt Whitman and Upton Sinclair, and up to the present day with our Modern Literary Archives, you'll be amazed by the treasures on offer.

Find out more about The University of Manchester Library .

As well as making use of the wider University library network, you will have access to the University Language Centre, a modern open learning facility where you can study independently and make use of a library and audio-visual resources.

There are also language laboratories and multimedia facilities.

You'll also have access to other cultural assets on campus, including the award-winning  Whitworth Art Gallery  and  Manchester Museum .

Find out more on the Facilities pages for English Literature and Creative Writing and Modern Languages and Cultures .