- UCAS course code
- QT37
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA English Literature and American Studies
English Literature and American Studies at Manchester combines literature with history, politics and popular culture of the United States.
Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: QT37 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
- Typical A-level offer: AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: ABC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ACC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 35 points overall with 6,6,5 at HL including specific subjects
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Find out more from student finance
- Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
- Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
- Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
Course unit details:
Culture and Conflict: Neoliberalism and Cultural Production
| Unit code | ENGL30261 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 3 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Britain's experience of the transition to the kinds of neoliberal (ie. market-driven) policies which now dominate government agendas globally was one characterized by intense conflict, over economic organization (resulting in open class struggle), over Britain's national and postcolonial identity, and in relation to the value of subcultures. This period therefore witnessed both revolutionary change advanced by the political right and forms of resistance which posited alternative social possibilities. Culture and Conflict will look at the roles played by culture in relation to these conflicts, and will critically examine Marxist and post-Marxist theories which have attempted to make sense of such conflicts. In considering the ideological specificities of forms of cultural dissidence, attention will also be paid to the nature of the cultural institutions (eg. theatre, television, film production) in which that dissidence was developed.
Aims
- To introduce students to a range of Marxist/materialist cultural theory;
- To deploy this theoretical work in the analysis of aspects of British culture in the period in which neo-liberalism achieved hegemony (the period of Thatcher onwards);
- To encourage close reading of various forms of cultural production in relation to the larger ideological context of this period;
- To develop analyses of individual works in relation to the institutional contexts for cultural production in this period.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, the successful student should have:
- An understanding of a range of Marxist/post-Marxist Cultural Theory;
- The ability to deploy this theoretical material in the analysis of aspects of British culture of the period under consideration;
- An enhanced ability closely to analyze various forms of cultural production in relation to larger ideological contexts;
- An ability to discuss individual works in relation to their institutional contexts, and to relate both to dominant forces.
Employability skills
- Analytical skills
- Students taking this unit will be able to analyse and evaluate arguments and texts. Above all, committed students will emerge from this course unit with an advanced capacity to think critically, i.e. knowledgeably, rigorously, confidently and independently.
- Group/team working
- Students taking this unit will be able to work courteously and constructively as part of a larger group.
- Innovation/creativity
- On this unit students are encouraged to respond imaginatively and independently to the questions and ideas raised by texts and other media.
- Leadership
- Students on this unit must take responsibility for their learning and are encouraged not only to participate in group discussions but to do so actively and even to lead those discussions.
- Project management
- Students taking this unit will be able to work towards deadlines and to manage their time effectively.
- Oral communication
- Students taking this unit will be able to show fluency, clarity and persuasiveness in spoken communication.
- Research
- Students on this unit will be required to digest, summarise and present large amounts of information. They are encouraged to enrich their responses and arguments with a wide range of further reading.
- Written communication
- Students on this unit will develop their ability to write in a way that is lucid, precise and compelling.
Assessment methods
| Portfolio of exercises | 30% |
| Essay | 70% |
Feedback methods
Written and face-to-face (upon arrangement)
Study hours
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 200 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Christopher Vardy | Unit coordinator |