- 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.
- 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:
Irish Fiction Since 1990
Unit code | ENGL30941 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 3 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
This course explores the defining themes, styles and narrative strategies of some of the best contemporary Irish novelists and short story writers. The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have witnessed an extraordinarily rich flowering of Irish fiction, during which the role of the writer has assumed fresh significance at a time of seismic social, cultural and political change in the Republic and in Northern Ireland. This course will examine the concerns that have inspired novelists from different social and regional backgrounds, including those who live and work in England. It will analyse how novelists engage with a host of insistent and often divisive issues, including political violence in Northern Ireland and the slow evolution of a more peaceful society there; the erosion of traditional social and political value systems, especially in the Republic; changing attitudes to gender, religion and sexuality on both sides of the Irish border; the relationship between Irish history, trauma and identity; and the treatment of often stigmatized groups such as migrants, the unemployed and the mentally ill. Writers whose work will be studied include Anne Enright, Eimear McBride, Patrick McCabe, John McGahern and Sally Rooney. The course will be taught by means of a weekly 2 hour lecture and a 1 hour seminar.
Aims
- To introduce students to the formal, thematic and stylistic diversity of contemporary Irish fiction in its literary and historical contexts;
- To explore the ways in which contemporary Irish novelists and short story writers have interrogated personal, communal and national identities in different contexts;
- To develop students' understanding of the varieties of fictional response to issues such as history, gender, nationalism, migration and sexuality;
- To examine the role of the Irish writer in re-imagining societies undergoing profound social, cultural and economic change;
- To prepare students for advanced research in the subject area through the development of research, analytical, expressive and rhetorical skills.
Learning outcomes
On completion of the course, successful students should be able to demonstrate:
- An effective understanding of the contexts, range and diversity of Irish fiction since 1990;
- Evidence of the above in written work appropriate to this level;
- A critical appreciation of the characteristic modes, styles and thematic preoccupations of contemporary Irish fiction writers;
- An informed awareness of the diversity of critical and theoretical approaches to the study of contemporary Irish fiction writers;
- Oral and written analytical skills that might prepare them for further study and research in the area.
Syllabus
Please see recommended reading
Assessment methods
Method | Weight |
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Other | 25% |
Written exam | 75% |
Online Test 30%
Recommended reading
In 2022-23 we will be studying the following six primary texts, so if you wish to begin your reading over the summer, it is recommended that you concentrate on these.
Enright, Anne. The Gathering (Vintage, 2008)
McBride, Eimear. A Girl is a Half-formed Thing (Faber, 2014)
McCabe, Patrick. The Butcher Boy (Picador, 2007)
McGahern, John. Amongst Women (Faber, 2008)
Rooney, Sally, Normal People (Faber, 2018)
Trevor, William. Felicia’s Journey (Penguin, 2010)
The above set texts will be augmented by a selection of short stories, which will be made available to students on Blackboard when the course begins.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Seminars | 33 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 167 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Liam Harte | Unit coordinator |