Loughborough University
Leicestershire, UK
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Loughborough University

Programme Specifications

Programme Specification

BA (Hons) English and American Studies (2012 - 2014 entry)

Academic Year: 2015/16

This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if full advantage is taken of the learning opportunities that are provided.

This specification applies to delivery of the programme in the Academic Year indicated above. Prospective students reviewing this information for a later year of study should be aware that these details are subject to change as outlined in our Terms and Conditions of Study.

This specification should be read in conjunction with:

  • Summary
  • Aims
  • Learning outcomes
  • Structure
  • Progression & weighting

Programme summary

Awarding body/institution Loughborough University
Teaching institution (if different)
Owning school/department Department of English and Drama - pre 2017
Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body
Final award BA (Hons) / BA (Hons) + DPS
Programme title English and American Studies
Programme code EAUB08
Length of programme The duration of the programme is 6 or 8 semesters. Candidates following the four year programme are required to spend an approved placement in professional industry leading to the award of Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS). The sandwich year (Part I) must be taken after satisfactory completion of Part B and before commencement of Part C.
UCAS code Q3T7
Admissions criteria

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/departments/english-drama/englishandamericanstudies/

Date at which the programme specification was published Mon, 07 Sep 2015 20:19:56 BST

1. Programme Aims

The Department seeks to encourage in its students:

  • a sense of enthusiasm for the subject and a full understanding of its social and cultural significance.
  • the study of English and American Studies as a means of developing the ability to think creatively, to read critically and to be both sensitive and disciplined in their approach to their studies.
  • to think independently, to reason critically, to weigh the importance of alternative arguments and perspectives and to analyse critically different forms of discourse.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

English Benchmark Statement

Area Studies Benchmark Statement

University Learning and Teaching Strategy

Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ)

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme students should:

  • have substantial knowledge of a range of authors and texts from different periods of literary history, including those before 1800.
  • understand the distinctive characteristics of both English and American Fiction, poetry and drama
  • have an awareness of the role of critical traditions in shaping literary history and a knowledge of the linguistic, literary, cultural and socio-historical contexts in which literature is written and read.
  • develop an understanding of key aspects of U.S. visual culture, especially in relation to American film
  • deploy useful and precise critical terminology.
  • have an appreciation of the power of imagination in literary creation and an awareness of the range of contemporary approaches to literary and area studies
  •  have an appreciation of American Studies as a multi and interdisciplinary subject area.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of the programme, students will have acquired critical skills in the close reading and analysis of verbal and visual texts and will have a thorough understanding of critical and theoretical models relating to English and American studies. They will have an appreciation of the central role of language in the creation of meaning and will have gained rhetorical skills of effective communication and argument. They will have bibliographic skills appropriate to the discipline and will be practised in the accurate citation of sources and in the use of conventions in the presentation of scholarly work.

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to present cogent and persuasive arguments both in oral and written form. They should be able critically to assess the effectiveness and value of a wide range of oral, visual and written communications. They should possess advanced and effective research skills, including the ability to access and assess electronic data.

c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should possess advanced analytical skills and should be able to handle complex information in a structured and systematic way. They should be able to communicate effectively and work with others through the presentation of ideas and the collective negotiation of solutions.

They should be able to understand and apply a variety of theoretical and interpretive positions, and should be able to weigh the importance of alternative perspectives. They should possess effective organisational and time-management skills. 

4. Programme structure

Part A - Introductory Modules

American Studies Semester 1

Compulsory (total modular weight 20)

EAA006

Introduction to American Literature

20 credits

Optional - NONE

English Studies Semester 1

Compulsory (total modular weight 30)

EAA101

Critical Studies 1

10 credits

EAA102

An Introduction to Language

10 credits

EAA104

Introduction to Poetry 1

10 credits

 

Optional (10 or 20)

EAA003

Introduction to the Short Story

20 credits

EAA023

Oral Communication

20 credits

EAA108

The Search for Identity

20 credits

EAA010

Writing Women

20 credits

EAA016

The Essay

10 credits

EAA015

Introduction to the Short Narrative

10 credits

EAA002

Women’s Voices

10 credits

American Studies Semester 2

Compulsory (total modular weight 30)

EAA001

Introduction to Film Studies

20 credits

EAA511

Imagining America: An Introduction to American Studies

10 credits

English Studies Semester 2

Compulsory (total modular weight 20)

EAA201

Critical Studies 2

10 credits

EAA204

Introduction to Poetry 2

10 credits

Optional (10 or 20 credits)

EAA003

Introduction to the Short Story

20 credits

EAA004

Language in Context

20 credits

EAA023

Oral Communication

20 credits

EAA108

The Search for Identity

20 credits

EAA011

Writing in History

20 credits

EAA010

Writing Women

20 credits

EAA016

The Essay

10 credits

EAA015

Introduction to the Short Narrative

10 credits

EAA002

Women’s Voices

10 credits

         

 

Part B - Degree Modules

In the course of Semester 1 and Semester 2, candidates should register for a minimum of 40 credits in both English Studies and American Studies.

Candidates may choose optional modules so that as few as 50 or as many as 70 credit units are attempted in a semester, provided that 120 credit units are accumulated over the year.

Candidates may apply to the Head of Department for permission to undertake study abroad at Acadia University, Canada or the National University of Singapore. Candidates can apply to take a single semester abroad. The study abroad option would be in place of study at Loughborough for a single semester during Part B of the degree programme.

Candidates may apply to the Head of Department for permission to undertake an approved course of study at a European University which is a member of the EU-approved Erasmus exchange programme.  Candidates can apply to take a single semester abroad. The exchange option would be in place of study at Loughborough for a single semester during Part B of the degree programme.

Candidates who register for the Erasmus exchange programme must undertake the placement in place of one semester at Part B of the degree programme. For one semester, students must register for a total of 60 credits in English and Drama in addition to the 60-credit Semester Abroad module EAB101.

 American Studies Semester 1

 Compulsory (total modular weight 20 )

 EAB039

 Nineteenth-Century American Writing

 20 credits

 Optional

EAB102

American Adaptations

 20 credits

 English Studies Semester 1

Compulsory (total modular weight 20)

 EAB001

British Drama 1576-1737

 20 credits

Optional

EAB154

 Chivalry from Chaucer to Shakespeare

20 credits

EAB113

Introduction to Linguistics

20 credits

EAB020

Diverse Voices

20credits

EAB918

Revolt Against Fate: Literature and Theatre of the Absurd

20credits

 EAB040

New Women’s Writing

20 credits

EAB101

Study Abroad

60 credits 

 

 

 

  American Studies Semester 2

Compulsory (total modular weight 20)

EAB012

 African American Culture

20 credits

Optional

 EAB060

American Nightmare

20 credits 

 English Studies Semester 2

Compulsory - NONE

Optional

EAB114

Elephants and Engines: An Introduction to Creative Writing

20 credits

EAB110

Introduction to Multimodality

20 credits

EAB016

Language in Society (pre-requisite EAB113)

20 credits

 

 

 

EAB008 

 Victorian Literature

20 credits 

EAB018

Women's Writing in the 17th Century

20 credits

EAB035

Weird Tale

20 credits

EAB711

Eighteenth-Century Literature

20 credits

EAB101 

Study Abroad 

 60 credits

 

Part I

Four year Sandwich Programme (DPS) route

Candidates will undertake an approved placement leading to the Diploma in Professional Studies.

Semesters 1 and 2

EAI001

Industrial Training Placement

120 credits

 

 Part C - Degree Modules

In the course of Semester 1 and Semester 2, candidates should register for a minimum of 40 credits in both English Studies and American Studies.

Candidates may not choose a total of more than 30 credits in the year that have a prefix of EAB.

Candidates may choose optional modules so that as few as 50 or as many as 70 credit units are attempted in a semester, provided that 120 credit units are accumulated over the year.

American Studies Semesters 1 and 2

Compulsory (total modular weight 30)

EAC217

American Studies Dissertation

40credits

American Studies Semester 1

Compulsory  - NONE

Optional

EAC012

America at War

20 credits

EAC034

Narratives of American Sport

20 credits

 

 

 

English Studies Semester 1

Compulsory (total modular weight 20)

EAC103

Modernisms

20 credits

Optional

 EAC900

Analysing Work Experience in the Creative Industries 

20 credits 

EAC214

Maps and Motors: The Writing Portfolio (pre-requisite EAB114)

20 credits

EAC229

Neo-Victorianism

20 credits

EAC912

Costume Design

20 credits

EAC022

Ulysses in Context

20 credits

American Studies Semester 2

Compulsory  (total modular weight 20)

EAC013

Postmodern America

20 credits

Optional

EUC713

From Prohibition to the Swinging Sixties: The United States 1918-1969

20 credits

 

English Studies Semester 2

Compulsory  - NONE

Optional

 EAC900

Analysing Work Experience in the Creative Industries 

20 credits 

 EAC806

The Child and The Book 

20 credits 

EAC109

Romantic Writings: 1815-1832

20 credits

 EAC008

 Putting Women Centre Stage

20 credits 

EAC701

Global America

20 credits

EAC300

Rare Shakespeare

20 credits

EAC016

Cruel and Unusual

20 credits

EAC301

T S Eliot

20 credits

EAB033

Puppetry

20 credits

 

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

In order to progress from Part A to Part B and from Part B to C and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must not only satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX but also: 

.1 In order to progress from Part A to Part B, obtain at least 40% in all compulsory modules.

 .2 In order to progress from Part B to Part C, obtain at least 40% in all compulsory modules.

 .3 To be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, obtain at least 40% in all compulsory modules.

Provision will be made in accordance with Regulation XX for candidates who have the right of re-assessment in any part of the Programme to undergo re-assessment in the University’s special assessment period.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates' final degree classification will be determined on the basis of their performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C, in accordance with the scheme set out in Regulation XX.  The percentage mark for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 40% : Part C 60% to determine the final percentage mark.

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