Edinburgh is an ideal site for literary studies, and

the Universitys central location puts a range of

excellent facilities within easy reach. The city
boasts an exceptional collection of libraries: the
University Library itself is complemented by the
National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh Central
Library, and the Scottish Poetry Library, all
within easy reach. There are several outstanding
theatres, and the student drama scene is
particularly vibrant, with the annual
International Festival and its various Fringes
allowing students to perform the best of their
productions before a large and cosmopolitan
audience. As well as the courses in creative
writing offered as part of our degrees, a Writer
in Residence offers guidance in the production
of fction and poetry, and several creative
writing magazines are produced from within
English Literature. The student newspaper has
developed contacts with the Edinburgh and
Glasgow press.
English Literature takes as its feld, writing from
all and any of the English-speaking cultures: it
offers Single Honours MA degrees in English
Literature, Scottish Literature, and English and
Scottish Literature, in none of which are the
literatures of Scotland and/or England the sole
object of study. In each case, in accordance
with the usual Scottish model, all students take
courses in three different subjects in each of the
frst two years of study, only one of which will
be in English or Scottish Literature (see table
overleaf), before specialising in literary studies
in the fnal two (Honours) years.
Many students choose to combine literary
studies with another subject in the Honours
years, to graduate with a Joint Honours MA
degree. The established combinations are listed
at the bottom of this page. In most joint
Honours degrees, the balance is about 50/50
between the two subjects. Please note, it is not
usually possible for students accepted for a Joint
Honours degree to transfer into Single Honours
English Literature.
What does the degree involve?
First year: You will study English Literature 1 or
Scottish Literature 1, which initially follow the
same pattern and have lecture material in
common, so that every student gains some
experience of works from each of these national
traditions.
The frst half of the year will introduce you to
some of the major stylistic aspects of literary
writing. You will consider the variety of modes
in which poetry, drama and prose can be
composed, and how best to analyse these. You
will also be introduced to some of the
practicalities of essay writing and the
presentation of critical argument. The course
will also introduce you to modern literary and
critical theory and explore how these are
related to the texts chosen for detailed study.
In the second semester of frst year, the English
Literature course will investigate the historical
development of literature from the medieval
period to the seventeenth century. It will
introduce you to the most signifcant literary
and dramatic modes of the pre-modern era, and
consider the different ways in which the
literary was defned across this period of time.
The Scottish Literature course in the second
semester will examine the relationship between
national identity and literature at signifcant
periods in Scotlands political and cultural
history. You will explore the specifcity and
particularity of literary production in Scotland in
the Middle Ages, the Romantic period, the late
nineteenth century, and in the Modernist and
contemporary periods, and consider the
different ways in which writing has expressed,
questioned, and dissented from the idea of a
literary and cultural identity which is
distinctively Scottish.
Second year: A pass in either of the frst-year
courses will allow you to continue to either
English Literature 2 or Scottish Literature 2.
Both courses concentrate on historical periods
between the late eighteenth and mid-twentieth
centuries, and include the general issues they
raise for the theory and practice of literary
study. Texts studied in each case will include a
core selection from the English, Scottish and
American canons taken together. Of the two
outside subjects, one must be a continuation of
a subject taken in frst year.
Honours years: In each of the two semesters of
each Honours year, Single Honours students
take two courses chosen from a list of about 20
(Joint Honours students normally take one per
semester). The range of subjects covered is very
wide: please consult our website for full details
of those currently available (the precise
selection varies with the availability of the
individual staff members who teach them). The
only restriction is that Single Honours students
choose one of their courses each semester from
a specifed historical period (a core course),
completing the coverage of literary history
begun in the frst two years. The Honours years
also include courses in Critical Practice and an
independent dissertation.
English and
Scottish Literature
The University of Edinburgh
College of Humanities and Social Science
April 2014
What is English and Scottish Literature?
English Literature at the University of Edinburgh is today one of the
United Kingdoms top centres for teaching and research in the feld.
It is also the oldest, having offered courses in Rhetoric and Belles
Lettres from the mid-eighteenth century. Each member of our large
staff is committed to scholarship at the forefront of their respective
specialisms. The consequence for students is a very wide range of
courses, taught by world-class experts in that subject, designed and
revised around the latest developments in thinking about writing
and culture. Such courses make it possible for students themselves
to make an original contribution to these contemporary debates.
Degrees in Humanities and Social Science
MA Honours in:
English Literature
Scottish Literature
English and Scottish Literature
English Literature and Classics
English Literature and History
Scottish Literature and Scottish History
English Language and Literature
Celtic and English or Scottish Literature
French and English or Scottish Literature
German and English or Scottish Literature
History of Art and English or Scottish Literature
Italian and English or Scottish Literature
Philosophy and English or Scottish Literature
Portuguese and English or Scottish Literature
Religious Studies and English or Scottish Literature
Russian Studies and English or Scottish Literature
Scandinavian Studies and English or Scottish Literature
Scottish Ethnology and English or Scottish Literature
Spanish and English or Scottish Literature
Please see separate information sheet on English Language
What sort of teaching and
assessment methods are used?
Teaching in the frst two years consists of
lectures (three per week), providing an
overview of critical issues, and weekly one-hour
tutorials of 6-10 students, in which detailed
discussion is conducted. Honours courses are
taught in weekly two-hour seminars of 10-15
students, for which smaller autonomous
learning groups spend an hour a week preparing
presentations on questions set by the seminar
leader. Staff are available in their offce hour,
and via e-mail, for individual consultation.
Learning however is something done just as
much in the students own time, in the library or
at the computer keyboard, within the guidance
provided by lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
Assessment throughout the degrees is a mix of
coursework and various types of exam. In the
frst two years the breakdown is approximately
50/50. In Honours, core courses are assessed by
exam, other courses by a take-away exam
essay, all completed from April to May of each
year. The Honours essays done for each course
during the semester count in a smaller
proportion towards the fnal grade of the
students degree.
Are there any opportunities to
study abroad?
There are some opportunities for Single Honours
students in the literature degrees to spend their
third year studying abroad, either at a range of
universities in Europe through the ERASMUS
scheme (including Copenhagen, Amsterdam,
Berlin, Vienna, Barcelona), or in a number of
universities worldwide through the Universitys
International Exchange programme (including
Pennsylvania, California, and Queens in
Toronto, Hong Kong and Melbourne).
What can I do after my degree?
Careers
The written communication skills, verbal
articulacy, capacity for independent research
and rational analysis developed by a degree in
English or Scottish Literature make our
graduates highly valued by a very wide range of
employers. While some fnd careers in areas
most obviously associated with the subject (e.g.
the media, teaching, publishing), others have
enjoyed success in business, government, and
the law. For those who wish to continue towards
a postgraduate degree, our high reputation in
the wider academic community makes transfer
at this level to other major research universities
much more likely.
Postgraduate study
As well as the degrees of PhD and MLitt
awarded for supervised research, our large
Postgraduate School offers taught one-year MSc
courses entitled Literature and Modernity: 1900
to the Present; Material Culture and the History
of the Book; Transatlantic Studies; Literature and
Society 1688-1900; US Literature and Creative
Writing. A one-year MSc by Research is also
available, with specialisms offered in Medieval,
Renaissance, Nineteenth-Century, Scottish,
Romantic, or Postcolonial Literatures.
The breadth of the sections research expertise
presently allows us to accommodate
approximately 140 postgraduate members at
any one time. All are instructed in research
techniques and bibliographic methodology.
How do I fnd out more?
You will fnd our most up to date entry
requirements at: www.ed.ac.uk/studying/
undergraduate/degrees
For further information please contact:
English Literature
The University of Edinburgh
David Hume Tower
George Square
Edinburgh, EH8 9JX
Tel: 0131 650 3620
Email: english.literature@ed.ac.uk
Web: www.englit.ed.ac.uk
Typical degree curriculum: Single Honours in English Literature
1
st
Year 2
nd
Year 3
rd
Year 4
th
Year
English Literature 1
Outside subject e.g.
English Language 1
Outside subject e.g.
Philosophy 1
English Literature 2
Outside subject continued e.g.
Philosophy 2
Outside subject e.g.
History of Art 1
Medieval to Renaissance Core Course
Option Course: Stories for Boys
Critical Practice: Criticism
Critical Practice: Prose
Renaissance to Romanticism Core
Course
Option Course: Naturalist Fiction
Critical Practice: Poetry
Critical Practice: Performance
Romanticism to Modernism Core Course
Option Course: Shakespearean
Sexualities
Modernism to Contemporary Core
Course
Option Course: Postcolonial Writing
The English Literature Dissertation
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and must be read in conjunction with the Terms and Conditions of Admission set out in the Undergraduate Prospectus. Printed on recycled paper for Student Recruitment and Admissions
www.ed.ac.uk/student-recruitment. PDF version available at: www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/information-sheets
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detailed information
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and content, please see:
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