BA Classical Studies and English
Please note: This page is for 2026 entry. Click here for 2027 entry.
| UCAS code | QQ3V |
|---|---|
| Duration | 3 years |
| Entry year | 2026 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Typical offer | A-Level: AAB |
|---|---|
|
A-Level: BBB |
| UCAS code | QQ4V |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 years |
| Entry year | 2026 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Typical offer | A-Level: AAB |
|---|---|
|
A-Level: BBB |
| UCAS code | QQ5V |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 years |
| Entry year | 2026 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Typical offer | A-Level: AAB |
|---|---|
|
A-Level: BBB |
Why study BA Classical Studies and English at Exeter?
- Explore the culture and thought of the ancient world combined with the study of English.
- Gain an understanding of some of the most brilliant and complex works written in any language.
- Develop the ability to unpack the meaning of all manner of texts, from political speeches to advertising slogans.
- Study key classical texts in translation.
- Optional Ancient Greek or Latin language modules.
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Top 10 in the UK for English
7th in the Complete University Guide 2026
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Top 50 in the world for English Language and Literature
QS World University Subject Rankings 2025
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Top 50 in the world for Classics and Ancient History
QS World University Subject Rankings 2025
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Proactive Classics Society with successful student tutor scheme
Whilst my studies here at the University of Exeter have been incredible (I cannot speak highly enough of my English course), my time at Exeter has been defined by what I do away from the books.
I have taken managerial roles within societies, broadening my circle of peers and allowing me to develop my leadership skills. Not only have I been involved in voluntary positions, the University’s broad internship programme has allowed me to take paid work in the Digital Humanities Labs, assisting academics on world leading research and pioneering and fostering new relationships between the University and the rest of the world.
This internship has let me interact with texts like the first edition of William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ (with the rarely seen first chapter) and even taken me to Canada, all of which is incredible experience, and will stand me in good stead for further study. I chose the study abroad option at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, as I believe that having international experience is key to success as work between countries continues to become more globally significant and the world is becoming smaller through communication and travel,’
Connor
BA English with Study Abroad (Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia)
Entry requirements (typical offer)
| Qualification | Typical offer | Required subjects |
|---|---|---|
| A-Level | AAB | B in an accepted Humanities or Social Science subject* (see below) |
| IB | 34/665 | HL5 in an accepted Humanities or Social Science subject* (see below) |
| BTEC | DDD | Applicants studying a BTEC Extended Diploma are also required to achieve A-Level grade B in an accepted Humanities or Social Science subject* (see below) |
| GCSE | C or 4 | English Language |
| Access to HE | 30 L3 credits at Distinction Grade and 15 L3 credits at Merit Grade. | To include at least 12 L3 credits at Merit Grade in an accepted Humanities or Social Science subject* (see below) |
| T-Level | Distinction | Applicants studying a T-Level will also require GCE A-Level grade B in an accepted Humanities or Social Science subject* (see below) |
| Contextual Offer | A-Level: BBB |
Specific subject requirements must still be achieved where stated above. Find out more about contextual offers. |
| Other accepted qualifications | ||
| English language requirements |
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B1. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country. |
|
NB General Studies is not included in any offer.
Grades advertised on each programme webpage are the typical level at which our offers are made and provide information on any specific subjects an applicant will need to have studied in order to be considered for a place on the programme. However, if we receive a large number of applications for the programme we may not be able to make an offer to all those who are predicted to achieve/have achieved grades which are in line with our typical offer. For more information on how applications are assessed and when decisions are released, please see: After you apply
*Accepted Humanities and Social Science subjects:
- Anthropology
- Classics and Ancient History
- Drama
- English
- Geography
- Government and Politics
- History
- Law
- Media Studies
- Modern Languages
- Philosophy
- Politics
- Psychology
- Religious Studies
- Sociology
Course content
You may notice changes to some of our modules over the coming months. This is because we are making space for the following:
- Minors: Future Skills Pathways - Alongside your main degree you may be eligible (depending on your course) to choose modules from another subject to broaden your skills and interests.
- Skills to Thrive built into every degree - Essential skills for your future, including communication, problem-solving, teamwork and digital confidence.
- Increased innovation and wellbeing - More room for creative learning, real-world projects and a healthier study rhythm.
The modules below provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
60 credits of compulsory modules, 60 credits of optional modules.
Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
a - select either CLA1005 or CLA1006; the modules run in alternate years so you must select the one which is running in this academic year.
b - select 30 credits from this list of optional Classical Studies modules.
c - select 30 credits from this list of optional English modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory Choice 2 CLA1005-CLA1006 | ||
| Greek and Roman Narrative | 30 | |
| Greek and Roman Drama | 30 | |
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Beginnings: English Literature before 1800 | 30 | |
CLA1005: Greek and Roman Narrative
This module explores Greek and Roman epic poems within their literary, cultural, and social contexts: the Homeric epics Iliad and Odyssey, and selections from Apollonius' Hellenistic work The Argonautica and Roman 'epic', including Catullus 64, Virgil's Aeneid and Ovid's experimental Metamorphoses .
This module aims to explore:
- the development of the narrative genre from the earliest heroic epics through to Imperial Rome
- the assumptions the texts make about humans and the world
- how changes in society are reflected in literature and in the role of literature in society
- how attitudes and preconceptions influence the authors' treatment of their subject
CLA1006: Greek and Roman Drama
This module is aimed at anyone who wants to know more about the fascinating theatrical traditions of ancient Athens and Rome. You will examine a wide range of plays, both tragic and comic, including works by authors as varied as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Menander, Aristophanes, Terence and Plautus. All these texts are studied in the medium of English translation, making the module widely accessible. You will be given an advanced critical introduction to some of the greatest and most influential works in the Western dramatic tradition, and will be encouraged to think about such matters as the connection between drama and society, the role of ritual and religion, the nature of the tragic and comic genres, and the psychological and emotional impact of drama on its audience.
- To come to a general understanding of the origin and development of ancient drama, the importance of types of plot and character, the relationship of drama with society and the emotional effect of tragedy.
- To explore Athenian tragedy of the fifth century BC over a period of some sixty years, paying attention both to the texts of the plays and the way they develop with time and in line with changes in the city.
- To complement the study of Athenian tragedy with the very different tragedy of Seneca (first century AD), which raises issues of text, performance and the cultural setting of drama.
- To explore comedy, considering the place of Greek Old Comedy (for example Aristophanes) in the Athenian democratic city, and ways in which it differed from the New Comedy of the late fourth century (for example Menander).
- To investigate Roman approaches to comedy through the plays of Plautus and Terence.
EAS1035: Beginnings: English Literature before 1800
This module selects texts that represent some of the richest sources and most complex moments of English cultural history before 1800. These texts, and the cultural elements they combine, went on to have afterlives of great significance for English language, literature and other media. In other senses, they offered legacies that were not taken up, and what has been lost in cultural transformations will also be considered.
The module aims to
- introduce you to these major literary texts. In doing so, we aim to cultivate modes of reading and critical analysis broadly informed by an attention to history and context. Such analysis will include ideas of subjectivity, identity, conflict, community, myth, the transmission of stories, storytelling, translation, transformation, and influence. This module will emphasise essay-writing skills that are fundamental to research and communication in English literature.
Optional modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Optional 1 | ||
| Ancient World: Racecraft | 15 | |
| Text and Context: Women in Homer | 15 | |
| Roman Death and Commemoration | 15 | |
| Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Tyranny | 15 | |
| Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus | 15 | |
| Text and Context: Roman Laughter | 15 | |
| Ancient World: Roman Philosophy | 15 | |
| Optional Languages | ||
| Classical Language and Texts Greek I (A) | 15 | |
| Classical Language and Texts Greek I (B) | 15 | |
| Classical Language and Texts Latin I (A) | 15 | |
| Classical Language and Texts Latin I (B) | 15 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek II | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek III | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin II | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin III | 30 | |
| Combined Honours Optional 1 | ||
| Digital Cultures: Narrative, Creativity, Industry | 15 | |
| The Novel | 15 | |
| The Poem | 15 | |
| Academic English | 15 | |
| Rethinking Shakespeare | 15 | |
| Imagine This: Prompts for Creative Writing | 15 | |
CLA1030: Ancient World: Racecraft
How did 'race' come to be an important part of the contemporary world? Has race always been a criterion for categorising people and organising social difference, as it is now? Questions of this kind will be at the core of this module which will look at how social difference was organised in ancient worlds. If we take our jumping off point that Greeks and Romans did not have a concept of race that maps neatly onto our notions of race, how did they organise social difference? And - where did ideas about race come from if the Greeks and Romans thought so differently about it? To answer these questions, we will look at ancient and modern ideas together in order to appreciate that race is neither a fixed or nor timeless way of categorising and making hierarchies between people. Instead, race is 'crafted' (as argued by sociologists Karen and Barbara Fields). We will be thinking about race in the ancient world as crafted in particular ways to support modern ideas about whiteness, empire, and civilisation.
No prior skills, knowledge or experience are required to take this module, only willingness to examine its origins and effects with curiosity and a sensitivity to others' lived and ongoing experiences of racism. This module is suitable for non-specialist students, and is recommended for interdisciplinary pathways: joint honours students are warmly welcome.
CLA1031: Text and Context: Women in Homer
This module explores the roles of women in the Homeric epics, alongside an investigation of the latest scientific and archaeological discoveries unearthing the real experiences of women in the Late Bronze Age. We will ask questions like: why has the Iliad often been thought as 'all about men'? Why does the Odyssey start with a woman being told to shut up? Is there a way that we can read women back into Homer? How do we interpret powerful women from the Late Bronze Age like Puduhepa, Queen of the Hittites - and what might she have to do with Homeric epic? And how might discoveries in archaeology and science shed new light on the experiences of women in the ancient world - and make us read these texts in a different way?
The aims of the module are:
- To explore the many different roles played by women in the Homeric poems, and to unpack how setting these alongside the historical experiences of women in the Late Bronze Age can change and shape the way we think about Homer - as well as the importance of women, both narratively and historically.
- To analyse the Homeric epics within their ancient literary, historical and cultural context, and - at the same time - to critically examine how contemporary concerns and theoretical approaches can change the way we understand the past.
CLA1035: Roman Death and Commemoration
This module explores how people in the Roman world considered the fundamental and ever-present questions surrounding death and commemoration. By interpreting a wide range of sources including inscribed monuments, grave goods and literary texts, you will examine how Roman society treated and remembered its dead. You will focus not only on topics including burial and cremation practices, funerary portraiture, the composition and display of epitaphs, and regional patterns of commemoration, but also on how social inequalities affect the ways in which people are represented and under-represented in our source materials. You will also look at how aspects of Roman commemorative practices resonate in the modern day. All texts will be studied in translation and no prior knowledge is required.
CLA1301: Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Tyranny
The word 'tyranny' means something quite different today than it did in the ancient world, where it was the name given to the form of monarchy established in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain existing political institutions but exercise a greater influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. This module will explore the ways in which autocratic power was understood and discussed by different Greek authors and their successors, and the challenges involved in trying to reconstruct the historical reality and significance of tyranny.
The aims of the module are:
- To engage in in-depth thinking about the literary sources for archaic tyranny
- To illustrate the advantages and limitations of textual evidence for understanding the ancient world and the archaic period in particular
CLA1354: Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus
The Augustan Age is seen as one of the turning points in the history of Rome, Italy and the Ancient Mediterranean, embodying tradition and innovation, continuity and novelty. Yet the great building programs that transformed Rome into an imperial capital, were not always celebrated, but criticised and feared for what they represented - tyranny. In this module you will consider how the visual and architectural language was developed as a tool of power. We will read the tremendous wealth of evidence against the grain - along with the silences - to uncover multiple histories of the age, whether in monuments, engravings, poetry, or political writings.
- You will consider: What models are drawn on to create the new capital city worthy of empire? How is the art and architecture used to rewrite history and bring in new ideals where gods mingle with mortals and myth becomes reality? Can we begin to understand the effect of the new structures on the Roman population? How did the building programme refocus the centres of activity and redirect the movement and gaze of the city? In what sense is the building programme innovative and to what extent is it simply mirroring trends of other great cities with similar types of rule? Is it a monument to immortality?
- This module also provides an introduction into how to use and analyse visual and material evidence as a historical source, drawing on key texts, including poetry and the Res Gestae.
- You will engage in in-depth thinking into the underlying aims of and influences on the building programme, the monuments and art of Augustan Rome.
CLA1405: Text and Context: Roman Laughter
What made the Romans laugh? What were the limits of Roman humour? What does this reveal about Roman culture and society? This module addresses some of the key issues of the politics and poetics of Roman humour. It is concerned with the way the Romans employed wit, satire and irony for comment, criticism and deconstruction, as well as a powerful weapon in their rhetorical battles. We will consider a range of materials, from the poems of Catullus, to the fables of Phaedrus, to non-elite art. Ultimately, we will address whether the humour that seems to turn everything on its head seeks to subvert or reinforce prevailing power structures.
You will learn how to analyse, evaluate and use texts from a range of genres and how to relate their style and content to the wider context of Roman literary culture and society. In considering what we can learn about the Romans from their use of humour, you will also be encouraged to think about uses of humour in the modern world and the socio-cultural insights that can be gleaned from thinking about what makes us laugh.
CLA1508: Ancient World: Roman Philosophy
This module aims to offer a chance for students from various backgrounds to explore a period of philosophy that is less often studied than Greek philosophy but which is rich in its intellectual and cultural interest. It shows how Roman Philosophy emerged against the background of later Greek (Hellenistic) Philosophy and how Roman thinkers gave a distinctive character to philosophical thought. It also offers you the chance to explore fundamental philosophical questions about human values and happiness, ethics and nature, mind and body, death and the gods, as these are treated by important Roman thinkers such as Lucretius, Cicero, and Marcus Aurelius.
- To examine a range of central philosophical questions debated in Roman philosophy and to set these debates against the background of later Greek (Hellenistic) thought, which strongly influenced Roman thought.
- To explore contrasting approaches of two leading philosophical movements in this period - Epicureanism and Stoicism - whose ideas are still relevant and significant today.
- To cover a range of topics that includes ethics (virtues and values), mind-body relationships, the nature of death, and the nature of the gods, through a set of readings by major Roman authors, especially Cicero, Lucretius and Marcus Aurelius.
- To engage with the philosophical questions conveyed in these readings and to become thoughtful and critical readers of a range of stimulating texts in Roman culture.
CLA1025: Classical Language and Texts Greek I (A)
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and around the ancient world, from the islands of the Aegean Sea to Greek colonies in the Western Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. More Greek texts survive than any one individual could read in a lifetime, making it one of the best documented languages of ancient societies and providing us with fundamental first-hand knowledge about the ancient world. Through the coinage of new words, ancient Greek continues to be a productive language nowadays. This module, designed for those with no previous experience of the language, introduces you to the fundamentals of ancient Greek morphology, syntax and vocabulary. It will particularly appeal to those who have encountered the classical world through texts in translation and wish to know more about the languages in which these works were composed. By the end of the module, you will be able to read, comprehend and translate simple sentences and short passages of ancient Greek.
This module aims to:
CLA1026: Classical Language and Texts Greek I (B)
Building on a solid foundation of learning in Classical Language and Texts: Greek I (A), this post-beginner module introduces further Greek morphology, syntax and vocabulary with a view to equipping you with the skills to read longer and more complex texts. By the end of the module, you will be able to read, comprehend and translate GCSE-level sentences and passages, and will be well-prepared, should you wish, to proceed to Greek II.
This module aims to:
- Build upon your pre-existing knowledge of basic Greek morphology, syntax, and vocabulary
- Develop your language-learning skills
- Enhance your understanding of how knowledge of Greek can enrich our understanding of the culture of ancient Greece
- Deepen your appreciation of the relationship between Greek and other Indo-European languages, including English
CLA1027: Classical Language and Texts Latin I (A)
There is arguably no better way to get beneath the skin of the cultures of the ancient world than through the ancient languages. Latin was originally the language of a small area of Italy called Latium, in which the city of Rome was located, but as Rome's power grew the reach of the language expanded right across the Roman empire. Even after the fall of the Roman empire, Latin remained alive, while also becoming the root language for many modern languages in turn (including English). This module, designed for those with no previous experience of the language, introduces you to the fundamentals of Latin morphology, syntax and vocabulary. It will particularly appeal to those who have encountered the classical world through texts in translation and wish to know more about the languages in which these works were composed. By the end of the module, you will be able to read, comprehend and translate simple sentences and short passages of Latin.
This module aims to:
- Introduce you to some basic Latin morphology, syntax, and vocabulary
- Equip you with the language-learning skills required to proceed further with your study of Latin
- Draw attention to the ways in which knowledge of Latin enhances our understanding of Roman culture
- Illustrate the relationship between Latin and other Indo-European languages, including English
CLA1028: Classical Language and Texts Latin I (B)
Building on a solid foundation of learning in Classical Language and Texts: Latin I (A), this post-beginner module introduces further Latin morphology, syntax and vocabulary with a view to equipping you with the skills to read longer and more complex texts. By the end of the module, you will be able to read, comprehend and translate GCSE-level sentences and passages, and will be well-prepared, should you wish, to proceed to Latin II.
This module aims to:
- Build upon your pre-existing knowledge of basic Latin morphology, syntax, and vocabulary
- Develop your language-learning skills
- Enhance your understanding of how knowledge of Latin can enrich our understanding of Roman culture
- Deepen your appreciation of the relationship between Latin and other Indo-European languages, including English
CLA1202: Classical Language and Texts: Greek II
This module will build on your knowledge of Greek from Greek level I or equivalent. You will learn to read and understand unadapted passages from Greek texts, without assistance. You will also complete some English to Greek work. You will be taught to use grammatical aids which will enable you to follow linguistic structures to help you to solve problems of syntax and grammatical structure. You will have regular practice at translating text and will be assessed through the year. This module will prepare you for higher level Greek classes at stage 3.
The aims of the module are:
- To develop your linguistic confidence.
- To develop your ability to read extracts without adaptation from the most important and influential Greek authors.
- To encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content.
CLA1204: Classical Language and Texts: Greek III
This module will build on your existing knowledge of Greek. It will increase your fluency in reading whole Greek texts and strengthen your linguistic abilities. You will focus on studying a main set text and supplementary and supporting texts which will be complemented with classes dedicated to language and syntax work.
The module aims are:
- To study set texts, Greek language work and the practice of literary criticism together in a single integrated module.
- To prepare you for the study of Greek language and literature at a more advanced level.
CLA1252: Classical Language and Texts: Latin II
This module will build on your knowledge of Latin from Latin level I or equivalent (e.g. GCSE). You will learn independently to read and understand passages without adaption from Latin texts. You will be introduced to grammar and syntax not covered at previous levels of study. Texts will be chosen from various authors of prose and poetry to encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content. Building on developing your knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax, study of language and literature will progressively be introduced as your confidence increases.
The aims of the module are:
- To develop your linguistic confidence.
- To develop your ability to read extracts without adaptation from the most important and influential Latin authors.
- To encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content.
CLA1254: Classical Language and Texts: Latin III
This module will build on your existing knowledge of Latin. It will increase your fluency in reading whole Latin texts and strengthen your linguistic abilities. You will focus on studying a main set text in each term and supplementary and supporting texts which will be complemented with classes dedicated to language and syntax work.
This module aims:
- To study set texts, Latin language work and the practice of literary criticism together in a single integrated module.
- To prepare you for the study of Latin language and literature at a more advanced level.
EAS1016: Digital Cultures: Narrative, Creativity, Industry
Digital technology has transformed almost every area of human life over the last sixty-five years, and the written word remains at the core of this ongoing transformation. This module will introduce you to some of these developments across literary cultures, and you will gain an understanding of how phenomena such as interactive storytelling, artificial intelligence and the Internet have come to influence literature's subject matter as well as its modes of publishing and production. Alongside critical readings and discussions, you will conduct practice-based research by learning to use some of the technologies and software that define modern literary cultures..
This module aims:
- To consider how digital technology makes itself apparent in modern literary, visual and creative cultures.
- To introduce you to a diverse range of authors, poets, artists, technologists, theorists and critics both commenting upon and using digital technologies to explore new possibilities in literature.
- To explore the historical relationship between literary cultures, visual cultures and emerging technologies, grounding students' understanding of current debates in this field.
- To enable you to create a diverse portfolio of creative and critical responses to the topics explored in class, including both traditional written outputs and digital prototypes.
EAS1037: The Novel
This module will introduce you to an exciting range of novels representative of diverse narrative styles drawn from different historical periods and national contexts. The module covers the development of this important genre from the birth of the novel in eighteenth-century England through the nineteenth-century and modernist periods into the present day. It provides an invaluable foundation for future study in a number of literary fields.
- To introduce students to an exciting range of novels representative of diverse narrative styles drawn from different historical periods and national contexts. The module covers the development of this important genre from the birth of the novel in eighteenth-century England through the nineteenth-century and modernist periods into the present day.
- To address the emergence and reception of the novel in relation to its historical and literary contexts and to its adoption, and adaptation, of particular voices and forms. Close readings of chosen novels will be supplemented by theoretical and critical analysis. Stylistic changes - such as the move from nineteenth-century realist fiction to modernist experimentation - will be explored alongside specific texts which illuminate the impact of cultural change on fictional form.
- In looking at a variety of examples of prose fiction, to examine the pleasures of the novel, as well as the historical conditions and textual strategies which underpin those pleasures.
EAS1038: The Poem
Despite its strong oral traditions and origins, poetry is the origin of all written literature. It is the base on which all that literature - drama, novels, non-fiction prose - is built. Many of its formal elements are used in common and rhetorical speech. This module is designed to introduce you to the mechanical aspects of poetry and to its history; in addition, it offers you insight into the history and influence of important poetic eras, as well as into how understanding of it may be enriched by literary theory. By the end of the module, you will have a firm grounding in the poem as a form and as a literary force.
The aim of the course is to cultivate skills of formal analysis which can be used in combination with other interpretive and creative techniques later in the degree. There will thus be a close focus in seminars on details of language in particular examples of poetry.
EAS1040: Academic English
Academic English introduces you to the techniques needed to write successful, university-level analytical essays on literary texts and topics. Using model essays and articles, seminar discussions, your own essay writing, and guided readings, you will learn how to write well structured, clearly argued persuasive analytical essays, with a focus on some of the fundamentals of writing: arguments/thesis statements, paragraphing, clarity of expression, essay formatting and accurate referencing. You will also learn how to locate, evaluate, and use secondary (critical) sources that support your essay's argument, as well as how to cite those sources correctly. There will also be attention to ways of analysing literature effectively.
EAS1041: Rethinking Shakespeare
This module explores Shakespeare's plays from a wide range of perspectives. You will study in depth some of the plays and examine the contexts of their production and reception; the plays' print history; early modern performance practices, and how other writers and film directors have adapted Shakespeare's plays. Through engaging with the sources and precursors to Shakespeare's plays, the intricacies of textual production and editorial history, as well as how these plays have been reimagined by other writers, you will be asked to rethink notions of textual stability in relation to the 'Shakespearean text' and encounter the nuances and richness available within Shakespeare Scholarship.
The module aims to explore the processes by which Shakespeare's plays came into existence, how they achieved their unique status in English literature and culture, and how Shakespeare's dominance has been and continues to be challenged. The module illuminates the role (and texts) of other writers involved in the legacy of Shakespeare's plays, from the Restoration to the twenty-first century, and encourages you to examine these often neglected influences within modern understandings of Shakespeare. Throughout, the module pays close attention to the particular possibilities of theatre as a mode of cultural production.
EAS1044: Imagine This: Prompts for Creative Writing
This module will ask you for a creative writing response to whatever 'prompt' is suggested - whether it's a newspaper headline, the Ted Hughes archive in The Old Library, or a geographical feature. It will invigorate your entrepreneurial spirit, and will include expressions written in both poetry, prose and dramatic forms. Working across a wide range of writing styles and genres, you will make literature that works for the ear and the body and the page. The assessment will be entirely creative, and in that sense the module complements the other term-2 compulsory module on the Combined Honours English and Creative Writing degree programme, 'Critical Reflections', for which the assessment will be wholly critical/academic.
This module has a clear set of learning strategies, offering you a series of stepping stones that navigate the creative process in different forms. You will develop learning strategies that will encourage self-starting intelligence and invention, an entrepreneurial spirit. It will explore the notion of the 'good idea' and its relationship with form - whether poetry, prose, or dramatic expression, as well as strategies for successful drafting/rewriting. The overall intention of the module is for you to develop an individual creative process that might be carried forward into a writing life.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
30 credits of compulsory modules, 90 credits of optional modules (including 30 credits of Classical Studies modules, and 60 credits of English modules).
Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
d - select either CLA2005 or CLA2006; the modules run in alternate years so you must select the one which is running in this academic year.
e - select 30 credits from this list of optional Classical Studies modules.
f - select 60 credits from this list of optional English modules. English modules in stage 2 are divided into three groups: Group 1, modules concerned with pre-1750 literature; Group 2, modules concerned with post-1750 literature; Group 3, modules not concerned with a particular historical period. Combined Honours students may not take more than one module from each group.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory Choice 2 CLA2005-CLA2006 | ||
| Greek and Roman Narrative | 30 | |
| Greek and Roman Drama | 30 | |
CLA2005: Greek and Roman Narrative
This module explores Greek and Roman epic poems within their literary, cultural and social contexts: the Homeric epics Iliad and Odyssey , and selections from Apollonius' Hellenistic work The Argonautica and Roman 'epic', including Catullus 64, Virgil's Aeneid and Ovid's experimental Metamorphoses.
This module aims to explore:
- the development of the narrative genre from the earliest heroic epics through to Imperial Rome
- the assumptions the texts make about humans and the world
- how changes in society are reflected in literature and in the role of literature in society
- how attitudes and preconceptions influence the authors' treatment of their subject
CLA2006: Greek and Roman Drama
This module is aimed at anyone who wants to know more about the fascinating theatrical traditions of ancient Athens and Rome. It examines a wide range of plays, both tragic and comic, including works by authors as varied as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Menander, Aristophanes, Terence and Plautus. All these texts are studied in the medium of English translation, making the module widely accessible. Students will be given an advanced critical introduction to some of the greatest and most influential works in the Western dramatic tradition, and they will be encouraged to think about such matters as the connection between drama and society, the role of ritual and religion, the nature of the tragic and comic genres, and the psychological and emotional impact of drama on its audience.
- To come to a general understanding of the origin and development of ancient drama, the importance of types of plot and character, the relationship of drama with society and the emotional effect of tragedy.
- To explore Athenian tragedy of the fifth century BC over a period of some sixty years, paying attention both to the texts of the plays and the way they develop with time and in line with changes in the city.
- To complement the study of Athenian tragedy with the very different tragedy of Seneca (first century AD), which raises issues of text, performance and the cultural setting of drama.
- To explore comedy, considering the place of Greek Old Comedy (for example Aristophanes) in the Athenian democratic city, and ways in which it differed from the New Comedy of the late fourth century (for example Menander).
- To investigate Roman approaches to comedy through the plays of Plautus and Terence.
Optional modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Optional 1 | ||
| Ancient World: Racecraft | 15 | |
| Text and Context: Women in Homer | 15 | |
| Roman Death and Commemoration | 15 | |
| Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Tyranny | 15 | |
| Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus | 15 | |
| Text and Context: Roman Laughter | 15 | |
| Ancient World: Roman Philosophy | 15 | |
| Optional Languages | ||
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek II | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek IV | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin II | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin IV | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek III | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin III | 30 | |
| Group 1 Optional Modules | ||
| Desire and Power: English Literature 1570-1640 | 30 | |
| Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England | 30 | |
| Chaucer and His Contemporaries | 30 | |
| Renaissance and Revolution | 30 | |
| Satire and the City: English Literature 1660-1750 | 30 | |
| Group 2 Optional Modules | ||
| Revolutions and Evolutions 19C Writings | 30 | |
| Modernism and Modernity: Literature 1900-1960 | 30 | |
| Romanticism | 30 | |
| Empire of Liberty: American Literature of the Long Nineteenth Century | 30 | |
| Group 3 Optional Modules | ||
| Adaptations: Text, Image, Culture | 15 | |
| Creative Writing: Building a Story | 30 | |
| Creative Writing: Making a Poem | 30 | |
| British Cultures: The Exeter Seminar | 15 | |
| Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres | 15 | |
| Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future | 30 | |
| Humanities after the Human: Further Adventures in Critical Theory | 30 | |
| Culture, Crisis and Ecology in a Postcolonial World | 30 | |
CLA2030: Ancient World: Racecraft
How did 'race' come to be an important part of the contemporary world? Has race always been a criterion for categorising people and organising social difference, as it is now? Questions of this kind will be at the core of this module which will look at how social difference was organised in ancient worlds. If we take our jumping off point that Greeks and Romans did not have a concept of race that maps neatly onto our notions of race, how did they organise social difference? And - where did ideas about race come from if the Greeks and Romans thought so differently about it? To answer these questions, youwill look at ancient and modern ideas together in order to appreciate that race is neither a fixed or nor timeless way of categorising and making hierarchies between people. Instead, race is 'crafted' (as argued by sociologists Karen and Barbara Fields). You will be thinking about race in the ancient world as crafted in particular ways to support modern ideas about whiteness, empire, and civilisation.
No prior skills, knowledge or experience are required to take this module, only willingness to examine its origins and effects with curiosity and a sensitivity to others' lived and ongoing experiences of racism. This module is suitable for non-specialist students, and is recommended for interdisciplinary pathways: joint honours students are warmly welcome.
CLA2031: Text and Context: Women in Homer
This module enables you to explore the roles of women in the Homeric epics, alongside investigation of the latest scientific and archaeological discoveries unearthing the real experiences of women in the Late Bronze Age, which might have informed the Homeric poems. We will ask questions like: why has the Iliad often been thought as 'all about men'? Why does the Odyssey start with a woman being told to shut up? Is there a way that we can read women back into Homer? And how might discoveries in archaeology and science shed new light on the experiences of women - and make us read these texts in a different way?
The aims of the module are:
- To enable you to explore the many different roles played by women in the Homeric poems, and to unpack how setting these alongside the historical experiences of women in the Late Bronze Age can change and shape the way we think about Homer - as well as the importance of women, both narratively and historically.
- To enable you to analyse the Homeric epics within their ancient literary, historical and cultural context, and - at the same time - to critically examine how contemporary concerns and theoretical approaches can change the way we understand the past.
CLA2035: Roman Death and Commemoration
This module explores how people in the Roman world considered the fundamental and ever-present questions surrounding death and commemoration. By interpreting a wide range of sources including inscribed monuments, grave goods and literary texts, you will examine how Roman society treated and remembered its dead. You will focus not only on topics including burial and cremation practices, funerary portraiture, the composition and display of epitaphs, and regional patterns of commemoration, but also on how social inequalities affected the ways in which people are represented and under-represented in our source materials. You will also look at how aspects of Roman commemorative practices resonate in the modern day. All texts will be studied in translation and no prior knowledge is required.
CLA2301: Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Tyranny
The word 'tyranny' means something quite different today than it did in the ancient world, where it was the name given to the form of monarchy established in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain existing political institutions but exercise a greater influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. This module will explore the ways in which autocratic power was understood and discussed by different Greek authors and their successors, and the challenges involved in trying to reconstruct the historical reality and significance of tyranny.
The aims of the module are:
- To engage in in-depth thinking about the literary sources for archaic tyranny
- To illustrate the advantages and limitations of textual evidence for understanding the ancient world and the archaic period in particular
CLA2354: Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus
The Augustan Age is seen as one of the turning points in the history of Rome, Italy and the Ancient Mediterranean, embodying tradition and innovation, continuity and novelty. Yet the great building programs that transformed Rome into an imperial capital, were not always celebrated but criticised and feared for what they represented - tyranny. In this module you will consider the visual and architectural language that was developed as a tool of power. We will read the tremendous wealth of evidence against the grain - along with the silences - to uncover multiple histories of the age, whether in monuments, engravings, poetry, or political writings.
- You will consider: What models are drawn on to create the new capital city worthy of empire? How is the art and architecture used to rewrite history and bring in new ideals where gods mingle with mortals and myth becomes reality? Can we begin to understand the effect of the new structures on the Roman population? How did the building programme refocus the centres of activity and redirect the movement and gaze of the city? In what sense is the building programme innovative and to what extent is it simply mirroring trends of other great cities with similar types of rule? Is it a monument to immortality?
- This module also provides an introduction into how to use and analyse visual and material evidence as a historical source, drawing on key texts, including poetry and the Res Gestae.
- You will engage in in-depth thinking into the underlying aims of and influences on the building programme, the monuments and art of Augustan Rome.
CLA2405: Text and Context: Roman Laughter
What made the Romans laugh? What were the limits of Roman humour? What does this reveal about Roman culture and society? This module addresses some of the key issues of the politics and poetics of Roman humour. It is concerned with the way the Romans employed wit, satire and irony for comment, criticism and deconstruction, as well as a powerful weapon in their rhetorical battles. We will consider a range of materials, from the poems of Catullus, to the fables of Phaedrus, to non-elite art. Ultimately, we will address whether the humour that seems to turn everything on its head seeks to subvert or reinforce prevailing power structures.
You will learn how to analyse and critically evaluate texts from a range of genres and how to relate their style and content to the wider context of Roman literary culture and society In considering what we can learn about the Romans from their use of humour, you will also be encouraged to think about uses of humour in the modern world and the socio-cultural insights that can be gleaned from thinking about what makes us laugh.
CLA2508: Ancient World: Roman Philosophy
This module aims to offer a chance for students from various backgrounds to explore a period of philosophy that is less often studied than Greek philosophy but which is rich in its intellectual and cultural interest. It shows how Roman Philosophy emerged against the background of later Greek (Hellenistic) Philosophy and how Roman thinkers gave a distinctive character to philosophical thought. It also offers you the chance to explore fundamental philosophical questions about human values and happiness, ethics and nature, mind and body, death and the gods, as these are treated by important Roman thinkers such as Lucretius, Cicero, and Marcus Aurelius.
The aim of this module is to:
- Examine a range of central philosophical questions debated in Roman philosophy and to set these debates against the background of later Greek (Hellenistic) thought, which strongly influenced Roman thought.
- Explore contrasting approaches of two leading philosophical movements in this period - Epicureanism and Stoicism - whose ideas are still relevant and significant today.
- Cover a range of topics that includes ethics (virtues and values), mind-body relationships, the nature of death, and the nature of the gods, through a set of readings by major Roman authors, especially Cicero, Lucretius and Marcus Aurelius.
- Engage with the philosophical questions conveyed in these readings and to become thoughtful and critical readers of a range of stimulating texts in Roman culture.
CLA2202: Classical Language and Texts: Greek II
This module will build on your knowledge of Greek from Greek level I or equivalent. You will learn to read and understand unadapted passages from Greek texts, without assistance. You will also complete some English to Greek work. You will be taught to use grammatical aids which will enable you to follow linguistic structures to help you to solve problems of syntax and grammatical structure. You will have regular practice at translating text and will be assessed through the year. This module will prepare you for higher level Greek classes at stage 3.
The aims of the module are:
- To develop your linguistic confidence.
- To develop your ability to read extracts without adaptation from the most important and influential Greek authors.
To encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content.
CLA2205: Classical Language and Texts: Greek IV
This module offers you the opportunity to really get to grips with Greek literature in the original language. By reading a themed selection of texts within their historical, intellectual and literary-cultural contexts, as well as engaging with modern interpretations of these works, you will broaden your knowledge of Greek literature, develop sophisticated skills of literary analysis and enhance your understanding of the Greek language. At the end of the year, you will have gained an appreciation for the subtleties of literary texts and will be able to regard yourself as 'reading', rather than 'translating' classical literature. The module will therefore be an excellent way to round off your study of Greek literature if you are finishing at this point, as well as providing vital preparation for those who will be going on to take Greek V.
CLA2252: Classical Language and Texts: Latin II
This module will build on your knowledge of Latin from Latin level I or equivalent (e.g. GCSE). You will learn independently to read and understand passages without adaption from Latin texts. You will be introduced to grammar and syntax not covered at previous levels of study. Texts will be chosen from various authors of prose and poetry to encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content. Building on developing your knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax, study of language and literature will progressively be introduced as your confidence increases.
The aims of the module are:
- To develop your linguistic confidence
- To develop your ability to read extracts without adaptation from the most important and influential Latin authors.
- To encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content.
CLA2254: Classical Language and Texts: Latin IV
This module offers you the opportunity to really get to grips with Latin literature in the original language. By reading a themed selection of texts within their historical, intellectual and literary-cultural contexts, as well as engaging with modern interpretations of these works, you will broaden your knowledge of Latin literature, develop sophisticated skills of literary analysis and enhance your understanding of the Latin language. At the end of the year, you will have gained an appreciation for the subtleties of literary texts and will be able to regard yourself as 'reading', rather than 'translating' classical literature. The module will therefore be an excellent way to round off your study of Latin literature if you are finishing at this point, as well as providing vital preparation for those who will be going on to take Latin V.
CLA3204: Classical Language and Texts: Greek III
This module will build on your existing knowledge of Greek. It will increase your fluency in reading whole Greek texts and strengthen your linguistic abilities. You will focus on studying a main set text and supplementary and supporting texts which will be complemented with classes dedicated to language and syntax work.
The module aims are:
- To study set texts, Greek language work and the practice of literary criticism together in a single integrated module.
- To prepare you for the study of Greek language and literature at a more advanced level.
CLA3254: Classical Language and Texts: Latin III
This module will build on your existing knowledge of Latin. It will increase your fluency in reading whole Latin texts and strengthen your linguistic abilities. You will focus on studying a main set text in each term and supplementary and supporting texts which will be complemented with classes dedicated to language and syntax work.
- To study set texts, Latin language work and the practice of literary criticism together in a single integrated module.
- To prepare you for the study of Latin language and literature at a more advanced level.
EAS2026: Desire and Power: English Literature 1570-1640
This module introduces you to a wide range of literature written during a crucial turning point in the English Renaissance, when society was undergoing enormous change and upheaval at every level. It covers the work of dramatists, such as Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Webster; poets, including Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Wroth, Spenser, Sidney, and Donne; and inventive prose writers like Thomas Nashe and John Stow. It deals with constructions of race, sexuality, and disability; explores issues of cultural contact and migration; examines the role of literature in upholding and subverting authority; and investigates the representation and meanings of violence.
The module aims to familiarise you with the breadth and depth of the literature of the English Renaissance, its fascinating contexts, complexities, and contradictions. You will engage with the ways in which Renaissance writers address eroti-cism, religion, race, class, authorship, social change, and anxiety about the power of the monarchy. You will learn about theoretical and critical landmarks in Renaissance Studies, as well as recent, cutting-edge critical perspectives on the Re-naissance, its cultural discourses and current resonances.
EAS2036: Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England
Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England focuses on the 'golden age' of English drama from the Elizabethan period through to the Civil War which produced the works of Shakespeare and other playwrights who continue to influence our understanding of this period and its drama today. Each week, you will explore a new performance environment, so that over the course of the term you will acquire a nuanced understanding of the performance culture that shaped the work of Shakespeare, Jonson, Middleton, Cary and their fellow playwrights.
Through the prism of theatre history, the module explores how gender, sexual, national and racial identities were constructed not just through the written texts but also through theatrical conventions and technologies such as cross-dressing, blackface performance and the use of stage space, lighting and costuming. The study of both texts and their performance contexts will shed light on how popular and elite culture responded to immigration and the beginnings of colonial expansion and the slave trade.
The module's texts furthermore illuminate how increasing opportunities for women's participation in theatrical culture, foreign policy under Elizabeth I and James I and the growth of a mercantile middle class are related to the development of English drama.
EAS2071: Chaucer and His Contemporaries
This module introduces you to late medieval English literature. You will have the chance to explore some exceptionally inclusive poetic imaginations and a world of devotion, brutality, exclusion, chivalry, urbanity, misogyny, piety, courtly sophistication, sharp minds and some very bodily bodies.
We will look at religious and secular, and courtly and popular traditions, and themes such as 'courtly love', that adores women and puts them on a pedestal, arguably the better to ignore them; the constructions of femininity and masculinity in a Christian chivalric culture; the ways in which a tension-riven society went about presenting a harmonious vision of itself; and a Christianity that approached its God with a mixture of familiarity and awe. The module is split more or less equally between the works of Chaucer and the anonymous literature of the late Middle Ages.
The module aims to provide an introduction to the literature of the late Middle Ages in England.
The syllabus is split more or less equally between the works of Chaucer and the anonymous literature of the late Middle Ages. You will also consider the particular nuances of Middle English as a vehicle for literary expression and explore late-medieval culture.
EAS2080: Renaissance and Revolution
This module introduces English literature written during the most violent and turbulent period of English history: the seventeenth century. The module traces literature from Shakespeare to Milton, exploring literary culture at the courts of the Stuart kings James I, Charles I, and Charles II, as well as literary reactions to the civil war, the execution of the king, and the rule of Oliver Cromwell. It includes drama, poetry, and prose, and studies major male and female writers within their wider literary and historical landscape.
EAS2102: Satire and the City: English Literature 1660-1750
The period 1660 to 1750 was politically and culturally tumultuous. The Stuart dynasty was restored to the throne, and then deposed again. London expanded massively, becoming the largest city in Europe and a centre for financial and criminal activity. The theatres - closed during the civil war and interregnum - reopened, and actresses appeared on the English stage for the first time. The spread of literacy and growth of the press led to the emergence of many new literary genres - above all the periodical and the novel - and of the first professional authors, many of whom were women. Satire and polemical writing flourished in the period, as writers reacted against (or celebrated) these seismic shifts. This module offers an in-depth look at the writing of this period.
The long eighteenth century is a key period in British history and literature, when many of the cultural productions that inform our contemporary modernity - the novel, the periodical, the marketplace for a new, expanded print culture - emerged and started to take shape. You will read a broad range of texts, drawn equally from the poetry, prose and drama of the period, and learn to identify how these relate to the revolutionary times in which they were written.
EAS2029: Revolutions and Evolutions 19C Writings
Revolutions and Evolutions explores a wide range of literature written during the Victorian period. You will study literary texts by writers such as Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, and Thomas Hardy in relation to central historical, social, and cultural developments in the nineteenth century. The texts on this module are thematically arranged in order to illuminate a number of the important and exciting conceptual developments of the nineteenth century including industrialisation and progress; class consciousness and democracy; globalisation and colonialism; developing notions of the self and subjectivity; and conceptions of nature , ecology and evolution.
As well as studying a selection of major Victorian texts in depth, to consider these texts in their historical, social, and cultural contexts. The use of a course reader will introduce you to a range of texts beyond the core reading that will give you a broad understanding of the major themes that influence the literary production of the period. Such themes include imperialism, industrialisation and urbanisation; gender and identity, religion, secularism and the rise of science; liberalism; the emergence of the mass market; and the development of new literary forms such as the short story
EAS2103: Modernism and Modernity: Literature 1900-1960
Modernism and Modernity explores a wide range of British, American and Irish authors from the first half of the twentieth century (1900-1960). In different ways, these authors sought to challenge established ways of using language and reinvent literature itself. You will study the texts in relation to their political, aesthetic and critical contexts. Particular attention is paid to innovation and experimentation, to the emergence and development of literary and cultural movements and to literatures' perceived responsibility in a time of change. You will learn skills in contextual and historical analysis, and independent research.
- As well as studying literary texts in depth, this module aims to strengthen your skills in contextual and historical analysis and research. Lectures and seminars will introduce key concepts and provide advice on further independent research. Study group meetings and prepared seminar presentations will give you the opportunity to develop your own approaches to the syllabus texts and other materials.
EAS2106: Romanticism
The Romantic movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries transformed European culture, and had profound implications for a modern understanding of the self, nature, feeling, gender, imagination, the sublime, freedom and the role of the artist as an interpreter of all these. This module introduces some of the key canonical texts of British Romanticism produced during the years 1780-1830, in order to understand the phenomenon of Romanticism, its relation to historical, political, and aesthetic developments, and its legacy in today's world. The module is essential study for an understanding of literary history as a whole, and prepares you for more in-depth study of Romantic topics in Year 3 and beyond.
In addition to the primary literature, we will pay close attention to the central concepts and concerns of the era; the visual arts; Romantic experimentation with poetic forms; and the intertextual literary circles that formed between key Romantic figures. The early weeks of the module will introduce key Romantic concerns. At the centre of the module will be an exploration of writings by leading authors of the period, including Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Keats, Lord Byron, and Charlotte Smith.
EAS2116: Empire of Liberty: American Literature of the Long Nineteenth Century
This module explores key literary texts of the United States during the long nineteenth century. You will study a broad range of major contributions - including poetry, the novel, the short story, slave narratives, and autobiography - as well as the intersections of literature with broader contextual issues, such as literary nationalism, the literature of enslavement and the American Civil War, and the Gilded Age.
You will learn how the turbulent social and political development of the US during this time is reflected through literature, considering contexts such as the constitution of the democratic state, the fraught history of ethnic and race relations, the changing gender politics of US society, and how transnational models of culture have affected our understanding of the US literary canon.
Module aims:
- To consider major artistic forms and styles such as the American gothic, poetry, the tale and the short story, the autobiography, the slave narrative, and the American novel
EAF2520: Adaptations: Text, Image, Culture
The process of adapting material between media, including literary forms, such as scripts, short stories, novels and plays and visual forms, including film, television, graphic novels, webtoons, and games is one of the oldest, most dominant and most ubiquitous strategies in the creative industries. By analysing a wide range of adaptations in different forms you will be able to understand the rich and complex relationships between textual and visual media at distinct historical moments and in specific cultural contexts. This module introduces key issues in transmedia studies and offers you the opportunity to understand adaptation as a creative process and adaptations as cultural products.
EAS2031: Creative Writing: Building a Story
The module develops a toolbox of writing techniques and approaches for contemporary short fiction. It will prepare you for the contemporary writing world by focusing on the kinds of writing that are being published at the present time, while examining the production of literary texts within their traditions and lineages. Through practical exercises and seminar discussions, you will explore a variety of techniques, styles and content and build towards a portfolio of short stories and an accompanying critical essay that will show how you have reflected on and implemented the concepts and techniques taught on the course.
The course comprises a fortnightly lecture on key aspects of short story writing, as well as technical material on the set texts; a weekly 2-hour seminar that helps you develop the techniques introduced in the lectures, and fortnightly 'Workshops' to further develop and give and receive critical feedback on creative work and critical reading in progress. These approaches are designed to enhance the understanding of the practice, as well as the historical, social and critical contexts that produce short story writing and writers.
Only B.A. English and Creative Writing students and Creative Writing majors on the Liberal Arts programme are permitted to take BOTH EAS2031 AND EAS2032: Making a Poem.
EAS2032: Creative Writing: Making a Poem
The module develops a toolbox of writing techniques and approaches for writing contemporary poetry. It will prepare you for the contemporary poetry world by focusing on the kinds of 'page poetry' that are being written and published at the present time, while examining the production of literary texts within their traditions and lineages. Through practical exercises and seminar discussions, you will explore a variety of textual form and content.
The course comprises lectures on key aspects of poetry writing technique, as well as material on the set texts; seminars that help you develop the techniques introduced in the lectures, and workshops to receive and give detailed criticism and feedback on works in progress. These approaches are designed to enhance the understanding of the practice, as well as the historical, social and critical contexts that produce poetry and poets.
Only students enrolled on the B.A. English and Creative Writing programme and who are Creative Writing majors on the Liberal Arts programme may take BOTH this module and EAS2031: Building a Story.
EAS2033: British Cultures: The Exeter Seminar
This module is especially designed for inbound study abroad students and will enhance your experience of visiting Britain by providing you with a critical introduction to British Culture from the medieval period through to the present day. The module covers a variety of cultural forms (including literature and film) and genres (including drama, fiction and poetry) and encourages you to reflect on the processes by which - sometimes competing - ideas about national identity have been created, disseminated and interpreted in Britain. Teaching is by regular seminars and assessment is by a reflective learning log, a presentation, and an independent study.
This module aims to provide inbound study abroad students with a distinctive critical introduction to British Cultures, including national legends, icons, beliefs and values. It will provide you with the opportunity to study some familiar texts in depth and will introduce you to some that you might not yet have encountered. The aim is to equip you with skills that will enable you to interpret examples of British Culture in relation to their contexts. The module is taught by a convenor with frequent guest contributions from specialists in the department who have research interests in this area.
EAS2037: Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres
This module will introduce you to the academic analysis of the medium of comics, including graphic novels, periodicals (‘comic books’), and webcomics, examining comics from the US, Franco-Belgian, and British industries. Comics Studies moves from the origins of comics in the nineteenth century all the way through to the digital present, and will equip students for further intellectual adventures into the study of sequential art.This module engages with the various methods that comics scholars deploy, from close-reading texts to sociological accounts of fandom, from studying sales figures to the history of censorship. After encountering multiple methodologies, students are encouraged to make connections between different weeks and to pursue interdisciplinary approaches to Comics Studies.As well as online resources such as the Underground and Independent Comics database, students benefit from the material held in the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum. Seminar teaching draws upon these archivesEAS2089: Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future
Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future tracks the profound changes that the creative industries have gone through during the 20th and early 21st centuries. The module, which focuses on the publishing industry, museums, film and theatre, looks at how each of these industries has become increasingly focused on 'users', tracking how the industries have worked with emergent technologies, including social media and AI, to shape new forms of engagement; how they have widened participation and redefined access; reinvented values (aesthetic, economic, social); and dealt with generational and social divides.
You will learn about how the creative industries operate as organisations; how they design their relationships to readerships, visitors and audiences; how they use a range of technologies to reach out to different communities; how they produce novel forms of aesthetic, social, and economic value; and how they usually operate through shrinking budgets.
The module requires no prior knowledge or skills and is open to anyone with an interest in the current and future developments of the creative industries.
EAS2090: Humanities after the Human: Further Adventures in Critical Theory
Humanities After the Human considers how critical theory - a constellation of writing that includes philosophy, sociology, political manifesto, and cultural commentary - has decentred the (white, heterosexual, able-bodied, cisgender, male) human subject as the privileged site of meaning, knowledge, and creativity. In so doing, this course tries to imagine those yet-to-be-enumerated possibilities of being and relating to others and the world around us that models of subjectivity in late consumer capitalism tend to foreclose. You will build on concepts introduced in Approaches to Criticism and reflect on the challenges that critical theory poses for the study of literature, the limits of the self, possibilities of kinship, and the organisation of social life. It is advantageous for you to be familiar with the material in Approaches , although it is not a prerequisite.
On this module we will interrogate the assumptions bound up with white Euro-American neoliberal subjectivity, such as interiority, individualism, private property, and naturalised partitions. How have critics deterritorialised the received coordinates of self and world, public and private, mind and body, man and woman, human and non-human? What happens when familiar myths of being are left behind in favour of new utopian communalities, queer and trans futures, and rhizomatic connections? And what does this mean for how we read literature and other cultural texts?
EAS2113: Culture, Crisis and Ecology in a Postcolonial World
This module offers an introduction to World Literatures and film focused on Africa, the Caribbean, Middle East and South Asia, assessing how texts inscribe the social, historical and environmental impact of colonialism and new and adapted forms of imperialism. Focussing on issues such as development and disaster, conservation and animal rights, resource exploitation, and the effects of neoliberalism and global tourism, the module will introduce you to a range of texts - essays, films, novels, poems, and short stories - to investigate the cultural representation of the consequences of global crisis. While considering stylistic and thematic features, the module will map the convergences and divergences of postcolonial and environmental perspectives. This focus enables you to explore the deep connections between imperial power relations and contemporary issues of globalization.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
Typically, any placement year will take place in Year 3. If you are not taking a placement year please see the Final Year modules for year 3.
With Study Abroad
120 credits of compulsory modules,.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Study Abroad | 120 | |
HAS3999: Study Abroad
The Study Abroad programme enables you to undertake a year-long study placement at a partner university outside of the UK, as part of your degree programme.
This module serves as the administrative mechanism for recording the Study Abroad assessment results of students within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). Students participating in the Study Abroad programme and based in a HASS department (except for the Law School, the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Modern Languages, and the School of Education) will be registered on this module during their Study Abroad placement year.
The Study Abroad programme widens the range of modules available to you during Stage 3 of your degree programme; enables you to broaden your academic horizons by studying in a different learning culture and (where relevant and appropriate) in languages other than English; and aims to promote resilience, independence, cultural awareness, and communication skills.
With Employment Experience
120 credits of compulsory modules,.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 2 | ||
| Employment Experience | 120 | |
HAS3998: Employment Experience
This module allows you to undertake and to learn from an extended work placement during the third year of a four year “with Employment Experience” programme. You will use one or more work placements to gain skills that equip you to work in the employment market and to improve your knowledge of the work environment. You are encouraged to think about the intercultural competence and the employability skills that you acquire during your year.
To progress to this module, you will have secured a suitable placement for a minimum of 26 weeks.
Having developed the skills necessary to find relevant roles and apply for roles in the graduate labour market, this is an invaluable opportunity to develop work-related skills and experience that will further enhance your success in the graduate labour market and support your future career choices.
During your placement year you will be supported by the Module Convenor and Placement Team.
The module assessment structure provides opportunity and support for you to evaluate your skills and achievements using personal development techniques. You will also write an Employer Report to showpiece the culmination of your academic and business skills.
This module aims to:
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
30 credits of compulsory dissertation, 90 credits of optional modules (including 30-60 credits of Classical Studies modules and 30-60 credits of English modules).
Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
g - select a Dissertation in either Classical Studies or English: CLA3009 or EAS3003 or EAS3122 (you cannot choose more than one module from this group).
h - if selecting EAS3003 or EAS3122, select 60 credits from this list of optional Classical Studies modules.
i - if selecting CLA3009, select 60 credits from this list of optional English modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory Dissertation Choice 1 | ||
| Dissertation | 30 | |
| Dissertation | 30 | |
| Creative Writing Dissertation | 30 | |
CLA3009: Dissertation
This module gives you the opportunity to pursue an independent research project on a topic of your choice in the field of Classics and Ancient History, and to write up your research in an extended dissertation. Enrolment on this module in your final year of study is subject to submission of preliminary materials in the previous academic year, and approval of them by the module convenor (dissertation coordinator). The decision to write a dissertation should not be taken lightly: before enrolling on this module, please consider whether you possess an adequate degree of independent learning skills as well as writing skills and time management skills.
Although you will work for the most part independently, each dissertation will be supervised by a member of staff, to be assigned by the module convenor. Your supervisor will read and comment on some drafts, giving advice on the style, the argument and directions for further investigation. It will be your responsibility to liaise with your supervisor and keep them posted about the progress of your work. You will be allowed to arrange up to four meetings with your supervisor, with a maximum of two meetings per term. In addition to this 1-to-1 supervision, you will receive general advice and guidance on how to conduct research suitable to an UG dissertation, and how to write up and present a suitable UG dissertation, in two plenary sessions led by the module convenor.
EAS3003: Dissertation
The dissertation is an independent research project, which enables you to operate autonomously and responsibly, and take a positive and active role in your learning. You will plan and produce a sustained piece of critical work that highlights the skills you have learnt over the course of your degree programme, incorporating a range of research methods and methodologies.
You will receive guidance from a supervisor and receive support through a series of workshops and lectures. The dissertation module teaches you time management skills and gives you the flexibility to devise and follow your own research questions, extending your knowledge in a specialism which you have particularly enjoyed.
- To enable you to operate independently and responsibly, and take a positive and active role in your learning, in the service of the production of a sustained piece of critical work. It allows you to devise your own research questions and to pursue these lines of inquiry. You will work under the guidance of an academic supervisor, with extra support provided by occasional workshops and lectures to develop key skills for researching a chosen subject and preparing a finished manuscript.
EAS3122: Creative Writing Dissertation
This module gives the opportunity to pursue a sustained piece of original writing of your choosing. You will have the chance to develop both your imaginative and critical abilities through the completion of a portfolio of creative work and reflective commentary. Possible project forms include an extract from a novel, a sequence of short stories, a collection of poetry, a combination of poetry and prose or a screenplay.
You will choose your project in consultation with academic staff and then write the dissertation, along with a related self-reflexive essay, under appropriate academic supervision.
The dissertation provides the opportunity to gain skills in active learning, research and writing.
- This module aims to provide the opportunity, at the end of your BA programme, to pursue a sustained piece of creative writing. A project is chosen by you, in consultation with an academic member of staff, and thereafter you write the dissertation, along with a related self-reflexive essay, under appropriate academic supervision. The module therefore develops qualities of independence, active learning, research and writing.
Optional modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Optional 1 | ||
| The Age of Cicero | 30 | |
| Dissertation | 30 | |
| Magic, Witchcraft and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds | 30 | |
| Virgil's Georgic Environment | 15 | |
| Domination and Resistance in Roman Britain | 30 | |
| The World of Late Antiquity | 30 | |
| Receptions of the Classical Body | 30 | |
| Critical Classics and the Contemporary World | 15 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek V | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin V | 30 | |
| Imagining the World: Geographic Thought and Representation in Antiquity | 15 | |
| Change and Resilience Through History: Polybius and the Rise of Rome | 15 | |
| Time and Relative Dimensions in Space: Historical Analysis and Visualisation with GIS | 15 | |
| Life in the Roman Empire | 15 | |
| Aristophanes and Athenian Old Comedy | 15 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek II | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek III | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Greek IV | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin IV | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin II | 30 | |
| Classical Language and Texts: Latin III | 30 | |
| Being and Not-Being in Greek Philosophy: from Parmenides to Aristotle | 15 | |
| Dialogues with the Past: Creative Interpretative Project | 15 | |
| Women Writing Classics | 15 | |
| Lost Works and Fragments | 15 | |
| Roman Political Thought | 15 | |
| Optional 1 | ||
| Queering British Screens | 15 | |
| Hardy and Women Who Did: the Coming of Modernity | 30 | |
| Writing the Short Film | 30 | |
| Heroes and Exiles: English Poetry of the Age of Beowulf | 30 | |
| James Joyce's Ulysses | 30 | |
| Life and Death in Early Modern Literature | 30 | |
| Visual and Literary Cultures of Realism | 30 | |
| Encountering the Other in Medieval Literature | 30 | |
| Writing for Children and Young Adults | 30 | |
| Resource Fictions: Oil, Water and Conflict in the World-System | 30 | |
| Acts of Writing: From Decolonisation to Globalisation | 30 | |
| The Death of the Novel | 30 | |
| Virginia Woolf: Fiction, Feeling, Form | 30 | |
| "Reader, I Married Him": The Evolution of Romance Fiction from 1740 to the Present | 30 | |
| Romance from Chaucer to Shakespeare | 30 | |
| Citizens of the World | 30 | |
| The Rise of Science | 30 | |
| Harlem and After: African American Literature 1925-present | 30 | |
| Food, Environment and Literature in Early Modern England | 30 | |
| The Poetry of Place | 30 | |
| Piracy in Early Modern Literature, 1570-1730 | 30 | |
| Poetry and Politics | 30 | |
| Ghosts, Witches and Demons: the Renaissance Supernatural | 30 | |
| Jane Austen: In and Out of Context | 30 | |
| The Development of British Children's Literature | 30 | |
| Art, Industry and the Modern, 1840-1900 | 15 | |
| American Counterculture in Literature | 30 | |
| Fiction Matters | 30 | |
| Migration, Literature and Culture | 30 | |
| Surrealism and its Legacies | 30 | |
| "Mad": Cultures, Histories, Phantasies, Imaginaries of Mental Distress | 30 | |
Course variants
BA Classical Studies and English with Study Abroad
UCAS code: QQV4
Our four-year ‘with Study Abroad’ degree offers you the possibility of spending your third year abroad, studying with one of our many partner universities.
Why study abroad?
Living and studying in a different country is an exciting experience that broadens your academic and cultural horizons, as well as giving you the opportunity to widen your circle of friends. Students who have studied abroad demonstrate initiative, independence, motivation and, depending on where they stay, may also have gained a working knowledge of another language – all key qualities that employers are looking for in today’s competitive employment environment.
Where can I study abroad?
We have partnership arrangements with many prestigious institutions across the globe. Exactly where you can apply to study will depend on the subjects you are studying at Exeter. For a full list please visit the Study Abroad website.
Are there any academic requirements to study abroad?
Yes. If you wish to study abroad as part of this degree course, you must achieve an overall grade of at least 60% (a 2:1) for your first year of study. This applies to all students, even if you are registered on the 'with Study Abroad' variant from the start of your degree.
Does it count towards my degree?
Credit for academic work during your year abroad is arranged by agreement between the University of Exeter and the host institution. These marks are then translated back into your degree at Exeter. If you are studying abroad for a semester or full year, your time abroad will count toward your final degree.
How does it affect my tuition fee and funding?
For the year that you spend studying abroad you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter, but nothing to your host university – for more information visit our fees pages. If you were previously eligible, you will continue to receive a maintenance loan whilst on your Study Abroad year.
BA Classical Studies and English with Employment Experience
UCAS code: QQSV
Our four-year ‘with Employment Experience’ degree offers you the option of spending your third year carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements, within the UK or abroad, as part of your degree.
Why choose to include Employment Experience?
Undertaking graduate-level work during your degree unlocks a world of experience that allows you to develop essential employability and interpersonal skills that relate to your degree and future career.
A work placement will dramatically boost your confidence, enhance your CV and develop graduate-level skills and competencies that employers are looking for.
Where will I do my work placement?
The sector and country you choose to work in is very much your choice, as you will be responsible for finding and organising your placement.
We will provide plenty of guidance and support during your first and second years which will prepare you to research and apply for placements. Ultimately, the university will give final approval to your placement to make sure you have a valuable experience.
How does it affect my tuition fees and funding?
For your ‘Year In Industry’ you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter – for more information visit our fees pages. If you were previously eligible, you will continue to receive a maintenance loan whilst on your year of work placement/s.
Is the placement paid?
You will be paid in accordance with the rules of the country you work in and there may be visa restrictions or requirements which you need to consider when applying.
Find out more
Fees
Tuition fees for 2026 entry
UK students: £9,790 per year
International students: £24,950 per year
Scholarships
The University of Exeter offers a wide range of scholarships to support your education, with £7 million available for international students applying to study with us in the 2026/27 academic year, including our prestigious Exeter Excellence Scholarships*. We also provide scholarships for sport, music and other achievements, alongside regional and partner awards such as Chevening, The Beacon Trust and the British Council. Financial support is available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, lower income households and other under-represented groups to help them access, succeed and progress through higher education.
* Terms and conditions, including deadlines, apply. See our website for details.
Learning and teaching
How will I learn?
Our teaching makes full use of seminars, study groups and web-based learning, and there are many other opportunities for you to add to your overall experience in the department. We integrate the latest approaches with traditional lectures to give you a varied and challenging programme. In the first two years, the teaching is via both formal lectures (usually 50-70 students) and discussion-based seminar groups of around 12-18 students. All final year teaching is through discussion-based seminar groups.
Teaching hours
You’ll receive 10 contact hours per week with staff, both teaching time and with your personal tutor. You’re also expected to invest plenty of time in independent study and contact with your study-group (for example, in preparation for seminars). The exact amount of time spent working independently varies from module to module.
Extra opportunities
We hold mini conferences for some modules, where students can present papers to fellow students and staff, along with weekly research seminars and monthly Classical Association lectures, with talks from leading internal and external speakers. We have a lively and engaged student-led Classics Society which organises events throughout the year. Recently they have organised a trip abroad, plays, balls, debates, film nights, and loads more, on top of running lectures and a peer-mentoring scheme for the ancient languages. The department also publishes its own journal, Pegasus, and our students take an active role in writing and editing this publication.
Research-inspired teaching
Teaching that is inspired by research ensures that lectures are up-to-date and relevant to your studies. You will benefit from access to the latest thinking, equipment and resources. All staff teach third year options linked to their own interests, which include the study of ancient Greek Mythology, moral concepts in Latin literature, Greek inscriptions and ancient ideas of character, food, sex, politics and religion.
Academic support
All students have a Personal Tutor who is available for advice and support throughout your studies. There are also several services on campus where you can get advice and information, including the Students’ Guild Advice Unit.
Assessment
You will be assessed by coursework and exams throughout your study. You must pass your first-year modules in order to proceed: this level does not count towards your final degree classification. To be eligible for ‘Study Abroad’ you will need to attain an average of 60% or more in your first year. The assessments in the second year, year abroad (if applicable) and final year will contribute to your final degree classification. In most modules, your assessment will be: in the first year 70% exams and 30% coursework; in the second year 60% exams and 40% coursework; and in the final year 50% exams and 50% coursework.
Optional modules outside of this course
Each year, if you have optional modules available, you can take up to 30 credits in a subject outside of your course. This can increase your employability and widen your intellectual horizons.
Minors: Future Skills Pathways
You can study a Future Skills Pathway alongside your main degree by choosing up to 30 credits of modules from a different subject area in your second and final years.
Your future
Employer-valued skills this course develops
A degree in Classics and Ancient History, will provide you with skills which are highly valuable to employers across many sectors. You will develop an advanced knowledge of other cultures, learn how to think logically and independently, to interpret and critique sources, to assess and evaluate information and to communicate (verbally and in writing) in a sophisticated way.
Career support
We have a dedicated, award-winning Careers Service ensuring you have access to careers advisors, mentors and the tools you need to succeed in finding employment in your chosen field on graduation. The Exeter Award and the Exeter Leaders Award schemes encourage you to participate in employability related workshops, skills events, volunteering and employment which will contribute to your career decision-making skills and success in the employment market. Our graduates compete very successfully in the employment market, with many employers targeting the University when recruiting new graduates.
Career paths
As a Classics and Ancient History graduate, you will have an array of different industries open to you, such as museum and heritage work, education, journalism, business, and law. Our recent graduates have since secured a variety of positions, such as:
- Archives Assistant
- Business Development Associate
- Freelance Journalist
- Grants and Partnerships Assistant
- Investment Analyst
- Marketing Manager
- Publishing Assistant
- Research Culture Administrator
- Trainee Chartered Accountant
- Media Producer
Further study
A degree in Classics and Ancient History will put you in an excellent position to pursue postgraduate study after you have graduated. Our recent graduates have since enrolled on courses such as:
- MA History
- MA International Relations
- MSc Bioarchaeology
- MSc International Management
- Graduate Diploma in Law
- MSc Library and Information Studies







