English
About the major
An English major will introduce you to a wide range of literary and cultural works including novels, films, poems, and plays, extending from medieval times to the present day. You will encounter the richness, breadth and depth of the department’s research and teaching culture as you explore some extraordinary and exciting texts.
Areas of specialisation may include:
- Australian, American, British and World literatures
- creative writing
- cultural, gender, postcolonial and transnational studies
- Old and Middle English (800-1500); Early Modern (1500-1750); Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century; Modern and Contemporary Literatures
- film, multimedia, linguistics, and language studies
- literary theory
You will explore questions about genre, form, period and place across a wide range of works in English. You will learn to analyse, explain and appreciate the formal and linguistic features of texts, aspects of their genre and history, and their dynamic role in local and global cultures. You will formulate and pursue meaningful theories of critical analysis, reading communities and literary value.
We offer a broad and dynamic discipline that prepares students for careers in the media, the arts and cultural industries; in public service and in industry; in teaching and academia; in any vocation that demands intellectual flexibility critical thinking, and the ability to communicate. The cultural knowledge and critical skills provided by an English major are not only marketable for a large number of employment opportunities; they also inform your whole life, enabling you to live a life that is rich with possibilities.
Requirements for completion
The English major and minor requirements are listed in the English unit of study table.
Learning outcomes
| No. | Learning outcome |
|---|---|
| 1 | Apply discipline-based expertise to research questions in English engaging a range of aesthetic, cultural, historical, geographical and/or theoretical contexts. |
| 2 | Identify, synthesise and apply relevant theoretical approaches, research methods and critical concepts when engaging in evidence-based textual analysis and argument. |
| 3 | Express complex ideas and arguments derived from analysing English texts to diverse audiences through critical and/or creative forms of communication. |
| 4 | Critically analyse and evaluate primary and secondary texts using a variety of modes and genres of communication. |
| 5 | Demonstrate personal integrity and intellectual rigour in addressing local and global challenges and debates through critical and/or creative writing. |
| 6 | Exercise ethical practices by working productively with individuals, groups and texts from a variety of cultural and disciplinary backgrounds. |
| 7 | Combine knowledge specific to the discipline of English with knowledge from other disciplines to communicate productively in interdisciplinary contexts. |
| 8 | Create original and insightful interpretations of literary and other texts. |
Advanced coursework
In the Bachelor of Advanced Studies offered through the School of Literature, Art and Media (SLAM) students will engage in advanced seminars that complement their individual research in project units. In SLAM this may be within the study of arts-based practices such as visual art, film, performance and writing, as well as literature, linguistics, or live and digitised media. Students will have the opportunity to apply disciplinary knowledges and methodologies to the legacies of the past, the complexities of the present and possible futures in the areas of communication, technology, literature and art in creative ways.
Requirements and units of study for advanced coursework can be found on the English advanced coursework units of study page.
Honours
An honours year in English allows you to specialise further in your area of interest. It offers students the opportunity to work independently and creatively in a community of scholars that includes both their peers and the staff of the department. A number of honours graduates each year continue on to postgraduate study in Australia or abroad.
During their honours year, students will write a thesis of 15,000 words, complete three 4000-level seminar units and participate in the mid-year honours conference.
Honours admission requirements
Admission into honours is via the Bachelor of Advanced Studies or Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and requires the completion of a major in English with an average of 70 percent or above and, where undertaking the Bachelor of Advanced Studies, completion of a second major.
Prior to commencing honours, you will need to ensure you have completed all other requirements of the Bachelor of Arts or other bachelor degree, including Open Learning Environment (OLE) units.
Requirements and units of study for honours can be found on the English honours units of study page.
Contacts and further information
Email:
Department website: Department of English
School of Literature, Art and Media
Example pathway
English major pathway
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English Major |
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Year 1 |
Sem 1 |
Selective: 1000 level unit from the English major table
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Sem 2 |
Selective: 1000 level unit from the English major table
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Year 2 |
Sem 1 |
Selective: 2000 level unit from the English major table
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Sem 2 |
Core: ENGL2674 The Life of Texts
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Year 3 |
Sem 1 |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table |
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Sem 2 |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table |
Interdisciplinary Project unit: FASS3999 / ENGL3999 Interdisciplinary Impact |
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English minor pathway
| Year and Semester | Units of study | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Sem 1 |
Selective:1000 level unit from the English major table |
| Sem 2 | Selective:1000 level unit from the English major table | |
| Year 2 | Sem 1 | Selective:2000 level unit from the English major table |
| Sem 2 | Core: ENGL2674 The Life of Texts | |
| Year 3 | Sem 1 | Selective:3000 level unit from the English major table |
| Sem 2 | Selective:3000 level unit from the English major table | |
English advanced coursework pathway
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English major and advanced coursework pathway |
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|---|---|---|---|
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Year 1 |
Sem 1 |
Selective: 1000 level unit from the English major table
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Sem 2 |
Selective: 1000 level unit from the English major table
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Year 2 |
Sem 1 |
Selective: 2000 level unit from the English major table
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Sem 2 |
Core: ENGL2674 The Life of Texts
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Year 3
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Sem 1 |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table |
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Sem 2 |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table |
Interdisciplinary Project unit: FASS3999 / ENGL3999 Interdisciplinary Impact |
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| Year 4 |
Sem 1 |
Selective: SLAM4004 Working the Arts and Humanities, or CAVA4001 Art Writing and Artists |
Project unit: SLAM4001 SLAM Project: Pasts, Presents Futures A |
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Sem 2 |
Selective: SLAM4003 Meaning in the Anthropocene |
Project unit: SLAM4002 SLAM Project: Pasts, Presents Futures B |
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English honours pathway
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English major and honours pathway |
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Year 1 |
Sem 1 |
Selective: 1000 level unit from the English major table
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Sem 2 |
Selective: 1000 level unit from the English major table
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Year 2 |
Sem 1 |
Selective: 2000 level unit from the English major table
|
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|
Sem 2 |
Core: ENGL2674 The Life of Texts
|
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Year 3
|
Sem 1 |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table
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|
Sem 2 |
Selective: 3000 level unit from the English major table |
Interdisciplinary Project unit: FASS3999 / ENGL3999 Interdisciplinary Impact
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| Year 4 |
Sem 1 |
Honours: ENGL4111 English Honours Thesis 1 |
Honours: 4000 level English honours seminar selective |
Honours: 4000 level English honours seminar selective |
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Sem 2 |
Honours: ENGL4112 English Honours Thesis 2 |
Honours: 4000 level English honours seminar selective
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