English Applicants 2014

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does anyone have a rough idea as to how much reading is involved in an English degree? I've heard figures from as low as 10 hrs a week to 50 hrs a week and could do with some clarity :smile:

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Hiya!
I did a degree in English Lit and International Relations, but I can tell you that if I had done straight English, I would likely have had this breakdown of contact hours:
First year- 12 hours p/w
Second year- 12 hours p/w
Third year- 6 hours p/w
But on top of that there's lots of reading, independent work, and meetings with lecturers (if you need them). I probably worked more like 30-35 hours a week. The reason third year is so low is because of your dissertation, which is a lot of extra work as it counts for a significant chunk of your degree. Saying all this, it does depend on your Uni! That's what the hours usually are for Reading English Lit students though :smile:

Anja

Reply 721

simplylldxo

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It's official, I'm off to Uni! For my first year, I'm taking: Critical Theory (mandatory) and Enlightenment Literature for Semester 1 then Interpreting Fantasy in Semester 2! Only 38 days to go now :smile:

I'm continuing with my reading but my own books :tongue:

what books would people recommend for Critical Theory?

Reply 722

starryeyes1103

Original post by simplylldxo

I'm continuing with my reading but my own books :tongue:

what books would people recommend for Critical Theory?

Literary Theory: An Introduction by Terry Eagleton was recommended to me as some good pre-course reading. I've now nearly finished reading it and it's really interesting, is a good overview and though I'm sure I probably don't get all the intricacies of the theories explained I certainly feel like I have some idea of what they're about

Reply 723

elliemorley

Has anyone found a good reading list for this year's English Lit course at Surrey? :smile:

Reply 724

merqoperatic

Original post by simplylldxo

I'm continuing with my reading but my own books :tongue:

what books would people recommend for Critical Theory?

The only (minor) caveat with the Eagleton book is that he's a pretty notable Marxist scholar and his critical judgment is slightly too unkind to discourses that don't focus on class as much. Otherwise, if you can filter out those parts, excellent.

If you've got the time, I'd recommend watching through or reading the transcripts of this: http://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-300. I took this class back in college (not the year recorded here) and it was the reason I got interested in theory; Fry's also remarkably adept at giving clear, concise explanations of a wide range of difficult thinkers. If you need a physical book for some reason, they did a print run of the transcripts, and you might be able to find that on Amazon.

The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism and Peter Barry's Beginning Theory are also very good.

Reply 725

Puddles the Monkey

Hey everyone,

I just updated the OP with a link to English connect/stalking page - if you haven't already go connect to see other applicants' grades & offers. Also, if you enter your details it will be really really useful for everyone else making their applications this year.

:woo: