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I do an English Literature degree - AMA!

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Do you still enjoy reading! I’m
Going to do an English lit degree in September and one of my biggest fears is getting so overwhelmed by the required texts I lose my love for reading!!

Yeah! I've had a few breaks (I finished my MA in Sept last year, spent five months applying for PhDs and then had a break until a fortnight ago!) but that's fine :smile:

Doing English lit at degree level exposes you to lots of different forms, eras, concepts, authors etc that it's guaranteed you'll love something and hate something else - seriously, it cemented my hatred of Austen... as octo wisely said, if you dislike something then think about why. Also, take octo's advice on the reading lists too - you're given a list of 10-15 texts a week for some modules, but really you need the core text, maybe one or two others on the list and then if you write an essay on the text for a specific week you use the rest of the items on the list for that text. Just read the primary texts as much as you can, is my top tip - it's the most enjoyable bit and probably why you wanted to do a lit degree in the first place :smile:

Of course, if a text elicits a love or hate reaction then that gives you material, but more difficult is stuff you're apathetic about. That's when the energy is zapped from your study. I tended to find that happened with things I didn't understand either literally ("what on earth does that say, it's all in middle English") or conceptually ("what are hermeneutics/Marxist concepts/Shakespearian feminist theory, and why are they haunting my nightmares?"). The best thing I suggest for that is to narrow down exactly what you don't understand and then see a tutor in their office hour to discuss it. They really don't mind!! As you progress in your degree you'll be able to more easily identify what you don't understand and be able to look it up yourself, but for the first year (particularly with literary critical theory) do ask the tutors for help - a solid foundation early on will pay dividends later and you'll enjoy the course and reading much more later on.

Reply 21

amala11

Are all the books you read set texts (either compulsory or chosen from options given) or can you sometimes read something you've independently chosen for a module or piece of work?

Reply 22

octo

Original post by amala11

Are all the books you read set texts (either compulsory or chosen from options given) or can you sometimes read something you've independently chosen for a module or piece of work?

Depends on the course! As my degree has gone on, my assigned essays have gotten broader. In my final year, a lot of courses let me 'invent a question' (within reason), and with modules like my Children's Literature specialisation, the texts we were studying were examples, not specifically set texts. I wrote on Harry Potter and Matilda, which we studied, but I also did a 4000-word essay on queer theory in Percy Jackson, which we didn't study! It'll depend on the course, but you will always be able to at least bring in your independent research and interests into essays even when you're not able to decide on the set texts.

Reply 23

Eccentric Goatie

I would actually like to talk to someone about it, I m a bit concerned whether I should go for that degree or not bc I m not an English native nor do I live in the uk... so english wouldn’t be my primary language of literary expression.. I write in Portuguese (my native language) and read way faster the Portuguese grand oeuvres.. in fact I haven’t read many english grand works comparing to what I used to read in Portuguese. The thing is in Portugal the market for these kind of less conventional degrees is scarce and the degree is even perceived as not as good as an objective degree. Employment is bad. But yeah I like creating writing and studying artistic styles... what do you have to say about this (foreign knowledge about Eng Lit and market sectors/employment for such degree)?

Reply 24

octo

Original post by Eccentric Goatie

Hey! So I'm not an expert on this by any means, but there are a sizeable number of international students and ESL students on my course! One girl on my course is from Chile and English is her third or fourth language (which is honestly so impressive and incredible to me. I can barely order a coffee in French, let alone study in it!!!) and when she spoke about studying English, she emphasised that a lot of what she's learning on the course is tying in with her knowledge of Spanish books and stories she read growing up. She has a unique perspective on what we're studying in English -- not just because English isn't her native language, so she might be more perceptive to linguistic choices and understand things differently, but also because she can pull from an entirely different canon of literary knowledge that the monolingual English students can't access. I think that definitely applies here for you too! You don't have to be super familiar with the English canon (in my three years of studying I've still not read most of Shakespeare) to be able to study it. A lot of students will be starting off from the same position as you -- except you have the advantage of knowing and comparing the Portuguese masters too.

I think studying literature is very transferable to a lot of different job areas, too -- unis will always emphasise the soft skills you learn, like debating/persuading, sourcing and compiling, analysing a source... there aren't many jobs specifically for Literature students, but that's the case everywhere, I think, unless you want to stay in academia. I wouldn't worry too much about the job market (and of course I don't know much about it in Portugal) but if it's something that's worrying you, I'd recommend looking into transferable skills and the post-graduation job statistics (most unis will have them; they'll show what industries Literature graduates usually go into).

Also, bonus thought: there are a few degrees that combine Portuguese literature and English literature, like this integrated masters course at Edinburgh for Portuguese and English Literature that you might find interesting!

Reply 25

TheMandalorian

I also studied a joint honours English Lit degree but with History instead of Creative Writing. Seems like such a long time ago. :biggrin:

Reply 26

laila777

Original post by octo

Hey everyone! !

I'm octo, and I'm a third year student studying English Literature and Creative Writing (joint honours). The lovely @barror1 has Linguistics covered, so I thought I'd start a thread for the Literature side of things!

If you have any questions about studying English Literature, the transition from English Literature A-level to degree level, or anything that's on your mind, ask away! <3

This AMA uses a tag system! You can either ask a general question or tag in one of our fantastic volunteers (listed below) if you are looking for something more specific.
@octo - Third year English Literature and Creative Writing (joint honours), Royal Holloway
@barror1 - First year English Literature and Linguistics (joint honours), York
@Lit-Lover - Graduate, English, Birmingham --- Postgraduate student, English, KCL
@Kaylee Frye - Graduate, English, Cambridge
@DauntlessKilljoy - English, UEA
@SixteenHundred - Graduate, English, Cambridge
@skittish - Offer holder, English, Cambridge
@sparkypreston - Offer holder, English

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This AMA is part of the 'Ask a University Student 2.0' initiative. If you want to find out more about other courses or universities, please check out the main list of threads:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6431108

would you recommend this joint honours? What kind of things do you do?