BA English Literature and American Studies

BA English Literature and American Studies gives you the opportunity to combine the study of American literatures, history, and culture, with a wider exploration of the literatures of the world and training in English Studies.

As well as providing you with access to the traditional range of English Literature modules, which encompass the Anglo-Saxon period through to the contemporary novel, this degree will also give you grounding in the methods and debates of American Studies, providing you with a large palette of analytical tools.

You will be introduced to the political, legal, and administrative frameworks of US politics and society, and become familiarize with a raft of concepts that have obvious wider reach in contemporary global society. These include:

mass incarceration;
inequality;
poverty;
racial stratification;
the logics of policing;
the changing nature of work and leisure;
radical organizing;
military power;
cultural imperialism;
environmental policies;
urban politics.
Working with such concepts will help to refine your critical perspectives on literature, encouraging you to place such works within broader historical, political, and cultural patterns.

By working with materials taken from the worlds of film, music, and cultural debate, you will also come to think about where the boundaries of literature might lie.

Students on this programme are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities for study abroad, especially with our partner institutions in North America and Europe. Find out more about our North American partners and European partners

You'll also become part of a thriving community of students, lecturers and writers at The University of Manchester, based in the heart of a UNESCO City of Literature that has produced some of the world's greatest writers and has a thriving literature and arts scene, including major events like Manchester Literature Festival.