English Literature

Please note: Information on this page relates to the 2013 academic year unless otherwise specified.

On this page:

This subject is taught by the School of English, Film, Theatre, and Media Studies.

Overview

Victoria offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) with one of New Zealand's widest ranges of courses in English Literature from Old English to the present day, and literature in English from New Zealand, the Pacific and America. Our courses take an equally wide range of approaches to the study of these texts, using both traditional and contemporary critical methods, and placing them in a variety of literary, historical and cultural contexts.

Studying English Literature gives you access to one of the world's richest cultural traditions. At the heart of all our courses are the skills of advanced reading and writing: we aim to help you to read with greater attention, appreciation and enjoyment, and to express your responses and thinking with more precision, and to discover the excitements and challenges of independent literary research.

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Undergraduate Information

BA Major Requirements
  1. 20 points from ENGL 100–199; 20 further points from ENGL, FILM, MDIA, or THEA 100–199
  2. ENGL 201; 40 further points from ENGL 200–299
  3. 20 points from ENGL 300–329; 40 further points from ENGL 300–399

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Postgraduate Information

Postgraduate Qualifications in English Literature

For information specific to English Literature, please see our Postgraduate Study page. For information about the postgraduate qualifications, please click on the Faculty links below.

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How to Find out More

You can order more information on this subject using our Request for Study Material form.

Victoria's Student Recruitment, Admission and Orientation Office offers advice on courses and help with planning your degree.

Contact the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences' Student and Academic Services Office for information on admission, qualifications and courses, course advice and selection criteria, exemptions and prerequisites.

English Literature courses are taught within the School of English, Film, Theatre, and Media Studies.
English Reception: Level 8, von Zedlitz Building.
Email: english@vuw.ac.nz

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Related Subjects and Careers

Related Subjects Careers

Classical Studies
Creative Writing
Film
History
Linguistics
Media Studies
Modern Language Studies
Music
Philosophy
Theatre

Advertising
Editor
Government
Journalist
Librarian
Management
Market researcher
Media
Public relations
Public service
Publishing
Teacher

To view the latest Career View:  English brochure from Vic Careers, please see the pdf in the table below:

Document File Size Fily Type
PDF IconCareer View:  English 712 KB PDF

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List of Courses

For a complete course listing, see the list of all English Literature courses.

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100 Level Courses

ENGL 111 – Past Masters

ENGL 112 – Cultural Encounters: The Literature and Theatre of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific

ENGL 114 – Introduction to Literary Form

ENGL 116 – Reading Shakespeare: An Introduction

ENGL 117 – Introduction to Narrative


200 Level Courses

ENGL 201 – Sea Changes: A History of English Literature

ENGL 208 – Shakespeare

ENGL 209 – The Novel

ENGL 214 – The Chivalric Quest from Chaucer to Spenser

ENGL 215 – Old English Literature

ENGL 221 – Classic Theatre

ENGL 225 – Classical Traditions in English Literature

ENGL 226 – God and the Poets: Christian Traditions in English Poetry

ENGL 228 – Special Topic

ENGL 229 – Special Topic

ENGL 231 – Modern Poetry

ENGL 232 – Theatrical Revolution: Drama from Realism to the Postmodern

ENGL 233 – Pacific Literature

ENGL 234 – New Zealand Literature

ENGL 241 – Dramaturgy of the Real

ENGL 242 – Dramaturgies of the World

ENGL 244 – Children's Literature

ENGL 247 – Special Topic

ENGL 249 – Special Topic


300 Level Courses

ENGL 307 – Troy and Troilus

ENGL 308 – Renaissance Literature

ENGL 311 – Romantic Literature

ENGL 312 – Victorian Literature

ENGL 315 – Restoration and 18th Century Literature

ENGL 320 – Beowulf

ENGL 329 – Special Topic

ENGL 330 – Postcolonial Literature

ENGL 331 – New Zealand Literature

ENGL 332 – American Literature: Twentieth Century

ENGL 333 – Indigenous Writing in English

ENGL 335 – Contemporary Fiction

ENGL 341 – Dramaturgy of the Real

ENGL 342 – Dramaturgies of the World

ENGL 348 – Special Topic: Awkward Books


400 Level Courses

ENGL 404 – Medieval Studies: Middle English Fictions

ENGL 410 – Renaissance Studies: Literature and Cultural Politics

ENGL 415 – Renaissance Studies: Shakespeare's Classical Worlds

ENGL 420 – Modern Fiction: New Zealand Fiction for Children

ENGL 422 – Modern Poetry

ENGL 423 – New Zealand Literature: Mansfield and Friends

ENGL 425 – Classical Traditions: The Metamorphoses of Ovid

ENGL 427 – Romantic Studies

ENGL 428 – Contemporary Fiction

ENGL 429 – Eighteenth-Century Studies

ENGL 430 – Literary Scholarship

ENGL 431 – Literary Criticism

ENGL 433 – The Culture of Modernism

ENGL 435 – The English Bible and English Literature

ENGL 437 – Literature and Technology: Utopia, Dystopia, and Science Fiction

ENGL 441 – Special Topic

ENGL 442 – A Special Period

ENGL 443 – A Special Author: John Mulgan

ENGL 444 – Special Topic: Texts in Context

ENGL 445 – Special Topic: Poetry and Poetics

ENGL 451 – Drama and Theory

ENGL 453 – Drama and Theatre in Aotearoa New Zealand

ENGL 489 – Research Essay