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BA (Honours) English Language and Literature

Distance learning degree qualification

QUALIFICATION LEAFLET

You’ll explore writing and speech in a wide range of forms, and develop your skills in the interpretation of both literary and non-literary texts. At Level 1 your studies will be framed within interdisciplinary themes, and at Level 2 you’ll move onto more specialised modules in English language and literature. At Level 3 your options broaden to include choices within the broad field of English, including creative writing. As you progress through your English Language and Literature degree, you’ll acquire skills of analysis, the ability to critically comment on different kinds of writing, and learn to develop and sustain complex arguments.

Career relevance and employabilityStudy of the arts and humanities requires an understanding of human activities in diverse cultural environments and in very different historical circumstances. The breadth of study and the range of cultural texts and objects analysed, combined with training in clear thinking and communication, make this degree course relevant to a wide variety of careers, including: public administration, local government, the civil service, art institutions, and social services, advertising, journalism, publishing, creative industries and public relations, education, legal work, business, banking and retail, human resources and charities and campaigning.

Employers greatly value the high-Level skills acquired by studying an English language and literature degree – which may be broadly summarised as critical thinking, analysis, and communication. You’ll sharpen your IT, writing, and independent thinking skills, and develop the ability to assimilate and evaluate relevant information in constructing an argument.

Entry requirements There are no formal entry requirements to study this degree, although you will need to have a proficiency in English as all course material, exams and tutor support is in English.

Credit for previous study elsewhereIf you have already completed some successful study at higher education Level at another institution you may be able to transfer credit for this study and count it towards an Open University qualification. If you wish to apply to transfer credit you must do so as soon as possible, and before you register for your chosen qualification. If you are awarded credit for study completed elsewhere, you may find that you need to study fewer OU modules to complete your qualification with us.

Course durationTypically it takes six years part-time study to complete this qualification, but you can take anything from three to 16 years.

Modules and pathwaysAs part of your registration you can choose a pathway. Pathways are different sets of module options, allowing you to specialise in certain subjects to complete your degree.To complete your degree you need to achieve 360 credits; 120 credits at Level 1, 120 at Level 2, and 120 at Level 3; with each module being 30-60 credits.There is currently only one pathway for this qualification available to international students:

The following pages provide an introduction to the modules you can study on the standard pathway.

Qualification detailsThis degree course offers a stimulating and wide-ranging introduction to English language and literature. You’ll have the opportunity to investigate how the English language is used in a variety of global contexts, and to study literature from different historical periods and diverse cultural settings.

1 QUALIFICATION LEAFLET

For more information and to register go to www.openuniversity.edu, or call +44 845 241 6555

For a full list of modules available, please refer to our website, www.openuniversity.edu.

Assessment keyEMA = End-of-module assessmentiCMA = Interactive computer marked assessmentTMA = Tutor-marked assignment

What you will studyStage 1

The arts past and present (AA100)

Credits: 60 at Level 1

Assessment: 7 TMAs, 1 EMA

This broadly-focused course introduces you to university-Level study in the arts across a range of subject areas - art history, classical studies, English, history, philosophy, music and religious studies. It is structured around four themes, in order to guide you through some of the basic concerns of arts subjects: Reputations; Tradition and Dissent; Cultural Encounters; and Place and Leisure. Your studies will range from poetry to string quartets, and from sculpture to short stories – across a wide variety of cultures and historical periods.

Voices and text (A150)

Credits: 30 at Level 1

Assessment: 3 TMAs, 1 Examination

Designed to follow our key introductory course in arts and humanities, The arts past and present (AA100), which you are strongly advised to study first, this 20-week course focuses on language in a wide range of contexts and from the perspective of different academic subjects. These include subjects familiar from studying The arts past and present - classical studies, history, literature, music, religious studies - and two additional subjects, creative writing and English language studies.

Making sense of things: an introduction to material culture (A151)

Credits: 30 at Level 1

Assessment: 3 TMAs, 1 Examination

This 20-week course is designed to follow our key introductory Level 1 course, The arts past and present (AA100), which you are strongly advised to study first. It introduces you to the study of objects, or material

culture, in both the past and present from a variety of different perspectives. These include heritage studies, art history, classical studies, history, philosophy and religious studies.

Stage 2

Reading and studying literature (A230)

Credits: 60 at Level 2

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 Examination

Reading and studying literature builds on the introductory courses in arts and humanities, The arts past and present (AA100), Voices and texts (A150) and Making sense of things: an introduction to material culture (A151). It will introduce you to the study of English literature by looking at a selection of texts from the Renaissance to the present day. The course offers a stimulating mix of classic texts and less well-known works from a range of genres, including drama, poetry and prose fiction as well as autobiography, travel-writing and film. An overarching concern of the course is the uses we make in the present of the literature of the past.

Worlds of English (U214)

Credits: 60 at Level 2

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 EMA

What are the origins of the English language? How has it spread internationally? Is the worldwide influence of English a cause for celebration or concern? How is it changing in response to social, cultural, and technological developments? These are just a few of the questions that you will investigate in this course which looks at the history, diversity, and use of English around the world. Using a combination of printed materials and computer-based resources you will be introduced to the major debates in the field, and to some of the ways language is described and analysed.

Stage 3

English grammar in context (E303)

Credits: 60 at Level 3

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 EMA

This course is for you if you’re interested in understanding and analysing how English ‘works’ in a wide range of contexts, including the media, fiction, academic writing and everyday conversation. This course provides an up-to-date framework for describing, analysing and evaluating how the English language is used. It takes a functional approach to grammar and includes hands-on computational analysis of large databases of texts to help you engage with real-world data and problems.

Modules

For more information and to register go to www.openuniversity.edu, or call +44 845 241 6555

BA (Honours) English Language and Literature (Q39) 2

Standard pathway

The art of English (E301)

Credits: 60 at Level 3

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 EMA

The art of English looks at creativity in the English language: from everyday language use (conversation, children’s language, letter writing, online chat) to ‘high culture’ literary language and new kinds of media texts. You’ll consider how ‘verbal art’ works in a wide range of texts, and the extent to which the seeds of literary creativity may be found in more routine uses of English. The course has an international dimension too, enabling you to explore language use in different parts of the English-speaking world, and should help you consider your own daily experiences of the English language.

Shakespeare: text and performance (AA306)

Credits: 60 at Level 3

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 Examination

This intensive study of ten Shakespeare plays and the Sonnets takes close account of the social and political circumstances in which they were written and performed. This broad historicist approach is complemented by a strong emphasis on the diversity of twentieth-century critical responses to the plays and on modern productions of them, both on stage and on screen. The course will develop your knowledge of the range and variety of Shakespeare’s dramatic and poetic work; examine how its reception and status has been shaped by cultural and institutional factors; and explore themes such as questions of genre, politics, sexuality and gender.

The nineteenth-century novel (AA316)

Credits: 60 at Level 3

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 Examination

Novels in the nineteenth century were particularly engaged with the events, circumstances, beliefs and attitudes of their time. This course encourages you to enjoy and understand them through the study of twelve texts from England (mainly), France and the USA, including works by Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Dickens, George Eliot, Flaubert and Conrad. The focus is on understanding the role of the novel in representing and exploring social and cultural change, the flexibility of the genre and how it developed aesthetically, stylistically and structurally.

20th century literature: texts and debates (A300)

Credits: 60 at Level 3

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 EMA

This course takes you right to the heart of twentieth-century literature – the excitement it has caused, the provocative critical debates it has generated, the political and historical influences it has developed from. Alongside close critical study of works by the century’s major literary lions (Brecht, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Chekhov and others), you will place them in the contexts in which they were written and read, examine the debates and arguments of influential critics, and analyse alternative interpretations. The course is divided into four blocks: the function of literature; different modernisms; notions of popularity; and questions of evaluation.

Advanced creative writing (A363)

Credits: 60 at Level 3

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 EMA

Advanced creative writing develops your writing ability by widening your generic range and developing your knowledge of style. The course works on the forms fiction, poetry and life writing and supplements these with dramatic writing, showing you how to write for stage, radio and film. You’ll explore how these scriptwriting skills might enhance your prose style, improve your writing across the range of forms, and further develop your individual style and voice. The course offers guidance on professional layouts for the dramatic media, and is a natural progression from Creative writing (A215).

Children's literature (EA300)

Credits: 60 at Level 3

Assessment: 6 TMAs, 1 EMA

This course provides a broad introduction to the vibrant and growing field of children’s literature studies. You will study children’s literature in English ranging from its beginnings in eighteenth-century chapbooks and fairy tales, through seminal nineteenth-century novels, to contemporary examples of fiction illustrating current trends. The course also includes the study of picture books old and new, Level performance and film, young adult fiction, storytelling and poetry. You will learn about the distinctiveness and purposes of children’s literature, its prestigious and popular modes and its different representations of children’s worlds.

For more information and to register go to www.openuniversity.edu, or call +44 845 241 6555

Can I study in any country?This course is not available in all countries. Please use the Course Finder menu at www.openuniversity.edu to see what courses are available in your country.

Is an OU qualification recognised in my country?An OU degree is equal in academic standard to a degree from any other British university. The University is subject to the same quality assurance procedures, through the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), as all other British universities, and uses external assessors and examiners to ensure comparability of standard and level in its courses.A leaflet is available on how you can apply for formal recognition in your country. To download the leaflet, please go to www.openuniversity.edu/brochures/recognition.pdf.

What tutor support will I receive?The OU excels in its unrivalled support for students. You’ll have email and online support from a tutor and you will be able to discuss your study in online tutor group discussions, using our customised learning environment. Our community websites Platform and OpenLearn offer a different perspective on your subject, and a huge range of OU resources on YouTube and iTunes U can expand your understanding. In addition, you can tap into a range of enthusiastic and welcoming OU social network groups on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Are there any entry requirements?For most undergraduate qualifications you don’t need any formal qualifications, or to pass an entry test to study with us. Our undergraduate qualifications are open to all because we believe anyone who is keen to succeed should have the opportunity to study.As part of the registration process, however, you will be asked to confirm your proficiency in English. (If you are unsure, you can take a short online test, which you will find when completing the online registration form.)

Can I count previous study towards an OU qualification?Any higher-education level studies you’ve successfully completed elsewhere may count towards your OU degree or other qualification. We enable you to do this by awarding you a certain amount of ‘transferred credit’. By transferring credit gained from previous study, you can reduce the amount you need from OU study to achieve your qualification. For more information please go to www.openuniversity.edu.

How do you work towards a qualification? We measure the size of our qualifications in credits – an honours degree is 360 credits, made up of three 120-credit stages.Each stage is made up of a number of modules which cover different parts of the subject. Modules are also measured in credits and are set at different ‘levels’. Levels give an indication of a module’s relative complexity and/or depth of learning. Most modules are worth either 30 or 60 credits and are set at Levels 1, 2 and 3, which roughly equates to studying in the first, second and third year at a campus-based university. So for a typical three-stage honours degree you would study: 120 credits at Stage 1, taking modules worth 30 or 60

credits at Level 1 120 credits at Stage 2, taking modules worth 30 or 60

credits at Level 2 120 credits at Stage 3, taking modules worth 30 or 60

credits at Level 3. In the example given above, each stage could consist of two 60-credit modules or one 60-credit module and two 30-credit modules, or four 30-credit modules.

How long does it take? Our qualifications are designed to be flexible. So if you want to vary the amount of time you spend studying, you can. The table below is a guide on the time required, but call us today to discuss how you can vary the study intensity and therefore the time taken to complete your course.

Undergraduate qualifications

Credits required

Time required to complete1

BA degree with honours

360 3 years full-time study or 6 years part-time study

How much will it cost?If you are studying with us for the first time our standard fee for 2012/2013 is £5,000 – based on 120 credits of study – which is equivalent to a year’s full-time study at a campus-based university. Of course you don’t have to study 120 credits a year and the price you pay will be proportionate to the standard fee. So, for example, if you only study 60 credits a year, you will pay 50 per cent of the standard fee.

FAQs

For more information and to register go to www.openuniversity.edu, or call +44 845 241 6555

3 QUALIFICATION LEAFLET BA (Honours) English Language and Literature (Q39) 4

Credit studied each year1

Percentage of standard fee

Cost per year

Time taken to complete a 360-credit honours degree

120 credits a year

100% £5,000 3 years full-time study

60 credits a year

50% £2,500 6 years part-time study

1For illustrative purposes only – in most cases you can vary the number of credits taken per year and therefore the time taken to complete the course. Please note: prices are approximate and subject to change. Visit our website or call us for latest details.

When can I start?To give you more opportunities to start, most qualifications have two intakes a year – October and February. To start in October 2013, for example, you need to register no later than 10th September 2013.

What payment options are there?Your payment options include spreading the cost over monthly instalments with our own affordable student budget account, OUSBA (for certain EU countries). For more information please go to www.open.ac.uk/ousba.

Can I meet and network with other students?Definitely – when you start with the OU you automatically become a member of the Open University Student Association (OUSA). OUSA also runs a popular student forum site. For more information, go to www.ousa.org.uk. Once you have gained your qualification, you can join the OU Alumni Association, our vibrant and active alumni community with 280,000 members worldwide. You will enjoy many membership benefits, including regular newsletters, good networking opportunities and access to the alumni website.

How is my privacy protected?We record your personal information when you contact us and use this to manage registration, study, examination and other services. When you register, we’ll tell you more about how we process and use your personal information.

When should I apply?Apply as early as you can – particularly if you wish to claim for credit for previous study. Registration open dates are shown in the Courses section at www.openuniversity.edu.

For more information and to register go to www.openuniversity.edu, or call +44 845 241 6555

I think people should be aware that an Open University

degree does take work and dedication. But the teaching materials are excellent and The Open University is such a supportive environment - not just the tutors but fellow students. Everyone helps and encourages each other. Alan McDonald, Open University student

Go to www.openuniversity.edu, select the Courses section and the degree you require. You will then be asked to select a pathway to register. (Pathways are different selections of course modules to complete your degree.)

Alternatively call us on +44 845 241 6555.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to pay anything at this Level.

As soon as you have registered you’ll get an email confirmation which contains your login details.

What do I need to do next?

It takes just 2 simple steps.Begin the process to secure your place. Here's how easy it is.

Before you start studying you will need to choose and register on your first modules and arrange payment; instructions for this will be emailed to you. Once complete you will officially be an Open University student – welcome!

For more information and to register go to www.openuniversity.edu, or call +44 845 241 6555

2. Choose your first module, make payment to enrol

1. Register now

5 QUALIFICATION LEAFLET BA (Honours) English Language and Literature (Q39) 6

The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England and Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).While we have done everything possible to make sure the information in this publication is accurate, it may change due to regulations or policy, or because of financial or other reasons.

Copyright © 2013 The Open University.

All details shown in this leaflet are correct as at February 2013, but are subject to change. Please call +44 845 241 6555 for the latest details.