English Literature and History BA (Hons)

At Keele University, we’re proud to be consistently ranked in the Top 3 UK universities for student satisfaction, which is testimony to the safe, supportive and welcoming campus we hope you’ll soon call home.You will develop skills in both disciplines, learning to evaluate the ways that Literature informs History and History informs Literature. You will become a sophisticated reader of historical context and literary form from the medieval period to the present day.Great novels, poems, plays or short stories do not come out of nowhere. They are shaped by and reflect the historical and social circumstances of the times in which they were written and in many cases, they make vital contributions to our understanding of those times. Keele has a strong tradition of studying literary texts within their historical contexts and this programme provides the perfect combination if you want to deepen your understanding of the times in which works of literature were produced. History at Keele has internationally recognised expertise in world history from 400AD to the present day and English has strengths in early modern literature, eighteenth and nineteenth century British and American literature, modernism, and post-war and contemporary literature.You will be able to communicate complex ideas effectively to different kinds of audience, producing persuasive arguments informed by careful research. Our graduates have gone on to work in teaching, journalism, media, the civil service, the heritage and museum sector, local government and management. Around a quarter of our graduates go on to take higher degrees and the degree opens the doors to many other higher education opportunities with many choosing to stay at Keele. If you are thinking of travelling the world after graduation or teaching abroad, Keele’s Language Centre offers a variety of language courses. You may graduate with an enhanced degree with foreign language competency or an internationally recognised qualification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).