Theatre and English BA (Hons)

Embark on a journey to critically explore the theoretical and practical realms of performance. Uncover how the study of performance can dynamically respond to challenges on local, national, and global stages. This module provides a canvas to apply performance analysis to political, social, artistic, and cultural phenomena, offering insights into the transformative impact performance practices and research can have on individuals and communities.

Most people take reading for granted, but active, well-informed, interpretative and critical reading is a highly advanced skill. And with the rise of AI and disinformation, it is one of the most important skills in the world today. This module focuses on the key skills of critical and close reading, as central to the study of literature, but also more widely to allow you to sort out truth from troll. The central aim of this module is to enhance and develop students’ engagement with primary and secondary texts as central to your critical thinking abilities. Students will learn how to analyse and interpret complex texts in various genres, making use of the established techniques and approaches of the discipline. They will engage with the idea of critical reading as a culturally-informed act that must be learned and developed. Teaching is shaped around the goal of developing students’ “reading resilience”, that is, the ability to read, discuss, and write about, varied and challenging texts with confidence. Through discussion, group workshops, lectures and individual tasks, students will become proficient in working with literary and rhetorical texts, learning skills that are essential throughout the degree.

Brunel campus is a global majority campus with over 150 different countries represented and well over 150 different languages spoken. It is located in West London, one of the most culturally diverse places on earth, and is just down the road from Heathrow airport. Since its inception, postcolonial studies and diversity in general have always been at the forefront of our programs. This truly innovative module aims to introduce students to the study of World Literature, presenting key critical approaches and engaging with texts from contrasting cultural locations. Students will learn about rich and varied world literary traditions and forms; acquire theoretical perspectives; build a world literary critical vocabulary; engage in debates about the meaning and role of world literature and reflect on creative practice and literary production in world contexts.

Brunel is proud of its West London location and celebrates being a campus university in one of the most exciting cultural capitals in the world today. London is defined by its modernity, its complex history, its challenges, its diversity and, of course, by its global centrality. This module aims to introduce students to the study of the literature of London, introducing key critical approaches and engaging with texts from a range of cultural backgrounds. Students will learn about London’s rich and varied literary traditions and forms; acquire theoretical perspectives; build a literary critical vocabulary; engage in debates about the meaning and role of London in literature; and reflect on creative practice and literary production in relation to London’s diverse past and present.

Unleash your creativity as this module introduces diverse strategies for crafting theatre. Lay the groundwork for your creative journey by understanding devising and dramaturgical principles, connecting the dots between various performance elements to give life to your imaginative expressions.

Dive into the world of performers and their unique abilities to craft theatrical performances. This module is your backstage pass to developing performance skills, drawing inspiration from a diverse array of training practices, and navigating the exciting boundaries between training, rehearsal, and the spotlight of live performance.

Transform your curiosity into dynamic performance creation. Engage with performance to pose questions, probe specific topics, and unravel issues. This module advances your performance making skills and empowers you to view performance not just as an art but as a potent mode of inquiry into the world around you.

Join the exploration of performance practices and practitioners delving into the critical discourse surrounding gender. Develop not only a critical vocabulary but also frameworks to examine gender as a vibrant performance woven into everyday life. This module takes you on a global adventure, exploring transnational analyses of gender performances.

Become a creative powerhouse. This module invites you to create and evaluate applied theatre workshops and performances tailored for specific audiences. Dive into collaborative ventures within student companies, where collective working becomes the heartbeat of your creative process.

This module introduces you to the exciting ways in which music contributes to theatre and performance. You will learn about different approaches to using music  and practically explore them by creating work that draws on specific performances and practitioners. Gaining practical insights through performance, you will reflect on the contribution of performances and practitioners to theatre, culture, and politics.

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of acting as a critical practice. Explore a diverse range of techniques for performing in and devising both naturalist and non-naturalist performance. This module is your ticket to understanding how acting and critical practices intersect with the rich tapestry of cultural contexts.

The nineteenth century was an era of innovation. Technological invention, scientific breakthrough, geographical discovery, imperial expansion, the abolition of slavery, the rise of the middle classes, the emergence of mass culture, and an ever-stronger push for women’s equality. Within this culture, the novel – as its name suggests, a literary genre founded on newness – came of age. Through the chronological study of a representative selection of five texts, the module will introduce the key generic elements of the nineteenth-century novel, and chart changes in their deployment over the course of the century. Particular attention will be paid to Realism and Gothic. In addition to narrative form, a range of social and cultural contexts will be suggested as a means of accounting for, and understanding, textual features. Stress will be placed throughout on close textual analysis.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by everything that’s going on in the world? You are not alone! Written during the opening decades of the twentieth century, the texts we study on this module were processing a modern world that was changing rapidly and radically. There were new technologies and ideas, empires were in decline, religion was losing its hold, and established class and gender relations were disintegrating. Then the First World War happened, followed by revolutions, a global pandemic, economic depression, and the rise of fascism. Writers responded in different ways. Some, like TS Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Katherine Mansfield, experimented with content and form, confronting topics that were formerly taboo or using language and structure that shattered convention. Others, including Daphne du Maurier, Dorothy L Sayers, and Christopher Isherwood, used more ‘realist’ styles to work through their anxieties and concerns. Examining novels, short stories, poetry, and experimental artistic manifestos – by these writers and more, and from diverse perspectives – we will explore a modern world in crisis.

The political events of the late eighteenth century – the American War of Independence, French Revolution, and Napoleonic wars – dramatically changed lives, ideas, and aesthetics in Britain. From the mid 1770s to the mid 1820s, the period we now call Romanticism signalled profound changes in the form and content of literature. Working in a range of genres, including the novel, pamphlets, poetry, and philosophical, satirical, and travel writing, Romantic writers responded to a set of urgent, ethical, aesthetic, and environmental changes. In the module we consider the ‘first generation’ (Wordsworth, Coleridge, William Blake) and ‘second generation’ Romantics (Shelley, Byron, and Keats), and important political writers such as Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, and William Godwin. Alongside these now-canonical names we read a diverse range of women and Black writers who contributed just as significantly to key Romantic debates: Anna Aikin, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Ottobah Cugoano, Ouladah Equiano, Hannah More, Ann Radcliffe, Mary Robinson, Ignatius Sancho, Mary Shelley, Helen Maria Williams, Dorothy Wordsworth, Phillis Wheatley, and Anne Yearsley

Shakespeare died over 600 years ago, but his works maintain their relevance, captivating readers and audiences worldwide. In this module, you will study Shakespeare at an advanced level, in greater depth, and with an emphasis on the types of study skills required for advanced critical work in the fields of ‘book history’ and ‘performance studies.’ Using advanced methods of analysis, you will explore early modern texts, both in their original contexts and in their subsequent manifestations in print. You will consider language, performance, and the visual layout of text – both in Shakespeare’s time and in the present day. Overall, you will gain an understanding and experience of the concept of the Shakespearean text as an artefact and art form, one constantly evolving through criticism, editorial intervention and performance

This module introduces students to a range of contemporary British and Irish fiction, developing knowledge of the variety and complexity of contemporary writing and its relation to social and cultural context. The module examines texts which employ a range of themes, forms, and styles. It asks what we mean by the term ‘contemporary’ and encourages analysis of the relationship between texts and the historical moments in which they are produced and consumed.

The English Special Project offers third year students a crucial opportunity to undertake extended independent research, developing their critical and creative skills to investigate a topic of their own choice. Pursuing subjects as diverse as short stories or screen writing, sci fi or romance, and Shakespeare or Salman Rushdie, students construct a 9,500-word dissertation across the course of the year. Guided by regular tutorials with a personal supervisor, this module represents a key stepping stone in their academic career, a culminating moment in the completion of their undergraduate trajectory.

Become a creator of original performance works, drawing from your interdisciplinary experiences. Navigate the dynamic interplay between performance-making and the ever-changing contexts of local, national, and international stages. This module equips you with tools to not only create but also market your work effectively.

Undertake a substantial research journey, crafting a written dissertation that contributes to the field. This module is designed to empower you to plan, design, and execute a specialised project. Develop research skills, critically evaluate your project, and leave an indelible mark on the academic landscape.

Elevate your acting in this performance-focused module. Intensive workshops and theatre productions await you. Dive into the techniques of acting pioneers and let the stage become your workshop for honing your skills.

Ignite change as you explore anti-racism through the lens of performance. Navigate the historical landscapes of Critical Race Theory and delve into the intricate relationships between race, racism, and colonialism. This module is your gateway to understanding how performance becomes a powerful tool for social repair, protest, and activism.

Embark on a research adventure, independently and within a vibrant community of peers. This module offers a blend of taught sessions, practical workshops, and collaborative exploration. Your journey involves discovering, testing, refining, sharing, and reflecting on emerging research findings.

Fine-tune your instrument—voice and body—in this practical module. Develop rehearsal and performance skills, seamlessly integrate singing, dancing, and acting, and embark on a journey of critical self-reflection on your evolving practice. Explore the industrial context of the musical theatre performer and master the art of auditioning with confidence and flair.

Become a creator of original performance works, drawing from your interdisciplinary experiences. Navigate the dynamic interplay between performance-making and the ever-changing contexts of local, national, and international stages. This module equips you with tools to not only create but also market your work effectively.

Undertake a substantial research journey, crafting a written dissertation that contributes to the field. This module is designed to empower you to plan, design, and execute a specialised project. Develop research skills, critically evaluate your project, and leave an indelible mark on the academic landscape.

Shaped by industrial revolution and radical social reform, the Victorian period was a time of enormous historical and literary change, introducing key values, institutions, and narratives still shaping modern Britain. Typical of Brunel’s innovative approach to more traditional period studies, this module examines three integral 19^th century ‘case studies’, each focused on a specific aspect of Victorian literature and culture: ‘Class, Conflict, Identity’, ‘Crime and Sensation’, and ‘Women and Society’. Its aims are to explore some of the ways in which Victorian literature might encode or challenge particular cultural assumptions; to analyse the relationships between literary forms and social contexts; and finally, to consider how the knowledge of the period may contribute to the interpretation of texts produced during this time.

Brunel English has been a leader in feminist theory since its formation over 25 years ago. The Women’s Movement is a defining modern social undertaking, a radical inheritance from the 19^th century, which has since redefined itself in multiple ways across numerous contexts. Focusing primarily on Second and Third Wave feminist movements, but also with a nod to First Wave influences and an emergent Fourth Wave, this module considers 20th century women’s writing in dialogue with relevant feminist theory. The Women’s Movement’s relationship to related gender/sexual equality programmes is offered as a central focus of class debate, especially in connection with LGBT perspectives and masculinity studies. Each week brings feminist critical thought into dialogue with literature, considering key concepts, including patriarchy, desire, and intersectionalism, and paying close attention to the interrelationship between literature and activism. An indicative reading list might include theorists such as Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Patricia Hill Collins, Judith Butler, and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. Texts will address the range and diversity of feminisms as articulated across history.

Canonical studies of Early Modern literature often ignore the central role of ethnic and religious Otherness, situating texts primarily in relation to European cultures and geographies. Contesting this tendency, this module prioritises early modern interaction between Christians and Muslims, viewed from the perspective of both, specifically with a focus on English drama. It will explore post-Reformation England’s self-redefinition as a Christian nation and how it dealt with increased trade and negotiations with Muslim nations. Main topics of study include common literary tropes about Muslims in early modern literature; Christian and Islamic beliefs and fears in key texts; travel writing and interactions between West and East; prose propaganda and multicultural London; and writings in captivity. Central to all these critical discussions is the space of the Muslim world in Early Modern Literature and how this space shapes Early Modern culture in compound ways.

Brunel English has consistently been a national leader in contemporary literary studies for over two decases. We have a complex and increasingly global understanding of what contemporary literatures can and should mean. In this module we consider the period of the latter half of the 20th century starting with the Second World War which had a major impact on almost every aspect of 20^th century life, with radical implications for society, politics, economics, and culture. This module confronts this shifting global context with a focus on both established and experimental writers, developing students’ awareness of Post-War and Late Twentieth-Century Literatures via a focus on fiction’s negotiation with history. The module foregrounds key sensibilities of this period through an initial discussion of postwar life and art, then moves forward to explore the emergence of the ‘postmodern’ condition. It concludes by examining the experimental fiction of various leading British writers, also considering the influence of late-twentieth century theorists, such as Jean Baudrillard, Fredric Jameson, and Judith Butler.

When it was first launched the Violence module caused quite a stir with its combination of contemporary critical theory and inspiration from the Finnish phenomenon-based learning, leading to a feature on the module in the TLS.  Violence, sadly, represents a shaping force in contemporary life, a site or mode of influence dominating government, society, culture, and the media. This module aims to develop students’ awareness of violence and its representations within modern culture, enlisting a variety of cultural materials, literary, visual, conceptual and technological. It asks a series of questions as regards violence and coercion as they surface in everyday lives, splitting its focus between conceptual understanding and textual readings. Part one, ‘Bioviolence and Biopolitics’, looks at biopolitical theories of power, force, violence, coercion and exclusion as introduced by philosophers such as Michel Foucault, Georgio Agamben, and Roberto Esposito. By contrast, part two, ‘Discourses of Coercion 2015-2020’, applies the theory to case studies taken from contemporary events, such as #Blacklivesmatter, Grenfell Tower, Coronavirus, Zombies and of course serial killers.

Focusing on Austen’s work in relation to adaptation, this module explores the forms of fiction she inherited as a young writer – the novels of Frances Burney and Ann Radcliffe – and how she adapted these models to her own work and concerns. It then considers how Austen was adapted in her turn, in a number of extremely popular films and series, to think about how the late eighteenth century ‘courtship’ and marriage plots continue to be reinvented through to the contemporary period. Texts may include: Radcliffe The Italian 1796, Austen Northanger Abbey (1803/ 1818), Frances Burney Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), Austen Lady Susan (1794/1871), Austen Pride and Prejudice (1813), Robert Z. Leonard d. Pride and Prejudice (1940), Simon Langton d. Pride and Prejudice (1995), Sharon Maguire d. Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), Chris Van Dusen’s Bridgerton Season 1 (2020).

Irish writing represents some of the most prominent literature of modern history, including such influential figures as Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Bram Stoker, and Samuel Beckett. Responding to this impressive legacy, this module examines Ireland’s rich literary tradition via key historical touchstones including the Easter Rising of 1916, the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the rise and fall of the Celtic Tiger. Theorised discussions of the meaning of Irish identity, intersections with colonialism, the Irish language and the worldwide diaspora will be framed via readings of poetry, novels, short stories, autobiography and drama. The module’s principle aims are 1) to undertake a critical survey of a wide range of Irish writing in the English language including depictions of Ireland in poetry, drama and prose genres; 2) to explore the key political events which led to Ireland’s independence and to consider the role of literature in this and beyond; and 3) to analyse the preconceptions, stereotypes and literary expectations of Irishness through identity debates and close reading