English - your questions answered! video transcript

I'm Dr Paul Whickman, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Derby. So applicants for the English course at Derby are obviously interested in literature but also film, culture, they also are probably interested in the way language works, the English language works. We look at texts in translation too. We look at literature from all over the world. French literature and translation, Russian literature and translation, literature from Africa or the Caribbean and other nations, and that's really important to note.

It's a global degree. But at the same time, we very much situate it within the local area as well. So it's local and global. So if you're interested both in the history of literature in this region or the country, this is the degree for you, but if you're interested in how it works within a broader context, it is also the place for you.

English, as a humanities discipline, is a highly employable degree. It's well sought after by lots of professions. Obviously, teachers, we get a lot of our graduates become school teachers, but it's worth noting that's not the only career they can go into. We've had many students go into publishing after their degrees. Also, civil service, the law, but all sorts of options are open to them. We've had students work at local engineering firms, for instance.

English at Derby is a really well thought out degree and I think one of the selling points, I would say, is that we've really thought about how the degree fits together, how the modules compliment each other, and that there's a journey throughout the programme. We also have this very strong thread of theoretical approaches to literature, which I think it makes us fairly unique. But, also, we integrate lots of different approaches to assessment. We have a very well thought through assessment strategy.

Students don't just write essays. We have no exams. Students do presentations. They do conferences. We have a conference module, for instance. So students take six modules a year worth 20 credits each, three modules a semester. Each module has four hours a week of contact time attached to it. This can be made up of lectures or seminars. We offer a couple of modules, for instance, that engage with external organisations. This might be working to a project brief, where students work together trying to address a brief for an external partner and then will present that, their solution to the brief, to the external organisation.

The facilities we have at Derby are more than enough to support the student experience. We have a well-resourced library based here at Kedleston Road but also other libraries at other campuses too. In addition, we do a number of trips with our students, particularly in induction week. For instance, we visit some of the most important Derby and the Midlands. We have a good relationship with Derby Museum and Art Gallery and students have done placements in these organisations before.

On this course, we also take students on theatre trips, places like London and Stratford-upon-Avon to see various Shakespeare productions, et cetera. If you want to study English, you should come to Derby. I have taught at other institutions and I think the choice we have, the structure of our degree, is the best around.

English - your questions answered! video

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