This programme provides specialist coverage across all periods, from Chaucer to the Contemporary, and you are encouraged to make connections across cultures, genres and historical moments and, in the process, to ask searching contemporary questions. Whether critical or creative, we understand the study of literature to be fundamentally interdisciplinary and in both our teaching and research we explore writing in relation to other media. As a School we have always been committed to an international understanding of the subject and this programme opens students to the possibilities of transatlantic exchange (with literature from the United States and Canada) and, through a range of specialist modules, the study of global literatures in English including the literature of Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, India and the Caribbean. With very few required modules this programme puts you in control of your learning from the very beginning and you will have the intellectual freedom to grow as an individual and as a student of literature. Throughout your studies, you learn to think critically and to work independently; your communication skills improve and you learn to express your opinions passionately and persuasively, both in writing and orally. These key transferable skills are essential for graduates as they move into the employment market.