English, Major (0009)

  • Western Sydney University Major Code: 0009

Previous Code: M1053.1

Available to students in other Western Sydney University Programs:  Yes.  Check that your program has the available credit points required to complete the subjects in this field of study. Any requisite requirements must also be met. Consult your Program Advisor for further advice.

The English major invites students to explore contemporary approaches to language, literary study and writing, including literary criticism and theory, linguistic analysis, genre and textual study, and creative writing. The English major focuses on the imaginative workings of language, and students can study a wide selection of modern and classic literature, as well as the relationships between written texts and other media such as film and information technology. Students also have the opportunity to produce their own creative writing and to edit and publish their work. Career prospects include publishing, editing, teaching, writing and advertising.

Location

Campus Mode Advice
Bankstown City Campus Internal enquiriesHCA@uws.edu.au
Parramatta Campus - Victoria Road Internal enquiriesHCA@uws.edu.au
Penrith Campus Internal enquiriesHCA@uws.edu.au

Major Structure

Students must successfully complete 80 credit points as follows.

Please note all Bachelor of Arts students including Pathways to Teaching, Dean’s Scholars and double degrees must complete the structure under the heading Bachelor of Arts.

Please note all Bachelor of Creative Industries students including double degrees must complete the structure under the heading Bachelor of Creative Industries.

This specialisation is available to students in other Western Sydney University programs. If the specialisation is available on your campus, the program structure allows space for enrolment in the specialisation and pre-requisite requirements can be met, please follow the structure under the heading Bachelor of Arts. Consult your Program Advisor for further advice.

Note: Not all subjects will be offered each year. Subjects will be offered on a rotational basis.

Bachelor of Arts Students

Arts students must complete the four compulsory subjects below and must complete four subjects from the Level 2 / Level 3 subject pool with a minimum of two subjects at Level 3. See below.

Subject Title Credit Points
Compulsory Subjects
COMM 1004Approaches to Text10
LANG 1015Introduction to Literary Studies10
LANG 2035Methods of Reading10
LANG 3094The Value of Literature10
Pool Subjects
Select four subjects at Level 2 / Level 3, with a minimum of two subjects at Level 340
Total Credit Points80

Bachelor of Creative Industries Students

Creative Industries students must complete their Introduction to Major subject as part of the core requirements of the program, prior to enrolling in this major.

Subject Title Credit Points
LANG 1015Introduction to Literary Studies10

Creative Industry students must complete the three compulsory subjects below and must complete five subjects from the Level 2 / Level 3 subject pool with a minimum of two subjects at Level 3. See below.

Subject Title Credit Points
Compulsory Subjects
COMM 1004Approaches to Text10
LANG 2035Methods of Reading10
LANG 3094The Value of Literature10
Pool Subjects
Select five subjects from the Level 2 / Level 3 subject pool with a minimum of two subjects at Level 350
Total Credit Points80

Pool Subjects

Bachelor of Arts students must complete four subjects from the list below, with a minimum of 2 subjects at Level 3.
Bachelor of Creative Industries students must complete five subjects from the list below, with a minimum of 2 subjects at Level 3.

Note: Not all subjects will be offered each year. Subjects will be offered on a rotational basis.

Subject Title Credit Points
Level 2 Subject Pool
LANG 2015Cultural History of Books and Reading10
COMM 2016Experimental Writing and Electronic Publication10
COMM 2020Introduction to Film Studies10
LANG 2033Literature and Decolonisation10
LANG 2057Literature and Environment10
LANG 2050Medieval and Early Modern Literature10
LANG 2036Modern Australian Poetry and Poetics10
HUMN 2044Representing Everyday Life in Literary and Visual Cultures10
LANG 2039Sexual/Textual Politics in Victorian Women's Writing10
LANG 2044The Gothic10
LANG 2048Working Grammar10
LANG 2051Writing and Reading Sci-Fi and Fantasy10
COMM 2043Writing Fiction10
Level 3 Subject Pool
LANG 300119th Century American Literature10
LANG 300220th Century American Literature10
COMM 3005Australian Textual Studies10
LANG 3019Children's and Young Adult Fiction10
LANG 3018Children's Literature: Image and Text10
COMM 3006Cinema and Experience10
LANG 3100Comedy and Tragedy: Dramas of Death and Rebirth10
LANG 3069Contemporary Irish Writing10
LANG 3027Creative Non-Fiction10
COMM 3013Creative Writing Project10
LANG 3028Crime Fiction10
LANG 3029Culture, Discourse and Meaning10
LANG 3033Film and Drama10
LANG 3050Introduction to Stylistics10
LANG 3059Law, Literature and Culture10
LANG 3061Literary Animals10
LANG 3062Literature and Philosophy10
CART 3001Modernism10
COMM 3024Modernity and Cinema10
LANG 3066Postcolonial Literatures: Partition, Dependence and Exile10
LANG 3068Race in Literature10
CULT 3020Representing Crime10
LANG 3072Short Fiction in the Americas10
LANG 3086The Novel10
LANG 3087Women's Writing10
LANG 3089World Literature in Translation10
LANG 3091Writing and Society10
COMM 3041Writing For Performance10
COMM 3042Writing Poetry10

Equivalent Subjects

The subjects listed below count towards completion of this Major for students who passed these subjects in 2016 or earlier.

LANG 3008 - Applied Critical Methods, no longer offered
LANG 3017 - Children's Literature, replaced by LANG 3019 Children's and Young Adult Fiction
COMM 2045 - Critical Discourse Analysis, replaced by LANG 3029 Culture, Discourse and Meaning
LANG 3032 - English Literature After 1830, replaced by LANG 3094 The Value of Literature
LANG 2018 - History of the English Language, replaced by LANG 3034 Historical Linguistics
LANG 3063 - Literature, History and Culture, no longer offered
LANG 3064 - Literatures of Decolonisation, no longer offered
CULT 3022 - Queering Text, no longer offered
COMM 3032 - Social Semiotics, no longer offered
LANG 2042 - Studies in Postcolonial Literature, replaced by LANG 3066 Postcolonial Literatures: Partition, Dependence and Exile
COMM 2038 - Special Topics in English, Text and Writing, no longer offered
LANG 3085 - Text and Discourse in English, replaced by LANG 3030 Discourse Analysis
LANG 1028 - The Sound of Language, no longer offered as part of this major
COMM 3043 - Writing Portfolio, no longer offered

The subjects listed below count towards completion of this Major for students who passed these subjects in 2019 or earlier.

BEHV 3013 - Humanities Internship, no longer offered as part of this major
PERF 2024 - The Musical, no longer offered
LANG 3092 - The Space of Literature, no longer offered
LANG 3088 - Women, Travel and Empire, no longer offered

Note: The Level 3 subject BEHV 3013 Humanities Internship cannot count towards completion of the English Teaching Specialisation (Birth-5/Birth-12) or the Education Studies Major - Primary English Teaching Specialisation for students enrolled in programs 1708 Bachelor of Arts (Pathway to Teaching Birth - 5/Birth - 12), 1651 Bachelor of Arts (Pathway to Teaching Primary), 1822 Bachelor of Arts (Pathway to Teaching Primary) Dean's Scholars, 6017 Diploma in Arts/Bachelor of Arts (Pathway to Teaching Birth-5/Birth-12), 6019 Diploma in Arts/Bachelor of Arts (Pathway to Teaching Primary) as this would not satisfy the professional accreditation requirements for NESA.

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