Welsh and English Literature BA (Hons)

About This Course

Wales has two major literatures, in two languages, with a long and rich history. This is a course for those who want to study the two traditions in parallel: in England and Wales from medieval times to the present, and also in the rest of Britain and around the world. As you read, research and write, you will develop analytical and critical skills relevant to a wide range of careers. 

The Welsh language at Bangor is a living language for this century and the next, without forgetting its long history. Here you will have the opportunity to not only study and enjoy one of the most remarkable Celtic literatures in the world, but also to pursue more practical modules that will prepare you for a career and the world of work. In Welsh and English, this course will enable you to research independently, to practise original thinking, to gain an intimate knowledge of literatures and cultures and to master various language registers. Our lecturers include world-renowned creative writers, in both languages, and, if you wish, you can take modules led by these experienced novelists, playwrights and poets. 

You will also gain an awareness of Welsh and English in wide international contexts. What is the relationship of Welsh to the other languages of the world? What is ‘world literature’? How have writers and poets responded to global themes such as slavery, the Holocaust and the ecological challenge of the modern industrial world? From the earliest times to the present, the choice of modules is wide and the opportunities to broaden your horizons are endless.

A BA course such as this gives you much more than a certificate: it is a complete cultural and intercultural experience that will enable you to play a professional role in the excitement of a truly bilingual Wales. You can study literatures and cultures alongside language studies, on a rigorous academic course relevant to the social and linguistic needs of Wales. Our graduates work in areas such as the civil service, public relations, marketing, local government, broadcasting, publishing, teaching, translation, the arts and heritage.  

Why choose Bangor University for this course?

• Lecturers with international profiles, both academic and creative.
• Taught in small groups, which allows due attention to you and your work.
• Active theatre and poetry groups, both at university and in the wider community.

Course Content

The teaching is through lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops. You will write essays, undertake various weekly exercises and tasks, read, and prepare for seminars. Assessment is a combination of coursework and examinations, with some modules assessed solely on the basis of coursework. Your modules each year will be equivalent to 120 credits, and you will usually take half of these in English Literature, and half pertaining to Welsh. 

The first year will be an opportunity to build on your experiences and open new doors: e.g. discussing the Welsh language in contexts relating to its history and present-day state, learning new critical skills and responding originally to literature old and new, in both languages. You can choose from a wide range of modules in your second and third years: e.g., the novel from Daniel Owen and Charles Dickens to Manon Steffan Ros and Zadie Smith; the Welsh theatre; Romantic literature; experimental writing; modern poetry and eisteddfod odes; from Dafydd ap Gwilym to the Mabinogion; from Beowulf to Shakespeare - or why not study Welsh American culture and even ask "What is Literature?" Language modules range from historical to sociological, from the opportunity to learn Irish and Breton to modules that develop professional Welsh language skills in the workplace and also creative skills. In the third year you will write a dissertation and research a topic which you find particularly interesting. Recent topics selected have focused on individuals such as Dafydd ap Gwilym, Kate Roberts, Mihangel Morgan, Angharad Tomos, Caryl Lewis, Meic Stevens and Geraint Jarman and areas such as eco-criticism, gender and transgender, the language of Pembrokeshire, Welsh literature and slavery and even literature and horses or football in literature.