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Summer School: English Literature

Browse our English Literature modules below, part of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities. If you're unsure what to study this summer, follow our top tips for how to choose a module.

Module information

Choose from a variety of modules across two sessions:

Session One

• The Age of Adolescence: Reading 20th Century Youth Culture

  Module code: IS407

  This module will explore representations of adolescence from the early 20th through to the early 21st century in literature, film and popular culture. We will read texts that range across history, psychology, and writings about juvenile delinquency, but our focus will be on reading novels, short stories, films and graphic novels, that represent the paradoxes of adolescence from the turn of the 20th century. This may include such works as: Back to the Future, Ghost World, Spring Breakers, The Hate U Give, and more.

  We will look at the ways in which the adolescent morphs into the teenage consumer in the 1950s in novels such as Colin MacInnes’s Absolute Beginners. We will consider the adolescent as a site of cultural fantasy and cultural fears in relation to class, race, gender, and sexuality and the adolescent’s relationship to radical politics, subculture, suburbia, and nostalgia.

  If you are interested in literary figures and novels that have pushed boundaries on the representation of adolescence, then this module is for you. This module will provide a theoretical introduction for students wishing to explore a career in film production, youth literature and education sectors. For your assessed portfolio, you can write in a combination of critical and creative ways, depending on your own preferences

  On this experiential module, we will explore how Brighton has been central for pushing boundaries and creating new waves in the medium of literature and film. We will develop a deeper understanding of the construction of the categories of the adolescent and the teenagers in literature, film and theory. This module may include a field trip to Brighton, following the trail of cult movie Quadrophenia.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the history of, and an ability to evaluate, 20th-21st century fiction, film and theory
  • Develop an understanding of the construction of the categories of the adolescent and the teenager in literature, film and theory
  • Analyse literature, film, and other discourses, and to dissect rhetoric and understand meanings
  • Develop an argument from close reading and data interpretation.

  Teaching method: Fieldwork, seminars and workshops
  Assessment: 90% portfolio, 10% observation
  Contact hours: 40 hours 
  Credits: 15 Sussex Credits
  Level: 4

• Video Games: Creative and Critical Writing

  Module code: IS403

  In recent years the gaming industry has been transformed by the addition of auteur-driven indie games to those of AAA studios with Hollywood budgets, as well as by the diversity of technology on which games can be played. We will study examples of successful imagined worlds (Zelda: Breath of the Wild), powerful storytelling (The Last of Us), literary games (Kentucky Route Zero), indie games (Braid), micro-Indies (Problem Attic) and classic adventure games (Monkey Island), amongst others.

  We will explore the possibilities of play, world-building, narrative, character-design, game mechanics, and game dynamics. Technical understanding of the medium will provide us with an array of opportunities for writing and imagining video games: composing narratives and shooting-scripts; creating avatars; developing fictional worlds. We will introduce you to some game development software, though this module is not designed as a coding course. It is ideal for students looking beyond the surface of video games, wanting to engage with thoughtful critique of an emerging industry. We will reflect on the social implications of game design, taking into account discourses around gender, race and sexuality.

  A guest lecture may be offered by an industry expert.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Understand and experiment with common practices of creative writing across multiple computer/video game genres
  • Reflect critically on the social implications of game design, taking into account discourses around gender, race, and sexuality
  • Communicate the results of critical reflection in a collegial group discussion
  • Evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems when relating the creative aspect of game design to critical reflection on the social aspects of games

  Teaching method: Workshops
  Assessment: 90% portfolio, 10% observation
  Contact hours: 40 hours 
  Credits: 15 Sussex Credits
  Level: 4

Session Two 

• Children’s Literature

  Module code: IS408

  Our most loved books are often those we read in childhood; they stay with us through later life. This module provides a space to think differently when addressing often beloved texts.

  George Orwell once wrote that ‘many people who would consider themselves extremely sophisticated and “advanced” are actually carrying through life an imaginative background which they acquired in childhood.’ This module examines the political lessons children’s books encode about what childhood is, and about which children matter and why. We will read children’s texts from a range of genres and forms—including fantasy, school stories, picturebooks, and domestic fiction—written between the late eighteenth century and the present day. We consider issues of agency, gender, race, class, and the environment. The final assessment optionally involves creative writing for children and for your assessed portfolio, you can write in a combination of critical and creative ways, depending on your own preferences.

  This module is ideal for students with a background in the Humanities, English, Art, or History, as we study a variety of mediums. We will consider the role of illustration, watch classic film adaptations, and read seminal works by authors which may include Lewis Carroll, Neil Gaiman, C. S. Lewis, Beatrix Potter and Harriet Beecher Stowe. These works will be illuminated in discussions in small group seminars.

  Restrictions permitting, we will also conduct two fieldwork trips, which may include a visit to The Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury and the world-famous Victoria & Albert Museum in Kensington, London.

  Learning outcomes:

  • To understand the history of children’s literature from the eighteenth century to the present day
  • To critically evaluate how children’s texts encode political messages, including messages about gender, race, and social class
  • To gain experience in analyzing word-image texts, including picturebooks
  • To effectively communicate detailed analyses of children’s books through creative and critical writing

  Teaching method: Workshop, fieldwork and tutorials
  Assessment: 100% portfolio
  Contact hours: 40 hours
  Credits: 15 Sussex Credits
  Level: 4

Not sure how to choose?

Follow our top tips for choosing your modules. You can also find out about our teaching structure, assessment process and how your credits transfer back to your home institution.

Which school will I study in?

You'll study in the English department, which is part of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities. Many of our staff have won academic prizes and research awards.

Our literature and language research

Staff at Sussex are working across a multitude of disciplines, informing critical theory and challenging assumptions about language and performance.

Our research influences the way we teach, and you learn from academics at the forefront of their fields. Find out more.

You might also be interested in:

• fees and costs
• entry requirements
• how to apply.