English Language and Literature
Studying English in Oxford is a rich, rewarding, and diverse experience. Our students read widely in literature in English across the whole scope of its history; they are also encouraged to develop their own interests over the three years of the course, and to pursue the authors or themes they find particularly fascinating in depth. The first thing we look for in potential students at Oriel is a love of literature, and an omnivorous appetite for reading: you should find the prospect of reading and writing about at least two or three books a week, every week, exciting rather than daunting. The process of interpreting texts sensitively and knowledgably frequently leads us into the terrain of other disciplines—philosophy, aesthetics and art, linguistics, history, politics, the study of Classical literatures, theology—all of which enhance understanding of the works we study together, and enable students to think and write more originally and creatively about them. Our students therefore also need to be intellectually curious, imaginative, dedicated, and hard-working.
Oriel offers a vibrant community of students of English and associated joint-schools (Classics and English, and English and Modern Languages), who are taught in college in a mixture of tutorials (one or two students with a tutor) and lively group classes. Our tutors are committed both to giving our students the necessary grounding in the literature of the periods which we teach, and to encouraging them to explore the writers or subjects they find most engaging in further detail. The first year of the English course covers Old English and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, along with a paper which teaches the core skills of close reading and critical theory which are the tools of literary interpretation. At the end of the first year, students choose to specialize in the periods before or after 1509. For those interested in the more modern period, the second year is devoted to the period 1509-1832, as well as the history and theory of the English language; in the final year, students study Shakespeare, and two papers for which they choose the topic themselves. These provide an opportunity to work closely with an expert in the field, and to produce an extended piece of original work.
Further information about the Oxford English course, including Course II, for those who wish to specialize in Medieval literature, can be found here: http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/prospective-undergraduates/introduction.html. For information on Classics and English or English and Modern Languages, see http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/prospective-undergraduates/joint-schools.
In addition to the absorbing academic life of the college, our undergraduates are also part of a thriving community which participates in various extra-curricular literary activities, including the Ralegh Society, an arts and literary club; the Oriel Lions, a drama society, which annually performs a play in one of the college’s quads; and occasional classes and events based on creative writing, film, and poetry reading. These continue a vivid literary tradition among Oriel students and fellows: among our former members are Sir Walter Ralegh, Matthew Arnold, and John Henry Newman, whom James Joyce described as ‘the greatest of English prose writers’. In recent years, we have also taken students in their third year for a reading and revision week in Cornwall, prior to their final exams.
Undergraduate students at Oriel are taught largely by three tutors, all of whom are active scholars in their field, and have wider literary interests which they are also keen to encourage in their students. Dr Kathryn Murphy is the Organizing Tutor and Fellow in English in the college, and teaches the period roughly 1500-1800, and Shakespeare. She also teaches the genre papers on the Classics and English course. Her research focuses on the seventeenth century, and in particular on the style and form of prose in the period, and its relationship with philosophy. She is also very interested in contemporary poetry, and sometimes writes reviews for the TLS and other journals.
Dr James Methven is College Lecturer in English, and teaches the period after 1800, as well as the first year introduction to literature. His primary research interests are in nineteenth-century Gothic, and modern drama. He has directed many theatre productions in Oxford, and is also a published poet.
The Medieval period is taught by Dr Marion Turner, who is also a Fellow at Jesus College. Her research focuses on fourteenth-century literature and she has published extensively on Chaucer in particular. She is particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches and in critical theory.
In the academic year 2011-2012, Dr Turner’s teaching will be covered by Dr Helen Brookman.
Tutorial Fellow:
College Tutors:
Dr Marion Turner (Fellow of Jesus College); Dr James Methven, Dr Helen Brookman
Admissions:
One piece of recent written work is required. There will be no written test at interview, but all applicants will be expected to have taken the ELAT (see http://www.elat.org.uk/). Candidates have two interviews in the college. As part of the process, candidates are given a short text to read and then discuss with interviewers; they are also expected to discuss their recent reading, both in and out of school.
Places:
5 or 6 (including joint courses)
Subject web pages:
http://www.english.ox.ac.uk (including selection criteria, FAQs and deferred entry policy)
Deferred entry policy:
Candidates accepted for deferred entry are likely to be amongst the highest ranked applicants.