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What do we mean by ‘culture’ and why are its many forms so hotly contested? Why is it so important to our sense of identity and belonging? Cultural Studies at Kent is an innovative subject with distinctive perspectives on all forms of present day culture. We explore connections between popular culture, the arts and everyday life by crossing social sciences/humanities boundaries. Taking Cultural Studies with Comparative Literature enables you to benefit from the Cultural Studies modules offered by the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research and those by the Department of Comparative Literature in the School of European Culture and Language.
Overview
Cultural Studies at Kent is a lively, innovative subject with distinctive perspectives on all forms of present day culture. We explore significant connections between popular culture, the arts and everyday life by crossing traditional social sciences/humanities boundaries. Taking the Cultural Studies (Comparative Literature) option enhances your knowledge of European culture through analysing literary texts from all genres.
Comparative Literature broadens the study of literature to transcend national boundaries to consider works from other countries and cultures. Our modules in Comparative Literature cover literature from the classics to the modern age. We investigate literary movements, genres and themes. We offer modules on Classical Literature, Romanticism, Realism, Modernism and Postmodernism. Genres studied include the novel, the short story, science fiction, tragedy and the epic, with a particular emphasis on how literary forms have evolved in different cultures, and linguistic traditions. For example, what makes a tragedy by Sophocles so different from one written by Shakespeare? How has the genre of science fiction developed across Europe? What are the similarities and differences between a novel by Charlotte Brontë and one by Gustave Flaubert?
This degree programme is ideal for those wanting to engage with an understanding of culture from a variety of disciplines and perspectives.
Independent rankings
In the National Student Survey 2015, Sociology at Kent (including subjects such as Cultural Studies) was ranked 10th in the UK for student satisfaction. Sociology was ranked 6th in The Guardian University Guide 2015.
Comparative Literature was ranked 4th in the UK for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey and 96% of our students were satisfied with the quality of teaching on their course.
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
Year abroad
Teaching and assessment
For assessment details for individual modules click the 'read more' link within each module listed in the Course Structure.
Cultural Studies
We use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, case study analysis, group projects and presentations, and individual and group tutorials. Many module convenors also offer additional ‘clinic’ hours to help with the preparation of coursework and for exams.
Comparative Literature
In most modules, you have one two-hour seminar per week. Your Final-Year Dissertation is based entirely on your private research but is supervised by a tutor and includes workshops and the chance to participate in an undergraduate conference. Assessment varies from 100% coursework to a combination of examination and coursework.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- develop in students the knowledge to undertake critical analysis of culture, especially literatures of the world
- provide teaching informed by current research and scholarship in the field of cultural studies and comparative literature
- offer a flexible and progressive curriculum which includes options from a wide range of disciplinary areas particularly in the study of culture, especially national and world literatures
- promote an understanding of cultural identities, differences and transitions and the historical, political and economic contexts of their emergence and change
- provide a broad knowledge of relevant concepts, debates and theoretical approaches in the study of culture and literature
- facilitate the personal development of students as independent, life-long learners capable of collating and analysing information and producing new knowledge
- provide opportunities for the development of personal, communication, research and other key skills appropriate to graduate employment in a range of cultural, media, education and arts-related spheres, and for further research in the fields of cultural and literary studies
- produce graduates with an informed, critical and analytical approach to understanding culture society and the arts
- enhance students’ awareness of sensitivity to the context of the production and reception of the cultural forms over a range of historical periods
- develop a critical and analytical approach to interpreting art and contexts of artistic production and consumption
- provide students with an informed knowledge of the literary traditions from Ancient Greece to modern times.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- the role the media and cultural institutions play in society
- cultural forms as sources of popular knowledge and ideas
- how people engage with cultural texts and practices
- the relation between cultural texts, such as artistic, literary, media, social, political and scientific, and the historical contexts of their production and reception
- the modes of modern global, international, national and local cultural experience
- how cultural texts and products shape contemporary life
- the nature of the cultural impact of new technologies
- literary forms and genres from a range of historical periods and national origins and the way they can be interpreted and evaluated
- the works of a range of significant authors from Ancient Greece through the Renaissance to the present day
- critical theories and concepts deployed in analyses of culture and literature.
Intellectual skills
You gain the following intellectual abilities:
- analyse a wide range of cultural forms
- critical evaluation of scholarship and ideas, classical and contemporary
- represent in language the views and ideas of others
- application of cultural theory and literary theory to familiar and unfamiliar cultural material, phenomena and contexts
- express your own ideas in oral and written communication
- identify, evaluate and construct arguments.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in the following:
- conception and application of cross-disciplinary strategies of investigation of cultural issues, themes and topics
- the ability to identify and analyse ethical and political subject matters represented in all kinds of media culture
- account for and criticise the interrelation of aesthetic cultural practices and forms, and the social and political contexts of their emergence and affect
- evaluate theoretical models and paradigms of cultural production, consumption and reception
- integrate diverse sources of cultural information and produce new knowledge
- analysis and interpretation of literature of all kinds, especially in translation
- effective deployment of terms and concepts and techniques specific to the study of literature from the comparativist perspective.
Transferable skills
You gain transferable skills in the following:
- gather and collate, retrieve and synthese information from a variety of sources, such as library, IT, press, textual, visual, popular and academic, in traditional formats as well as electronic
- work independently on the design and execution of research projects
- the ability to reflect on and understand the accumulation of knowledge about cultural practices diversely understood
- the ability to be adaptable, creative and self-reflexive in producing output for a variety of audiences
- self-directed project planning, development and execution of work to deadlines
- effective communication: express yourself in written and oral forms, represent the ideas of others as well as your own, and argue for, and justify, your own views.
Careers
Cultural Studies
School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research graduates are adaptable and flexible in their thinking and approach tasks in a rigorous, ethical, yet creative and reflective fashion. They develop key transferable skills including: communication, organisational and research skills; the ability to analyse complex information and make it accessible to non-specialist readers, write reports and use data analysis computer programs, and can take on positions of leadership in addition to working effectively and considerately in teams. These skills and attributes are valued in a wide range of professions.
The School has excellent links with local outside agencies, such as the probation and youth justice services, the police and social services.
Cultural Studies graduates work in advertising and design, journalism, broadcasting, teaching, arts administration, publishing, public relations, research, information services, leisure industry management, tourism and heritage, personnel, local government, and the organisation of social and community projects.
Comparative 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.
The range of literatures studied, and the contexts in which they were produced, enables you to develop a global cultural perspective. These key transferable skills are essential for graduates as they move into the employment market.
Recently, our graduates have gone into careers such as teaching, publishing, marketing, radio, journalism, television and film, the Civil Service, advertising, graphic design and copywriting.
If you choose to take the Year Abroad option you will further increase your portfolio of skills by gaining experience of living and studying in a different culture. You will learn to appreciate and assess different approaches to cultural studies and literature giving you a uniquely global perspective.
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | BBB |
| GCSE | 5 GCSEs grade C or above. |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 15 points at HL |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | ||
| Part-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
UK/EU/International students on an approved Year Abroad for the full 2016/17 academic year pay an annual fee of £1,350 to Kent for that year. Those on an approved Year in Industry pay an annual fee of £865 to Kent for that year. Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.