Communication, Screen and Performance

Welcome Week Specifics

Welcome Week is an important time when we will introduce you to your programme. We will also have a range of activities to enable you to meet other students on your course and form across the University. There will be a department introduction w.c. 23rd September, where you can get to know each other and the campus. You will also get to meet your Personal Academic Tutor. Dates on when these sessions will take place will be populated on your timetable.

An Introduction to Your PAT

Every student is assigned a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT). They will be your first point of contact for issues that arise during your degree. We work alongside Student Services – and make referrals to Student Services where necessary – to help you navigate your degree and manage any surprises that life can throw up from time to time.

You'll meet with your PAT when you arrive at university and at least three times a year, but your PAT is always at the end of an email and you may see them more, or less, depending on your circumstances. Your PAT will provide their contact information when you meet them in Welcome Week.

Programme Leader + Contact Details  

PL Name	Programme	Campus	Email
Dr Pamela Barnes	BA Acting	Creative Campus, Kingsway	p.barnes@chester.ac.uk
Dr Graham Atkin	BA Creative Writing CH	Gateway House	g.atkin@chester.ac.uk
Nicole Wellings	BA Dance	Creative Campus, Kingsway	n.wellings@chester.ac.uk
Dr Pamela Barnes	BA Drama and Theatre Studies CH & SH	Creative Campus, Kingsway	p.barnes@chester.ac.uk
Dr Pamela Barnes	BA Drama CH & SH	Creative Campus, Kingsway	p.barnes@chester.ac.uk
Dr Jo Close	BA English Language CH & SH	Vicarage	j.close@chester.ac.uk
Dr Jo Close + Dr Richard Leahy	BA English Language and Literature SH	Vicarage	j.close@chester.ac.uk / r.leahy@chester.ac.uk
Dr Richard Leahy	BA English Literature CH & SH	Vicarage	r.leahy@chester.ac.uk
Dr Katie Barnett	BA Film and Media Studies SH	Creative Campus, Kingsway	k.barnett@chester.ac.uk
Ato Erzan-Essien	BA Journalism CH & SH	Gateway House	a.erzan@chester.ac.uk
Dr Katie Barnett	BA Media and Television Production SH	Creative Campus, Kingsway	c.ford@chester.ac.uk
Dr Simon Morrison	BA Music Journalism	Gateway House	s.morrison@chester.ac.uk
Jim Mason	BA Music Production	Creative Campus, Kingsway	j.mason@chester.ac.uk
Jim Mason / Assoc Prof Ruth Dockwray	BA Music Production & Performance	Creative Campus, Kingsway	j.mason@chester.ac.uk / r.dockwray@chester.ac.uk
Nicole Wellings	BA Performing Arts	Creative Campus, Kingsway	n.wellings@chester.ac.uk
Assoc. Prof. Ruth Dockwray	BA Popular Music Performance SH	Creative Campus, Kingsway	r.dockwray@chester.ac.uk
Ato Erzan-Essien	BA Sports Journalism SH	Gateway House	a.erzan@chester.ac.uk

Social Links

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Other Important University Links

• Term dates for 2024-25 Academic year:  2024-25 Term Dates
• Careers & Employability: Career Hub
• Student Union: Students' Union
• Library & Information Services: LIS
• Academic Skills for Students (ASk): Study Skills
• Support Services for Students: Support Services
• Free Software (especially office) Software

Reading Lists  

For BA Acting:

Churcher M. (2012).  A Screen Acting Workshop. London, United Kingdom: Nick Hern books.

Stanislavski, C. (2013). An actor prepares. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic.

Allain, P., & Harvie, J. (2014) The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

For BA Drama:

Bonczek, R. B., & Storck, D. (2013). Ensemble Theatre Making A Practical Guide. Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge

Lamden, G. (2000). Devising: A handbook for drama and theatre students. London, United Kingdom: Hodder & Stoughton.

Allain, P., & Harvie, J. (2014) The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

 

For BA Music Journalism

James, M., & Anderton, C. (2021). Media narratives in popular music. New York: Bloomsbury.

Grossan, A-J., ed. (2015). How to write about music. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

Lindberg, Ulf. et al. (2011). Rock criticism from the beginning: Amusers, bruisers & cool-headed cruisers. New York, NY: Peter Lang.

For All English Programmes - Overview

Welcome to English at the University of Chester! We hope you are looking forward to starting your studies with us in September; we’re certainly looking forward to meeting you!

We encourage all of our students to read as widely as possible prior to the start of their studies and during their time with us. This document will provide you with an example of some of the texts you are likely to study during your first year, and you will receive a definitive reading list for each module when you join us in September.

We would like to stress that students are under no obligation to buy copies of all the texts listed. The University Library is incredibly well stocked; all the texts will be available on a mixture of short-term and long-term loans, and many are available online. You may, of course, wish to have your own copies of some texts, particularly if you wish to make annotations, but there should be plenty of second-hand copies available through online bookstores.

Some of the texts on the reading lists may contain subjects that are difficult to read about/discuss. If you are uncomfortable with any of the topics, please do speak to your tutor when you join us in September or contact us at englishadmin@chester.ac.uk

We would like to wish you an enjoyable summer and we look forward to meeting you in September.

For Combined Honours Creative Writing

EN4108 Writing Poetry: Finding Your Voice

Module Convenor: Dr Peter Blair (p.blair@chester.ac.uk)

This module will introduce you to the basic techniques of writing poetry and poetry criticism. The module focuses on reading as well as writing, and you will study a range of poetic forms and techniques, in order to learn how to employ these things in your own writing. The essential concept of ‘poetry’ – uniquely concentrated and vivid language shaped into literary form – will be explored, as you experiment with many different ideas and styles in your own poetry.

The set text for this module is:

Amorak Huey and W. Todd Kaneko (eds.), Poetry: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology, first edition (London: Bloomsbury, 2018) ISBN 978-1-3500-2015-3.

This text will be available as an e-book, which you can access online (for free) when the module begins. Many students also like to purchase a paper copy. If you do so, note that there is a second edition, published in 2024; either edition is fine.

You should also keep an eye out for other poetry (particularly contemporary poetry) – the more poetry you read, the better. The Poetry Foundation website (www.poetryfoundation.org) has some great resources, including a daily Poem of the Day.

EN4109 Writing Fiction: How to Craft a Story

Module Convenor: Professor Alan Wall (a.wall@chester.ac.uk)

This module focuses on prose fiction: both novels and shorter fiction. You will read an exciting range of writing, and analyse the ideas and techniques used, in order to learn how you can employ these ideas and techniques successfully in your own fiction.

The set texts for this module are:

• Carter, Angela, Burning Your Boats: Collected Short Stories (London: Vintage, 1996)
• Cook, Elizabeth, Achilles (London: Methuen, 2002)
• Cunningham, Michael, The Hours (London: Fourth Estate, 2003)
• Ondaatje, Michael, Coming Through Slaughter (London: Bloomsbury, 2004)
• Vonnegut, Kurt, Mother Night (London: Vintage, 1992)

You will also need to purchase the textbook for this module. You aren’t required to read this in advance, but you may enjoy having a flick through it before the start of the academic year:

• Lodge, David, The Art of Fiction (London: Vintage, 2011)

You will need to buy your own copy of these core texts - you will be reading them regularly, annotating them, and bringing them to seminars. You should buy the editions specified here.

For Combined Honours English

General/ Introduction to English Language

Culpeper, J., Kerswill, P., Wodak, R., McEnery, T., & Katamba, F. (eds.). (2018). English language: Description, variation and context (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

These two large volumes provide an overview and introduction to many of the core topics you’ll study across your degree programme, including the structures of English, variation and change in English, stylistics/ discourse analysis, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, and semantics & pragmatics.

Merrison, A. J., Bloomer, A., Griffiths, P., & Hall. C., (2014). Introducing language in use: A coursebook (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Godfrey, J. (2016). Writing for university. Palgrave Macmillan.

This book will help you to develop your writing skills throughout your degree.

EN4302 Language and Text

Simpson, P. Stylistics: A resource book for students. Routledge. (either the first or second edition)

These two volumes provide a more detailed introduction to the range of approaches applied to the analysis of the language of texts, both written and spoken.

Jones, R. (2012). Discourse analysis: A resource book for students. Routledge.

EN4305 Foundations of English

Gick, B., Wilson, I., & Derrick, D. (2013). Articulatory phonetics. Wiley-Blackwell.

These two texts introduce you to the core structures of language which we analyse when seeking to understand how the grammar and sound systems (phonetics and phonology) of English work.

Eppler, E. D., & Ozón, G. (2013). English words and sentences: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at j.close@chester.ac.uk. Good luck!

Dr Jo Close, Programme Leader, Combined Honours English Language

For Single Honours English

General/ Introduction to English Language

Culpeper, J., Kerswill, P., Wodak, R., McEnery, T., & Katamba, F. (eds.). (2018). English language: Description, variation and context (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

These two large volumes provide an overview and introduction to many of the core topics you’ll study across your degree programme, including the structures of English, variation and change in English, stylistics/ discourse analysis, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, and semantics & pragmatics.

Merrison, A. J., Bloomer, A., Griffiths, P., & Hall. C., (2014). Introducing language in use: A coursebook (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Godfrey, J. (2016). Writing for university. Palgrave Macmillan.

This book will help you develop your writing skills throughout your degree.

EN4302 Language and Text

Simpson, P. Stylistics: A resource book for students. Routledge. (either the first or second edition)

These two volumes provide a more detailed introduction to the range of approaches applied to the analysis of the language of texts, both written and spoken.

Jones, R. (2012). Discourse analysis: A resource book for students. Routledge.

EN4304 The Nature of Language

Chapman, S. (2006). Thinking about language: Theories of English. Palgrave Macmillan.

These two books will get you thinking about some of the big questions we address when thinking about what language is, how it works, and the ways in which we describe, explain, and understand it.

Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2014). An introduction to language (10th ed.). Wadsworth.

EN4305 Foundations of English

Gick, B., Wilson, I., & Derrick, D. (2013). Articulatory phonetics. Wiley-Blackwell.

These two texts introduce you to the core structures of language which we analyse when seeking to understand the grammar and sound systems (phonetics and phonology) of English.

Eppler, E. D., & Ozón, G. (2013). English words and sentences: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.

Holmes, J. & Wilson, N. (2017). An introduction to sociolinguistics (5th ed.). Routledge. These texts detail some of the methods of studying language, variation and change, looking at the

EN4307 Language in Use

Meyerhoff, M. (2018). Introducing sociolinguistics (3rd ed.). Routledge.

reasons that language use varies according to speaker/ context.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at p.flanagan@chester.ac.uk. Good luck!

Dr Paul Flanagan, Programme Leader, Single Honours English Language

For Single Honours English Language and Literature

General/ Introduction to English Language

Culpeper, J., Kerswill, P., Wodak, R., McEnery, T., & Katamba, F. (eds.). (2018). English language: Description, variation and context (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

These two large volumes provide an overview and introduction to many of the core topics you’ll study across your degree programme, including the structures of English, variation and change in English, stylistics/ discourse analysis, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, and semantics & pragmatics.

Merrison, A. J., Bloomer, A., Griffiths, P., & Hall. C., (2014). Introducing language in use: A coursebook (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Godfrey, J. (2016). Writing for university. Palgrave Macmillan.

This book will help you to develop your writing skills throughout your degree.

EN4302 Language and Text

Simpson, P. Stylistics: A resource book for students. Routledge. (either the first or second edition)

These two volumes provide a more detailed introduction to the range of approaches applied to the analysis of the language of texts, both written and spoken.

Jones, R. (2012). Discourse analysis: A resource book for students. Routledge.

EN4305 Foundations of English

Gick, B., Wilson, I., & Derrick, D. (2013). Articulatory phonetics. Wiley-Blackwell.

These two texts introduce you to the core structures of language which we analyse when seeking to understand how the grammar and sound systems (phonetics and phonology) of English work.

Eppler, E. D., & Ozón, G. (2013). English words and sentences: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.

EN4002 Approaches to Literature

Module Leader: Dr Richard Leahy (r.leahy@chester.ac.uk)

This level 4 core module is designed to challenge students’ inherited assumptions about literature by focusing their reading through a number of critical and theoretical approaches. The module offers a survey of several ways of reading and is designed to empower students by giving them awareness of critical strategies they may never have thought of before. Throughout, students will be encouraged not to accept critical theories passively as received wisdom, but to challenge their relevance and validity, forming a pragmatic understanding of which approaches are most useful and workable in different contexts

• Peter Barry, Beginning Theory, fourth edition (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018)
• Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, sixth edition (Oxon: Routledge, 2023)
• Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (London: Scholastic, 2008)
• Philip Pullman, Northern Lights (London: Scholastic, 1995)
• J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (London: Bloomsbury, 1997)

The dates given are of original publication: in fact, any edition of Rowling, Collins or Pullman is acceptable.

EN4015 Studying Literature: From the Renaissance to the Present

Module Leader: Professor Deborah Wynne (d.wynne@chester.ac.uk)

This a foundational core module uses a range of texts from the Renaissance to the present day. The module introduces students to the key skills of literary analysis required at degree level. The module will explicitly consider the skills involved in reading, writing essays and understanding how literature interacts with social, historical and cultural contexts, as well as introducing students to the important foundational techniques, tools, and terminology of literary criticism.

• Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
• William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus
• Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
• Romantic Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Blake and others

For Single Honours English Literature

EN4002 Approaches to Literature

Module Leader: Dr Richard Leahy (r.leahy@chester.ac.uk)

This level 4 core module is designed to challenge students’ inherited assumptions about literature by focusing their reading through a number of critical and theoretical approaches. The module offers a survey of several ways of reading and is designed to empower students by giving them awareness of critical strategies they may never have thought of before. Throughout, students will be encouraged not to accept critical theories passively as received wisdom, but to challenge their relevance and validity, forming a pragmatic understanding of which approaches are most useful and workable in different contexts

• Peter Barry, Beginning Theory, fourth edition (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018)
• Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, sixth edition (Oxon: Routledge, 2023)
• Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (London: Scholastic, 2008)
• Philip Pullman, Northern Lights (London: Scholastic, 1995)
• J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (London: Bloomsbury, 1997)

The dates given are of original publication: in fact, any edition of Rowling, Collins or Pullman is acceptable.

EN4007 Fictional Worlds

Module Leader: Professor Deborah Wynne (d.wynne@chester.ac.uk)

This module explores how, and with what effects, writers construct a wide variety of fictional worlds. We will consider the many ways that literature offers different perspectives on both real and imagined worlds. Throughout the module we will explore ideas of genre and narrative by examining the techniques uses by authors from the nineteenth-century to the present, as well as reflecting on the processes involved in reading, discussing and writing about fictional texts. Below is a list of some of the texts we will discuss on the module:

Please make sure that you buy and read this novel:

Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca (Virago Modern Classics, 2016) ISBN: 978-0349006574

There will also be a number of short stories you will study and these will be provided at the beginning of term. If you want to read a couple of stories in advance, then here are the links to two American stories from The New Yorker:

Shirley Jackson, ‘The Lottery’, The New Yorker (1948):

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery

John Cheever, ‘The Swimmer’, The New Yorker (1964)

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1964/07/18/the-swimmer

EN4011 Contemporary Literature: The Critical Acclaimed and the Popular

Module Leader: Dr Ashley Chantler: a.chantler@chester.ac.uk

This module is designed to provide an introduction to contemporary literature. Focusing on a range of contemporary writers, the module explores the key skills necessary for degree-level literary analysis. Further to enhancing their critical reading skills, students will develop a more nuanced understanding of the difference between critical opinion and personal opinion.

You will need these editions. Second-hand copies are available online.

• Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending (Vintage, 2012)
• Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child (Harper Perennial, 2007)
• Cormac McCarthy, The Road (Picador, 2009)
• Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beach (Vintage, 2018)

EN4013 Reading Other Worlds

Module Leader: Dr Lucy Andrew (l.andrew@chester.ac.uk)

This module is designed to provide an introduction to other worlds in literature, with a minor focus on other transmedia fictional worlds. Exploring science fiction and fantasy worlds allows for parallels to be drawn between these imagined lands and our own. Skills of pattern recognition, data assimilation and synthesis, and argument construction will be tested here. Alongside these more traditional skills, the variety of assessment methods will also allow for some creative work.

Novels

Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park (London: Arrow, 1991)

Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (London: Puffin Books, 2005)

P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins (London: HarperCollins, 2018 [1934])

1. J. Tudor, The Drift (London: Penguin, 2023)

Any editions of the above texts are acceptable.

Films

Jurassic Park, dir. by Steven Spielberg (Universal Pictures, 1993)

Jurassic World, dir. by Colin Trevorrow (Universal Pictures, 2015)

Mary Poppins, dir. by Robert Stevenson (Buena Vista Distribution Company, Inc., 1964)

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, dir. by Chris Columbus (20th Century Fox, 2010)

Saving Mr Banks, dir. by John Lee Hancock (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2013)

All films are available to watch via Box of Broadcasts (https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/bob/), which you can access for free by logging in with your university username and password.

EN4015 Studying Literature: From the Renaissance to the Present

Module Leader: Professor Deborah Wynne (d.wynne@chester.ac.uk)

This a foundational core module uses a range of texts from the Renaissance to the present day. The module introduces students to the key skills of literary analysis required at degree level. The module will explicitly consider the skills involved in reading, writing essays and understanding how literature interacts with social, historical and cultural contexts, as well as introducing students to the important foundational techniques, tools, and terminology of literary criticism.

• Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
• William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus
• Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
• Romantic Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Blake and others

EN4002 Approaches to Literature

Module Leader: Dr Richard Leahy (r.leahy@chester.ac.uk)

This level 4 core module is designed to challenge students’ inherited assumptions about literature by focusing their reading through a number of critical and theoretical approaches. The module offers a survey of several ways of reading and is designed to empower students by giving them awareness of critical strategies they may never have thought of before. Throughout, students will be encouraged not to accept critical theories passively as received wisdom, but to challenge their relevance and validity, forming a pragmatic understanding of which approaches are most useful and workable in different contexts

• Peter Barry, Beginning Theory, fourth edition (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018)
• Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, sixth edition (Oxon: Routledge, 2023)
• Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (London: Scholastic, 2008)
• Philip Pullman, Northern Lights (London: Scholastic, 1995)
• J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (London: Bloomsbury, 1997)

The dates given are of original publication: in fact, any edition of Rowling, Collins or Pullman is acceptable.

EN4015 Studying Literature: From the Renaissance to the Present

Module Leader: Professor Deborah Wynne (d.wynne@chester.ac.uk)

This a foundational core module uses a range of texts from the Renaissance to the present day. The module introduces students to the key skills of literary analysis required at degree level. The module will explicitly consider the skills involved in reading, writing essays and understanding how literature interacts with social, historical and cultural contexts, as well as introducing students to the important foundational techniques, tools, and terminology of literary criticism.

• Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
• William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus
• Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
• Romantic Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Blake and others