Course summary

Develop your critical and analytical skills, apply them to a variety of philosophical and literary texts, and gain vital professional skills with our BA Philosophy and English Literature with Placement Experience degree. In philosophy, we will give you an understanding of the central philosophical principles, concepts, problems, texts and figures. You will be taught by leading experts whose research strengths lie especially in moral philosophy and the philosophy of the mind and language. You will also have the chance to explore non-Western philosophies, such as Indian philosophy. Your first year will introduce you to the general skills required for all philosophy. You can also select modules from outside the department. In years two and three you will have the opportunity to explore your chosen topic in more depth. These may include studying philosophy in terms of ethics and animals, crime and punishment or religion. In your English Literature modules, you will read more of authors and genres that you may already know (from tragedy to Gothic, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Plath and Beckett). But you will also encounter aspects of literary studies that may be less familiar to you, from children’s literature to publishing studies and the history of the book. 100% of students in the Department of English Literature said that teaching staff are good at explaining things. (National Student Survey 2024, responders from the Department of English Literature). This four-year degree includes an integrated, year-long work placement between your second and final year of study. For more information, please visit the course page: https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/subject-area/philosophy-ug/ba-philosophy-and-english-literature-with-placement