Courses / Subject

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

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Either 15 or 30 credits of English if that is timetable compatible with your programme. The 30 credit option is not possible with all programmes. 

EN1V30 - ENGLISH

Credits: 30 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		ADDITIONAL STUDIES IN ENGLISH 2A: WRITING IN HISTORY	EN106	7.5	1
		ADDITIONAL STUDIES IN ENGLISH 2B: LITERARY CRITICISM AND THEORY	EN107	7.5	2
		FOUNDATIONAL ENGLISH 1A: PROSE AND FICTION	EN101	7.5	1
		FOUNDATIONAL ENGLISH 1B: POETRY AND DRAMA	EN102	7.5	2

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

EN2DM - ENGLISH

Credits: 30 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		FILM AND SCREEN STUDIES	EN241	5	1
		IMAGINED WORLDS	EN244	5	2
		INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LITERATURE	EN242	5	1
		LITERARY FORMS	EN203	5	2
		LITERATURE IN HISTORY	EN202	5	1
		LITERATURES OF PLACE	EN204	5	2
		MODERNISM	EN243	5	2
		POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE	EN247	5	2
		ROMANTICISM	EN246	5	1
		THEORISING LITERATURE	EN201	5	1
		VICTORIAN LITERATURE	EN249	5	1
		WRITING IRELAND	EN245	5	2

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

EN2MJ - ENGLISH

Credits: 40 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		BOOKS THAT MADE THE WORLD - I	EN280	5	1
		BOOKS THAT MADE THE WORLD - II	EN281	5	2
		CREATIVE WRITING	EN263	5	2
		FILM AND SCREEN STUDIES	EN241	5	1
		IMAGINED WORLDS	EN244	5	2
		INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LITERATURE	EN242	5	1
		LITERARY FORMS	EN203	5	2
		LITERATURE IN HISTORY	EN202	5	1
		LITERATURES OF PLACE	EN204	5	2
		MODERNISM	EN243	5	2
		POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE	EN247	5	2
		ROMANTICISM	EN246	5	1
		THEORISING LITERATURE	EN201	5	1
		VICTORIAN LITERATURE	EN249	5	1
		WRITERS AND THEMES	EN262	5	1
		WRITING IRELAND	EN245	5	2

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

---

A minimum of 50% overall in English in First Year must be achieved in order to register for Single Major.

EN2SM - ENGLISH

Credits: 60 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		BOOKS THAT MADE THE WORLD - I	EN280	5	1
		BOOKS THAT MADE THE WORLD - II	EN281	5	2
		CREATIVE WRITING	EN263	5	2
		FILM AND SCREEN STUDIES	EN241	5	1
		IMAGINED WORLDS	EN244	5	2
		INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LITERATURE	EN242	5	1
		LITERARY FORMS	EN203	5	2
		LITERATURE IN HISTORY	EN202	5	1
		LITERATURES OF PLACE	EN204	5	2
		MODERNISM	EN243	5	2
		POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE	EN247	5	2
		ROMANTICISM	EN246	5	1
		THEORISING LITERATURE	EN201	5	1
		VICTORIAN LITERATURE	EN249	5	1
		WRITERS AND THEMES	EN262	5	1
		WRITING IRELAND	EN245	5	2

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

EN2MI - ENGLISH

Credits: 20 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		FILM AND SCREEN STUDIES	EN241	5	1
		IMAGINED WORLDS	EN244	5	2
		INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LITERATURE	EN242	5	1
		LITERARY FORMS	EN203	5	2
		LITERATURE IN HISTORY	EN202	5	1
		LITERATURES OF PLACE	EN204	5	2
		MODERNISM	EN243	5	2
		POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE	EN247	5	2
		ROMANTICISM	EN246	5	1
		THEORISING LITERATURE	EN201	5	1
		VICTORIAN LITERATURE	EN249	5	1
		WRITING IRELAND	EN245	5	2

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

---

Update October 2025

EN395 Fiction and Theory (semester 2) has been added to this subject. Students who wish to take it can amend their module selection during the first two weeks of semester 2, via the online Student Web.  

EN3DM - ENGLISH

Credits: 30 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		CONTEMPORARY IRISH CINEMA	EN388	5	2
		CONTEMPORARY LITERARY THEORY	EN301	5	1
		CRITICAL GEOGRAPHIES	EN302	5	1
		DEEP READING, TEXT AND CONTEXT	EN372	5	2
		EXPERIMENTAL FORMS	EN303	5	2
		FICTION AND THEORY	EN395	5	2
		FOUR POST-WAR POETS: LARKIN, HUGHES, HILL, AND PLATH	EN3723	5	2
		GLOBAL CINEMA	EN341	5	1
		INTRODUCTION TO CRIME AND DETECTIVE FICTION	EN3722	5	2
		LOST WORLDS	EN342	5	1
		PETROCULTURES AND THE ENERGY HUMANITIES	EN374	5	2
		PICTURING AMERICA: SHAPING THE STATES IN WORD AND IMAGE	EN382	5	2
		READING THE HISTORICAL NOVEL	EN383	5	2
		READING ULYSSES	EN386	5	2
		REVOLUTION AND DISSIDENCE	EN304	5	2
		SATIRE	EN390	5	2
		SHAKESPEARE ACROSS MEDIA	EN384	5	2
		THE GLOBAL IMPULSE OF IRISH DRAMA	EN3724	5	2
		THE UNIVERSITY IN FICTION	EN399	5	2
		THEORIES FOR TROUBLED TIMES	EN389	5	2
		WRITING ABORTION	EN3725	5	2
		WRITING IN FOCUS	EN343	5	1

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

---

Update October 2025

EN395 Fiction and Theory (semester 2) has been added to this subject. Students who wish to take it can amend their module selection during the first two weeks of semester 2, via the online Student Web.  

EN3MJ - ENGLISH

Credits: 40 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		CONTEMPORARY IRISH CINEMA	EN388	5	2
		CONTEMPORARY LITERARY THEORY	EN301	5	1
		CRITICAL GEOGRAPHIES	EN302	5	1
		DEEP READING, TEXT AND CONTEXT	EN372	5	2
		DISSERTATION	EN363	10	Year-Long
		EXPERIMENTAL FORMS	EN303	5	2
		FICTION AND THEORY	EN395	5	2
		FOUR POST-WAR POETS: LARKIN, HUGHES, HILL, AND PLATH	EN3723	5	2
		GLOBAL CINEMA	EN341	5	1
		INTRODUCTION TO CRIME AND DETECTIVE FICTION	EN3722	5	2
		LOST WORLDS	EN342	5	1
		PETROCULTURES AND THE ENERGY HUMANITIES	EN374	5	2
		PICTURING AMERICA: SHAPING THE STATES IN WORD AND IMAGE	EN382	5	2
		READING THE HISTORICAL NOVEL	EN383	5	2
		READING ULYSSES	EN386	5	2
		REVOLUTION AND DISSIDENCE	EN304	5	2
		SATIRE	EN390	5	2
		SHAKESPEARE ACROSS MEDIA	EN384	5	2
		THE GLOBAL IMPULSE OF IRISH DRAMA	EN3724	5	2
		THE UNIVERSITY IN FICTION	EN399	5	2
		THEORIES FOR TROUBLED TIMES	EN389	5	2
		WRITING ABORTION	EN3725	5	2
		WRITING IN FOCUS	EN343	5	1

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

---

Update October 2025

EN395 Fiction and Theory (semester 2) has been added to this subject. Students who wish to take it can amend their module selection during the first two weeks of semester 2, via the online Student Web.  

EN3SM - ENGLISH

Credits: 60 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		CONTEMPORARY IRISH CINEMA	EN388	5	2
		CONTEMPORARY LITERARY THEORY	EN301	5	1
		CREATIVE WRITING	EN361	5	2
		CRITICAL GEOGRAPHIES	EN302	5	1
		DEEP READING, TEXT AND CONTEXT	EN372	5	2
		DISSERTATION	EN363	10	Year-Long
		EXPERIMENTAL FORMS	EN303	5	2
		FICTION AND THEORY	EN395	5	2
		FOUR POST-WAR POETS: LARKIN, HUGHES, HILL, AND PLATH	EN3723	5	2
		GLOBAL CINEMA	EN341	5	1
		INTRODUCTION TO CRIME AND DETECTIVE FICTION	EN3722	5	2
		LOST WORLDS	EN342	5	1
		PETROCULTURES AND THE ENERGY HUMANITIES	EN374	5	2
		PICTURING AMERICA: SHAPING THE STATES IN WORD AND IMAGE	EN382	5	2
		READING THE HISTORICAL NOVEL	EN383	5	2
		READING ULYSSES	EN386	5	2
		RESEARCH SEMINAR	EN362	5	1
		REVOLUTION AND DISSIDENCE	EN304	5	2
		SATIRE	EN390	5	2
		SHAKESPEARE ACROSS MEDIA	EN384	5	2
		THE GLOBAL IMPULSE OF IRISH DRAMA	EN3724	5	2
		THE UNIVERSITY IN FICTION	EN399	5	2
		THEORIES FOR TROUBLED TIMES	EN389	5	2
		WRITING ABORTION	EN3725	5	2
		WRITING IN FOCUS	EN343	5	1

Subject Overview

• Beginning with words on a page, English is a world-facing subject: it takes you across historical periods, cultures, locations and genres, from poetry and drama to the novel, film, and creative writing too.
• English at Maynooth University provides an exciting and rewarding student experience. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to engage in critical debate about the meaning and value of literature through lectures, tutorials, and seminars.
• As a student of English, you will learn about:
  -Different literary forms from poetry and drama to the novel and film, as well as creative writing.
  -The conditions that shape literature from history and geography to questions of gender, race, and class.
  -How literary texts enable us to understand our own complex world.
  -Different approaches to and theories of literature.
  -How different schools of critical thought or areas have shaped and reshaped the subject of English literary studies.

---

Update October 2025

EN395 Fiction and Theory (semester 2) has been added to this subject. Students who wish to take it can amend their module selection during the first two weeks of semester 2, via the online Student Web.  

EN3MI - ENGLISH

Credits: 20 Not compulsory:

		Module	Code	Credits	Semester	Compulsory
		CONTEMPORARY IRISH CINEMA	EN388	5	2
		CONTEMPORARY LITERARY THEORY	EN301	5	1
		CRITICAL GEOGRAPHIES	EN302	5	1
		DEEP READING, TEXT AND CONTEXT	EN372	5	2
		EXPERIMENTAL FORMS	EN303	5	2
		FICTION AND THEORY	EN395	5	2
		FOUR POST-WAR POETS: LARKIN, HUGHES, HILL, AND PLATH	EN3723	5	2
		GLOBAL CINEMA	EN341	5	1
		INTRODUCTION TO CRIME AND DETECTIVE FICTION	EN3722	5	2
		LOST WORLDS	EN342	5	1
		PETROCULTURES AND THE ENERGY HUMANITIES	EN374	5	2
		PICTURING AMERICA: SHAPING THE STATES IN WORD AND IMAGE	EN382	5	2
		READING THE HISTORICAL NOVEL	EN383	5	2
		READING ULYSSES	EN386	5	2
		REVOLUTION AND DISSIDENCE	EN304	5	2
		SATIRE	EN390	5	2
		SHAKESPEARE ACROSS MEDIA	EN384	5	2
		THE GLOBAL IMPULSE OF IRISH DRAMA	EN3724	5	2
		THE UNIVERSITY IN FICTION	EN399	5	2
		THEORIES FOR TROUBLED TIMES	EN389	5	2
		WRITING ABORTION	EN3725	5	2
		WRITING IN FOCUS	EN343	5	1