Reading English Literature

10 Wednesday evenings, 6 pm to 8:45pm,

Course starts January 2026. Exact dates will be updated on this page soon.

University of Bristol Arts Complex, Woodland Road, BS8 1TB

Reading English Literature is a short 20-credit course designed to help mature students progress to a part-time degree in the English department or to explore other opportunities for further study. It enables students to develop skills in literary study, critical thinking and essay-writing.

Students will have full access to the University library and student study centres.

Week 1:
'Head of English' by Carol Ann Duffy
'Do not go gentle into that good night', Dylan Thomas, reading by Benjamin Zephaniah
Week 2:
'Bliss' by Katherine Mansfield
'Who is Like God' by Akwaeke Emezi
Weeks 3-4: Shakespeare's Macbeth 
Week 5: Poetry in Time - medieval lyric to Nineteenth Century
Week 6: Poetry in Time - early Nineteenth Century to the modern period
Week 7: Writing skills
Week 8: 'Giovanni's Room' by James Baldwin
Week 9: 
excerpts from Exile and Pride by Eli Clare
excerpts from Letters to My Weird Sisters by Joanne Limburg
Week 10: 
Girl by Jamaica Kinkaid
The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado

Course Fee £465. Payment can be made in instalments. 

Students from low income backgrounds are welcome to apply for funding support.‌ Click the following link to download the Pathway Funding Guidance (PDF, 64kB)

Applications for January 2026 are not yet open