Classics/English Literature

Classics and English literature is a pairing with deep intellectual roots. The literature of ancient Greece and Rome shaped European writing for two thousand years, and many of the most important works in English draw directly on classical sources, from the Renaissance poets who read Virgil and Ovid to the modernists who engaged with Homer. Reading the two traditions together means understanding not just two great bodies of writing but the conversation between them that has been ongoing since the earliest days of vernacular literature in English.

At Glasgow you will explore literature in English across the full span from early modern to postmodern, engaging with criticism and theory, creative writing, and the relationship between literature and other arts, sciences, and media. Classical study will introduce you to Greek and Latin texts in translation and, where appropriate, to the original languages, alongside the history, philosophy, and culture of the ancient world. The programme is offered part-time, making it well suited to students who need flexible study arrangements.

It includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to spend time at a European partner university and to engage with classical or literary culture in a different national context.

Graduates of this combination go on to careers in education, publishing, academia, journalism, the civil service, broadcasting, heritage, and the arts. The analytical skills, historical depth, and critical literacy the combination develops are genuinely transferable, and the distinctiveness of a classical and literary formation is valued in many professional contexts. Many students continue to postgraduate study in classical studies, English literature, cultural history, or related fields.