English Literature/Russian

English literature and Russian is a combination that places two of the world's great literary traditions in dialogue. The English literary canon stretches from Chaucer and Shakespeare to the contemporary novel, encompassing poetry, drama, and prose across six centuries of cultural history. Russian literature, though the tradition is concentrated in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, produced a body of work, from Dostoevsky and Tolstoy to Chekhov and Bulgakov, that has shaped how the whole world thinks about the novel, morality, and the human condition.

Reading it in the original Russian transforms the experience entirely.

At the University of Glasgow, you will explore all aspects of literature in English from early modern to postmodern, benefiting from expertise across American, Irish, and postcolonial literatures, critical theory, creative writing, and the relationships between literature, other arts, media, and science. Alongside this, you will develop Russian language proficiency, building the skills to read literary and contemporary texts in the original. You will learn to think comparatively about literature, language, and culture, constructing arguments that draw on close reading and critical analysis.

The programme runs over five years full-time and includes a sandwich placement year and a work placement.

Graduates of English literature and Russian programmes pursue careers in translation and interpreting, publishing, journalism, education, the civil service, diplomacy, and cultural institutions. Russian language skills are rare among UK graduates, making them particularly valuable in contexts where engagement with Russian-speaking countries, organisations, or communities is relevant. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in literary studies, Slavonic languages, translation, or cultural history, where the breadth of their undergraduate training is a genuine asset.