Film Studies and English Literature

Film studies and English literature are disciplines that share a concern with how stories are told and what they do to audiences and readers, but they bring different analytical vocabularies and histories to that shared terrain. English literature has centuries of accumulated critical method; film studies developed in the twentieth century as cinema established itself as the dominant cultural form of the modern era. Reading them together means learning to move between the page and the screen, recognising both the affinities and the profound differences between the two forms.

At the University of Manchester, this three-year full-time programme develops your ability to analyse literary texts across different periods and genres alongside rigorous engagement with film as an art form, an industry, and a cultural and historical document. You will develop close reading and critical writing skills in both areas, study film form and style, engage with the major traditions of world cinema, and read widely across the English literary canon. Manchester's humanities faculties have strong research profiles in both areas, and the city's cultural life, including its film societies, galleries, and literary events, provides a stimulating context for your studies.

Graduates of film studies and English literature programmes work in film and television production, journalism, broadcasting, publishing, arts criticism, education, cultural institutions, and the creative industries more broadly. The analytical and writing skills the programme develops transfer well across professional settings, and many graduates find that the combination of literary and cinematic analysis gives them a distinctive perspective that employers value. Postgraduate study in film studies, English, creative writing, or screen studies is a natural continuation for those wishing to pursue academic or specialist professional careers.