English
English at Waikato prepares you for what employers want – a trained mind and the ability to understand and creatively solve problems with words. You'll grow your appreciation for major literary works and a love for the English language.
Literature encompasses the total human experience and comes forth in stories, songs, laments and praise. It draws out the nuances of human nature and imagination and compliments the other arts.
English at Waikato stays relevant by constantly evolving and adapting to newer art forms including film, graphic novel and creative non-fiction.
No matter if you're an English major or just taking a few papers, you'll discover English is about answering deep artistic and aesthetic questions. And the quality you'll get at Waikato is excellent – we're a top 250 QS-rated subject.
You'll be immersed in fiction, plays and poetry and explore their potential to shape our world. You'll also have the choice to specialise in creative writing and learn from award-winning writers as well as have the opportunity to publish in Mayhem, our online literary journal. Your writing will gain clarity and subtlety as you develop your unique voice.
Our teaching staff come from a variety of literary backgrounds and contribute to course learning and cultural life on campus. We also host the annual Frank Sargeson Memorial Lecture to commemorate one of New Zealand's most important writers, as well as the Sargeson Prize, New Zealand's richest short story prize.
English at Waikato will develop your critical thinking skills and appreciation for English, as well as prepare you to be a creative problem solver in your future career.
Key information
| Area of Study: |
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Study English in these qualifications
Study English as a specialisation of
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Communication
- Bachelor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences with Honours
- Bachelor of Laws
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Bachelor of Science (Technology)
- Bachelor of Social Sciences
- Bachelor of Sport and Human Performance
- Certificate
- Diploma
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Graduate Certificate
- Graduate Diploma
- Master of Arts
- Master of Arts (Applied)
- Master of Management Studies
- Master of Philosophy
- Master of Science
- Master of Science (Research)
- Master of Science (Technology)
- Master of Social Sciences
- Postgraduate Certificate
- Postgraduate Diploma
Career opportunities
- Creative Writer
- Editor
- Freelance Writer
- Journalist
- Librarian
- Marketing Executive
- Public Relations Executive
Papers
Available English papers
100 Level
| Code | Paper Title | Points | Occurrence / Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGLI100 | Telling the Story | 15.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This paper examines the deep stories which are at the core of the English literary tradition and the wider Western canon, using picturebooks, fairytales, popular film, detective fiction and short stories. | |||
| ENGLI101 | Adapting Stories | 15.0 | 24B (Hamilton) |
| This paper explores the art of adaptation, examining the process of transformation that occurs when creative artists reimagine and retell stories in new ways and new media. | |||
200 Level
| Code | Paper Title | Points | Occurrence / Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGLI200 | Global Fictions | 15.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This paper examines literary responses to the contemporary world. We will study international writing that grapples with issues associated with gender, race, technology, terrorism, and climate change. | |||
| ENGLI201 | Utopias and Dystopias | 15.0 | 24B (Hamilton) |
| This paper provides an introduction to utopian and dystopian writing and the way in which literature gives voice to the dreams and fears of humanity. | |||
| ENGLI202 | Shakespeare's Worlds | 15.0 | 24C (Hamilton) |
| This paper explores Shakespeare's worlds in performance and in print, examining his plays and poems in the context of the dynamic cultural outputs from many other Renaissance artists. | |||
| WRITE201 | Food Writing | 15.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This paper uses writing about food, including recipes, memoirs, restaurant reviews and researched food writing, as the primary materials in a learning experience with an intensive applied writing focus. | |||
| WRITE202 | Creative Writing: Voice and Image | 15.0 | 24B (Hamilton) |
| This course explores the basic elements of imaginative writing - image and voice - concentrating the student's attention on the central writing practices of 'seeing' and 'saying.' | |||
| WRITE203 | Creative Writing: Inspiring Work | 15.0 | 24G (Hamilton) |
| This intensive, workshop-based paper, taught by award-winning novelist Catherine Chidgey, examines the concept of inspiration as it applies to creative writing. Students will consider historical theories of artistic inspiration as well as the methods of practising writers. Thematic lectures around the central topic will address rit... | |||
| WRITE205 | Writing for the Screen | 15.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This paper explores foundational concepts in writing for the screen and develops practical skills in the application of these concepts during workshop sessions. The paper is organised around four main topic areas: world-making, characters, structures, and scenes/sequences. Students will produce a portfolio of writing, including pro... | |||
300 Level
| Code | Paper Title | Points | Occurrence / Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALPSS390 | Directed Study | 15.0 | 24X (Hamilton) |
| This paper allows students from the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology, and Social Sciences to undertake research on a specific topic related to their major or minor under the guidance of academic staff. | |||
| ENGLI300 | Theory Matters | 15.0 | 24B (Hamilton) |
| This paper reads primary literary texts through a range of theories of literature, for example, historicist approaches, deconstruction/post-structuralism, gender studies, psychoanalysis, and theories of narrative and representation. | |||
| ENGLI301 | Genre Studies: Challenging Forms | 15.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This paper is an intensive study of specific literary forms such as tragedy, poetry, travel writing, autobiography, and crime writing. The focus will vary from year to year. | |||
| ENGLI302 | Modernisms | 15.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This paper explores canonical modernist texts of Europe and North America. It also examines exciting new developments in transnational modernisms that broaden the temporal, geographical and stylistic scope of modernism. | |||
| ENGLI303 | Looking Back: Reading Now | 15.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This paper explores the dynamic relationship between contemporary readers and the reception of historical literary texts. | |||
| WRITE300 | Creative Writing: Creative Non-fiction | 15.0 | 24B (Hamilton) |
| This course explores the key elements of creative non-fiction writing, engaging with a variety of non-fiction texts including memoir, biography, the personal/lyric essay, and auto/biographical meta-fiction. | |||
500 Level
| Code | Paper Title | Points | Occurrence / Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALPSS500 | Academic & Professional Research & Writing | 30.0 | 24A (Online), 24B (Online) & 24C (Online) |
| In this course, students will gain the skills and confidence to seamlessly transition from study to work. This course works to enhance the 'skills for the future' identified by the World Economic Forum (2020), in order to produce resilient, creative students with strong analytic and critical thinking skills. | |||
| ALPSS590 | Directed Study | 30.0 | 24X (Hamilton) |
| This paper allows students from the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences to undertake research on a specific topic related to their major under the guidance of academic staff. | |||
| ALPSS591 | Research Project | 30.0 | 24X (Hamilton) & 24X (Tauranga) |
| A research report on the findings of a theoretical or empirical or practice-led investigation (up to 12,500 words maximum). | |||
| ALPSS592 | Dissertation | 60.0 | 24X (Hamilton) & 24X (Tauranga) |
| A research report on the findings of a theoretical or empirical or practice-led investigation (up to 25,000 words maximum). | |||
| ENGLI503 | Looking Back: Reading Now | 30.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This advanced paper explores the dynamic relationship between contemporary readers and the reception of historical literary texts. It focuses on five English novels published between 1847 and 1989. | |||
| ENGLI509 | The Literature of Trauma | 30.0 | 24B (Hamilton) |
| This paper explores the relationship between memory, suffering and writing in the literature of war, the Holocaust, physical trauma and mental illness. | |||
| ENGLI531 | Literature and Medicine | 30.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| This paper explores literature's engagement with the body and mind, mapping out the arts' responses to medical advances from the 1850s to the present. We will study public and literary reactions to such things as germs, vaccinations, nervous disorders, cancer, and tuberculosis. | |||
| ENGLI593 | English Thesis | 90.0 | 24X (Hamilton) |
| An externally examined piece of written work that reports on the findings of supervised research. | |||
| WRITE546 | Creative Writing: Writing and Embodiment | 30.0 | 24A (Hamilton) |
| A writing-intensive paper focused on the ways in which 'embodiment' is key in generating vital characters, shaping dramatic narratives, and crafting resonant sentences aware of the sensory impact of language. | |||
800 Level
| Code | Paper Title | Points | Occurrence / Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGLI800 | English MPhil Thesis | 120.0 | 24X (Hamilton) |
| No description available. | |||
900 Level
| Code | Paper Title | Points | Occurrence / Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGLI900 | English PhD Thesis | 120.0 | 24I (Hamilton), 24J (Hamilton), 24K (Hamilton) & 24X (Hamilton) |
| No description available. | |||
Scholarships and prizes
New to Waikato? The International Excellence Scholarship is worth up to $10,000.
Visit our Scholarship Finder for information about possible scholarships
Subject Requirements
For more information about subject requirements, please refer to the Catalogue of Papers for the most up to date information. If you have any questions and need more advice contact one of our friendly student advisors phone:
Contacts
School of Arts
Phone: 0800 800 145 or +64 7 838 4922
General and Undergraduate Email Enquiries: [email protected]
Graduate and Postgraduate Email Enquiries: [email protected]