30/07/2026
Are you getting ready to join the BA English and American Literature degree at Royal Holloway this coming September, or thinking about applying in the future? You may be wondering what you’ll read — and what questions you’ll explore — during your degree. 📚🇺🇸
As part of the BA English and American Lit degree, the compulsory first-year syllabus introduces you to a wide range of texts, genres, periods, and perspectives, building the foundations for studying literature from both sides of the Atlantic. You’ll develop confidence as a reader, writer, and critical thinker while discovering new ways of understanding how literature responds to the world around us.
In your second year, the compulsory module The American Century asks you to think more closely about the literature and culture of the United States. How have writers responded to America’s changing place in the world? Whose experiences have shaped ideas of American identity — and whose voices have been excluded? What can literature reveal about race, power, gender, migration, inequality, and the promises and contradictions of the American Dream?
Studying American literature helps us understand not only the United States, but also its global cultural and political influence. At a time when questions of identity, belonging, history, and power remain urgently relevant, these texts give us the tools to examine familiar narratives, encounter different perspectives, and think critically about the stories nations tell about themselves.
This is only the beginning of the journey: developing new interests, challenging assumptions, and gaining the skills to interpret thoughtfully and communicate clearly.
[Reading lists are always subject to change, so this post offers a strong indication of what you may study rather than an exhaustive list]
