Current active course description (last updated 2025/26)
British Studies
SP171L
Current active course description (last updated 2025/26)

British Studies

SP171L
Discover the rich social, cultural, historical, and artistic impulses of Britain, and how one can inspire and challenge pupils in the English classroom.
British Studies is designed to make the student conversant with the canonical literary tradition of Great Britain, as well as provide the student with the variegated social, cultural, and historical contexts for each work. In addition, the student will be introduced to a wide selection of British young-adult fiction placed in a critical and didactic context. A week-long study trip to the Norwegian Study Centre at the University of York, UK, is an obligatory part of this course, but an alternative home assignment is available for those students who do not wish to attend.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification, acceptance into the English for Bachelor of English or other bachelor programmes at Nord University, and/or international / exchange student status at Nord University.

Knowledge:

The student

  • has knowledge of the social life, history, and a wide variety of cultural expressions in English-speaking countries, especially central works in the English-language literary tradition
  • has knowledge of textual structure and linguistic devices and of critical and analytical approaches to both literary and non-literary texts
  • has knowledge of textual genres and their characteristics, as well as norms for the production of academic texts and the responsible use of sources;
  • has knowledge of how oral and written language can be integrated into inspiring and meaningful activities

Skills:

The student

  • can use English confidently and functionally, orally and in writing, in various situations and genres with precision, fluency, and coherence
  • can adapt and facilitate students' work with English-language texts and their exploration of life and cultural expression in English-speaking countries seen in relation to their own culture
  • can adapt and facilitate work on English-language texts for children and young adults in a varied, challenging, and inspiring manner
  • can adapt, select, and facilitate the work on English-language texts for children and young adults, as well as employing relevant and precise terminology while working with texts
  • can adapt for students' learning about and for further research on society, history, and cultural expressions in English speaking countries

General competence

The student

  • can maintain and develop their own linguistic competence
  • can work independently and together with others to solve identified problems in relation to the student's learning and development in the subject of English
  • can work independently with various topical problems
Course literature and semester fee. Expenses for the study trip to York (travel, tuition (NOK 1500), accommodation, food).
Compulsory for students in the English One Year Programme. The course is also offered as an elective outside of this programme.
The teaching will be part lectures, part seminars and there will also be time for tutoring outside of class.
There will be an internal evaluation of the course in the middle of the semester and at the end of term. In addition we ask that the students take part in the centrally administered evaluation at the end of term.

Compound evaluation (SV), grading scale A-F

All components must be approved to receive the final grade.

Compulsory Participation (OD1): Attendance (minimum 80%). Approved / Not Approved

Compulsory Participation (OD2): Study trip to York or alternative home assignment. Approved / Not Approved

Assessment task (AK): 3 Online Seminars: Complete three online discussions by writing at least one academic contribution in response to a given theme, and to comment on other student's contributions. Comprises 0 % of the grade, grading scale: Approved / Not Approved

Take-Home examination (HJ) Duration 1 week. Essay: Grading scale A - F, (counts 33% of total grade)

Written school examination (SK) Grading scale A - F, duration 6 hours (counts 67% of total grade)

For the school exam: Pen, ruler, and a two-language dictionary.

For the home exam: All aids allowed.

Generating an answer using ChatGPT or similar artificial intelligence and submitting it wholly or partially as one's own answer is considered cheating.

Overlap refers to a similarity between courses with the same content. Therefore, you will receive the following reduction in credits if you have taken the courses listed below:

SP102L-001 - British Studies - superwised written examination - 10 credits

SP121L - Young Adult Fiction - 5 credits

SP102L - British Studies - 10 credits