English
The Course The English course is divided into a two-year Part I and a one-year Part II. For most students, Part I involves the study of British literature from Chaucer through to the present day. At the end of the second year examination papers are set in each of four large periods of literature (1300-1550, 1500-1700, 1688-1847,1830- present); there are also papers devoted to Shakespeare, practical criticism, literature in a foreign language, and 'language for literature', where students analyse the functioning of argument, pastiche and borrowing in works of literature. These exams are relatively unprescriptive, and generously conceived as regards the kinds of question set: 'Cambridge English' is a very broad church indeed, and allows plenty of room for individuality of approach. Most students will choose to sit five of these eight papers, and also submit two pieces of coursework: a portfolio of three 2,000-word essays, and a 5,000-word dissertation on a subject of their choice. The foreign literature paper is not compulsory, but students with AS-level or higher in a foreign language may well wish to consider it. It can be taken in any of the following: French, German, Italian, Old English, Latin and ancient Greek. Classes are provided to help to develop your reading fluency, introduce you to a range of poetry in a foreign language, and get you thinking about what happens when a foreign text is translated into English. There is no unseen translation requirement; the exam is based on a set anthology of texts. Students with an A2-level in one language sometimes take this opportunity of working up another (often, Italian) from scratch. The Part II course, followed in the final year, offers wide scope for personal choice. Together with the compulsory papers on Practical Criticism, and on Tragedy, there are a large number of optional papers - on Chaucer, medieval court culture, early Tudor literature, American literature, the history and theory of literary criticism, literature and the visual arts, Shakespeare in performance, commonwealth and international literature, English and European moralists, literature post-1979 and more. You may choose to do either two of those papers and one long essay (up to 7,500 words, on pretty much any literary topic) or one paper and two essays; thus you are free to put together the course of work that best meets your particular strengths and interests. More information on the course is available on the University of Cambridge: Faculty of English Studying English at Clare Teaching goes on through lectures, classes, and supervisions. Lectures are given on a university-wide basis; they offer the stimulus of a wide range of topics, approaches, and models of critical thinking. Attendance is optional; you are free to go to as many or as few as you find valuable. (The English Faculty and English Library are on Clare's doorstep, as is the University Library, and our own College library, The Forbes-Mellon, gives you access to much of the primary literature as well as expert guidance with electronic resources). Classes are with some or all of the others in your college year-group; there will normally be between four and eight students in a class. The style of discussion tends to be informal, but not casual. In your first year you might typically take part in three classes a week: one dealing with background material relevant to the period on which you are working, perhaps another involving an exercise in practical criticism, and one in which to discuss the Shakespeare play set for that week. (At Clare the study of Shakespeare is spread in this way across the first three terms, with most of the writing being done in the third term.) The heart of the course is the weekly supervision, the hour-long meeting in which your supervisor discusses with you the work you have been doing during the past week. As an example, when you are studying Renaissance Literature, you might spend a week working on John Donne; your supervisor would advise you about which poems to concentrate on, and suggest other works where comparison could be stimulating-Donne's sermons, perhaps, or other metaphysical or Elizabethan poetry-together with a number of possible questions to bear in mind. (Some critical essays might also be mentioned, but at Clare the emphasis falls decidedly on reading literature rather than on academic criticism.) You would then have five days or so for intensive reading in and thinking about Donne, before writing an essay-an essay which will normally be of an exploratory, experimental kind, intended to focus perceptions and to try out arguments which can then be developed, qualified, or challenged in discussion with your supervisor. There are three teaching Fellows (see below). Our research specialisms include the Victorian and modern narrative and autobiographical writing; literature and philosophy from Milton to Byron; and medieval literature and culture-but we all teach widely and enthusiastically outside those areas, as well as bringing in supervisors from outside Clare where appropriate, especially for final-year students, who can expect to work with University specialists in their chosen subjects. At Clare we do not teach according to any preferred line of approach, but see our role as being to help the students to discover their own interests and to clarify their own thinking. Students are supervised in pairs or singly and this means that someone who has or who comes to develop particular interests-in theatre, for example, or music, or historical context, or philosophy, and so on-will be able to slant their course of work accordingly. (There is always room for negotiation about which authors or topics you will be studying.) In a more general sense, too, the supervisor is responsive to the individual, and addresses the person as much as the subject. English is a humane discipline, and as a student's skill and knowledge grow, supervisions will evolve away from the teacher-pupil situation towards being a sharing and comparing of experiences between equals, who have in common a strong love of literature. That is an ideal, but one which is frequently approached, and sometimes achieved. Admissions Requirements There is no fixed quota of places in English; in recent years our intake has varied between seven and ten, with between six and 8.5 applicants for each place. The competition for places is exceptionally severe, more so than at most other Cambridge Colleges, and successful candidates generally have mostly grade As or A*s at GSCE, and are predicted at least 3 As at A2 level (or equivalent). Shining at A2-level does not, by itself, mean that you have a good chance of getting in. But if you enjoy reading (and re-reading) literature to a degree that is unusual among your friends, if you find yourself thinking about issues raised or effects created long after you have shut the book in question, and if you feel a strong intellectual curiosity to explore beyond the limits of the A2-level course, you may well be the kind of student we hope to attract to Clare. The level of offer we make to candidates who have not yet taken A2-levels is normally AAA; any combination of subjects is perfectly acceptable so long as it includes English Literature. (English Language and Literature is also acceptable in cases where the school does not offer English Literature.) We are unusual at Clare in welcoming applicants who propose taking a gap year before coming up; there is no quota limiting these, so applicants have exactly the same chance of being made an offer regardless of whether they are applying for a deferred place. Interviews If you apply, you may be asked to send us a sample of your school work, and then be given, in the second or third week of December, one or more interviews by the teaching Fellows in English. There is also a ninety-minute written test. The interviews will contain no trick questions, and no attempts at testing your ingenuity or your range of existing knowledge. What we are looking for is genuineness of response, the ability to read perceptively and to think critically, and evidence of inner motivation and interest that are not merely teacher-led. Beyond these considerations, we have no preconceived ideas about the kind of person we want: the students we admit, and who go on to do well, are a diverse crew. Foreign applicants should understand that interviews are a crucial part of our admissions process; if you are serious about applying to Clare, we strongly advise you to make every effort to come to Cambridge for an interview. Potential applicants who would like more information about anything touched on in these notes, are very welcome to contact either of the Directors of Studies in English, Dr Follini or Dr Tasioulas, directly by letter or e-mail. Fellows in English at Clare Dr Fred Parker, Senior Lecturer in English, Director of Studies (Part I) Dr Tamara Follini, Senior College Lecturer in English, Director of Studies (Part II) Dr Jackie Tasioulas, Senior College Lecturer in English Prof Gillian Brown, Professor of English as an International Language
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The English Faculty Dr Fred Parker Dr Jackie Tasioulas Dr Tamara Follini
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