BA in English
The building blocks of literature: language, form and text.
Introduction
Literature in the English language is a whole world, full of craft and aesthetic and forms that tell us stories. These stories speak of the worlds in which we live: different places and experiences, and many perspectives. In this programme, we take you through an exploration of literature in the English language — written in English, translated into English, from different times, in different forms and via different media. Through this exploration of the written word and oral expression we hope you learn to love literature as a way of reflecting on our lives.
WE BRING YOU INTERDISCIPLINARY OPENNESS
Our degree encourages you to explore and follow your interests. We design our courses to ensure that you can specialise in a subject of your choice while learning a variety of subjects across disciplines.
A COMMON CURRICULUM FOR ALL STUDENTS
You will meet all your classmates at the beginning of your degree to build all the tools you need for your three years of study. This includes foundational courses, an understanding of India, interdisciplinary studies, and a workshop in creative expressions.
WE OFFER ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE
We provide active academic assistance and ensure that you are able to meet the requirements of the academic programme to fulfil your aspirations.
WE ENSURE FINANCIAL SUPPORT
We ensure that no student has to drop out of university because of financial trouble or social disadvantage. We provide financial assistance to deserving students.
In our Indian context, English is a language that not everybody has easy access to, even while it is a very important currency for different avenues of work. To ensure that English is not just for those who have the privilege to use it with ease, English language training is a very integral part of our courses. We train you in reading and writing in the English language so that you can explore and appreciate both literary and non-literary texts, whether theoretical, creative or journalistic. We make sure that we explore culturally diverse forms, including digital media technologies.
2018
- Media Representations of Conflict and Politics: The Case of Irom Sharmila, Adit Dzouza, mentored by Neeraja Sundaram
- The Crisis Narrative in the Humanities: Examining the question of relevance, Sabyasachi Saikia, mentored by Srinivas SV & Asim Siddiqui
2019
- Tracing the interconnections between contemporary Indian English and India’s recent and current socio-political and historical landscape, Anandi, mentored by Sonali Barua
- Facebook Meme Cultures: Evaluation, Convention, Collaboration, Neeta Subhiah, mentored by Neeraja Sundaram
- The Created Being in Contemporary Science Fiction, Nirica Srinivasan, mentored by Neeraja Sundaram
2020
- Consumption, Culture, Commemoration — The Irani Cafes of Hyderabad, Ramsha Farhan, mentored by Srinivas SV
- Masculinities and Their Cultures In Contemporary Pakistani Fiction, Varun Andhare, mentored by Sonali Barua
2021
- Participation and Value of Art on Instagram, Divij Ingale, mentored by Srinivas SV
- Caste and Violence in Tamil Cinema, Vishnubhala Kailasam, mentored by Srinivas SV
2022
- Kabir Kala Manch and Ambedkarite Aesthetics: A history of Dalit Bahujan Resitance in India’s Cultural Resistance Movements, Tara Brahme, mentored by Bindu Menon & Asim Siddiqui
- The Lavender Menace: Lesbians and the Sexual Revolution,Meghana Rupakula, mentored by Nithya Vasudevan
- Media and Mobilisation During the Telangana Movement (2009−2014), Nandita Ponugoti, mentored by Srinivas SV
- Covid Poetry: The Role of Poetry in Building Affective Communities, Shrishti Sinha, mentored by Sonali Barua
Living on campus
We believe that learning happens both inside and outside the classroom. In living together, you can meet and encounter diverse people from different social and cultural backgrounds and experiences. Our campus has a range of activities from discussion groups to sports and clubs for our students and faculty to interact with each other and build meaningful relationships over their years of study.
Know more about the Bengaluru campus, here.
Know more about Azim Premji University at Bhopal, here.
A humanities miscellany has been a platform of memories, celebrations, and interactions and has been adding life to the body of the humanities here at APU.
Course structure
Our programme is centred on you. We hope you will bring your experiences, languages and cultures into the classroom.
Our classes will include discussions, close reading and analysis, group and pair work, presentation and peer review. We will do field trips, reflection and writing, and we encourage you to create your own reading lists and writing portfolios.
Please visit this page to learn more about our four-year undergraduate programmes.
The Common Curriculum will introduce students to the study of the themes and areas that emphasise and build critical and analytical abilities, and sensibilities for dialogue, reflection and cooperative learning. The Common Curriculum has three sub-components organised as below:
Foundations: Build capacity for critical thinking, reasoning and communication.
Understanding India: India’s history, society and possible futures
Creative Expressions: Explore music, visual art, theatre, dance, martial arts, yoga, pottery, sport, and other creative areas.
In the core courses, we help you build all the tools you need for an appreciation of literature. We explore rigorous writing, language training and an exploration of theory, cultural studies and translation. We include quantitative reasoning into our course work.
Statistics and Society
Core
How do numbers and data represent our world?
An Introduction to Literature
Core
This is a gateway course that conveys the excitement of doing close reading and literary analysis. It also looks at different genres and the interaction between the student and literary text, and the inevitability of multiple meanings and perspectives.
An Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry and the Short Story
Core
Using poetry and short stories to explore creative writing.
Poetry and the Short Story From around The World
Core
Exploring the contexts of literary texts.
Contemporary India Through Literary and Cultural Texts
Core
Texts ranging from the years before and after Independence to the India of the 21st century.
Romantics: Nature, Self and Society
Core
Looking at the eighteenth century in English writing, known as Romanticism.
Drama as Text and Performance
Core
Students learn about the origins and categories of drama through ancient and contemporary texts and the conditions of production and reception of dramatic texts and performance.
Approaches to Literature
Core
Exploring critical reflection through other disciplinary areas.
Writing for the Public
Core
Learning how to write professionally for public audiences.
Bangalore: Language, Media, Culture
Core
Exploring the texts that make up the city of Bangalore.
Choose courses from writing, literary studies, cultural studies, translation, and media and communication.
Media and Communication
These courses will introduce you to the critical and conceptual tools involved in media texts. This course is based on research and practice, and you will study how media texts are created and their social, historical and political contexts. This course is for students who wish to prepare for careers in journalism, communications, and social work.
Convergence Journalism
Elective
Documentary Narratives
Elective
Digital Texts and Textuality
Elective
Literary Studies
A focused foray into literary studies and periods of study, aesthetic and intellectual movements.
Literature of the Modern
Elective
The Novel
Elective
Literature of Dissent
Elective
Cultural Studies
Actions, thoughts and expressions related to different aspects of our lives - nation, gender, religion, family - are involved in continuing contestations. How do we understand all these aspects of 'culture'? These courses will take you through different kinds of texts and teach you how to read them from different disciplinary locations.Reading Culture
Elective
The Body in Society
Elective
The course aims to teach students how reading, writing, language and interpretation can extend beyond the analysis of literary texts to a range of texts and practices in everyday life.
Indian Cinema and Society
Elective
Translations
How do ideas, objects and people travel across different kinds of borders? How do concepts travel between different disciplines? How do words turn into action? How do people from dissimilar contexts speak to and understand each other? Do we dream and think in our mother tongues? In all of these questions lies embedded the idea of translation.
Translation is not often recognised as a domain of experience, academic learning and social value. We offer two courses focused on the practice of translation, with translation theory and practice.
Writing
These courses help you use your readings, discussions and practical work to write and develop your own literary sensibilities. The courses will also focus on the craft of writing, reviewing, rewriting and editing. We hope these courses are helpful for careers in academics, journalism, and publishing.
Writing children’s literature
Elective
Students must be prepared for the world of work at the end of the programme should they choose to enter it. We aim to provide the required skills and competencies for this through a Minor featuring courses in an Occupational or Interdisciplinary theme. These sets of courses are aimed to provide both conceptual understanding and skills and tools that will allow students to contribute through work and further study.
Students can opt for a minor in any one of the indicative areas listed below:
- Education
- Media and Journalism
- Data and Democracy
- Sports and Fitness
- Climate Studies
- Arts
The selection of these indicative areas is based on the availability of courses and our evaluation of the student’s interests and academic needs. For each cohort, a final list of available courses will be announced at the end of their second semester.
Students can craft their own educational experience by selecting courses in the following ways:
- Students will have the option to take additional courses in their Disciplinary major
- Interdisciplinary minor that will enable them for their further higher studies or career pathways.
These courses could also be selected to enhance and broaden their
- Language skills and Quantitative reasoning capacities/programming skills
- Understanding of themes outside their Major subject
