English Literature/Scottish History

English literature and Scottish history is a pairing that makes particular sense at Glasgow, a university situated within one of the richest literary and historical landscapes in Europe. Scottish literature, from the medieval makars through Burns, Scott, and Stevenson to contemporary writers like Muriel Spark, James Kelman, and Kathleen Jamie, is deeply embedded in Scottish history, and reading it with a serious historical understanding transforms the experience. Scottish history, in turn, has produced some of the most important and contested questions in British and European history, from the Reformation and the Union to the clearances, industrialisation, and devolution, questions that reverberate in Scottish literature at every turn.

At Glasgow, this four-year programme develops both subjects to honours level, with the university's expertise in American, Irish, and postcolonial literatures, critical theory, and creative writing enriching the literary strand alongside the specific Scottish dimension. You will study English literature across a broad range of periods and genres, engaging with the critical and theoretical debates that surround them, while in Scottish history you will examine the political, social, economic, and cultural history of Scotland from the medieval period to the modern era, developing skills in archival research and historical argument. A year abroad is incorporated, broadening your academic and personal horizons.

Graduates go on to work in journalism, education, publishing, heritage, broadcasting, the civil service, and cultural organisations in Scotland and beyond. Many continue to postgraduate study in literature, Scottish studies, history, or creative writing, and some build academic careers in both fields. The combination is particularly valued in Scotland's cultural institutions, where knowledge of both the literary and the historical traditions is an asset.