Jane Smith

Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Jekyll and Hyde and The Time Machine – just some of the famous novels which Jane Smith has read so far as part of her masters degree course. A recent English graduate from Glyndŵr University, Jane’s studies for the MA English Literary Culture: 1880 – 1920 have broadened her literary knowledge even further.

“Now there’s no text which my students study that I haven’t come across,” says Jane, an English teacher at a local secondary school. “Being widely read has helped a great deal.”

“I enjoyed studying English here for my degree so much that I wanted to continue at a higher level, and the course certainly demands that. I’m now looking at a specific time period in literary history – late Victorian and Edwardian writing, gender and sexuality in the late 19th century and early modernist works. I’ve had the chance to study a wide range of texts that I wouldn’t necessarily have thought of reading before as well. 1880-1920 was a very rich and interesting period for literacy.

“I’ve always been passionate from a young age about writing and now I’m taking that to a new level.”

Jane’s working life so far has included time in residential care and the civil service. When she completes the MA Literary Culture, she plans to focus teaching further education English students.

“I wouldn’t have secured my current teaching job without my degree and the masters will take my career even further. I’ve had fantastic support from the staff here – that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to carry on studying at the University. Any time you need help, you just have to ask and they’ll be there for you.”