Twi-hards rejoice: Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey are part of the third year English course

English finalists taking a paper on romantic fiction will study 50 Shades of Grey and Twilight as part of their course.

The Romantic Fiction module includes the vampire love story saga as a compulsory set text – and students will be invited to compare it to “mummy porn” bestseller 50 Shades of Grey.

The books – which have sold millions of copies worldwide – are in stark contrast to the rest of the reading list, which includes classics Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre.

The module, which is titled Reader, I Married Him: The Evolution of Romance Fiction from 1740 to the Present, is open to all English third years.

Students on the course read classics such as Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre before moving on to Twilight in Week 11.

The PowerPoint presentation for the week lists facts about the film – which stars Robert Pattinson – and novel before comparing it with EL James’ controversial novel Fifty Shades of Grey.

Some English students appear optimistic about the addition to  the course. Third year Hollie-Marie Lidbury told The Tab that “Studying Twilight is actually really important when looking at the development of Romance Fiction.

“And seriously, who’s going to complain about getting credit for swooning over Robert Pattinson?” 

Will Dyer, another English student in his third year, has also defended the the decision by the university; “I don’t think we should rule-out anything as being unworthy of debate or analysis.

“Few people limit their reading to ‘classics’ and an English degree should reflect that. Books like Twilight or 50 Shades—whether they’re examples of good writing or not—have a far greater impact today than the canon, that’s what makes interrogating them worthwhile.”