Leicester University denies it is dropping Chaucer for being 'too white' after proposing modules on race and sexuality instead

Leicester University has denied it is dropping literary giant Geoffrey Chaucer for being 'too white' after proposing replacement modules focused on race and gender. 

Plans have emerged to shelve The Canterbury Tales and Beowulf - two of the most important works in English literature - in favour of a 'decolonised' curriculum.

The English faculty has been told that the foundational texts could be replaced by more popular works - but Leicester said this wasn't down to their 'whiteness.'

Dr Christine Rauer, a lecturer at the University of St Andrews, told MailOnline: 'It's hard to see why race, ethnicity, sexuality and diversity can't be taught alongside Chaucer and Beowulf.

'Bring in the new topics while also keeping the medieval! Curriculum planners should think big – their students will later compete with people who studied elsewhere and who have a much wider range. You will feel left out, if you only know half the story.' 

Asked whether the texts might be too difficult, Dr Rauer said: 'Medieval literature can seem hard at the beginning, but most good things in life are like that. Self-confidence comes from overcoming difficulty, and the unexpected.'

Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, known as the Father of English Literature and the epic poem Beowulf which was written in Old English

It comes after management at Leicester University circulated an email to its English department notifying them of changes to courses to focus on 'race, ethnicity, sexuality and diversity'.

The email obtained by The Telegraph said: 'The aim of our proposals to offer a suite of undergraduate degrees that provide modules which students expect of an English degree.'

The new roster of modules were to be 'excitingly innovative' and would cover: 'A chronological literary history, a selection of modules on race, ethnicity, sexuality and diversity, a decolonised curriculum, and new employability modules.'

The changes would affect anything written prior to 1500 – not limited to Chaucer and Beowulf.

Also for the chop would be the chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Sir Thomas Malory's Mort D'Arthur, the classic chronicle of the legend of King Arthur.

Other cuts could even extend to Early Modern English modules – including John Milton's Paradise Lost and John Donne's metaphysical poetry.

But while the university has promised to maintain its Shakespeare offerings, the same cannot be said for its specialised teachers who face redundancy.

Up to 60 jobs are now under threat, according to The Telegraph, as part of Leicester's efforts to run 'sustainable' courses first announced last year.

Vice Chancellor Nishan Canagarajah said it was part of a the long-term strategy to 'compete on a global level', adding: 'To facilitate this, we may need to cease activity in a limited number of areas.'

Today the university insisted to MailOnline the suggestions to change came after feedback from students and that nothing had been set in stone.

The University of Leicester has denied the changes are because they are 'too white'

A spokesperson said: 'Students at the University of Leicester will continue to study some of the best-loved authors in the English language, from Shakespeare, Austen and Dickens to Keats, Shelley and Byron, to Woolf, Toni Morrison and Colston Whitehead.

'There is absolutely no truth to the suggestion that certain modules are being eliminated for being "too white."

'We want to offer courses that match our students' own interests and enthusiasms, as reflected in their own choices and the feedback we have been hearing.

'Leicester continues to be a research-intensive, comprehensive university that offers a broad range of subjects. We will be engaging closely with staff and students to hear their ideas and suggestions in response to the proposals.'

Chaucer, the Father of English Literature

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1342 - 1400) ranks alongside William Shakespeare as one the most important poets of the English language.

His masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, is considered one of the first works written in modern English, marking a shift from the Old English which preceded the Middle Ages.

For this reason he is described as 'the first finder of our language.' 

The Canterbury Tales was hugely popular in Medieval England because it was one of the few works which was written in English rather than French - the language of the ruling classes.

Chaucer's poem follows a group of pilgrims on their way from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at the cathedral.

The pilgrims, including Chaucer himself, have a story-telling contest on their way to Canterbury and their 24 stories form the basis of the narrative. 

The enduring popularity of the work is testament to its humour, characters and vivid descriptions of various social groups from knights to cooks.

Pilgrims tell tales of varying tones, some are pious and witty, others are vulgar and bawdy.  

Chaucer originally planned to write more than a hundred tales but only completed 24.

In surviving copies the stories appear in various orders with the Hengwrt manuscript, held in the National Library of Wales, considered to be the most accurate.

Chaucer was born in London, his father was a wine maker as per family tradition. 

In addition to his literature, Chaucer contributed to society as a courtier, diplomat and civil servant and was the trusted aide of three successive kings: Edward III, Richard II and Henry IV. 

In 1994, literary critic Harold Bloom placed Chaucer among the greatest Western writers of all time.  

Such is the respect for the writer, he was first person to be buried in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner. 

Beowulf, the longest epic poem in Old English

At 3,000 lines long, Beowulf is the longest epic poem in Old English - the language of England before the Norman Conquest.

It was written between 975 and 1025 and tells the story of a Scandinavian hero called Beowulf of Geatland.

He comes to the aid of Hrothgar, King of the Danes, whose warriors are besieged by the monster Grendel. 

Before setting out to defeat Grendel, Beowulf feasts lavishly with the Danes in their great mead hall.

But one of their number mocks Beowulf, saying that he is not worthy of his reputation. The hero replies boastfully about his past achievements.

Later that night, Grendel arrives to terrorise the banquet. 

Beowulf fights him unarmed and rips off one of the monster's arms.

Grendel runs away back to his swamp to die and his arm is hung up in the great hall as a trophy.

Later Grendel's mother, a terrifying swamp hag, attacks the mead hall and murders one of the Danish king's senior officers before fleeing.

Beowulf leads a party to her swamp and dives into the water to kill her with his sword.

He returns home to the Geats and gives his queen Grendel's mother's severed head as a prize.

Later, when Beowulf is an old man, a thief disturbs a barrow where a dragon is guarding treasure.

The dragon unleashes fiery terror on the Geats and Beowulf goes to defeat the beast.

He is able to conquer the dragon but is mortally wounded in the encounter.

The Geats fear their kingdom will be overrun by their enemies after Beowulf is dead.

After his death, his body is burned on a massive funeral pyre and the Geats erect a tower in his memory.