Early Modern English Literature: Text & Transmission MA

Overview

Our degree in Early Modern English Literature is taught with the British Library and provides a unique opportunity to study early modern literary works, including Shakespeare, Donne, and Jonson, in the light of recent critical approaches and as print and manuscript material artefacts. The module taught at the British Library is specially designed to teach students how to search collections of early modern manuscripts and rare books held in major research libraries worldwide and how to identify the agents involved in their production, transmission and preservation in libraries and private collections. Our MA offers an ideal foundation for doctoral work and careers in the arts, education, curatorship and broadcasting.

Course detail

Our Early Modern English Literature MA is an innovative and exciting partnership between the Department of English at King’s and the British Library. The course focuses on the transmission of key early modern literary texts, investigating both the circulation of literary texts in manuscript and print and the way they were received. The specific process through which a literary text reaches its readers or its audience is central to its interpretation. You will learn to read early modern handwriting, to transcribe neglected literary manuscripts and rare printed texts, and to edit them for the modern reader. In focusing on transmission alongside more traditional literary approaches, the course explores the impact of the materiality of the text and of the material conditions of its (re)production on the way it is interpreted. The Material Legacy of Early Modern Literary Texts module, which is taught at the British Library, is specifically designed to teach you how to search collections of early modern manuscripts and rare books held in major research libraries worldwide, and how to identify the factors and people involved in their production, transmission and preservation in libraries and private collections.

Teaching and assessment

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment. Your performance will be assessed mainly through written coursework or presentations. Forms of written assessment typically include essays and critical commentaries. Coursework contributes approximately 100% and examinations approximately 0% to your final mark.

Career prospects

Some of our graduates use their skills and knowledge to pursue PhD level study in the area, leading to a teaching or academic career. Others are ideally placed for jobs in the arts, creative and cultural industries, curatorship and broadcasting.