English and American Literature - MA

The English and American Literature MA allows you to choose from the full range of our MA literature modules.

Overview

Our postgraduate degree allows you to explore the richness of English Literature from a wide range of historical periods, cultures and genres, and empowers you to strengthen and expand your own interests.

By choosing from a variety of modules, you will have the freedom to specialise in a particular area or discover links between topics as diverse as queerness in the 18th century and the politics of Cold War America; colonialism in India and the figure of the North American “Indian”; or the contemporary climate crisis and disability activism.

This wealth of topics will give you access to staff with interests and expertise in issues relating to various critical perspectives, such as postcolonialism and psychoanalysis, Marxism and modernism, disability studies and translation.

Within this programme you may also choose to take pathways, so as to concentrate on studies in certain specific areas (especially if you intend to continue to a research degree in a particular field).

Teaching and assessment

Assessment is by a 5000 word essay for each module and a 15,000 word dissertation.

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

• extend and deepen through coursework and research your understanding of a body of literatures in English, with special emphasis on modern and postcolonial literatures, and on literary and critical theory
• enable you to develop an historical awareness of literary traditions
• develop your independent critical thinking and judgement
• introduce you to bibliographic method and scholarship and to foster in you the research methods that facilitate advanced literary study
• provide a basis in knowledge and skills if you intend to teach English and American literature, especially in higher education
• develop your understanding and critical appreciation of the expressive resources of language
• offer opportunities for you to develop your potential for creative writing (where such a module is taken)
• offer scope for the study of literature within an interdisciplinary context, notably that provided by history
• develop your ability to argue a point of view with clarity and cogency, both orally and in written form.

Careers

Many career paths can benefit from the writing and analytical skills that you develop as a postgraduate student in the School of English. Our students have gone on to work in academia, journalism, broadcasting and media, publishing, writing and teaching; as well as more general areas such as banking, marketing analysis and project management.