MLitt Modern And Contemporary Literature And Culture

The MLitt in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture is an intensive one-year taught programme run by the School of English. The course aims to enhance students’ textual knowledge and promote thinking about the interconnections between modern and contemporary literature and its historical, cultural and theoretical contexts.

Students will read and discuss some of the major texts and debates which have contributed to the shaping of the ‘modernist’, ‘postmodern’ and ‘contemporary’ cultural moments.

The MLitt is aimed at those interested in modern and contemporary literature, in the acquisition of a taught postgraduate qualification, and in the possibility of moving towards a PhD.

Highlights

• Study the interdisciplinary dimensions of modern and contemporary culture through topics which explore cultural production across the arts, music, film and literature.
• Learn about the key developments in modern and contemporary literary studies in dialogue with leading scholars.
• Typical seminar topics might include: women’s writing and gender studies; crime fiction; contemporary critical theory; modern and contemporary poetry; postcolonialism; Scottish literature; war writing; literature of the 1940s; British cinema and music.

Teaching format

In each semester students take one module that concentrates on the literature of the period and one module that engages with the period’s theoretical, cultural and historical developments. Students are encouraged to develop their own, individual interests via one optional module.

Taught modules consist of weekly seminars, normally with a maximum class size of 15 students. Modules are assessed through coursework essays. The School of English prides itself on its support of student work through detailed feedback and commentary.

During the course of the year, but with particular focus during the last four months, students will research and write a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choosing.

Further particulars regarding curriculum development.