How the MA is Organised: The MA in English Literature consists of four taught modules taken over one year by full-time students or two years by part-time students and a dissertation written at the end of the taught part of the course. Teaching runs in two 12 week semesters from September to December (modules one and three) and February to May (modules two and four). Each module meets weekly for the duration of the semester for one two-hour seminar. Classes are currently scheduled at the following times (but there may be the possibility of daytime delivery if demand is high enough):
Semester 1
Semester 2
Monday 6-8 pm Module Three: Module Four: Re-reading Modernism, Research Methods Practising Postmodernism
MA in English Literature English Literature at Anglia Ruskin was awarded an ‘Excellent’ in the last national assessment of teaching quality and 95% of the work submitted in the last Research Assessment Exercise (2008) was judged to be of international standard, with 60% judged to be either ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world-leading’ (grade point average of 2.7). This places us amongst the top departments in the country for teaching quality and research expertise. The MA in English Literature is focused on three periods of literary history: the Renaissance, the ‘long’ nineteenth century and the twentieth/twenty-first century. Each of the three period-based modules investigates the social, cultural and critical contexts of literature. The fourth module is a research methods module which equips students with the skills needed to complete their dissertations. Teaching takes place on the Cambridge campus with excellent library facilities, bookshops, theatres and cinemas close at hand. In addition to the taught modules the Department runs a graduate research seminar series to which all staff and postgraduates are invited.
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Thursday 6-8 pm Module One: Renaissance Drama and Cultures of Performance
Module Two: The Long Nineteenth Century: Controversies and Cities
Teaching:
Teaching takes place in seminar groups which are run on a discussion rather than a lecture format. The MA Pathway Leader and the staff team are also available for one-to-one support and advice.
Course Content Module One: Renaissance Drama and Cultures of Performance This module focuses on plays produced during the English Renaissance. These texts are approached through what can be known of the staging and printing conventions of their original period, together with related materials such as anti-theatrical writings and masques. The module also considers the differing contexts of the commercial theatres and the court as well as cultural contexts such as gender, politics and power. This historical study is complemented by a consideration of the production of Renaissance drama in 21 st Century performance contexts. Module Two: The Long Nineteenth Century: Controversies and Cities This module examines writing produced during the ‘long’ 19th Century which relates to, or engages with, major issues or conflicts of the period, and/or which testifies to the distinctive or representative experience of life in various
cities between 1789 and 1914. The controversies are political, religious, social, cultural, and scientific: for example, the political ferment in Britain following the French Revolution and after the Napoleonic Wars. The dominant city is London, but Paris, Edinburgh, Manchester and Dublin also figure in important and distinctive ways. Module Three: Re-reading Modernism, Practising Postmodernism This module provides a survey of literature in the 20th /21st Century and analyses it in a framework of critical and historical contexts. It considers modernism and postmodernism both as cultural epochs and as aesthetic strategies and refers to the philosophies that underpin them. Issues of history, temporality, value, art, society, the city, print culture, the self, gender and sexuality are explored in a range of literary, theoretical and performance-based texts. Module Four: Research Methods This module covers the research methods necessary for completion of the MA dissertation. It covers topics such as developing research questions, critical practice and theory, archives, research methodologies, bibliographies, library searches, writing review essays, drafting proposals and structuring a dissertation. This module provides excellent preparation for the dissertation but also offers an opportunity to reflect on the nature of research and the discipline of English Literature. Independent Learning Module In consultation with the MA Pathway Leader students may replace one module with an Independent Learning Module. This module enables students to work independently on topics not provided within existing modules, subject to the availability of a suitable supervisor. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, projects in creative writing (accompanied by a critical reflection), textual editing, film and literature, science fiction and topics in contemporary theatre and performance. Please see the list of staff research interests as a guide to possible topics. Modules from other Pathways Students may also replace one module with a module from another of Anglia Ruskin University’s MA programmes (subject to approval). Popular choices include modules from the MAs in Creative Writing, Film Studies and Publishing. Major Project You may choose any topic that our Department is able to supervise and assess. Recent topics have included Intertextuality in Ishiguro; Ageing in Jean Rhys; the Shoreline in Victorian literature; and Animated Statuary in Renaissance drama.
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