(MA) Master of Arts
Modern and Contemporary Literature
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
Colchester Campus
Masters
Full-time
MA Q20E12
10/05/2023
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
A 2.2 degree in Creative Writing, Theatre/Drama Studies, Literature, Film and Media Studies, Modern Languages , Art History, Music, Philosophy, History, American Studies, Performance studies, Journalism, Law, Politics and Sociology.
You may be asked to provide a piece of creative writing if you do not hold a degree in a relevant field.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum component score of 5.5 except for 6.5 in writing
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Additional Notes
The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
Dr Lorna Burns
Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Literatures
University of St Andrews
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
This course aims to offer students the chance to study modern and contemporary literature in depth and detail, from the early twentieth century to the present day.
Modules take a variety of approaches, situating literatures within theoretical, political and cultural frameworks, (for example, Queer, post-colonial, feminist, African-American) or examining literature from geographical, national and regional perspectives (Literature and The City; the U.S.; the First World War; the Caribbean).
The course is interested in how the shaping of the modern world in turn shapes, and is reflected and re-interpreted in, the literatures of the 20th and 21st centuries. From the avant-garde to the mainstream, this course will open students’ eyes to the wealth and variety of literature in English.
It will offer opportunities to discuss, evaluate and examine literary works in classes and seminars; and it will develop students’ critical skills, in literary and theoretical analysis, and in writing, constructing and defending a critical argument. In the final dissertation, students choose their own specialist area to research and write on under the one-to-one supervision of an academic in that field.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Detailed knowledge of a varied range of literary texts
A2: Understanding of research methods appropriate to a creative and/or critical dissertation
A3: Understanding of social, historical, political and theoretical contexts for literary works
A4: Knowledge and understanding of literary theory and its application to literary works
A5: Structure and composition of effective essays
Learning methods
The reading lists for all modules will be inclusive and diverse, covering a wide range of authors across genders, nationalities and ethnicities, and engaging with subject material that is diverse and speaks to as wide a range of learners as possible. Literature is taught largely through two-hour discursive seminars, with all learning and reading materials available in advance on Moodle or via the library for students to read at their own pace. Seminars will involve pair and group-work, and all students are encouraged to engage and see this as a crucial aspect of their learning. Tutorial support and one-to-one consultation with academics is available to all postgraduate taught students to support them in the development of the above knowledge and understanding.
Assessment methods
Assessment methods are varied and appeal to varied learning styles and aptitudes. They include creative writing, in different genres and of different lengths; as well as presentations, research articles, blogs or other online assignments, and critical essays. At MA level students are encouraged to write their own essay titles, in consultation with academic staff, according to their own interests, so that their learning is personalised and self-directed.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Apply theoretical perspectives to literary works and composition
B2: Analyse literary works in the light of political, historical and social contexts
B3: Compare and evaluate literary works for aesthetic merits of structure and composition
B4: Construct and articulate an evidence-based argument
Learning methods
Intellectual and cognitive skills are developed through seminars and creative workshops. Learning activities include group discussion, pair-work, presentations, creative and critical tasks led by guided instructions and analysis of visual and literary material.
Pre-production preparatory assignments are offered for the practical course components.
Individual guidance, in addition to formal seminars, is available through academic support hours.
Final year projects and the dissertation allow students to apply these skills.
Assessment methods
All students are offered extensive one-to-one support in completing all assessments. Students are guided in their study with a range of different types of learning resource made available on Moodle. Students, in consultation and with the guidance of academic staff, choose their own essay titles and the topic of their dissertation. Learning is therefore tailored and chosen by the student to their own needs and interests.
C: Practical skills
C1: Plan, organise and complete a long-form dissertation
C2: Write in a scholarly and critical style
C3: Develop appropriate and ethical research skills
C4: Use IT skills effectively to study, write and research in the field of English literature
Learning methods
Workshops and seminars develop skills in listening, collaboration, articulating an argument and presenting material to a group. For the long dissertational project, students will be guided through how to research in an ethical, thorough and methodical way using resources such as databases, libraries, and archives, and also through methodologies such as conducting interviews, and surveying audiences, or readerships. Students will be given one-to-one supervisory support to plan and write their dissertation.
Assessment methods
Assessment is flexible and students can create their own critical essay titles or choose what type of literary work they create. Support is always available. A range of assessment forms, critical , creative as well as varied across presentations, film essays, blogs or online posts, reviews, research articles and reflective writing, develop a range of different skills and competencies.
D: Key skills
D1: The course demands high levels of engagement in communication through group and class discussion, as well as many forms of written communication.
D2: Students will be required to make use of a range of IT skills - typing, research skills, organising data, creating presentations and so on.
D3: The course develops skills in creative and critical thinking which are key to problem-solving.
D4: The course demands collaboration in creative writing workshops and in working in pairs and groups to complete both critical and creative tasks.
D5: The course demands the development of reflective writing and the analysis of one's own writing, to become an effective 'first reader' and 'first editor' of one's own creative work
Learning methods
All skills are developed through inclusive workshop and seminar learning/teaching events where the emphasis is on listening, inclusion, debate and collaboration. All students are given access on campus to high quality learning resources and to IT equipment, as well as media equipment (audio and visual recording equipment etc).
Assessment methods
All assessments are accompanied by one-to-one consultation with academic staff, giving students the opportunity to reflect on, examine and evaluate their own progress and learning. There are varied assessments appealing to different learning styles – with the opportunity for presentations and creative responses to texts as well as critical essays of various lengths. Students are also tested through writing annotated bibliographies and project proposals. Students are encouraged to engage with feedback on written work; to identify their own strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities and to be analytical of their own learning journey.