Masters Degrees (Queer)

The MA in Queer History is a pioneering programme in one of the most exciting new areas of historical enquiry, giving a voice to those who throughout much of history have been denied one.

This MA provides a comprehensive introduction to the themes and methods of Queer History as well as laying a solid foundation in general historical study. It offers a first-rate overview of important thought and methods from the fields of queer theory as well as the histories of gender and the body and sexuality.

This programme aims to historicise often binary categories, such as male/female, heterosexuality/homosexuality, active/passive, and uncover the processes through which these categories came to be seen as ‘natural’. It further pays close attention to questions of power, including how sexual orientation and race throughout history have often become interlinked in asymmetrical, oppressive ways.

Students conclude the programme with a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic of their own choice. The dissertation research is aided by access to the shared library and archival resources of the wider University of London and the city of London, one of the world’s queer capitals. Goldsmiths aims to build the National Queer Archive and involve MA students in this process.

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This MA is a unique, interdisciplinary course in queer studies. It trains you to bring a radical, contemporary and global approach to the study of sexuality.

Jointly taught by the Schools of English and Global Studies, the course provides a firm foundation in queer theory and allows you to tailor your studies to your own interests.

The MA has been running since 1991 and continues to bring together dynamic, engaged students and faculty to develop cutting-edge work on sexuality. The course is associated with the Centre for the Study of Sexual Dissidence, a hub for research on sexuality and queer studies.

How will I study?

You will study core modules and options. You can also attend research and arts events, such as our film club, reading group and visiting speaker series. Over the summer, you work on your supervised dissertation.

Scholarships

Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.

Chancellor's International Scholarship (2017)
-25 scholarships of a 50% tuition fee waiver
-Application deadline: 1 May 2017

HESPAL Scholarship (Higher Education Scholarships Scheme for the Palestinian Territories) (2017)
-Two full fee waivers in conjuction with maintenance support from the British Council
-Application deadline: 1 January 2017

USA Friends Scholarships (2017)
-A scholarship of an amount equivalent to $10,000 for nationals or residents of the USA on a one year taught Masters degree course
-Application deadline: 3 April 2017

Careers

The MA is relevant to number of career directions, including:
-Policy, activism and international development, such as research and interventions in sexuality, rights and health
-Academic research related to queer studies in a wide range of fields, including literature, cultural studies, media studies, film studies, -Development, international relations and anthropology
-Teaching, including in higher education
-Media, writing and the arts, in particular queer representation, difference and diversity

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This MA is a unique, interdisciplinary course in queer studies. It trains you to bring a radical, contemporary and global approach to the study of sexuality.

Jointly taught by the Schools of English and Global Studies, the course provides a firm foundation in queer theory and allows you to tailor your studies to your own interests.

The MA has been running since 1991 and continues to bring together dynamic, engaged students and faculty to develop cutting-edge work on sexuality. The course is associated with the Centre for the Study of Sexual Dissidence, a hub for research on sexuality and queer studies.

How will I study?

You will study core modules and options. You can also attend research and arts events, such as our film club, reading group and visiting speaker series. Over the summer, you work on your supervised dissertation.

Scholarships

Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.

Chancellor's International Scholarship (2017)
-25 scholarships of a 50% tuition fee waiver
-Application deadline: 1 May 2017

ESRC 1+3 and +3 Scholarships (2017)
-A number of ESRC-funded standalone PhD and PhD with Masters scholarships across the social sciences.
-Application deadline: 30 January 2017

HESPAL Scholarship (Higher Education Scholarships Scheme for the Palestinian Territories) (2017)
-Two full fee waivers in conjuction with maintenance support from the British Council
-Application deadline: 1 January 2017

USA Friends Scholarships (2017)
-A scholarship of an amount equivalent to $10,000 for nationals or residents of the USA on a one year taught Masters degree course.
-Application deadline: 3 April 2017

Careers

The MA is relevant to number of career directions, including:
-Policy, activism and international development, such as research and interventions in sexuality, rights and health
-Academic research related to queer studies in a wide range of fields, including literature, cultural studies, media studies, film studies, development, international relations and anthropology
-Teaching, including in higher education
-Media, writing and the arts, in particular queer representation, difference and diversity

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This MA introduces you to recent debates on gender in the disciplines of sociology and media and communications studies, and to the interdisciplinary domains of feminist social and cultural theory- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-gender-media-culture/

Drawing on the internationally recognised and pioneering expertise of staff in the Department of Sociology and Department of Media and Communications, the programme offers you the opportunity to develop cutting-edge critical skills in relation to cultural approaches to gender formation and gender theory.

As well as these theoretical and analytical points of orientation, the MA in Gender, Media and Culture aims to help you grasp the importance of epistemology and methodology for the evaluation of empirical investigations of gender formations.

The programme therefore introduces you to, and offers training in, the key socio-cultural methods for the study of gender in the contemporary world, including methods for the study of visual culture; the body and affect; and memory.

These two elements of the programme are brought together in a dissertation study, which involves tailored supervision in the application of research methods to a specific topic.

This programme relates to the following disciplines:

Sociology
Media and Communications
Humanities
Science and Technology Studies
Philosophy

Overall the programme has the following interrelated aims

to provide in-depth interdisciplinary knowledge of contemporary gender formations
to provide theoretical, analytical and methodological points of orientation for understanding gender and culture transnationally and across different societies and geo-political regions
to offer skilled supervision in the development and completion of a small research project which tests thoroughly a range of research skills
to expose students to a lively research environment and the relevant expertise of the research-led Departments of Sociology and Media and Communications

Convenors

Autumn term convener - Nirmal Puwar
Spring term convener - Sara Ahmed

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact the Postgraduate Programmes Officer.

Modules & Structure

Core components of the programme will familiarise you with the wide range of debates integral to the fields of gender studies, feminist theory, and cultural studies. These include:

questions about sexual difference and the performativity of gender
gender, science, debates on affect and emotion
gender and migration and the new international division of labour
feminism
You complete one core module and one option module each term, as well as a dissertation module in the spring term. The first core module introduces key debates and developments in feminist theory, cultural theory and, in particular, feminist cultural theory. It introduces both early debates which defined these fields and contemporary developments and departures. More specifically, you will be introduced to social constructivist and post-structuralist perspectives, to ‘new materialism’, to debates on feminism and the critique of universalism; to key questions in relation to feminism and biology; to debates on psycho-analysis and the emergence of queer theory and its intersection with feminist theory.

The second core module examines the place of gender, affect and the body in feminist theory and feminist practice. The course offers you different angles on what has become known as “the affective turn,” placing a strong emphasis on the history of feminist contributions to the study of affect and emotion as well as the body. We ask how bodies are constructed, experienced and lived from a variety of feminist perspectives, attending to questions of corporeal difference, as well as the intimacy of bodies, spaces, objects and technologies. We also reflect on the significance of affect and the body for feminist and queer cultural practices, as well feminist and queer activisms. This module therefore offers instruction in some of the most cutting edge issues in contemporary feminist theory. A team of leading feminist scholars based in the departments of Sociology and Media Communications at Goldsmiths teach this module on the basis of their research specialisms.

There will be a series of dissertation workshops to help you plan and develop your dissertation, especially in regard to issues of methodology and method. Each student will be assigned a supervisor who will work with you to develop your proposal and undertake independent research.

Option modules

You have 60 credits at your disposal, you can choose any 30 credit modules related to gender from postgraduate modules across the University. You can choose either a regular option (30 credits) or two ‘mini-options’ (2 x 15 credits).

For your other options, you can choose modules from either the Department of Sociology or the following Departments across Goldsmiths. Not all modules are suitable for students from all academic backgrounds; you will discuss your choices with the Programme Convenor at the start of your degree.

Assessment

Essays and dissertation.

Skills

Graduates from this programme gain conceptual and methodological knowledge of the key concepts and debates in the study of gender and culture; the skills of critical analysis; the ability to distinguish and appraise a range of socio-cultural research methodologies; the skills to design and develop a research project; and the ability to recognise and account for sensitive ethical issues relating to research and representation.

The two core courses provide you with the necessary skills to understand the relationships between early debates in the fields of gender studies, feminist theory and feminist cultural theory, and the ability to critically engage with new developments in these fields. Furthermore, you will gain a critical appreciation of the role and place of the body and affect in the development of feminist cultural theory and gender theory, and the challenges that contemporary socio-cultural changes bring to the theorisation of the body.

Careers

Previous graduates have embarked on professional careers in social research, think tanks, the arts and cultural sectors, government and public administration, development, human rights, NGOs, and in media and communications globally. They have also progressed to PhD study.

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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Critical Methodologies is a unique interdisciplinary taught programme focused on the study and applications of critical theory. Students get to explore some of the major modern schools of thought and contemporary theories and practices of interpretation, from Formalism and Structuralism through Barthes and textuality to queer theory, psychoanalysis and feminism, and materialist and postcolonial theories. The course also gives students the opportunity to follow their own interests from a wide range of optional modules across humanities and social sciences, all of which draw on the varied and lively research culture of King's in these fields.
Leads to careers in universities, the media, arts, teaching and journalism.

Key benefits

- Unique interdisciplinary programme focused on the study and applications of critical theory.

- Wide range of optional modules across humanities and social science disciplines.

- Located in the heart of London.

Visit the website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught-courses/critical-methodologies-ma.aspx

Course detail

- Description -

This interdisciplinary programme is centred around a core module in critical theory. This introduces students to the main debates in current critical theory, through exploration of a series of key texts. It explores theories and practices of reading, from Formalism and Structuralism through Barthes and textuality to queer theory, psychoanalysis, materialist and postcolonial theories. In addition to this core module, students take options from a list of modules linked to critical theory in a range of subjects. There is also a dissertation on a topic linking the concerns of the core module to the material of the options.

- Course purpose -

For students with arts & humanities degrees who wish to further their knowledge of critical theory and its practice across a range of fields and/or to prepare for PhD study. To develop a knowledge of the broad implications of critical theory, and the skills of interpretation and analysis in relation to specific fields of study.

- Course format and assessment -

Taught core and optional modules assessed by coursework and/or examination plus a compulsory dissertation.

Career prospects:

Many students go on to pursue research in humanities subjects; others have developed their skills in teaching and journalism, the media, arts, and work in other related bodies.

How to apply: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/taught-courses.aspx

About Postgraduate Study at King’s College London:

To study for a postgraduate degree at King’s College London is to study at the city’s most central university and at one of the top 21 universities worldwide (2016/17 QS World University Rankings). Graduates will benefit from close connections with the UK’s professional, political, legal, commercial, scientific and cultural life, while the excellent reputation of our MA and MRes programmes ensures our postgraduate alumni are highly sought after by some of the world’s most prestigious employers. We provide graduates with skills that are highly valued in business, government, academia and the professions.

Scholarships & Funding:

All current PGT offer-holders and new PGT applicants are welcome to apply for the scholarships. For more information and to learn how to apply visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources

Free language tuition with the Modern Language Centre:

If you are studying for any postgraduate taught degree at King’s you can take a module from a choice of over 25 languages without any additional cost. Visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/mlc

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The course offers students the opportunity to study theatre and performance studies in a dynamic research environment in the heart of London. From avant-garde drama to political action, queer performance, live art, dance, cultural tourism, and the spectacles of the West End, you will be introduced to a range of theatre and performance theories and practices.

Ideal for students who have recently completed an undergraduate degree in Theatre, English or related fields, or spent time engaging in performance practice or work in related industries.

Key benefits

- Unrivalled location at the heart of London allows students regular access to a wide range of theatre and performance events, including performances, seminars, and research centres.

- Dynamic intellectual community offered by King’s College London and surrounding institutions, supplemented by regular invited artist and academic speakers or artist residents.

- Core modules providing a strong foundation in theatre and performance studies, plus the opportunity to create an individualised course of study through selected options.

Visit the website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught-courses/theatre-and-performance-studies-ma.aspx

Course detail

- Description -

The programme offers students the opportunity to study theatre and performance studies in a dynamic research environment in the heart of London. From avant-garde drama to political action, queer performance, live art, dance, cultural tourism, and the spectacles of the West End, students will be introduced to a range of theatre and performance theories and practices in an expanded field.

Students will take a core module in Theatre and Performance Theory, which will provide them with systematic understanding and critical awareness of current problems and new insights in the field, and the ability to critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline. Students will also take a core module in Theatre and Performance Research Methods in the second semester, which will provide them with the research skills and techniques needed to undertake advanced research and scholarship in the field, and enable them to evaluate and critique various methodological approaches to practice-based and scholarly research.

- Course purpose -

Ideal for prospective students who have recently completed an undergraduate degree in Theatre, English or related fields, or spent time engaging in performance practice or work in related industries. The programme invites considered reflection on performance and performativity, emphasising close reading, research, and interdisciplinary approaches to theatre and the arts.

- Course format and assessment -

Lectures, seminars, and optional workshops; essays; dissertation; lab-based research projects (as relevant); independent study; tutorials.

Career Prospects:

Graduates may go on to work in arts practice and related industries, including museum, curatorial, and archival work; production; dramaturgy; journalism; performance; and theatre and performance-related arts management and administration. Graduates may also pursue further research in the field at doctoral level.

How to apply: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/taught-courses.aspx

About Postgraduate Study at King’s College London:

To study for a postgraduate degree at King’s College London is to study at the city’s most central university and at one of the top 21 universities worldwide (2016/17 QS World University Rankings). Graduates will benefit from close connections with the UK’s professional, political, legal, commercial, scientific and cultural life, while the excellent reputation of our MA and MRes programmes ensures our postgraduate alumni are highly sought after by some of the world’s most prestigious employers. We provide graduates with skills that are highly valued in business, government, academia and the professions.

Scholarships & Funding:

All current PGT offer-holders and new PGT applicants are welcome to apply for the scholarships. For more information and to learn how to apply visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources

Free language tuition with the Modern Language Centre:

If you are studying for any postgraduate taught degree at King’s you can take a module from a choice of over 25 languages without any additional cost. Visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/mlc

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The media continue to be central to gendered power relations and identification processes.

This degree combines theoretical and methodological approaches from the social sciences, cultural studies and the humanities to explore the relationship between media, gender and sexuality. You’ll also explore how gender and sexuality frame and are framed by such issues.

The degree allows you to:
-Study texts drawn from a range of historical and national contexts
-Interrogate historical and contemporary approaches to feminism, postfeminism, queer theory, ‘crip’ theory and masculinity studies
-Develop an advanced understanding of gender and sexuality

How will I study?
Modules are taught in the autumn and spring terms via lectures, seminars and tutorials. We also encourage you to engage with our array of extracurricular research activities.

Assessment of these modules is through research-based essays.

In the summer term, you’ll receive one-to-one supervision as you prepare and execute research for your final dissertation.

Scholarships
Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.

Chancellor's International Scholarship (2017)
-25 scholarships of a 50% tuition fee waiver
-Application deadline: 1 May 2017

HESPAL Scholarship (Higher Education Scholarships Scheme for the Palestinian Territories) (2017)
-Two full fee waivers in conjuction with maintenance support from the British Council
-Application deadline: 1 January 2017

USA Friends Scholarships (2017)
-A scholarship of an amount equivalent to $10,000 for nationals or residents of the USA on a one year taught Masters degree course.
-Application deadline: 3 April 2017

Faculty
Our faculty have been instrumental in shaping and developing the field of Gender Studies research. We bring this knowledge and expertise to the MA in Gender and Media, ensuring that your interests in the field find a supportive and experienced audience.

Our research and teaching interests are varied and include:
-Gender activism
-Gender politics
-Gender and culture
-Gender, society and the state
-International/global feminisms
-LGBT and queer studies

Careers
Alongside the intellectual expertise you will gain, this MA is ideal for those seeking a career in a research-based career.

From archivist to academic and television researcher to market researcher, this degree provides you with tangible skills in analysis, argumentation and communication.

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Overview

The MA in Postcolonial and World Literatures is designed to develop a strong and theoretical understanding of the texts of colonialism and postcolonialism and to explore the modalities of the local and the global. Modules variously explore the global novel, postcoloniality and queer identities, nineteenth century fiction and empire, and also modernism and world crisis. Students will be encouraged to engage with the diverse forms of postcolonial critique as well as current theoretical developments in the field, including gender and queer studies. The programme builds on the considerable research interest of faculty in the area of postcolonialism.

Course Structure

The MA in Postcolonial and World Literatures is a one-year full-time programme. Students are required to complete four 10 credit modules (two per semester). Students can select from a range of available modules (see below) including those offered on the English

Department’s other MA programmes. It is important to consider the coherence of these choices, as part of an overall programme of study, when selecting modules. Students should seek advice from the MA co-ordinator on this.

These modules are assessed by continuous assessment: a mid-term paper and a substantial research essay.

In addition, EN691 Dissertation (30 ECTS), EN694 Research Skills and EN695 Dissertation Preparation (10ECTS each) are compulsory for all students.

The mini-dissertation (EN691) is the single largest component of the MA programme. With guidance from a supervisor, students work on an independently conceived research project during the summer period and submit their dissertation at the end of August.

Career Options

Graduates from postgraduate programmes in English will enter the workforce with a rich and detailed understanding of literary culture, advanced research skills, and highly developed communications ability. While many graduates from taught postgraduate programmes in English go on to undertake research degrees, with a view to careers in academia, it is equally possible to treat the MA as a final degree, with a view to working in cultural industries, or to enhancing a teaching career.

How To Apply

Online application only http://www.pac.ie/maynoothuniversity

PAC code
MHK74

The following information should be forwarded to PAC, 1 Courthouse Square, Galway or uploaded to your online application form:

Certified copies of all official transcripts of results for all non-Maynooth University qualifications listed MUST accompany the application. Failure to do so will delay your application being processed. Non-Maynooth University students are asked to provide two academic references and a copy of birth certificate or valid passport.

Find information on Scholarships here https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/study-maynooth/postgraduate-studies/fees-funding-scholarships

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This is an interdisciplinary social science training programme designed to prepare students for further research in the workplace or for MPhil/PhD study. The programme covers ontology, epistemology, quantitative and qualitative techniques, and advanced methods masterclasses alongside substantive courses in the area of gender and sexuality. All students also carry out an independent dissertation, putting into practice the methods and theoretical concepts they have been taught. The programme provides a particularly strong environment for theoretically informed, interdisciplinary and socially engaged research.

COURSE STRUCTURE

You take three compulsory modules, choose one option module and write a 60-credit dissertation.

COMPULSORY MODULES

Intermediate Quantitative Social Research
Qualitative Social Research
Theorising Gender

INDICATIVE OPTION MODULES

Africa in the European Imagination
Culture, Community, Identity
Disciplining Sex: Sexuality, Society and Nineteenth-Century Literary Culture
Gender and Development
Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Japanese Fiction
Madness and its Meanings
Men and Masculinities in Contemporary East Asia
Queer Histories/Queer Cultures

DISSERTATION

Social Research Dissertation

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The MA in Gender, Sexuality and Culture is a highly interdisciplinary programme that will:
-Introduce new approaches to gender studies and sexuality studies as a theoretical, social, cultural, political and historical field of investigation
-Challenge current understandings of gender and sexuality by interrogating cultural identities, such as queer, heterosexual, homosexual, gay, straight, bisexual, transgendered
-Examine cultural production and cultural theory in relation to other power systems, such as race, ethnicity and class
offer training in research methods

This approach is unique within the UK as it brings together scholars who offer options in a range of academic disciplines, including English and American Studies, Art History or Visual Culture, History, Modern Language, Religions and Theology, History of Medicine, Sociology, Social Anthropology, and others. The research culture of the University of Manchester is unusually rich for the study of gender and sexuality, and many departments with offerings in this area are ranked 5 or 5*. Based in the Centre for the Study of Sexuality and Culture, graduate students can take advantage of the stimulating research environment with regular seminar series such as Gender, Sexuality and Culture: New Exchanges and conferences.

Students from all academic backgrounds are invited to apply.

Coursework and assessment

Students may take a range of options across the humanities and social sciences.

Career opportunities

Students in our programme have gone on to take up a diverse range of careers in both the public and private sectors. Some have gone on to pursue postgraduate research, and several have taken up jobs as teachers.

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The MA in Contemporary Art Theory is for those with a special interest in contemporary art, and an aptitude for theoretical work in the subject- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-contemporary-art-theory/

The programme offers a challenging and advanced scheme of study, which explores a range of theoretical perspectives that shape attitudes towards visual art in the late 20th/early 21st centuries.

Invigorated by current research, the programme encourages you to explore conceptually and creatively the ways in which contemporary artistic practice and critical theory interrelate. It aims to expand your knowledge of contemporary artistic developments as well as to deepen your understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of academic discourses on visual culture.

The programme draws variously upon the fields of performance studies, art history, philosophy, museology, queer theory, post-colonial studies and cultural studies in addressing the critical challenges posed by artistic practice.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Mark Fisher.

Overview

The programme comprises a non-assessed introductory module, the Common Core Module Readings/Processes, and four assessed components: two Special Subjects, the MA Symposium and the MA Dissertation. Students also attend the guest lecture programme. You have the option of auditing another special subject should you wish to do so, subject to availability and in agreement with the course tutor.

The taught part of the programme runs from the end of September to the end of March, with additional guest lectures or workshops in May and June. It offers a framework to help you focus and develop your own understanding of contemporary art practice and its wider cultural significance. It is designed to develop your understanding of a range of critical and theoretical approaches that inform the heterogeneous field of visual art production whilst, at the same time, enabling you to identify and prepare the area of independent research you will carry out in your dissertation project.

Thematic pathways through the MA will be offered on a yearly basis. These will connect the annually changing themes of the core courses with the annual roster of special subjects. In any specific year three themes will be operative. They may include Global Arts; Sound; Politics and Aesthetics; Performance and Live Art; Critical Thought.

Full-time students attend on Thursday and one other day each week (determined by the choice of special subject); part-time students attend on one day each week in the first year and on Thursday in the second year.

Assessment

Having already produced an assessed oral presentation on your topic you work on your dissertation over the summer and submit your completed project for assessment early in September. Assessment: one 12-15,000-word dissertation.

Requirements

If you have little or no formal training in art history or a related humanities discipline, you may need to take a preparatory year of study on the Graduate Diploma in Contemporary Art History. You may also be required to attend an interview.

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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English Literature at Cardiff is taught by staff with an international reputation for innovative and influential research. Our passion for the subject and the strength and range of our scholarship enable us to offer a degree which is:

• Inclusive. We teach across the whole chronological span of English Literature, from Middle English to literature of the twenty-first century. We offer modules in a range of critical approaches, from bibliography and textual studies to contemporary women’s writing, and from Barthesian semiotics and postcolonial ways of reading, to theories of gender and queer studies. We are intrigued by the connections between literature and popular culture and literature and theory, and our teaching reflects these interests.

• Challenging. Staff offer modules on their research areas of expertise. This means that students engage with new, up-to-date ideas that are helping to shape and define the future of the discipline.

• Diverse. There are no compulsory modules. You have the freedom to use any critical, theoretical perspective to analyse any type of (aesthetic, cultural, historical) material.

• Engaged. The MA in English Literature is a successful programme of study that has a strong reputation for offering a comprehensive range of modules from all periods and genres that bring the latest developments in literary and critical theory to bear upon the reading of literary and cultural texts.

Distinctive features

• A wide-ranging programme of research-led modules taught by specialists in the field
• A series of dedicated research pathways, including Medieval and Renaissance Studies; Romantic and Victorian Studies; Modern and Contemporary Literature; Gender and Sexuality Studies; Cultural and Critical Theory
• Access to skills training and various research activities
• The freedom to assemble a programme of study tailored to personal and professional interests
• High-level training in the latest research methods, critical theory and scholarly writing and presentation skills in a non-assessed core module
• Popular two-day residential conference and workshop at Gregynog Hall, where you will present short 15-minute papers in a supportive and lively atmosphere
• One-day symposium dedicated to increasing your employability skills
• Opportunities to take part in a series of dynamic research seminar series
• Access to specialist library collections

Structure

Our flexible structure allows you to assemble programmes of study tailored to your personal and professional interests. You can opt for the open pathway, or choose one of our specialist pathways: Medieval and Renaissance; Romantic and Victorian Studies; Modern and Contemporary Literature; Gender and Sexuality Studies; Cultural and Critical Theory, which groups together groups of taught modules with related research activities and skills training available in the School.

The degree is structured in two parts.

• Part one

You choose four modules from a range of specialist options. You take two modules per semester (one module per semester for part-time study)

All teaching is by seminars and workshops structured around student participation, featuring opportunities to present your work. Each module consists of a two-hour seminar per week and is assessed by a 4,000-word essay (or equivalent).

In addition to the taught modules, you attend weekly workshops on research methods and scholarly presentation.

• Part Two

You undertake a dissertation of 16,000-20,000 words on a subject of your choice, developed in consultation with a supervisor in the field. You begin to plan and research your dissertation in the second semester for submission in September.

Core module:

English Literature Ma Dissertation

Optional modules:

The Myth of King Arthur in The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Violent Death in Renaissance Drama
Reading/Theory
Constructing Shakespeare
Neo-Victorian Metatextualities
Writing and Experimentation
Heroes and Villains from Chaucer to Shakespeare
Spectral Femininities
Writing Victorian Science
Children's Fantasy Fiction Since 1900
Before Homosexuality? Representing Same Sex Desire from Smollett to Sexology
Romantic Poetry and Place
Project Management and Advanced Research Skills
Narrative and Nation: Romantic Prose 1980-1830
White
Virginia Woolf's Modernism
Ecotheories
Digital Theory

Teaching

Teaching is delivered in seminar groups for all modules. The teaching for each module is text-based and revolves around the exploration of concepts and ideas from a range of literary, historical, and theoretical perspectives within the broad field of English Literature.

The learning activities vary from module to module as appropriate, but will include such as activities as interactive discussions of prepared texts/topics and, in some cases, student-led presentations.

Encouraged to explore our excellent library resources, you are expected to undertake preparation including wide-ranging reading to enable full participation.

Assessment

Each module on Part One is assessed by a 4,000-word essay or equivalent (which can include up to 10% of the module being assessed by oral presentation).

Part Two is examined by a 16,000-20,000-word dissertation.

Career prospects

Postgraduate study is a gateway to many careers within and beyond academia.

Many of our alumni enter (or return to) various professions including academia, primary and secondary education, journalism, publishing, archival and library work, the Civil Service, arts administration and the creative industries.

In addition to taught modules and academic workshops, we also offer dedicated sessions to increase your transferable skills and employability prospects. We also encourage all students on the programme to work closely with the University’s Careers and Employability office.

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Communication and Media Studies at Lancaster is ranked first in The Times and the Sunday Times Good University Guide Subject Rankings, 2016. This degree provides students with the theoretical and methodological grounding they need to carry out independent research in media and cultural studies.

The course introduces you to the key texts, debates and thinkers in media and cultural studies, ranging from the work of classical cultural theorists through to contemporary writing on new media, globalised culture, science and technology studies, and queer theory.

You will be encouraged to reflect critically on the role of popular media in structuring our everyday lives. The course examines the role of media in reproducing, disseminating and challenging hegemonic power relations, as well as thinking through the ways in which gender, sexuality and ‘race’ are constructed in global media cultures.

This is not a vocational or practice-based degree. However, it is a degree that will teach you skills in critical thinking, independent research, and analysis highly relevant for development and innovation in the cultural and media sectors.

Modules
Compulsory modules:
• Critical Methods in Media and Cultural Studies
• Critical Debates in Media and Cultural Studies
• Independent Research Dissertation

Optional modules:
Choose four; options may vary from year to year
• Feminist Media and Cultural Studies
• Consumer Society
• Debates in Gender Research
• Gender, Sex and Bodies
• Capitalism and Crisis
• Mobilities, Society and Change
• Critical Discourse Analysis

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Introduction

Contemporary culture is characterised by nothing if not a reawakened interest in the Gothic, be that in the form of the current vogue for horror film, in the heightened preoccupation with terror and monstrosity in the media, the extraordinary success of writers such as Stephen King and Stephenie Meyer, or in manifestations of an alternative Gothic impulse in fashion, music and lifestyle.
As the countless adaptations and retellings of texts such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818; 1831) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) in our own day attest, the Gothic, though once relegated to a dark corner of literary history, has assumed a position of considerable cultural prominence.
The MLitt in The Gothic Imagination at the University of Stirling provides students with the unique opportunity to steep themselves in the scholarly appreciation of this mode, providing a rigorous and intensive historical survey of its literary origins and developments, and charting its dispersal across a broad range of media and national contexts. In so doing, the course equips its graduates with the necessary theoretical vocabulary to address, and critically reflect upon, the Gothic as a complex and multi-faceted cultural phenomenon, while also preparing them for further postgraduate research in the rich and vibrant field of Gothic Studies. In addition to these subject-specific objectives, the MLitt in The Gothic Imagination also provides its graduates with several invaluable transferable skills, including critical thinking, theoretical conceptualisation, historical periodization and independent research.

Key information

- Degree type: MLitt, Postgraduate Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate
- Study methods: Part-time, Full-time
- Duration: Full-time; MLitt-12 months, Part-time: MLitt-27 months,
- Start date: September
- Course Director: Dr Dale Townshend

Course objectives

- The MLitt in the Gothic Imagination consists of four core modules, two option modules, and a dissertation. Across these components, the course aims to provide students with a rigorous grounding in the work and thematic preoccupations of the most influential Gothic writers, both historical and contemporary. Supplemented by relevant historical and theoretical material throughout, the course aims to provide as rich and varied an exposure to the academic study of the Gothic as possible.

- The first two core modules seek to provide a searching historical overview of the genesis and development of the Gothic aesthetic, taking students systematically from the circulation of the term ‘Gothic’ in the political and aesthetic discourses of the late seventeeth and eighteenth centuries, through the late eighteenth-century writings of Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis and Charlotte Dacre, and into the nineteenth-century fictions of writers such as Charles Maturin, Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, the Brontës, Sheridan Le Fanu, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde.

- The second and third core modules, on Gothic in modern, modernist and postmodern writing, include texts by authors such as Gaston Leroux, Algernon Blackwood, H.P. Lovecraft, Djuna Barnes; Mervyn Peake, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison and Patrick McGrath.

- Option modules vary from year to year, depending on student interest and demand. Recent option topics have included the Gothic on the Romantic Stage; Nineteenth-century American Gothic; Transmutations of the Vampire; The Gothic in Children’s Literature; Monstrosity; The Female Gothic; Queer Gothic; and Gothic in/and Modern Horror Cinema.

- At the dissertation stage, students are encouraged to undertake independent, supervised research on any particular interest within Gothic studies that they might wish to pursue. Subject to the agreement of the course director, a creative writing dissertation may be undertaken at this stage.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:
- IELTS: 6.0 with 5.5 minimum in each skill
- Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): Grade C
- Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): Grade C
- Pearson Test of English (Academic): 54 with 51 in each component
- IBT TOEFL: 80 with no subtest less than 17

For more information go to English language requirements https://www.stir.ac.uk/study-in-the-uk/entry-requirements/english/

If you don’t meet the required score you may be able to register for one of our pre-sessional English courses. To register you must hold a conditional offer for your course and have an IELTS score 0.5 or 1.0 below the required standard. View the range of pre-sessional courses http://www.intohigher.com/uk/en-gb/our-centres/into-university-of-stirling/studying/our-courses/course-list/pre-sessional-english.aspx .

Delivery and assessment

Two hours of seminars per module per week, plus individual consultations and supervisions with members of staff. Assessment is by means of a 4,000-word essay for each core module, and a variety of skills-based assessments (such as presentations; portfolios; blog-entries) for optional modules. All students complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choice once optional and core modules have been completed.

Employability

With course-work assessed solely by means of independently devised, researched and executed essays, the MLitt in The Gothic Imagination equips students with a number of the skills and abilities that are prized and actively sought after by employers across the private and public sectors. These include the ability to process and reflect critically upon cultural forms; the ability to organise, present and express ideas clearly and logically; the ability to understand complex theoretical ideas; and the ability to undertake extended independent research.
Previous graduates of the course have gone on to pursue successful careers in such fields as teaching, publishing, research, academia, advertising, journalism and the film industry.
The 15,000-word dissertation that is submitted towards the end of the course allows students to devise, develop, support and defend their own academic ideas across an extended piece of written work; addition to the skills of independence, organisation and expression fostered by this exercise, the dissertation also provides an excellent point of entry into more advanced forms of postgraduate research, including the Doctoral degree.

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The American Studies MA attracts high calibre students from a variety of academic backgrounds, though commonly the study of literature or history has formed a substantial component of their undergraduate degree. Although many students have previously specialised in some aspect of American Studies, this is not a prerequisite for the course.

Course Structure

Core modules may include:
• Approaches to American Studies
• Researching Contemporary America
• Research Management and Personal Development Skills

Optional modules may include:
• American Labour History
• Darwinism and Creationism in America
• Fictions of America
• In the Midst of War: The United States and South East Asia, 1940 - 1968
• Policing the City and the Frontier
• Recent Queer Writing
• Representing the South: Literature, Film and History

Assessment

The core modules are assessed by written work of 4,000 words and through exercises in research and presentation skills. Optional modules may be assessed in a variety of ways, including essays and examinations. You will submit a dissertation of 15,000 - 20,000 words by the end of the summer period.

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