English Literature and Culture MA

This MA English Literature and Culture gives you the chance to study the literature, culture and theory of modernity from the nineteenth century to the present day, so that you are exposed to a rich background of cultural study on this period. You will encounter a compelling assortment of texts, objects and images, and engage with a wide range of contexts, themes and ideas on a degree course taught by world-leading academic researchers.

Why choose this course?

* You will be taught by active researchers in the literatures and cultures of the Romantic, Victorian, modern, premodern and contemporary periods who bring their different specialisms, ideas and insights to this course.

* It is ideal if you want to pursue your passion in this subject area, advance your career in the cultural industries, or more generally improve your writing and research skills.

* It offers you a flexible and diverse learning environment and the chance to study the course online, on campus or via a mixture of both.

What will I learn?

This course introduces you to some of the most significant debates, ideas and events that have shaped the concept of modernity from 1800 to the present. It addresses themes including: the impact of the industrial revolution, debates about the changing role of women, the rise and fall of colonialism across a long arc of history, concepts of the Anthropocene, trauma theory, postmodernism and posthumanism.

You will explore how we read, interpret and interrogate our concept of what it means to be ‘modern’ working with literature and many other cultural forms including painting, book illustration, film and other visual media, critical theory, philosophy and digital materials. You will take a research skills module and choose option modules on a range of themes.

How will I learn?

This course has an evening timetable and gives you the choice of studying on campus, online or via flexible learning.

You will be taught via a combination of lectures and seminars and receive one-to-one supervision for your dissertation.

If you require a Student visa to study in the UK, you will only be able to apply for the on-campus study option for this course. Online and flexible options will not be available to you because they may affect the conditions of your visa.

Highlights

* Birkbeck was ranked 2nd in the UK for its English Language and Literature research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

* We host the internationally acclaimed Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies. We also run the Centre for New Writing, which regularly features visiting poets, writers and publishing professionals.

* We offer a number of bursaries for postgraduate students.

Careers and employability

On graduating successfully from this course you will have gained an array of transferable skills, including:

* writing research-based essays and longer-form work

* an advanced critical ability to examine cultural objects in their formal, historical and theoretical contexts.

You will find graduates of this MA following careers in:

* journalism

* professional writing

* arts administration or research

* civil service

* law and business professions

* publishing roles

* teaching in schools or as lecturers in further and higher education

* museum and cultural heritage work

* cultural education

* curation.

A number of our Master's students also go on to study at PhD level, and we will provide you with structured support and guidance if you wish to pursue this path.

Recent graduates have found employment as:

* Policy adviser at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

* Classics editor at Penguin Books

* Curator at the Guildhall Art Gallery

* Curator at the Science Museum

* Public events and exhibitions co-ordinator at the Warburg Institute

* Film programmer for the Barbican arts complex

* Company manager at the Jupiter Theatre in Florida

* Curator of contemporary literary archives at the British Library.