Launch of new MA in Contemporary Literature, Culture & Theory
The Department of English have launched a new MA in Contemporary Literature, Culture and Theory which offers a range of expertise unlike any other in the UK and will run from September 2013. The course will be taught by some of the foremost specialists in the field and offers an unprecedented breadth and diversity of study options. From the work of Salman Rushdie to Neil Gaiman, avant-garde fiction to comics, the new course will explore post-1945 literature in the context of broad cultural and theoretical trends. The wide-ranging nature of the course will provide students with the opportunity to study a huge variety of literary texts across a remarkable intellectual, geographical and historical range: from post-war British poetry and new directions in theory, to the cultures of the Arab Spring and the 21st-century novel.
The new masters programme has been designed to reflect the growing need within literary studies to approach the contemporary, 'post-45' period as a distinct era rather than a postscript to the Modernist movement. Dr Jane Elliott, Course Convenor, explained that “contemporary literature is one of the most exciting and vital areas in literary studies. Not only is the period evolving every day, but its ideas and concerns press directly upon the lives we lead in the present.”
The course will be taught by experts in contemporary literature with a range of expertise including 21st-century American fiction, performance theory, literature and gaming, cultures of the Arab Spring and representations of Hurricane Katrina. Lecturers include Professor Andrew O’Hagan, Creative Writing Fellow and creator of the play Enquirer, Professor Paul Gilroy, author of The Black Atlantic, Dr Zoe Norridge, scholar in African literature and author of Perceiving Pain in African Literature. Other key faculty include Anna Bernard, Ruvani Ranasinha, Kélina Gotman, Lara Shalson, Theron Schmidt, Mark Turner and writer and broadcaster Patrick Wright. Recently appointed Dr Seb Franklin from the University of Surrey, a specialist in critical theory, digitality and experimental literature, will also teach on the course when he joins the College in September.
Students can choose from study options including the historical development of comics into graphic novels; conflict, memory and resistance in African literature; performance and live art, biographical writing, and 21st- century fiction and theory
The Department of English is one of the oldest English departments in the country and is renowned for strengths in postcolonial, cultural theory and creative writing. The Department of English is ranked 12th in the country in the Sunday Times University Guide 2013 and achieved 94% student satisfaction in the latest National Student Survey for teaching.
Find out more about the MA in Contemporary Literature, Culture & Theory by listening to the webinar on Wednesday 5 March or view the course description.
More information is also available on the prospectus.