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MA Literary Studies: World Literature and Comparative Criticism Pathway

MA Literary Studies: World Literature and Comparative Criticism Pathway

Different course options

Full time | Goldsmiths, University of London | 1 year | 23-SEP-24

Study mode

Full time

Duration

1 year

Start date

23-SEP-24

Key information
DATA SOURCE : IDP Connect

Qualification type

MA - Master of Arts

Subject areas

Literature: History / Criticism

Course type

Taught

Course Summary

This pathway of the MA Literary Studies will centre on the study of the theory and practice of comparative and world literature.

Why study the MA Literary Studies: World Literature and Comparative Criticism pathway

  • Discuss the history, main concepts, and debates on world literature and comparative literary criticism while analysing a wide range of texts from different periods and media, and from diverse cultural, geographic, and linguistic backgrounds.
  • Pursue your wider interests thanks to a flexible structure by studying three options from the varied and unique provision of the department. At least one of these options must be in an area that is directly relevant to comparative and world literary studies. Options range across American, Black British, Caribbean, contemporary, modern, postcolonial, Romantic and Victorian literature, literary and critical theory, linguistics and translation studies.
  • Further develop your knowledge and expertise through a 15,000-word world literature and comparative criticism dissertation on a topic of your choice, agreed upon with a tutor and developed under supervision.
  • Benefit from the excellent Centre for Comparative Literature, of which you can become a member.

Many former students on this pathway have won prestigious essay prizes over the years, such as the BCLA’s Arthur Terry Postgraduate Essay Prize, and had their essays published in academic journals.

Skills

You'll develop transferable skills, including:

  • enhanced communication and discussion skills in written and oral contexts
  • the ability to analyse and evaluate different textual materials
  • the ability to organise information; the ability to assimilate and evaluate competing arguments

Careers

Graduates of this programme have gone on to pursue careers in:

  • publishing
  • journalism
  • public relations
  • teaching
  • advertising
  • the civil service
  • business
  • industry
  • the media

Modules

This module will introduce you to the main concepts of and debates on World Literature and Comparative Literature, focusing on both theory and practice. Detailed textual analyses and the opportunity to engage in comparative readings will complement the discussion of key aspects of the historical and ideological development of ?world literature? and ?comparative literature?, as well as the study the theoretical frameworks elaborated to describe the ways texts relate to, derive from, or influence other texts (such as influence, imitation and intertextuality, translation, and reception) and how texts circulate and are received (reception, polysystem theory, distant reading, world-system theory, the tension between literatures seen as expression of national identities or subject to political and global forces). Historical relationships and how these are constructed will be examined, focusing on, for example, the idea of tradition, the concept of the canon and its constant revision, adaptation, and reinvention. The literary texts and films studied, from different periods and geo-cultural locations, will enable you to study ?in action? central concepts of comparative critical practice, focusing for instance on genre; topoi; thematic approaches; textual rewritings; ?translations? of texts to different genres (e.g. poetry to prose) or media (e.g. written text to film), classical reception. The module will ask questions such as: what happens to a text and its meaning when it is adapted to or referenced in a new geographical, historical, or social context? What does this mean for the concept of meaning itself? What is the relationship between genre, theme and story? Between a historically situated national identity and the crossing of linguistic, cultural and historical boundaries?
Dissertation (60 Credits) - Core

Tuition fees

UK fees
Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

£9,630

International fees
Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

£18,560

Entry requirements

Students should have (or expect to be awarded) an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in a relevant/related subject. Students might also be considered for some programmes if they aren’t a graduate or their degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that students have the ability to work at postgraduate level.