MA Literature and Culture 1200-1700: The University of Manchester

Course description

The MA reflects the (inter)disciplinary and (inter)period interests of a number of staff in English and American Studies - one of the most innovative and exciting subject areas in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester. The research cluster from which this MA emerged, which includes Naomi Baker, Anke Bernau, Jerome de Groot, Terry Eagleton, David Matthews, Gale Owen-Crocker, Jackie Pearson and Alexander Rumble, has an international reputation in a number of the most important themes that are currently stimulating scholarly debate.

You will be taught by scholars who are at the forefront of their fields and are undertaking and publishing cutting-edge research. You will be taught innovative, hands-on research techniques as well as key theoretical approaches; you will be able to use a world-class research library; you will be part of a dynamic graduate community. The department regularly runs postgraduate masterclasses by visiting speakers; seminar leaders have included Steven Knight, Blair Worden, Sharon Achinstein, Ann Hughes, Martin Dzelzainis and Catherine Belsey.

Module details

Examples of course units offered for this course include:

• Material and Textual Cultures (core course, taught with the John Rylands Library and Chetham's Library)
• Chaucer, Troilus and Criticism
• Medievalisms
• Early Modern X-Files
• Early Modern Masculinities
• Anglo-Saxon and Early Medieval Culture and Context (core course for the medieval track)
• Ugliness, Disability and Selfhood in the Early Modern Period
• Reconceiving the Renaissance
• Magic and Popular Belief, c.1200-c.1500
• War and the Early Modern Imagination
• The Anglo-Saxon World
• Old English Poetry

Career opportunities

The MA is a good preparation for an academic career. Graduates regularly enter PhD programmes in leading universities. It is also an excellent terminal degree, preparing students for a variety of non-academic careers, especially those based on project planning, research, writing and communication.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview: A First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent, in English or a closely related area.

English language: Students whose first language is not English are required to take either the IELTS or TOEFL test. On the IELTS test applicants are normally expected to score a minimum of 7.0 overall; on the TOEFL test a minimum score of 600 (paper test) or 250 (computer test) is expected.