Course Overview

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 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, with students from different backgrounds and stages of their careers, and the chance to study the course online, on campus or via a mixture of both.
• It benefits from guest lectures from visiting writers and critics, and a close connection with Birkbeck's research centres and institutes that are particularly productive in this area.

What you will 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 a range of 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 designed to advance these skills to postgraduate level. You will also be able to shape your degree to your interests by choosing option modules on a stimulating range of themes that varies from year to year.