External summary

This taught Masters programme considers the ways in which literature since 1900 has sought to change and ‘modernise’ itself, in the context of - often in reaction to - wider developments of modernity characterising the age.

The programme explores in this way a range of historical, intellectual, cultural, political and philosophical factors informing the period’s writing - particularly in its highly innovative modernist and postmodernist phases - and analyses in general the responses of literary imagination, as well as theory and criticism, to the expanding pressures of the modern.

Scrutiny of tensions between tradition and innovation, private and public vision, domestic and international influence, new or established philosophy and ideas, shape and direct study of some of the most exciting and challenging literary texts ever written.

This unique programme reflects the latest developments in the historical and contextual study of literature, inviting students to analyse the manifold interconnections of textual forms, themes, strategies and styles with factors more widely shaping contemporary life and imagination.

Students extend this core study of modernist and postmodernist literature by constructing their own individual curricula from a range of option courses which offer detailed study of specific areas of writing since 1900.

The research culture at the Department of English Literature in the University of Edinburgh has consistently been rated as one of the best in the United Kingdom. The MSc in Literature and Modernity draws upon the expertise of several of its members.

Educational aims of programme

The aim of the programme is to analyse the most challenging and exciting literature written in English since 1900, asking and answering questions about how and why it took the forms it did.

In exploring these questions, the programme examines a range of literary works in the context of contemporary pressures that shaped them, and in particular in the context of ‘modernity’ as this has been conceived in its manifold developments since the Enlightenment.

Redefinitions of textual forms and literary styles are assessed in the modernist period, that great phase of innovation involving T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and many lesser known figures.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• search for, evaluate and use information relevant to their field of study using library resources including databases
• identify, conceptualize and define new and abstract problems and issues
• plan and execute a significant project of research, investigation or development
• clearly communicate their research plans and the rationale underpinning them unambiguously to specialist and non-specialist audiences

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• exercise substantial autonomy and initiative in activities, including decision making on the basis of independent thought.
• be open to new ideas, methods and ways of thinking
• be intellectually curious with that curiosity leading to professional, personal and academic goals and they will have ability to work towards these goals
• be able to develop, maintain and sustain intellectual rigour and application

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• communicate to a range of audiences with different levels of knowledge
• communicate with peers, more senior colleagues and specialists
• communicate orally, written, or visually demonstrating clarity and coherence
• engage in debate demonstrating skills of active listening, critical reading and the ability to advance an argument and to develop that argument in the light of new evidence
• seek and to respond to feedback

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• be able to plan, execute and critically evaluate a significant project of research investigation or development
• be able to work collaboratively while recognizing the diversity of the group, the complexity of the specific context and the complexity of the process of collaboration itself
• transfer learning, skills and abilities from one context to another

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

In addition to the range of skills detailed above, graduates of this programme will be able to:

• engage at a critically advanced level with a variety of primary and secondary sources, literary concepts and theories
• contextualize their knowledge in relation to relevant conceptual frameworks
• identify relevant sources (from a variety of printed, electronic, and media sources), and incorporate them in their assignments and research in an appropriate way
• apply relevant research methods
• develop and demonstrate their communication and writing skills
• gain appropriate time-management skills in relation to a variety of tasks

Programme structure and features

The MSc Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present consists of 180 credits allocated as follows:

Students must pass the assessment requirements of the taught stage at an appropriate level at the first attempt before progression to the dissertation. In order to progress to the masters dissertation students must:

(a) pass at least 80 credits at SCQF level 11 with a mark of at least 50% in each of the courses which make up these credits; and
(b) attain an average of at least 50% for the 120 credits of study examined at the point of
decision for progression; and
(c) satisfy any other specific requirements for the masters degree programme, that are clearly stated in respective programme handbooks.

The degree is available in full-time and part-time modes and dependant on required credits, students are able to exit the programme at different stages with a postgraduate certificate, a postgraduate diploma, a masters degree or a masters degree with distinction.

Please see the regulations below for clarification on the requirements for different awards:

Regulation 53 Postgraduate degree, diploma and certificate award

In order to be awarded the certificate students must:
(a) Pass at least 40 credits with a mark of at least 40%; and
(b) attain an average of at least 40% for the 60 credits of study examined for the certificate; and
(c) satisfy any other specific requirements for the named certificate that are clearly stated in respective programme handbooks.

In order to be awarded the diploma students must:
(a) pass at least 80 credits with a mark of at least 40%; and
(b) attain an average of at least 40% for the 120 credits of study examined for the diploma; and
(c) satisfy any other specific requirements for the named diploma that are clearly stated in respective programme handbooks.

In order to be awarded a masters degree students must:
(a) have satisfied any requirements for progression, as laid out in taught assessment regulation 52 above, and
(b) attain an additional 60 credits, by achieving a mark of at least 50% for the dissertation or project component and
(c) satisfy any other specific requirements for the masters degree programme, that are clearly stated in respective Programme Handbooks.

When all the marks for the taught components of the programme or diploma are available, if the student has achieved PASS marks (40%) in at least 80 credits and has an overall average of 40% or more over the full 120 credits, then they will be awarded credits on aggregate for the failed courses, up to a maximum of 40 credits. For a certificate, a maximum of 20 credits may be awarded on aggregate.

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

Teaching and Learning strategies employed at the University of Edinburgh consist of a variety of different methods appropriate to the programme aims. The graduate attributes listed above are met through a teaching and learning framework (detailed below) which is appropriate to the level and content of the course.

Lectures

Tutorials

Seminars

Problem based learning activities

Peer group learning

Examples Classes

Dissertation

One to one meetings with programme directors and supervisors

Core and option courses are predominantly delivered by means of seminar teaching which is most frequently centred on student discussion. This may involve student presentations, either singly or in groups, and classes may make use of peer-group study outside the designated class time, or autonomous learning groups, in addition.    Research Methods in semester 2 is delivered by means of lectures, individual consultation with the designated supervisor, and peer-review workshop led by a staff member.

Alongside the university’s central library and computing facilities, the School has a number of specialist libraries within its subject areas such as the School of Scottish Archives, the European languages library, and the Language and Humanities Centre which provides language laboratories.  The Graduate School has its own computer lab at 19 George Square for the exclusive use of its postgraduate students.

Assessment methods and strategies

The overall assessment is comprised of 180 credits, 60 of which pertain to the supervised dissertation. Students will complete six courses of 20 credits each, of which two will be Research Skills (one taken in each semester), two will be core courses (one taken in each semester), and the remaining credits will be in two option courses (one taken in each semester). The core and option courses are each summatively assessed by means of a 4000 word essay (inclusive of footnotes but not bibliography) which will evaluate students' ability to engage effectively with a particular topic or area of inquiry relevant to the subject of the course by means of evaluating and synthesising relevant scholarship and criticism, and by formulating their own critical and intellectual response to a variety of appropriate issues. This must be achieved within a set period of time. On a number of option courses students may devise their own topic in consultation with the seminar leader.

The 15000 word Dissertation component is intended to assess students' ability to plan and execute a significant project of research investigation or development over a sustained period of time. The culminates in the production of an independent and substantial piece of research which tests student skills and abilities across the range of programme outcomes in the key areas of research and enquiry; personal and intellectual autonomy. The process is facilitated by the Research Methods II course, taught in the second semester (see below for further details) which is designed to foster a sense of coherent and progressive development between submission of a Dissertation title and the production of the final assessed piece of work.

Research Skills and Methods introduces first-year postgraduates in LLC to Edinburgh's extensive range of electronic sources and material archives, training them to recognise the research methodologies that these resources serve-so they can generate effective research strategies. In addition to the three lectures during Week-1, students attend workshops and undertake bibliographical assignments that will provide students with the scope and opportunity to produce solid preliminary research on topics that they choose. Students complete this course prepared for the discipline-specific methods courses offered by their subject- areas in the second semester.

Research Methods and Problems in English Literature is team-taught by members of staff in English Literature over seven weeks at the start of semester two, builds on the School’s first semester research methods course but is tailored to the specific demands and requirements of the English Literature Dissertation component on the subject area’s taught MSc programmes.  It is delivered by means of lectures, peer-review workshop, and individual consultation between student and supervisor. The course directs students through the initial stages of the Dissertation process, and specifically the creation of a proposal. This includes: identification of research topic; the writing of an abstract and initial bibliography; expanded proposal and annotated bibliography of c15 items. It aims to familiarise students with a range of subject-specific theoretical and conceptual issues that will be necessary for the successful production of both proposal and final dissertation, and culminates in the submission of a full proposal for the dissertation. Submission of all three pieces (title; abstract; full proposal) is required in order for successful completion of the course. The module is assessed on a pass/fail basis and is worth 20 credits.

Career opportunities

A degree in English literature is essential if you wish to teach this subject in schools, colleges and universities. Your critical research and writing skills, together with your understanding of the social and political issues and perceptions that literature of different societies and eras assumes, explores, shapes or contests, is also useful in a range of different careers. These include journalism, publishing, advertising, marketing and PR, library and information management, arts administration, writing and media research and production.

Graduates from this course have also used their qualification to move on to further academic study by taking a PhD in English literature, either at Edinburgh or by moving to another university.  Some have gone on to further vocation study to train in teaching and library and information work, for example.

You may prefer to use the transferable skills gained from both your undergraduate and postgraduate studies, combined with relevant experience, to shape your direction.  It is important to work out what your own specific skills, career interests and motivators are, where they fit in the job market, and to be able to demonstrate your interest and suitability to future employers.  For further information and resources to help you with this, consult the postgraduate section of the Careers Service website www.ed.ac.uk/careers/postgrad

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