MA (International Contemporary Literatures and Media)

Course details

This is a multidisciplinary and comparative MA programme designed for students with an interest in contemporary literatures and media. It aims to familiarise students with movements, authors, texts and themes of international contemporary literature. It broadens their intellectual horizons and provides them with the skills for research and critical analysis.

Students will be prepared for careers in media, arts administration, teaching, translation, and international marketing and communications.

The course provides excellent preparation for students interested in pursuing a PhD in this area.

Key facts

Entry requirements

• Second Class Honours NQAI Level 8 degree or equivalent in any discipline with a strong literature or media component.

Course outline

The late 20th century saw fundamental cultural changes brought about by factors such as globalisation, the end of the Cold War, and technological and communicative innovations, and these changes are intensely reflected in literature and media. The course programme includes the study of seminal texts, films and other media by international authors and artists mostly from the 1960s to post-modernism and beyond. Non-English texts will be read in translation.

Core modules:

• The Arts of Reading—about debates in world literature and theoretical approaches in modern literary and cultural studies.
• Self-Referentiality in Post-modern Media—how do media reflect on other media, for example how is the book represented in films or paintings?
• From pision to Unification: Literary Texts in their Political Contexts—how is the post-war pision of Europe reflected in literature and media?
• Contemporary Literary Genres—about trends in genres such as Didactic Fiction, Holocaust Literature, travel writing, fan fiction, etc.

Requirements and assessment

Students have to take a total of six modules (10 ECTS each), four are obligatory and two are optional. Assessment of modules is by written exam or take-home-essay. Students also have to write a minor dissertation of circa 15,000 words (30 ECTS).