Contemporary Literature and Culture

MA Contemporary Literature and Culture

Full-Time Programme

This MA is the first in the country that allows advanced study of contemporary literature in all its diversity. We examine popular genres, the 21st century novel, contemporary innovations, postcolonial literatures, postmodern poetics and more. Designed to develop advanced theoretical understanding of cultural, social, intellectual and aesthetic contexts, it allows students to engage with some of the most exciting writing of the last thirty years.

Course Objectives

This Masters programme has been designed to develop students' theoretical understanding of contemporary literature in its cultural, social, intellectual and aesthetic contexts. It allows students to engage with the diverse field of late 20th and early 21st century literatures in both critical and creative ways.

As a student at Brunel, you will be invited to consider the impact on contemporary writing of such concepts and conditions as: postmodernity, contemporaneity, marginalised literatures, the avant-garde and the mainstream, popular literature, historiography, innovation, new technologies, interactivity, and the marketplace.

But the course centres on literary texts, giving you skills and opportunities to discuss some of the most exciting literature of the last thirty years. In addition to the wide-ranging syllabuses for taught modules which confront and interrogate the divisions between innovative and popular literatures, you will be able to pursue independent study through the Dissertation.

The MA is taught through workshops and seminars, moderated by distinguished research-active staff working in the field. You will be expected to contribute to discussions, present your own interpretations and raise new questions for debate.

On completing the MA, you will have skills which are vital for careers in publishing, print and electronic media, the culture industries and education. If you wish to continue your studies at doctoral level, you will have essential research skills, and the opportunity to join a flourishing research culture at Brunel. Our staff have expertise in a wide range of contemporary literatures, and you will benefit by series of talks and events by writers, industry representatives, and scholars, as well as the activities organised by the Brunel Centre for Contemporary Writing and the Archive of the Now. Additionally, there are financial benefits offered to alumni of the Brunel MA programmes to help you on your way.