MA American Literatures

University of Essex

Postgraduate

In Colchester

£ 6,125 + VAT

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Description

  • Type

    Postgraduate

  • Location

    Colchester

  • Duration

    1 Year

About the course
Gain a rich understanding of the variety and interconnections of American writing, exploring major poetic, fictional, non-fictional and dramatic works

American literature is topical and contemporary; Author Junot Díaz’s book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was declared the best novel of the 21st century (so far!)

This is just one of the novels that you will have the opportunity to study on this course


At Essex, we challenge the study of the United States as a territorially bound space by embracing an expanded conception of ‘America’, which explores the richness of U

S

and Caribbean literatures in dialogue

This allows you to formulate sophisticated analyses of the role of space and place in the production of American writing and identities


You explore how cultural geography may be integrated into literary history, concentrating on American literatures topics including:
How violence and conflict have shaped writing across the American tropics
The difference between reality and the “American Dream”
Caribbean modernities and post-colonialism
US nationalism and regionalism in literature
African American literature
Our department is ranked Top 20 in the UK (Guardian University Guide 2015) and in the Top 200 worldwide (QS World University Rankings), and three-quarters of our research is rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (REF 2014)


This course is also available on a part-time basis


Our expert staff
At Essex, we have an impressive literary legacy

Facilities

Location

Start date

Colchester (Essex)
See map
Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ

Start date

On request

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Subjects

  • Writing
  • American Literature
  • Production
  • University
  • Conflict

Course programme

Example structure
Postgraduate study is the chance to take your education to the next level. The combination of compulsory and optional modules means our courses help you develop extensive knowledge in your chosen discipline, whilst providing plenty of freedom to pursue your own interests. Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore to ensure your course is as relevant and up-to-date as possible your core module structure may be subject to change.
For many of our courses you’ll have a wide range of optional modules to choose from – those listed in this example structure are, in many instances, just a selection of those available. Our Programme Specification gives more detail about the structure available to our current postgraduate students, including details of all optional modules.
Year 1
Research Methods in Literary and Cultural Analysis
War, Violence & Conflict in the American Tropics
US Nationalism and Regionalism
"There is a Continent Outside My Window" : United States and Caribbean Literatures in Dialogue
Dissertation
The New Nature Writing (optional)
Writing the Novel (optional)
Memory Maps: Practices in Psychogeography (optional)
Dramatic Structure (optional)
Literature and Performance in the Modern City
Early Modern to Eighteenth Century Literature
Georgian and Romantic Literature and Drama
Adaptation
Documentary and the Avant-garde: Film, Video, Digital
Film and Video Production Workshop
Advanced Film and Industry: Production and Industry
African American Literature (optional)
Sea of Lentils: Modernity, Literature, and Film in the Caribbean
Writing Magic (optional)
Literature and the Environmental Imagination: 19th to 21st Century Poetry and Prose (optional)
Teaching
Five modules are followed over the autumn and spring terms, and generally consist of ten two-hour seminars
Innovative, practical ways of engaging with texts include visits to theatres and archival research
Seminars may include introductions by your tutor, presentations by you, and discussion based on a programme of reading
Visiting scholars are invited to speak about their research
Assessment
Four essays of 4,000-5,000 words
There is normally considerable freedom for you to choose the topics of your essays
A reflective piece on research methods
Dissertation
You produce a dissertation (of approximately 20,000 words) written between April and September
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Additional information

Our history comprises staff (and students) who have shaped writing as we know it and has included Nobel Prize winners, Booker Prize winners, and Pulitzer Prize winners This course reflects our longstanding strengths in the literatures and cultures of the Americas, particularly the US South and Caribbean regions You are taught by leading area specialists who have researched and published extensively on Caribbean and US literatures: Professor Maria Cristina Fumagalli has published widely on Caribbean literature and culture, including her recent book On the Edge: Writing the Border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic Dr Owen Robinson is a US literature specialist with particular interests in William Faulkner and the US South; forthcoming publications include Myriad City: Towards a Literary Geography of New Orleans Dr Jak Peake has broad interests across Caribbean and US writing, with particular expertise in Trinidadian literature; forthcoming publications include Between the Bocas: A Literary Geography of Western Trinidad We are an interdisciplinary department and our academic staff have expertise in literature, film theory and practice, drama, creative writing and journalism Specialist facilities Meet fellow readers at the student-run Literature Society or at our department’s Myth Reading Group Write for our student magazine Albert or host a Red Radio show View classic films at weekly film screenings in our dedicated 120-seat film theatre Learn from leading writers and literature specialists at weekly research seminars Our on-campus Lakeside Theatre has been established as a major venue for good drama, staging both productions by professional touring companies and a wealth of new work written, produced and directed by our own staff and students Improve your playwriting and performance skills at our Lakeside Theatre Workshops Our Research Laboratory allows you to collaborate with professionals, improvising and experimenting with new work...

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MA American Literatures

£ 6,125 + VAT

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