Comparative Literature and Thought

Syllabus

Course Structure

In the first semester, students take a core course and one elective option. The core course 'Encounters: Literature and Thought' provides a foundation for advanced research in comparative literature. The core course looks at a number of different case studies, and includes a series of embedded research training components.

In the second semester, two further courses, 'Art Matters' and 'Comparative Imperialisms', explore in greater depth some of the political, aesthetic and literary questions introduced in the core course. Students on the programme are also free to choose from a wide range of other elective options offered across the School and College.

An individually tailored course on 'Issues in Comparative Literature' then allows each student to develop a more specific research project, and offers preparation for the dissertation that can be either comparative in nature, or with a particular focus on French, German, Hispanic or English.

First Semester

• Encounters: Literature and Thought (40 credits)
• The 20th Century Avant-Garde (20 credits)

Second Semester

• Dissertation Preparation (10 credits)
• Issues in Comparative Literature (10 credits)
• Art Matters (20 credits)
• Comparative Imperialisms (20 credits)

Summer

• Dissertation in Comparative Literature (60 credits)

Students may also choose from taught postgraduate courses offered elsewhere in the School of Language and Literature or the College of Arts and Social Sciences. These would include, for example:

• Scottish Literature: The Twentieth Century and Beyond
• Reading History's Past
• Theory of the Novel
• Topics in Modern Thought
• Romanticism and Genre
• Realism in Film: Documentary and the Docudrama
• Postmodernism in Irish and Scottish Writing
• Creative Writing

Dissertation

An individually tailored course on 'Issues in Comparative Literature' then allows each student to develop a more specific research project, and offers a preparation for the dissertation that is either comparative in nature, or with an emphasis on particular culture,for example: French, German, Hispanic, African, Asian, American, etc.

Assessment

Assessment methods vary by individual course, and include essays, reports, presentations, written exercises, and examinations. The MLitt also requires a 15,000 word dissertation either in English or in one of the languages in which the student chooses to specialise, while the diploma consists of coursework alone.

Duration

12 months, full-time.