Renaissance Studies (MA)

Birkbeck, University of London

Master

In London

£ 8,820 VAT inc.

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Description

  • Type

    Master

  • Location

    London

  • Duration

    1 Year

The MA in Renaissance Studies explores the question of what the Renaissance was and what approaches are best suited to understanding it.

From the start, you will undertake training in postgraduate research skills. For example, in the second term of your degree you are offered practical study of palaeography. The summer core course is based around the materials of Renaissance evidence: objects, painting, manuscript and print. We explore a range of methodologies.

The programme considers different aspects of Renaissance culture, particularly the social and intellectual histories of England, France, Italy and Spain. You will study with Birkbeck's internationally recognised experts in Renaissance English literature and culture, history of art, French, history and Spanish, tailoring your module choices towards chosen specialisms. By the end of the course you will be able to demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the questions associated with the study of the Renaissance and will have had the opportunity to either specialise or work in an interdisciplinary way.

Facilities

Location

Start date

London
See map
Malet Street, WC1E 7HX

Start date

On request

About this course

Graduates go on to careers in museums management and curating, academia, journalism and publishing, research, marketing and public relations. Possible professions include management, curating, or publishing. This degree can also be useful in a variety of roles within the creative sector, such as journalist or public relations officer.

A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above, preferably in a subject relevant to Renaissance studies (for example, classics, history, history of art, literature and languages, philosophy or political science).

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Subjects

  • Shakespeare
  • Magic
  • Drama
  • Interpretation
  • English
  • Art
  • University
  • Concepts and Issues
  • Death
  • Disease and Early Modern City
  • Science and Religion
  • Renaissance
  • Marsilio Ficino

Course programme

COURSE STRUCTURE

You begin with a core course that examines the way the Renaissance has been understood, and then you go on to choose three option modules in areas of special interest to you. Finally, you will develop a dissertation topic under the expert guidance of one of our academics.

CORE MODULE
  • The Renaissance: Concepts and Issues
INDICATIVE OPTION MODULES
  • Art in the Age of Giotto: evidence and interpretation
  • Death, Disease and Early Modern City
  • Drama and Performance in Medieval England
  • Magic, Science and Religion in the Renaissance
  • Marsilio Ficino, Platonism and the Florentine Renaissance
  • Medievalism: Re-presenting the Middle Ages
  • Practitioners and Patients in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe
  • Rebellion, Dissent and Tyranny: England c 1380 - c 1430
  • Renaissance Beasts
  • Renaissance Florence: Society, Religion and Culture
  • Rome: Place, Continuity and Memory
  • Text and Action: Renaissance Stage Directions
  • The Art of Persuasion: Religious Imagery and the Catholic Reformation
  • The Literature of Elizabethan London
  • The Woman Question: Medieval to Renaissance
  • Venice and Istanbul, 1453-1797
  • Visualising the Renaissance Stage
MA RENAISSANCE STUDIES DISSERTATION
  • Dissertation MA Renaissance Studies

One reason for the course’s enduring success is that students decide whether to make their route diverse or disciplinary. Here are four sample paths to show what that means.

ROUTE 1: ENGLISH LITERATURE
  • The Renaissance: Concepts and Issues
  • Literature of the English Reformation
  • The Literature of Elizabethan London
  • Visualising the Renaissance Stage
  • Summer core course (Renaissance Witnesses)
  • Dissertation on the Renaissance stage
ROUTE 2: RENAISSANCE STUDIES
  • The Renaissance: Concepts and Issues
  • Power and Control in Spanish Golden Age Art
  • Magic, Science and Religion
  • The Woman Question: Medieval to Renaissance
  • Summer core course (Renaissance Witnesses)
  • Dissertation on Isabella d’Este’s patronage
ROUTE 3: RENAISSANCE ITALY
  • The Renaissance: Concepts and Issues
  • Rome: Place, Continuity and Memory
  • Art in the Age of Giotto
  • The Art of Persuasion
  • Summer core course (Renaissance Witnesses)
  • Dissertation on power and control in Florentine domestic space
ROUTE 4: SHAKESPEARE
  • The Renaissance: Concepts and Issues
  • Visualising the Renaissance Stage
  • Text and Action: Renaissance Stage Directions
  • Literary London
  • Summer core course (Renaissance Witnesses)
  • Dissertation on Shakespeare and Renaissance and/or contemporary performance.

Additional information


FEES

Part-time home students: £4410 pa
Full-time home students: £8820 pa
Part-time international students: £8010 pa
Full-time international students: £16020 pa

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Renaissance Studies (MA)

£ 8,820 VAT inc.

The best English courses

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See all