Skip to content

In this masters-level course you will explore a rich and varied range of literary texts from ancient times to the present. Building on your previous study of literature, you will be equipped with key research methods in literary study and introduced to the use of extensive electronic resources available via the OU library. The course is designed to give plenty of scope for the development of individual research projects. This will prepare you for the dissertation course MA English part 2 (A816) where you will have the opportunity to plan, research and write up an extended piece of work based on your own interests.

Register for the course

This course is available for study in the countries shown.


Start End Fee Register
29 Sep 2012 Jan 2014 Not yet available

Registration closes 06/09/12 (places subject to availability)

Click to register
This course is expected to start for the last time in October 2020.

*Fees may vary by country.

Top

What you will study

This masters-level course is divided into two broad sections. In the first and longer section you will be exploring five clusters of major literary texts, from the ancient past right up to the present. These clusters have been chosen to exemplify some of the complex and fascinating ways in which certain literary themes, personae or narratives have circulated within and across widely differing contexts and periods. You will be considering, for example, the phenomenon of rewrites and adaptations of literary texts in different genres, languages and media. This will include study not only of their critical reception, but of their material production, distribution and dissemination. You will be encouraged to bring a range of relevant theoretical approaches to literary texts and become aware of the ways in which these approaches themselves have histories, and are practised within institutional frameworks.

The second and shorter section of the course continues the exploration of literary circulations across boundaries, and the adaptation and recreation of texts in a range of different media. Its main focus, however, is on issues of literary history and book history, with reference to two very different literary texts: Byron’s satirical poem Don Juan and Kipling’s novel Kim. These will be used to open up discussion of the ways in which our understanding of literary texts can be deepened by reference to the specific historical frameworks and contexts within which they are produced and consumed, and to explore the concepts, methodologies and practices of book history, and how this relates to our study of literature.

The overall aims of the course are to provide you with a rich and exciting experience of higher level literary study while at the same time developing your independent skills in literary research. The study materials provide guided reading to a wide range of critical approaches. Assignments also cover a wide range of topics and allow you to focus on and develop particular critical and theoretical interests, (for example in post-colonial theory, feminist theory, literary and book history, or interdisciplinary research). The course as a whole will provide you with opportunities to develop the analytical and research skills required for study at MA level, with an increasing emphasis on your individual research as the course progresses. This prepares you to undertake the dissertation module, MA English part 2 (A816) for which you will choose, in consultation with your tutor, a topic of your own devising, so as to pursue your own particular critical and theoretical interests, building on the study areas and approaches that you have explored in the course.

The course structure, with brief details of the texts to be studied, is as follows:

Block 1

Sophocles, Antigone

Jean Anouilh, Antigone

Block 2

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea

Block 3

William Shakespeare, Coriolanus

Bertholt Brecht, Coriolan

Block 4

Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

J.M. Coetzee, Foe

J.M. Coetzee, Dusklands

Block 5

Genesis Chapters 1–3

John Milton, Paradise Lost

William Blake, Milton

Block 6

Lord Byron, Don Juan

Block 7

Rudyard Kipling, Kim

Top

Entry

You should have a UK honours degree (or equivalent). Ideally, you should have an English degree or one that contains substantial study of literature. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Preparatory work

You are encouraged to read as many of the set books as possible before beginning the MA and to locate any potentially useful research libraries in your local area.

Top

Qualifications

A815 is a compulsory module in our:

A815 is an optional module in our:

Some postgraduate qualifications allow study to be chosen from other subject areas. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this module can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.

Top

If you have a disability or additional requirement

Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.

If you are a new student, or new to study using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our publication Meeting Your Needs.

You can also find information about accessible study materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.

Top

Study materials

What's included

  • A Course Guide, which will include a detailed description of the course.
  • An interactive Study Calendar, available through the dedicated website.
  • Study Guides to introduce you to the essential resources and important issues relevant to each block of study.
  • A Reader of key critical and theoretical extracts related to each block of study.
  • An Assignment Booklet, giving details of assignment topics.
  • An electronic copy of The MHRA Style Guide, which provides information on the use of scholarly conventions in literary study.
  • Electronic resources for the study of literature, including a wide range of journals, and training in the use of these, via our OU library.

Computing requirements

This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.

You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2005 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.

Materials to buy

Set books

  • Franklin, D & Harrison, J (eds) Sophocles: Antigone, Cambridge University Press £6.50 - ISBN 9780521010733
  • Rhys, Jean Wide Sargasso Sea, Penguin £8.99 - ISBN 9780141182858
  • Bronte, C Jane Eyre, Oxford University Press £6.99 - ISBN 9780199535590
  • Anouilh, J: Freeman, D (ed.) Bray, B (tr) Antigone, Methuen £8.99 - ISBN 9780413695406
  • Blake, William The Complete Poems, Penguin £16.99 - ISBN 9780140422153
  • Coetzee, J M Foe, Penguin £8.99 - ISBN 9780241950111
  • Defoe, D: Keymer, T (ed.) Robinson Crusoe, Oxford World's Classics £6.99 - ISBN 9780199553976
  • Coetzee, J M Dusklands, Vintage £7.99 - ISBN 9780099268338
  • Bliss, Lee (ed.) (ed) Coriolanus (The New Cambridge Shakespeare), Cambridge University Press £8.99 - ISBN 9780521728744
  • Lord Byron: McGann, J (ed.) The Major Works, Oxford World's Classics £12.99 - ISBN 9780199537334
  • Rudyard Kipling: Sullivan, Z T (ed) Kim, Norton £6.99 - ISBN 9780393966503
  • Milton, J: Leonard, J (ed.) Paradise Lost, Penguin £8.99 - ISBN 9780140424393
  • Eliot, S & Rose, J (eds) A Companion to the History of the Book, Blackwell £24.99 - ISBN 9781405192781
  • Da Sousa Correa, D & Owens, W R (eds) (eds) The Handbook to Literary Research (2nd edn), Routledge £19.99 - ISBN 9780415485005

Top

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material, mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. Tutorials will be held online. We may also be able to offer day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend.

Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details can be found in the facts box above.

You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.

Top

Top

Future availability

The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2012. We expect it to be available once a year.

Top

How to register

To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.

Top

Course facts

About this course:
Course code A815
Credits 120
OU Level Postgraduate
SCQF level 11
FHEQ level 7
Course work includes:
5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)
End-of-module assessment
No residential school

Study explained

Course
- a module of study that can count towards a qualification.
Credits
- show how much study is required to complete a course or qualification. One credit represents roughly 10 hours of study.
Financial support
- find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.
Study explained
- all you need to know about distance learning with the OU.

Your questions

We may have already answered it in our frequently asked questions.

Or contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90+44(0) 845 366 60 35

Employers' questions

Contact Corporate Enquiries
Visit our website for employers or Email us



Get a prospectus

Download or
order