Postgraduate

MA English part 1

On this page

• What you will study
• Entry
• Qualifications
• If you have a disability or additional requirement
• Study materials
• Teaching and assessment
• Students also studied
• Future availability
• How to register

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.

Course facts

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This course is available for study in the countries shown.

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

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.

Qualifications

A815 is a compulsory module in our:

• MA in English (F58)

A815 is an optional module in our:

• Postgraduate Diploma in Humanities (D35)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Students also studied

Students who studied this course also studied at some time:

• MA English part 2 (A816)
• 20th century literature: texts and debates (A300)
• The nineteenth-century novel (AA316)
• Shakespeare: text and performance (AA306)
• Creative writing (A215)

Future availability

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

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.

Study explained

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