Skip navigation
English Literature: Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present at The University of Edinburgh - UCAS

Course options

2026 - 2027
Apply

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

Our MSc Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present offers an advanced focus on literature produced from the start of the twentieth century to the present day. You will explore how writers and other cultural figures have sought to reimagine and reinvent what literature can do, how they have responded to changing social and political contexts, and how their work offers both insights into the past and ideas that speak to the present moment. Your studies will take you through a broad and fascinating field, from the originators of literary modernism – including figures such as T. S. Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf – to late twentieth-century postmodernists and contemporary writers who continue to explore innovative ways of writing about our changing world. We’ll explore both canonical and lesser studied writers, with the opportunity to engage with a wide range of theoretical contexts, including:

  • critical race studies
  • ecocriticism and animal studies
  • feminist theory
  • Marxist theory
  • medical humanities
  • psychoanalysis
  • posthumanism
  • postcritique
  • queer theory
Why Edinburgh We are the oldest department of English Literature in the world, having first offered courses in literature 250 years ago. Studying here, you’ll be at the heart of one of the world’s major cultural hubs. Edinburgh is the first UNESCO City of Literature and is home to major literary and arts festivals that take place throughout the year, as well as globally renowned museums, galleries, theatres and libraries, including the National Library of Scotland. We are a community of writers and readers, and there are lots of opportunities to write and share your own work across the University, such as ‘The Student,’ the UK’s oldest student newspaper (founded in 1887 by Robert Louis Stevenson) and annual student writing prizes. The University also hosts the prestigious James Tait Black Prize, which was established in 1919. They are Britain's longest-running literary awards and the only major book prizes judged by scholars and students.

Modules

See our website for detailed programme information.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for individual programmes vary, so please check the details for the specific programme you wish to apply for on our website. You will also need to meet the University’s language requirements.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Tuition fees vary between degree programmes. Find the specific fees for your chosen programme on our website.
English Literature: Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present at The University of Edinburgh - UCAS