10Feb
PostgraduateCourse summary
Our MA in Languages, Literatures and Cultures will draw on a vast wealth of knowledge in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Hispanic and Russian Studies to take you on an intellectual journey across continents through an enthralling study into languages, literatures and cultures and how they are transmitted, exchanged and established. The course will nurture your interests in world literatures and comparative studies by enabling you to work on literary materials in their original language, understanding their local, regional and national contexts and exploring what happens when they become entwined with intellectual elements such as translation, philosophy and visual culture. The course is taken full-time over one year and will consist of innovative core and optional modules ranging from women and the novel in the 18th century to anti-capitalist poetics and from science and the enlightenment to environmental philosophy. You will also be required to complete a dissertation involving the detailed study of a particular aspect of a topic related to world literature. The School of Modern Languages and Cultures will provide you with a stimulating environment for your study and the strongest emphasis will be on your own research which you will carry out under the supervision of a subject specialist. The School is also home to several cutting-edge research groups and we will encourage you to become an active member of the academic community, with the important Centre for Visual Arts and Cultures and Centre for Culture and Ecology both offering innovative opportunities for engagement.
Modules
Core modules: Critical Theory and Frameworks will give you the methodologies, tools and skills required for the study of literatures and cultures and will provide you with an overview of the crucial debates that take place within cultural studies and critical theory. The Dissertation will enable you to carry out your own detailed exploration of an area of languages, literatures and cultures of particular interest to you and to produce a piece of scholarly writing that demonstrates how you are able to understand the relevant theoretical frameworks and apply them appropriately. Examples of optional modules (please note that the following modules are subject to staff availability): Selected Topics in World Literatures; World Literature and Translation; Science, Technology and the Re-making of Nature; Visual Modernities; History of Translation; Work Placement (half module); Crossing Cultures: Word, Text and Image in Translation; Classical Modernism: Receptions of Greece and Rome; Romantic Forms of Grief; Literary Masculinity at the Fin de Siècle; Narrative Transformations: Medieval Romance to Renaissance Epic; The Contemporary US Novel; Women and the Novel in the Eighteenth Century; Modern Poetry; Narrative and Threshold of Consciousness; Anti-capitalist Poetics: Writing and Resisting the Modern World-system; Illness and Narrative Practices; Divergence, Deviance and Disability in Nineteenth century Literature; Minimalisms: Understanding the Aesthetics of Lessness; Environmental Posthumanities; Neurodiversity and the Humanities; Qualitative Approaches to Digital Humanities; Theory and History of the Novel; Things That Matter: Material and Culture in/for the Digital Age (half module); The Nature of History: Approaches to Environmental History; Transnational History; Science and the Enlightenment; Current Issues in Aesthetics and Theory of Art; Ethics, Medicine and History; Environmental Philosophy; Phenomenology and the Sciences of Mind; Ideologies and Political Thought; Contemporary Political Philosophy; The Politics of East-Asia.
Assessment method
The course is delivered through a mixture of seminars, workshops, lectures, group projects, research seminars and individual tutorials, supported by independent preparation and research. It consists of core modules, optional modules, and a dissertation with the core module setting out the overall intellectual framework for the course. The optional modules will offer further specialised areas of study in related topics in which you have a particular interest. The dissertation will require a detailed study of an aspect of a topic within world literature that, again, is of interest to you and will be of either 15,000 (60 credits) or 20,000 (90 credits) words in length. The learning environment will be relaxed and supportive of your work and will offer you individual time with your supervisors. There will also be an emphasis on independent study. Assessment is thorough and ongoing and will be carried out by careful analysis of your completed work over the year and will comprise of formative class presentations, as well as summative essays on core coursework and selected modules as well as a dissertation of 15,000 words or 20,000 words in length.
How to apply
International applicants
If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.
Entry requirements
You will be expected to have a BA degree (upper-second class degree or equivalent) in a relevant subject, such as language (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian), literature or linguistics from a recognised national or international university. Students holding a degree in a non-language-related field may be admitted provided they can demonstrate they have the required competence (C1 following the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in one of the above mentioned languages. Two positive academic or equivalent professional references are required.
English language requirements
Durham University welcomes applications from all students irrespective of background. We encourage the recruitment of academically well-qualified and highly motivated students, who are non-native speakers of English, whose full potential can be realised with a limited amount of English Language training either prior to entry or through pre-sessional and/or in-sessional courses. It is the normal expectation that candidates for admission should be able to demonstrate satisfactory English proficiency before the start of a programme of study, whether via the submission of an appropriate English language qualification or by attendance on an appropriate pre-sessional course. Acceptable evidence and levels required can be viewed by following the link provided.
English language requirements
https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/international/entry-requirements/english-language-requirements/
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £11000 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £11000 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £11000 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £11000 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £11000 | Year 1 |
| EU | £25000 | Year 1 |
| International | £25000 | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £25000 | Year 1 |
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
The tuition fees shown are for one complete academic year of study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).
Sponsorship information
For further information see the course listing.
Provider information
Durham University
The Palatine Centre
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE