Course summary

Our MA in Comparative Literature and Critical Theories is an interdisciplinary, transnational programme. It invites students to engage with crucial debates about the different ways in which cultures across time and space have understood the relationship between literature and the world, the concept of representation and the role of the author in the cultural domain. Successful graduates of the programme will be trained in comparative and critical theory and have a strong grounding in a range of world literatures and cultures across time and space. Students will gain knowledge of a range of transnational critical theories and debates on world literature, as well as a familiarity with comparative approaches to world literary and cultural texts and traditions. They will develop critical reading and analytical skills, advanced research skills and the ability to develop and write a sustained scholarly project. Since the CLCT MA is deeply interdisciplinary, students will be encouraged to take modules in a range of humanities and social science disciplines. They will be engaged in comparing disciplines and ways of knowing across a global trajectory, alongside more formalised comparisons of texts and theoretical traditions across cultures. With its transnational focus and emphasis on critical interrogations of existing canons of literature, the programme responds to the ‘Decolonizing the Curriculum’ movement underway at many UK universities. Students may choose to work with materials in the Special Collections dealing with manuscript culture, the literatures of the Near and Middle East, and word/image relations. The programme has been designed to prepare students for future PhD level study in interdisciplinary and transregional literary studies as well as to prepare students for a range of careers outside academia requiring transcultural expertise. It is particularly relevant for: international students seeking an introduction to UK academia; students interested in careers with international NGOs, in International Relations or in politics that require language skills and cultural knowledge; those interested in Arts & Humanities charities; students seeking qualification in specific languages, regions, and literary and cultural methodologies.