Our pathway in Postcolonial and World Literature allows you to specialise in the literary culture and history of the long twentieth century. It is taught by leading experts in the field and is linked to the Southampton Centre for Imperial and Postcolonial Studies.
The MA English Literary Studies (Postcolonial and World Literature) will enable you to work independently in the field; to explore how genres, authors, and texts participate in wider public discourses concerning the legacies of colonialism and imperialism, the aftermath of decolonization, the relationship between gender and nationalism, and the fault lines within postcolonial national narratives; and to evaluate unique publications and archival resources specific to the study of postcolonial literatures. It will develop your knowledge and understanding of critical and research methods appropriate to the period; raise your awareness of the historical and critical reception of literature and culture of postcolonial and world literatures; and empower you to explore the nuances of literary meaning in the contested cultural field of postcolonial writing and world literature.
View the programme specification for this course for 2019/20 entrants
View the programme specification for this course for 2020/21 entrants
Typical entry requirements
For 2020 entry
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|
| English language requirements |
All applicants must demonstrate they possess at least a minimum standard of English language proficiency. Applicants requiring a visa to study in the UK who do not offer GCSE English language (or GCSE English) at the required level will need to meet the following English language proficiency requirement. Find out more about the University’s English Language requirements.
Band C IELTS 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in all components
|
Degree
First- or upper second class honours degree or an equivalent standard in other qualifications approved by the University in English literature or a cognate discipline.
English Language
IELTS 7.0 overall, with minimum of 7.0 in writing, 6.5 in reading, listening and speaking, or an equivalent standard in other qualifications approved by the University.
Selection process
Selection process: Online application
Sample of written work (the work should be a piece of academic writing related to English Literary Studies or related field and which shows evidence of some research)
Interview may be required on a case by case basis to assess suitability of course
This page contains specific entry requirements for this course. Find out about equivalent entry requirements and qualifications for your country
This page contains specific entry requirements for this course. Find out about
equivalent
entry requirements and qualifications for your country.
Typical course content
In the first semester, the MA English pathway in Postcolonial and World Literatures comprises one core module, Adventures in Literary Research and three options. Three further optional modules from the MA in Postcolonial and World Literatures and related modules in other MA programmes are taken in the second semester, along with the dissertation.
The optional modules below are taught as special subjects, where you will meet in smaller groups with your tutor and develop your own research question.
Race and Literature
This module traces the conceptual trajectory between social Darwinist theories of race and the post-modern refutation of the ‘illusions of race’ by examining how racialised bodies and identities are represented in a range of literary texts in which they linked to various other social constructs and institutions – including slavery, colonialism, Apartheid, Empire and its legacies. Comte de Gobineau’s theories about the inequality of races will be allowed to be interrogated by the narrative of a female slave, W.E.B. Du Bois’ ground-breaking notion of double consciousness will be placed alongside Bildungsromane from both Harlem and the Caribbean, and ideas related to ethnic hybridity and silencing related to narratives of colonial India and postcolonial Australia. We will discuss the interface between race, culture and religion, and there will be sessions on multiculturalism and the framing of Muslims, migrants and asylum seekers in the recent ‘war on terror’.
Literature and Law
This module examines the interface between literature and law in the following key ways: through the representation of law within literature; the representation of law as literature; the use of literature in law; and laws relating to literature. It will examine a range of literary and legal texts from the nineteenth century to the present, and includes a focus on the relationship between literature, law, and colonialism.
Modernisms and Modernities
This module aims to provide a cultural history of the dynamic relationship between modernism and modernity in the early twentieth century. It focuses on the political, social, philosophical and technological dimensions of modernity, and the impact that this had on cultural and artistic expression from the Imagists through to Beckett. The course will also introduce you to current debates in modernist studies; indicative topics include the body and technology in modernist literature, the audience and market for modernism, the modernist city, and the importance of interdisciplinary practices in modernist culture.
You are also encouraged to take modules from other programmes, pathways, and disciplines in the Faculty of Humanities.
The MA culminates in a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice.
For further details of core and optional modules, see the table below.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the
programme and the learning outcomes that a typical
student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if s/he takes full advantage
of the learning opportunities that are provided.
More detailed information can be found in the programme handbook (or other appropriate guide
or website).
Tuition fees
Fees for postgraduate taught courses vary across the University. All fees are
listed for UK,
EU and international full-time and part-time students alphabetically by course
name.
Scholarships, bursaries, sponsorships or grants may be available to support you through your course. Funding opportunities available to you are linked to your subject area and/or your country of origin. These can be from the University of Southampton or other sources.
Explore funding opportunitiesCosts associated with this course
Students are responsible for meeting the cost of essential textbooks, and of producing such
essays, assignments, laboratory reports and dissertations as are required to fulfil the
academic requirements for each programme of study.
In some cases you'll be able to choose modules (which may have different costs associated
with that module) which will change the overall cost of a programme to you. Please also
ensure you read the section on additional costs in the University’s Fees, Charges and
Expenses Regulations in the University Calendar available at www.calendar.soton.ac.uk.
