English Studies: Criticism and Culture

Entry requirements

Normally a high 2:1 honours degree from a UK university or equivalent. Applicants should note, however, that the majority of those accepted onto English Faculty MPhils have a first-class honours degree or equivalent. Applicants will normally be expected to have taken a substantial number of English courses at a university level and to possess a sound background in the literature of the period covered by the course.

Months of entry

October

Course content

The MPhil in Criticism and Culture is an innovative nine-month course of literary study with an interdisciplinary and comparative focus, running from October until the end of June. It aims to provide an introduction to and training in different aspects of contemporary literary criticism and literary and cultural theory.

Students will be encouraged to develop a critical and methodological framework, and to pursue questions relating to literary and cultural production alongside an individual research project. Within a flexible framework, students will be able to study particular areas in depth or explore topics broadly relevant to intended research. Each student works closely with a member of the Faculty on his or her chosen dissertation topic while participating in collaborative seminars and classes.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students should have:

• developed a deeper knowledge of contemporary literary criticism and literary and cultural theory in general, and of their chosen area of research in particular; and
• developed an understanding of critical debates which allows the evaluation of current research in their dissertation field.