MA in Philosophy and Literature

Summary

This MA course offers an opportunity to study the relations between philosophy and literature at an advanced level. It can be taken either as a self-standing degree course or in preparation for PhD research. A strong performance in the MA is one of the entry routes to the Philosophy Department's PhD programme. Students who choose this route and are accepted on to the PhD in Philosophy or the PhD in Philosophy and Literature will study one year for the MA, followed by a three-year period of PhD research (i.e. "1+3", full-time).

Outline

The design of the MA in Philosophy and Literature is guided by the idea that philosophical reflection is indispensable for an in-depth understanding of issues raised by the literary as such – questions concerning interpretation, knowledge, authorship, fictionality, imagination, and narrative, among others. The course also involves inquiry into the specific concerns found within individual literary works: questions about selfhood and identity, the place of the aesthetic in modernity, the conditions for ethical life, and the political relevance of artistic practices. At the same time the course explores ways in which literature is not merely an object of theoretical, including philosophical, study but has the potential to de-stabilize and call into question familiar modes and paradigms of philosophical thinking.

The course is thus genuinely interdisciplinary and this is reflected in the nature of its core components and in the range of optional modules on offer, drawing on expertise from the Departments of Philosophy, English and Comparative Literature, French Studies, and German Studies.

Students take 6 modules, each running for one term. In 2011-12 they include the following:

I. One core module in Philosophy:

II. Two Philosophy modules.

Click here to see the list of Philosophy MA modules offered this year.


III. Three literature modules:

and

and

  • either a second MA module chosen from those offered by the Department of English or one of two modules offered by the French Department: Advanced Study Option I or II. Click here for information. Note that you need to inquire with the French Department before registering for these modules (and some proficiency in French may be required).

IV. Dissertation

Students also write a dissertation (normally of 10,000 words) on an agreed topic.

Further information

For details regarding individual modules, please see MA Modules.

For information about funding and the application process, please see Prospective Students.

Those without sufficient background in Philosophy may be asked to audit an appropriate undergraduate module, such as History of Modern Philosophy or Post-Kantian Continental Philosophy.

[Note: This MA is offered as a degree within the Faculty of Arts]