Why study this course?
This course is one of five pathways available in the MLitt in English Literature. Each pathway develops well-rounded expertise in the literature of the period through a mix of core and option choice modules.
Highlights
- Covers both elite and popular writing, the influence of other continental vernaculars, and the importance of print and manuscript media
- Become part of a welcoming and lively academic community. St Andrews is a consortium member of the Folger Shakespeare Library Institute in Washington DC and also hosts a number of research groups relevant to the English Renaissance.
- Explore the key developments in modern and contemporary literary studies in dialogue with leading scholars in the fields of Shakespeare studies, Shakespearean book history, Renaissance popular literature and 17th-century literary culture.
- Choose from optional modules in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in the International Education and Lifelong Learning Institute, to acquire English teaching skills and improve your employability.
Contact details for Programme Director, Dr Matthew Augustine, are available on his profile. You can also find out about his teaching and research interests.
The other pathways available are:
- Medieval Literature
- Romantic and Victorian Studies
- Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture
- Flexible Pathway
Students on any pathway may, subject to permission, take up to 30 credits from any 5000-level module from another School. Some 30-credit 3000- or 4000-level modules within English may also be open to MLitt students, for example EN3114 Reading Old English.
Course information may change. Module information and course content, teaching and assessment may change each year and after you have accepted your offer to study at the University of St Andrews. We display the most up-to-date information possible, but this could be from a previous academic year. For the latest module information, see the module catalogue.
Semester 1
In Semester 1, you will take the module The Forms of Renaissance Literature.
This pathway core module explores key works of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century literature in relation to the cultural forms that shaped early modern writing.
You will also choose one 30 credit option module.
- Critical Approaches, Theories, and Research Skills: introduces students to the debates, concepts, theories, and methodologies that have shaped the study of literature across a long history, and offers students the opportunity to develop research skills essential to postgraduate study in English literature.
- Reading the Medieval Text: provides specific skills and areas of knowledge necessary for undertaking research in medieval literature, including palaeography and codicology, and scholarly editing.
- Romantic and Victorian Lives and Texts: examines the phases of literary and cultural production and reception, from the lives of authors and cultural figures, through the conditions of publication of their work.
- Reading the Modern: is an exploration of influential British, American and French modernists' pursuit to develop modes of representation compatible with a newly urban, industrialised and mass-oriented age.
Semester 2
In Semester 2, The Worlds of Renaissance Literature is the pathway core module.
This module investigates the relationship between Renaissance English literature and the wider world, both in terms of the influence of continental vernaculars on English writing and the transformations produced by global travel and nascent imperial expansion.
You will also choose one 30 credit option module.
- Medieval Literature in Context: teaches some central Old English, Middle English, and Older Scots texts in their wider cultural and temporal contexts.
- Romantic and Victorian Literary Cultures: shows how thoroughly literature is connected to broader discursive and historical contexts globally. Literary works could make decisive and poignant contributions to particular political debates, and the literary sphere itself has its own politics.
- Contemporary Literature and Culture: exposes students to a range of contemporary authors, poets and playwrights, moving between a detailed focus on highlighted key works and a wider perspective on individual writer’s oeuvres.
- Women, Writing and Gender: examines continuity and change in women’s writing and constructions of gender across the period 1700 to the present.
- Postcolonial and World Literatures: focuses on a diverse range of texts drawn from across the globe and spanning the long-history of imperialism, from colonial encounters to contemporary global challenges in an era of world literature.
Why St Andrews?
You will be part of a welcoming and lively academic community. St Andrews is a consortium member of the Folger Shakespeare Library Institute in Washington DC.
It also plays host to a number of research groups relevant to students with interests in the English Renaissance:
What other students say
"I have grown so much at St Andrews, both intellectually and personally. This programme has introduced me to professors who have challenged me to become an even better scholar and lifelong friends who have encouraged me every step of the way. In this community of professors and peers, I have felt completely safe to take risks that I never would have dared to try before and which have only helped me learn even more. I've become a better scholar and a better person, and I look forward to taking the skills I've developed in this programme into my future career."
- Alexa (2020)
"I absolutely loved studying at St Andrews. The MLitt in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literary Culture gave me a wide-ranging knowledge of early modern literature while providing me with the flexibility to delve into my own research interests. The School of English community was as welcoming as intellectually stimulating, with professors who were not only experts in their fields but also dedicated teachers. I graduated feeling prepared and excited to continue on to a PhD."
- Sarah (2014)
"Being part of a small group on my MLitt course provided both invaluable support and intellectual stimulation; an excellent context for learning."
- Naomi (2014)
"An incredibly rewarding year. The quality of teaching is amazing and the breadth and depth of texts studied means that I left the course with a far greater knowledge and appreciation of the literature and culture of the period. Moreover, the School's encouragement of super-curricular activities, such as conferences, also gives an invaluable insight into the world of academia and further postgraduate research."
- Peter (2014)
Dissertation
The MLitt concludes with the writing of a 15,000-word dissertation.
Students identify a topic for their dissertation out of their own research interests in consultation with a member of staff.
The dissertation is researched and written following the completion of the core modules of the MLitt and is typically submitted in August.
Further study
Many graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews.
In addition to the MLitt, the School offers a two-year Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree option in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literary Culture.
Teaching staff
The staff teaching on the programme will vary in any one year, but will always include some of the following: