Modern Scottish Writing MLitt

www.english.stir.ac.uk

Scottish writers made a vital contribution to our sense of the ‘modern’ – but on closer inspection, modern Scottish literature seems deeply ambivalent about notions of progress, nationality and tradition.

The MLitt in Modern Scottish Writing explores this ambivalence, and how it is both shaped and reflected by literary texts including novels, poems, ballads and songs, from the Romantic period to the present. Our approach is informed by critical theory as well as traditional literary history, thus providing an ideal introduction to further postgraduate work.

Programme Objectives

This programme explores modern Scottish literature, focusing on the specific contribution of Scottish writing to ‘cultural modernity’.

We focus on writing from Robert Burns, Walter Scott and James Hogg, through Victorian and late 19th-century writers (Galt, Buchan, Stevenson) to the modernist experiments of Hugh MacDiarmid and his followers, and on to provocative 20th-century experiments in language, textuality and historical re-telling (Welsh, Galloway, Kelman, Spark, Gray, Saadi, Robertson).

No previous experience in studying Scottish literature is required. Leading Scottish writers and critics feature prominently in assigned reading, as do theorists of cultural modernity.

Entrance Requirements

An upper second class or better Single or Combined Honours degree in a relevant subject or subjects from a UK university or an equivalent qualification. Applicants with other qualifications or other appropriate experience may be admitted on the recommendation of the Programme Director.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency such as a minimum IELTS score of 6 (minimum 5 in each skill) or TOEFL 550/213/79 (Paper/Computer/Internet).

Funding

For information on possible sources of funding, visit: www.stir.ac.uk/postgrad/finance

Modes of Study

Full-time: 1 year
Part-time: 27 months

Programme Start Date

September

Programme Director

Dr Scott Hames

Department of English

Structure and Content

The teaching year at Stirling is divided into two semesters, which run from mid-September to late December, and from mid-February to the end of May. Both full-time and part-time students take a core module in Modern Scottish Writing over two semesters. For part-time students this is in Year One.

The first semester provides a thematic and historical overview of the programme (doubling as a survey course in modern Scottish literature); the second semester challenges cultural historicism by proposing connections between romantic and modernist writing, in relation to themes of authenticity, representation and democracy.

In parallel with the core module, other modules allow you to develop a more specialised knowledge of specific texts and issues. You will take one of these modules each semester. If you are on the part-time programme you will take the two optional modules in year two. These modules vary depending on teaching staff, and include:

• Enlightenment Scotland and the Historical Novel: An examination of the ‘invention’ and development of the historical novel in Scotland, and the powerful influence of this genre in the structuring of cultural memory.
• Language and Scottish Poetry: An exploration of a series of paradoxes surrounding orality, tradition and cultural identity in modern Scottish poetry.
• Writing Difference: Scottish Women and Tradition: A study of the place and function of women’s writing in the formation of a national canon.
• Scottish Gothic: Focuses on the contribution of Scottish writing to the emergence of the Gothic as a counter-discourse within Enlightenment modernity.
• Comparative Approaches to Vernacular Texts: An exploration of vernacular, non-standard and ‘foreign’ English writing in relation to Scottish, American, and post-colonial cultures.

Research Methods

All MLitt postgraduates share a regular Research Methods core module. Part-time students take this in year two. This seminar offers insights into the different approaches, problems and solutions to be met with in advanced literary study. It is designed to provide the research skills requisite for the dissertation, and beyond that, for advanced postgraduate study. It is also a forum for you to meet with other students, exchange views and share experiences.

Delivery and Assessment

Dissertation

The most significant piece of work on the programme will be a dissertation of 15,000 words, written during the Summer, on a subject of your choosing in consultation with a member of the Department's teaching staff. You may choose to develop work initiated on one of the modules you have studied. Those who do not embark on the dissertation may be awarded a Diploma. The work of the best students completing the programme may be deemed worthy of an MLitt with Distinction.

Timetable

Contact the Department for information on your timetable and reading lists.

Career Opportunities

Completing a Master’s degree as a prelude to further academic research is an increasingly common pattern of study for young scholars, and is a route encouraged by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Advanced education in the Arts, the practical experience of research and the production of a dissertation are significant transferable skills for many careers in business and the professions.

Research Opportunities

Departmental research interests include:

• Medieval and early modern writing
• 20th-century postcolonial literatures
• Victorian literature
• Scottish literature
• James Hogg
• The gothic
• Poetry
• The short story
• American literature
• Textual culture
• Discourse analysis

Current research projects include, under the aegis of Emeritus Professor Douglas Mack, the collaborative Stirling/South Carolina Research Edition of the Collected Works of James Hogg project. This has attracted two separate Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) grants: one of £299,435 for the publication of a three-volume edition of Hogg’s Collected Letters, and one (in collaboration with the University of Glasgow) of £157,734 for a three-year project researching Hogg’s songs. Other scholarly editing projects include the Arden Shakespeare, editions of Marvell and Defoe, and translations of Wyclif’s Latin writings.

Research Proposal

PhD students should submit a research proposal of 2,000 words.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency such as a minimum IELTS score of 6 (minimum 5 in each skill) or TOEFL 550/213/79-80.

RAE Rating

The UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirmed the quality of the work being done by our researchers. 85% of the University of Stirling’s research has been judged to be internationally excellent and internationally recognised, with the top 10% of that judged to be world class.

View the full outcomes of Stirling’s RAE performance

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