Literature and Languages
Postgraduate Applicants
M.Litt in Postcolonial Studies
As one of the first institutions to teach colonial and postcolonial writing in the UK the Department has a strong national and international reputation in this field. The M.Litt in Postcolonial Studies lasts 12 months full-time (running from September to August), or 27 months part-time. The teaching methods encourage independent research and scholarship within a structured framework of core and optional modules. Students are assessed by coursework; there are no examintions. Completing a Masters degree as a predule to research is an increasingly common pattern of study for young scholars, and this route is being encouraged by the AHRC. This course provides an idea introduction to further postgraduate work and an effective transition to a research degree. The course is also well-suited to students wanting to gain a fuller appreciation of postcolonial studies before returning to or entering employment.
'My grandfather's West Indian Travel Permit, issued in June 1965, nearly three years after Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence from Britain, and "valid for travelling to any of the West Indian Territories and to British Guiana"'.
(Georgia Popplewell)
Structure and Content
The teaching year at Stirling is divided into two semesters, which run from mid-September to mid-December, and from mid-February to the end of May. This is followed by the summer period during which students write a 15, 000 word dissertation to be submitted by 31 August.
Both full-time and part-time students on the Postcolonial Studies M.Litt will take one core module in each semester. In semester one this will be Travelling Theories (postcolonial and diasporic theory) and in semester two, Borderlands (readings of various kinds of postcolonial border narratives). In addition full-time students will choose one option each semester from those available (see below). Part-time students choose options in the second year of study.
Postcolonial option strands offered by members of the Department will differ from year to year, but will include some of the following:
- Transition: postcolonial West African writing
- Atlantic and American Diasporas
- Routes: Fictions of travel
- South Asian Diasporas
- Middle Passages: Narratives of Slavery
- Film and Diaspora
- Migrant Metropolis
- Aboriginal Writing and Painting
- Europeans and the Pacific
- Foreign Bodies: Postcolonial Gothic
- Contemporary Black British Writing
- Slavery and Caribbean Poetry
Training for Masters in the Arts & Humanities
Successful completion of this module requires you to register and submit your list of training activity by the prescribed deadlines. It requires you to undertake the agreed training activities and to submit a complete 'reflective journal'. Non completion leads to failure of the module. No grade will be awarded, only a pass or fail.
Dissertation
Delivery and AssessmentAssessment in each semester will be based on coursework essays. Teaching will take the form of regular tutorials in small groups. Though all the modules will offer close and careful supervision, participants are expected to take proper responsibility for their own studies. The aim in all cases is to foster student-led learning in expert, stimulating and congenial company. |
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| Image: A banner made by members of the Africa Centre and the African community in Edinburgh as part of the Peoples of Edinburgh Exhibition held at the City Art Centre, Autumn 1996. Designed by Susan Kumi and Techla Whyte. |
Other Activities
- Our MLitt students join the Centre of Commonwealth Studies (director: Professor David Richards). The CCWS was one of the first interdisciplinary centres in postcolonial studies in the UK and holds regular conferences, meetings and seminars. Postgraduates are encouraged to use this forum to discuss and develop their research and thinking.
- Creative writers are also frequently invited to speak as part of the CCWS's programme. Recent speakers include Les Murray, Jackie Kay, James Robertson and Jack Mapanje.
- The CCWS and the Department of English Studies host annually the Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship in Creative Writing. This fellowship brings writers from India to Stirling University. Recent fellows include Arundathi Subramaniam and Siddharth Chowdhury. These fellows contribute to the MLitt in Postcolonial Studies.
- Our MLitt students are invited to join the postgraduate Postcolonial Reading Group.
Career Opportunities
Completing a Masters 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. 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.
Staff
This course is taught by leading academics working in the fields of Colonial and Postcolonial Studies:
- Dr David Murphy
- Professor (Emeritus) Angela Smith
- Professor David Richards
- Dr Gemma Robinson
- The Charles Wallace Fellow in Creative Writing
Entrance Requirements
A good 2.i 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 Course Director.
RAE Rating
The Department was rated grade 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.
Further Information
The course director and tutors would be delighted to discuss the programme further with prospective students, and to welcome them to Stirling to see the campus and meet with staff and students of the Department of English Studies.
To discuss the programme or arrange a visit, please contact the Postgraduate Secretary, Alison Scott.
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Alison Scott School of Arts & Humanities English Studies University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 477510 |
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Fax: + 44 (0) 1786 466210 |
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Email: alison.scott@stir.ac.uk |
Note that it is also possible to apply online for this course.