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English (MA) [full-time/part-time]

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Course Overview

Watch course video presentation here.

The MA in English is ideal for students who wish to build on the foundations of their undergraduate degrees by pursuing more advanced studies in English at postgraduate level, yet who also wish to retain the intellectual breadth of addressing a variety of literature, past and present. This MA offers an intensive specialist training in the study of literary texts and theories, and students explore sources as diverse as vellum manuscripts, serialised novels, contemporary bestsellers, digital texts or films.

The MA in English has two main strands: the taught classes (from a wide selection of modules) and the independent research project (the dissertation). This two-fold dimension enables students to develop their knowledge and skill with the guidance of lecturers in the taught coursework and to develop a substantial autonomous research and writing project.

English at NUI Galway has a number of particular research strengths in areas such as Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Nineteenth-Century Literature, Book History, Theatre History, and Colonialism and Travel Writing. The MA in English allows students to take advantage of these and other areas while also pursuing their own topics of individual interest.


Applications and Selections

Applications are made online via the University of Galway Postgraduate Applications System. 

IELTS score of 7.0 or equivalent at least is expected, if applicable.

Who Teaches this Course

researcher
Dr Fiona Bateman
Ph.D
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Dr Dermot Burns
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Prof Daniel Carey
BA, D.PHIL
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Dr Clíodhna Carney
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Prof Marie-Louise Coolahan
Personal Professor
Dept. of English
Tower 1, Arts/Science Building
NUI Galway
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Prof Patrick Lonergan
BA., MA., PhD.,
Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies
T: +353 91 49 2623
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Dr John Kenny
BA, Phd
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Dr Adrian Paterson
B.A., M.Phil, M.St.,D.Phil.
Lecturer Above The Bar
English
Room 502, Tower 1
Arts/Science Building
NUI Galway
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Dr Muireann O'Cinneide
B.A.,M.Phil.,D.Phil.,PGDip
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Dr Andrew Ó Baoill
B.Sc., MA., PhD
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Dr Charlotte McIvor
BA, PhD.
LECTURER ABOVE THE BAR
Drama & Theatre Studies
O'Donoghue Centre for Drama, The
NUI Galway
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Dr Frances McCormack
PHD, MA, BA
Lecturer Above The Bar
College of Arts, Social Sciences
Tower 1, Arts/Science Building
NUI Galway
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Dr Lindsay Reid
BA, MA, PhD
Senior Lecturer
English
College of Arts,Social Science
and Celtic Studies
NUI Galway
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Dr Irina Ruppo
BA, MPhil, PhD
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Prof Sean Ryder
M.A.,Ph.D
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Dr Justin Tonra
B.A.,M.A.,Ph.D
Lecturer Above The Bar
English
Room 303, Tower 1
Arts/Science Building
Central Campus
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Dr. Elizabeth Tilley
M.A., Ph.D.

Tower 1
3rd Floor
Discipline of English
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Prof. Lionel Pilkington
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
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Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

BA in an Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences discipline with a minimum result of H2.2 overall, with a H2.1 in English, or an equivalent international qualification (e.g., BA with minimum GPA of 3.0 for North American applicants). IELTS score of 7.0 or equivalent if applicable.

(Please visit this website for detail of any supporting documents that may be required when applying to this course.)


Additional Requirements

Duration

1 year full-time | 2 years part-time

Next start date

September 2023

A Level Grades ()

Average intake

15

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date

Please view Review Dates

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

90

Award

MA

CAO

Course code

MA-ENG

Course Outline

Students take one core taught module (Writing and Research). In this module students study some indispensable works of literary theory and criticism, develop their critical thinking and refine their skills in writing, research methods and the use of libraries and other scholarly resources. Students learn how to design, revise and carry out a credible dissertation plan. Students choose a further five elective taught modules from a wide range of options in the areas of literature (e.g., Shakespeare, Old and Middle English, American literature, Dickens, travel literature), literary theory (e.g., narratology) and cultural and social theory as well as in the cognate areas of film studies, drama, Irish studies, digital humanities and journalism (e.g., textual studies, book history, colonialism, film theory, Beckett, Wilde, digital film, Irish modernity). The coursework takes place during term, and work on the dissertation spans the second semester for full-time students, or fourth semester for part-time students, and the summer after coursework has been concluded. The dissertation is 15,000 words long and is submitted in early August.

Modules potentially on offer each year include ones on Book History, Literature & Colonialism, Introduction to Digital Humanities, Cinema & Politics, Textual Studies, Medieval Aesthetics and Poetic Art, Thinking About Theatre, Young Ireland to the Free State: Writing in English 1849–1922, Critical Approaches, Representations of the Book in Literature and Film, Early Modern Print and Manuscript Cultures, Approaches to Culture & Colonialism, Travel Literature, Aspects of Old and Middle English Literature, Irish Drama and Theatre, The Nineteenth-Century Century Literary Marketplace, Nineteenth Century Periodicals and Serial Fiction, and Literature of North America, among others.

Module details for full-time course

Module details for part-time course

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits
You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module
An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Optional
A module you may choose to study.
Required
A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Semester
Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year.

Year 1 (90 Credits)

Required EN6116: Writing and Research


Semester 1 and Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module will run over the academic year (in both semesters) and will enable students on the MA in English to make the transition from undergraduate-level scholarship to a postgraduate expertise in research and writing.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Make efficient use of libraries, electronic resources, special collections and archives to find, evaluate, and classify sources for the purposes of their research project.
  2. Be capable users of an efficient note-taking system.
  3. Write bibliographies and use a reference system in their writing successfully and with ease.
  4. Produce a feasible research proposal and plan a substantial research project.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module EN6116: "Writing and Research " and is valid from 2020 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN6126: Interrogating Literary History


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

Literary history is the narrative frame for understanding the context of a literary work. The choice of narrative frame shapes how we interpret the text; James Joyce, for example, is appreciated differently from the perspective of Irish literature as opposed to that of European modernism. Literary histories have most commonly been organised around ideas of the nation, identity (of gender, race, sexuality), historical period, and genre. This module investigates how particular narrative frames are adopted to tell the story of literature. We will examine the cultural, political and critical impulses driving the composition of different kinds of literary history. We will interrogate the modes and mediums of transmission, looking in particular at the role played by anthologies and the wealth of possibilities opened up by advances in the digital humanities. The module will consider recent challenges to the dominant modes of writing literary history. We will be reading some key theoretical works that urge us to rethink literary history in order to accommodate the global age of ‘world literature’, recast the national onto the transnational, take advantage of new digital media in order to visualise literary history in innovative ways, and assess literary impact in terms of the history of reading and reception. All assessments (short written exercises, class presentation, final essay) are directed towards a single project in which students will devise and design their own literary history.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Identify key modes of structuring literary history
  2. Evaluate different models for contextualising literature
  3. Assess key theories of literary history
  4. Critique the concepts and ideologies that shape literary history
  5. Propose their own model for literary history
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (90%)
  • Oral, Audio Visual or Practical Assessment (10%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Rethinking Literary History" by Linda Hutcheon,Mario J. Valdés
    ISBN: 9780195152548.
    Publisher: Oxford : Oxford University Press
  2. "The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing" by Andrew Carpenter,Seamus Deane,Jonathan Williams
    ISBN: 9780393030464.
  3. "The Field Day Anthology of Literature Vols. IV and V" by Angela Bourke
    ISBN: 9780814799086.
    Publisher: NYU Press
  4. "The Cambridge History of Irish Literature" by Margaret Kelleher,Philip O'Leary
    ISBN: 9780521822244.
  5. "A History of Modern Irish Women's Literature" by Heather Ingman,Clíona Ó Gallchoir
    ISBN: 9781107131101.
    Publisher: Cambridge University Press
  6. "Writing Women's Literary History" by Margaret J. M. Ezell
    ISBN: 9780801855085.
    Publisher: JHU Press
  7. "The Friend" by Alan Bray
    ISBN: 0226071804.
    Publisher: University of Chicago Press
  8. "Graphs, Maps, Trees" by Franco Moretti
    ISBN: 9781844671854.
    Publisher: Verso Books
  9. "Reading by Numbers" by Katherine Bode
    ISBN: 9781783083084.
    Publisher: Anthem Press
  10. "The History of Reading, Volume 3" by R. Crone,S. Towheed
    ISBN: 9781349320134.
    Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
The above information outlines module EN6126: "Interrogating Literary History" and is valid from 2020 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN6135: Studies in Poetry


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

Students in this module are exposed to selected topics related to poetry. Topics and areas of focus may vary from year to year.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Discourse knowledgeably about selected poets as well as the broader cultural contexts in which they worked.
  2. Conduct sophisticated oral and/or written analyses of literary texts related to course themes.
  3. Critically engage with appropriate secondary sources.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "MLA Handbook" by Modern Language Association of America
    ISBN: 9781603292627.
The above information outlines module EN6135: "Studies in Poetry" and is valid from 2020 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional DT6102: Irish Drama and Theatre from Wilde to O'Casey


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This course explores the history of Irish drama and theatre from 1890 to 1930
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Identify, describe and analyse key moments in Irish theatre history from 1890 to 1930, with special focus on the Irish literary revival.
  2. produce a substantial research paper that deploys the skills of archival research, textual analysis and performance analysis.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Modern and contemporary Irish drama" by edited by John P. Harrington
    ISBN: 0393932435.
    Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
  2. "The Irish Dramatic Revival: 1899-1939" by n/a
    ISBN: 978-140817528.
The above information outlines module DT6102: "Irish Drama and Theatre from Wilde to O'Casey" and is valid from 2016 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN601: Writing Workshop: Poetry


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

The primary aim of this workshop is the generation of new work in poetry by students. This will be the result of readings in poetry in a wide variety of forms from various traditions, weekly exercises and projects.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. To be confirmed
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module EN601: "Writing Workshop: Poetry" and is valid from 2015 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN529: Dissertation


15 months long | Credits: 30

Learning Outcomes
  1. To be confirmed
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Research (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module EN529: "Dissertation" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN6105: Introduction to Digital Humanities


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This class will explore a range of topics from the intersection of computing and the humanities, with a particular emphasis on literary studies. Topic and questions to be addressed include: the history of computing in the humanities, and how computers can augment traditional analytic methods in the humanities. Classes will be divided between in-depth discussions of assigned readings and more practical and hands-on exploration and use of pertinent digital tools and platforms.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Describe how computers have been used to study literature and other humanities topics in the past and present.
  2. Articulate a comprehensive picture of the emerging discipline of digital humanities and address its role within the academy and beyond.
  3. Demonstrate how computers can aid and supplement many existing theories and methodologies in the humanities and literary studies.
  4. Use, analyse, and critique a range of digital technologies developed for digital humanities tasks.
  5. Effectively synthesise the new theories and methodologies of digital humanities with existing disciplinary training in the humanities.
  6. Recognise the fundamental interdisciplinarity of digital humanities, and appreciate the value of such an approach to humanities study.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "A Companion to Digital Humanities" by Schreibman, Susan, Ray Siemens, and John Unsworth, eds.
  2. "A Companion to Digital Literary Studies" by Siemens, Ray, and Susan Schreibman, eds
  3. "Debates in the Digital Humanities" by Gold, Matthew K, ed
  4. "Defining Digital Humanities: A Reader" by Terras, Melissa M., Julianne Nyhan, and Edward Vanhoutte, eds
  5. "Graphs, Maps, Trees" by Moretti, Franco
The above information outlines module EN6105: "Introduction to Digital Humanities" and is valid from 2015 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional FM6101: Ireland on Screen


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This module provides students with an overview of Irish cinema from the early twentieth century to the present. It includes an analysis of the major films produced and the discourses concerning cinema in Ireland over the past one hundred years. Among the questions the module examines are: what are the major traditions of representing Ireland in cinema? How have indigenous filmmakers responded to these representations? What are the distinctive characteristics of contemporary Irish film culture?
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Comprehend the major issues and debates surrounding ‘national cinema’.
  2. Recognise patterns in the representation of Ireland in international cinema.
  3. Recall the major developments in the history of cinema in Ireland and examine key texts.
  4. Analyse the major themes apparent in contemporary Irish cinema.
  5. Evaluate the challenges and advantages of film-making in Ireland today.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Department-based Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Irish national cinema" by Ruth Barton
    Publisher: Routledge
  2. "Contemporary Irish Film: New Perspectives on a National Cinema." by Werner Huber & Sean Crosson
    Publisher: Braumüller
The above information outlines module FM6101: "Ireland on Screen" and is valid from 2016 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional IS105: Young Ireland to the Free State: Writing in English, 1849-1922


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This module surveys Irish literature written in the English language from 1849 to 1922. Through close readings of selected texts, the development of cultural nationalism will be explored. Issues to be examined include: negative images of Ireland/Irish in Britain (and resistance to such images); colonial context of Ireland; problems of nationalism; transformative potential of literature. Within the module, an examination of genre – drama, poetry and the short story – analyses the relationship between literature, nationalism and politics.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Understand and identify key issues concerning Irish writing in English in the 19th and early 20th centuries
  2. Analyse and critique the debate surrounding cultural nationalism in Ireland
  3. Outline key contributions Irish writers made to English literature during the period
  4. Critique how key political and historical issues in this period influenced and shaped Irish writing in the English language (for example, the Great Irish Famine; the Irish emigrant experience; and the post-Famine transition from Irish to English as the majority spoken language by the end of the century)
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Modern Irish drama" by John P. Harrington (ed.)
    ISBN: 0393960633.
    Publisher: Norton
  2. "Dubliners" by James Joyce; with an introduction and notes by Terence Brown
    ISBN: 0141182458.
    Publisher: Penguin Books
  3. "The Untilled Field" by George Moore
    ISBN: 0554311410.
  4. "Inventing Ireland" by Declan Kiberd
    ISBN: 009958221X.
    Publisher: Vintage
  5. "Irish Classics" by Declan Kiberd
    ISBN: 1862074593.
    Publisher: Granta Books
  6. "The Cambridge history of Irish literature" by Margaret Kelleher and Philip O'Leary (eds.)
    ISBN: 0521822246.
    Publisher: Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  7. "The Field Day anthology of Irish writing" by Seamus Deane (ed.)
    ISBN: 0393030466.
    Publisher: Field Day Publications; 1991
The above information outlines module IS105: "Young Ireland to the Free State: Writing in English, 1849-1922" and is valid from 2020 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional FR6101: Language, Gender and Power


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

Over the last number of decades, there has been a strong interest in the relationship between language, gender and power both as an academic and a popular topic. This module provides students firstly with an understanding of how language as a social entity intersects with gender and sexuality, and subsequently how power can be disseminated through language. It addresses the use of language to categorise the gender/ sexuality world and to create and display gender/sexual identities. It includes discussions on the constructions and representations of femininity/masculinity, non-binary gender identities, sexual violence, sexual harassment and motherhood/ fatherhood in a range of discourse types. Students explore a selection of texts and examples from a variety of sources including print media, advertising, health promotion and internet media and are introduced to key theoretical frameworks for the analysis of language, gender and power including traditional sociolinguistic approaches, discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Think critically about the relationship between language, gender and sexuality
  2. Reflect on how power relations can be disseminated through language
  3. Apply the different theoretical and methodological frameworks used for the analysis of language, gender and power in a range of different contexts
  4. Engage in the process of investigation of language, gender and power related issues through their own selection and analysis of texts
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Department-based Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Language and Gender" by Penelope Eckert,Sally McConnell-Ginet
    ISBN: 9781107029057.
    Publisher: Cambridge University Press
  2. "Language, Society and Power" by Annabelle Mooney,Betsy Evans
    ISBN: 9780415786249.
    Publisher: Routledge
  3. "Language and Gender" by Mary Talbot
    ISBN: 9781509530090.
    Publisher: Polity
  4. "Researching Language, Gender and Sexuality" by Helen Sauntson
    ISBN: 9781138637368.
    Publisher: Routledge
The above information outlines module FR6101: "Language, Gender and Power" and is valid from 2021 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN541: Colonialism In Twentieth Century Cultural Theory


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This module focuses on theories of identity, political agency and representation. It offers an introduction to twentieth- and twenty-first century theorisations of colonialism, post-colonialism, neo-colonialism and globalisation, especially in relation to cultural production. Ireland’s relation to postcolonial theory is considered. Some of the theorists discussed may include Fanon, Said, Spivak and Ahmad.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the works of key theorists of colonial and postcolonial thought.
  2. Apply these theorists' ideas to different cultural and national contexts.
  3. Critique the limitations and frameworks of these theories and through this develop their own individual critical apparatus.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (85%)
  • Oral, Audio Visual or Practical Assessment (15%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader" by Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman
    ISBN: 978-023110021.
    Publisher: Columbia University Press
  2. "Postcolonial Discourses" by Gregory Castle (ed.)
    ISBN: 978-063121005.
    Publisher: Blackwell
The above information outlines module EN541: "Colonialism In Twentieth Century Cultural Theory" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN527: Literature Of North America


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This course examines current trends in contemporary North American writing of the past ten years within a cultural and theoretical context .
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. identify the themes and concerns in contemporary North American literature
  2. discuss how North American novelists engage with historical events and their own lived experience to provide a critique of their society, with reference to issues such as gender, race, and class.
  3. relate these contemporary novels to the tradition of writing from which they came and consider them in the historical context of the American novel.
  4. present close readings of the novels and describe them in terms of writing style, narrative voice, genre, use of language, and intertextuality.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "The Sellout" by Paul Beatty
  2. "The Things they Carried" by Tim O'Brien
  3. "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides
  4. "The Ice Storm" by Rick Moody
  5. "The Submission" by Amy Waldman
  6. "My Year of Meats" by Ruth Ozeki
  7. "Station Eleven" by Emily St John Mandel
  8. "A Complicated Kindness" by Miriam Toews
  9. "Winter's Bone" by Daniel Woodrell
The above information outlines module EN527: "Literature Of North America" and is valid from 2022 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN6113: Writing Workshop: Poetry 2


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

The primary aim of this workshop is the generation of new poetry by students. The workshops will involve reading poetry from a broad range of traditions, in a wide range of forms. Students will submit weekly exercises and an end of semester short portfolio of poems they have edited in the light of feedback they have received over the course of the module.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Create original work on a broad range of subject matters and in a broad range of styles.
  2. Employ a diverse range of poetic forms.
  3. Assess the strengths and shortcomings of their own work and the work of other poets.
  4. Revise their work appropriately in response to feedback from the group and their tutor.
  5. Work towards submitting poems for publication.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (40%)
  • Department-based Assessment (60%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "The Poet's Companion" by Addonizio, Kim and Laux, Dorianne
    ISBN: 978-0-393-316.
    Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, NY
    Chapters: 2022-06-11T00:00:00
  2. "A Poetry Handbook" by Oliver, Mary
    ISBN: 978-0-15-6724.
    Publisher: Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin
    Chapters: 5, 7, 9, 11
  3. "Poetry Writing" by Sampson, Fiona
    ISBN: 978-0-7090-85.
    Publisher: Robert Hale
    Chapters: 2, 3, 6, 7, 18
  4. "Hiddenness, Uncertainty, Surprise: Three Gernerative Energies of Poetry" by Hirshfield, Jane
    ISBN: 978-1-85224-7.
    Publisher: Bloodaxe
    Chapters: 1, 2, 3
  5. "Poetry in the Making" by Hughes, Ted
    ISBN: 978-0-571-233.
    Publisher: Faber and Faber
    Chapters: 3, 4, 5
The above information outlines module EN6113: "Writing Workshop: Poetry 2" and is valid from 2015 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN6139: Diversity and Activism in YA Fiction


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module offers an in-depth consideration of selected novels for young adults (YA) written since the 1980s. Diversity and activism in YA fiction will be the main lens for analysis. Issues under scrutiny may include: the evolution of the genre of YA fiction; the depiction of abuse; gender politics; the politics of LGBT+ narratives; and/or how YA fiction tackles political injustice.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the paradigms of the genre of Young Adult fiction.
  2. Engage with the theories related to YA fiction with a range of selected primary texts.
  3. Show an understanding of literary texts in relation to the issues of: a) Abusive power figures (Dahl, Collins, Said); b) Gender politics (Dahl, Gaiman, Collins, Albertalli); c) LGBT+ narratives (Albertalli); d) The migrant crisis (Rauf); e) Animal welfare (Said).
  4. Construct a coherent and well-informed textual analysis of the primary texts.
  5. Interpret and exploit appropriate secondary sources.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
    ISBN: 978014136546.
  2. "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
    ISBN: 978140884175.
  3. "Varjak Paw" by S.F. Said
    ISBN: 978-055257229.
  4. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
    ISBN: 978-140713208.
  5. "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
    ISBN: 978-014135609.
  6. "The Boy at the Back of the Class" by Onjali Rauf
    ISBN: 978-151010501.
The above information outlines module EN6139: "Diversity and Activism in YA Fiction" and is valid from 2021 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN6138: Digital Scholarly Editing: Theory and Practice


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

Students in this interdisciplinary module collaborate on a large-scale digital editing project. In the first part of the semester, they are exposed to key theoretical and methodological approaches to scholarly editing and text-encoding. As the semester progresses, they then gain hands-on experience of scholarly editing by contributing to the creation of a new digital edition of a literary or theatrical work.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Converse knowledgably about the broad field of scholarly editing, editorial practices, and types of editions in print and digital media.
  2. Put theoretical knowledge of scholarly editing principles into practice in the form of real-life editorial projects.
  3. Understand and apply standards for representing and editing texts in digital form, particularly the encoding principles and methods of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI).
  4. Work successfully and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team on a large-scale project.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Digital Scholarly Editions as Interfaces" by Bleier, Roman, et al.
    ISBN: 9783748109.
    Publisher: BoD
  2. "Digital Scholarly Editing" by Elena Pierazzo
    ISBN: 9780367598600.
    Publisher: Routledge
  3. "Digital Scholarly Editing: Theories and Practices" by Pierazzo, Elena and Matthew James Driscoll (eds.)
    ISBN: 9781783742.
    Publisher: Open Book Publishers
The above information outlines module EN6138: "Digital Scholarly Editing: Theory and Practice" and is valid from 2021 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN573: Travel Literature


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

Narratives of travel constituted one of the most popular publishing genres of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This course examines the literary conventions, genres, and modes of representing otherness that characterised this disparate body of texts. We will make particular used of Early English Books Online which makes available virtually everything printed from 1475-1700.

Learning Outcomes
  1. To be confirmed
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module EN573: "Travel Literature" and is valid from 2015 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional DT6101: Irish Drama and Theatre from Beckett to the Present


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This course explores the history of Irish theatre from 1950 to the present, placing emphasis on the importance of Beckett for an understanding of Irish drama.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Identify key moments in Irish theatre history since 1950
  2. Describe and analyse the importance of social, cultural and economic factors in the development of Irish theatre history since 1950
  3. Produce a written research essay that deploys the skills of archival research, textual analysis, and performance analysis.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Modern and Contemporary Irish Drama" by John Harrington
  2. "Contemporary Irish Plays." by Patrick Lonergan
The above information outlines module DT6101: "Irish Drama and Theatre from Beckett to the Present" and is valid from 2021 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional FM6119: Film, Politics, and Colonialism


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module considers the significance of film as a mode of cultural production, the politics of representation, and the role of ‘national’ cinema. The films viewed and analysed address subjects including colonial history, marginal groups, conflict, resistance, gender, and postcolonial realities. Students will consider aspects of those films including genre, theme, and narrative structure. The political and historical circumstances of their production will also be discussed and analyzed.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Understand the language of film and be able to deconstruct and read a film critically.
  2. Analyse the politics of representation, with reference to the historical and social context of films under discussion, including the effects of colonialism and postcolonialism.
  3. Explore ideas about film and politics which provide theoretical and analytical tools that can be deployed in the specific media practices involved in advocacy, for example the application of postcolonial theory to film texts.
  4. Demonstrate understanding of the relationship between film and politics, and the difference between propaganda and entertainment.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Department-based Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Questions of Third Cinema" by Jim Pines
  2. "Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television" by Michael Anderegg
    Publisher: Temple UP
  3. "Irish Film: The Emergence of a Contemporary Cinema" by Martin McLoone
    Publisher: BFI
The above information outlines module FM6119: "Film, Politics, and Colonialism" and is valid from 2020 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional EN547: Literature And Colonialism


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

The course analyses literature in relation to colonial power structures and considers the relationship between political power and literary representation. Students will read a wide range of literary texts as well as postcolonial criticism. By the end of the course, students will be encouraged to consider how ideas concerning literary representation relate to present-day debates about representation and power in a modern globalised world.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of a wide geographical range of literature relating to the British Empire and its former colonies.
  2. By the end of the module, students will be able to identify characteristics of key literary genres and to place those characteristics in relation to the workings of colonial and postcolonial discourse.
  3. By the end of the module, students will be able to make connections between older modes of colonial discourse and more modern debates regarding cultural discourses of race, power and knowledge through close analysis of relevant literature.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Empire Writing" by Elleke Boehmer
    ISBN: 9780199555598.
    Publisher: OUP Oxford
  2. "Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory" by Laura Chrisman,Patrick Williams
    ISBN: 9781315656496.
The above information outlines module EN547: "Literature And Colonialism" and is valid from 2022 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

The taught coursework on this programme will enable students to extend their knowledge of English beyond the boundaries of their undergraduate experience and to develop a range of important and transferable skills that will serve them well in the job market, or in further education, for example on a PhD programme. Students will learn how to achieve a regular habit of research and writing, meet deadlines, give persuasive, well-researched talks and presentations, use libraries and resources effectively, articulate ideas to others, work in a team, write well, and revise, edit and improve drafts of written work. These are valuable skills that will translate easily into a wide range of careers. Graduates of this programme are well placed to succeed in arts administration, teaching, creative writing, PR, research, broadcasting, publishing, journalism, non-fiction writing and marketing. 

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Graduates of the MA in English will be able to: 

  • Demonstrate a breadth of understanding of a range of approaches to the study of literary texts and other cultural artefacts 
  • Evaluate received knowledge and articulate their own contribution to the existing scholarship 
  • Select and apply a variety of critical approaches to the study of literature 
  • Retrieve, select, sift, and deploy a range of sources to support original arguments 
  • Apply enhanced critical thinking and analytical skills to their object of study 
  • Plan, manage, and execute a substantial independent study project 
  • Reflect deeply on a range of research perspectives, topics, and approaches related to the object of study 
  • Exhibit the ability to self-assess and self-direct 

 

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€ 7,040 full-time; €3,555 part-time p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Tuition

€6,900 full-time; €3,3450 part-time p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Student levy

€140 full-time; €105 part-time p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Non EU

€17,780 p.a. 2023/24

 

Student levy €140 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.  Further detail here.

What Our Students Say

Madeline

Madeline Stephens |   Student

The decision to pursue the MA in English at NUI Galway was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not only has it allowed me to further explore my areas of interest, but it has challenged me to become a better student, scholar, and world citizen. The course has allowed me to be surrounded by other students who share a love for literature and has allowed me to explore works of great authors in new and interesting ways. From our core module to our electives, the MA in English has prepared me to continue my advancement in understanding the subject while also giving me the tools to make a real impact in my chosen field. Whether you are from Ireland or an International Student like myself, NUI Galway is a school known for its quality of education and advanced curriculum. Taking on an MA in English was something that I always dreamt of doing, and NUI Galway made that a possibility. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had, the friends and connections I have made, and the knowledge I have received. J.R.R. Tolkein wrote, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us", and choosing this course is time well spent.

What Our Graduates Say

Aimee

Aimee McDermott |   Graduate

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the MA in English. It's the perfect course for anyone who has a passion for literature. The variety of modules available meant that I could create a course full of content that was specific to my personal interests and encouraged me devise my own research topics throughout. It also meant that everyone had different fields of study to bring to the table in group discussions. The small classes were the perfect environment for exploring various perspectives on texts and avenues of research, which could have been daunting at an undergraduate level. The best part about this course is the freedom to curate your own academic style alongside the constant awareness of support, encouragement, and guidance from the lecturers and academic staff involved in the programme.
Clare

Clare Robinson |   Graduate

I wholeheartedly recommend the Masters in English programme to prospective students. The course enabled me to refine my research skills beyond my expectations, particularly my ability to critical approach texts, write clearly and concisely, and engage in scholarship ethically. I particularly appreciated working with a group of diverse international and local students in cross-disciplinary classes. Our current course head Dr. Frances McCormack and our other instructors are genuinely kind and extremely supportive. Graduates of this programme will be prepared for whatever comes next, whether continuing your post-graduate studies or beginning a career outside academia.

2023 QS Subject Rankings: Top 100

English Lang & Lit QS Subject Award Badge‌

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  • Postgraduate Prospectus 2023

    Postgraduate Prospectus 2023 PDF (20.6MB)