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Courses
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About University of Galway
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Accessibility & LanguageLiterature and Publishing (MA)
MA (Literature and Publishing)
College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies- Title of Award
- Master of Arts
- Course Code
- 1MLP1
- Average Intake
- 20
- Delivery
- On Campus
- NFQ
- Level 9
- Award Type
- Major
- Next Intake
- September 2025
- Duration
- 1 year, full-time
- ECTS Weighting
- 90
Why Choose This Course?
Course Information
Who is this course for?
The MA in Literature and Publishing is perfect for individuals who are eager to deepen their academic skills in literary analysis and research while also developing new competencies and practical publishing experience. If you are interested in exploring the interfaces between writing and the marketplace, between literature and transmission, and between the aesthetic and material aspects of texts, then this programme will appeal to you.
This course welcomes applicants with a background in English and related disciplines, as well as those with an interest in the creative industries. With a flexible curriculum that includes a broad variety of literary topics, workshops with guest speakers from publishing and related industries, and hands-on experience producing the literary journal ROPES, the MA in Literature and Publshing is designed for students looking to take a dynamic and active approach to learning.
What will I study?
There are three main components to the MA in Literature and Publishing curriculum: assessed modules, ROPES, and the MA Portfolio Project or Dissertation. You will enrol in six taught modules (3 in each semester). Throughout the academic year, you will have the option to work on ROPES, an extracurricular project that provides participating students with practical, cv-enhancing experience in project management, production, marketing, sales, design, and teamwork. During Semester 2, you will begin work on the research and writing of either a research-based MA dissertation or an MA Portfolio Project, which you complete during the summer and submit in mid-August.
Core modules:
- Book History: Objects, Materials, Digital Affordances
- Contemporary Publishing
- Publishing: Perspectives and Professionalisation
Optional modules might include:
- Books Journalism
- Children’s Fiction and Young Adult Fiction in the 21st Century
- Copy-Editing and Proofreading
- Environmental Literature: Nature and Narration
- Language, Gender, and Power
- Literature of North America
- Literature and Colonialism
- Media for Social Change
- Negotiation (the leadership and management skill)
- Service Learning: Literary Studies in the Community
- Social Media Marketing Theory
- Travel Literature
- Yeats and the Cultural Revolution
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)
RequiredEN6128: Publishing: Perspectives and Professionalisation
EN6128: Publishing: Perspectives and Professionalisation
Semester 1 and Semester 2 | Credits: 10
The module contains four interwoven strands of content: 1) ‘On Publishing’ Guest Speaker Series; 2) Professional Skills; 3) Academic Skills; 4) Adobe InDesign Skills. Although this module continues to meet regularly throughout semester 2 of the academic year, the majority of the contact hours and assessments take place during semester 1. Thus, for the purposes of registration, students should treat this as a semester 1 module.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Converse knowledgeably about current and historical trends and the wide variety of roles within the publishing industry.
- Craft an excellent cv and cover letter and undertake a professional interview.
- Show an awareness of personal digital branding and implement basic blogging and podcasting skills.
- Exhibit facility with Adobe InDesign.
- Write an effective project abstract, master a relevant citation system, and conduct a review of scholarly literature on a given topic.
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
The above information outlines module EN6128: "Publishing: Perspectives and Professionalisation" and is valid from 2020 onwards.Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
RequiredEN579: Contemporary Publishing
EN579: Contemporary Publishing
Semester 1 | Credits: 10
This course will introduce students to key facets of book, magazine and digital publishing, from business models and the structure of the industry to commissioning, costing, production, distribution and sales. The emphasis will be on practical knowledge and preparing the students for working in the industry. Assessment is through two practical assignments. The course will include a visit to publishing companies and a printer.
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
The above information outlines module EN579: "Contemporary Publishing" and is valid from 2014 onwards.Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
RequiredEN6133: Literature and Publishing Portfolio Project
EN6133: Literature and Publishing Portfolio Project
15 months long | Credits: 30
Students in this module compile a portfolio of original work (approximately 15,000 words in total). A typical portfolio is comprised of 4 discrete pieces, including formal essays, on high-profile literary works recently published in Ireland, the UK, and beyond (and/or relevant aspects of the contemporary publishing industry).
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate a good degree of familiarity with some of the highest profile works of literature recently published in Ireland, the UK, and beyond (including titles recently shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, the Costa Book Awards, and/or the Irish Book Awards).
- Plan a large-scale project and bring it to successful completion in a limited timeframe.
- Develop ideas for original academic pieces that build, where appropriate, on existing scholarship.
- Produce a portfolio of polished and persuasive writing that fully adheres to accepted academic conventions and standards.
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
The above information outlines module EN6133: "Literature and Publishing Portfolio Project" and is valid from 2020 onwards.Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
RequiredEN570: Book History
EN570: Book History
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
This course examines the role of the book as a material object within western culture. From the print revolution in the fifteenth century to the advent of the world wide web and its fundamental alteration of society's attitude toward print, the book is at the forefront of social change and forms a convenient matrix through which the interrelations between the production and consumption of texts can be observed.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- To be confirmed
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "The Norton Anthology" by n/a
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN527: Literature Of North America
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
- identify the themes and concerns in contemporary North American literature
- 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.
- relate these contemporary novels to the tradition of writing from which they came and consider them in the historical context of the American novel.
- present close readings of the novels and describe them in terms of writing style, narrative voice, genre, use of language, and intertextuality.
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "The Sellout" by Paul Beatty
- "The Things they Carried" by Tim O'Brien
- "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides
- "The Ice Storm" by Rick Moody
- "The Submission" by Amy Waldman
- "My Year of Meats" by Ruth Ozeki
- "Station Eleven" by Emily St John Mandel
- "A Complicated Kindness" by Miriam Toews
- "Winter's Bone" by Daniel Woodrell
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalMK5139: Social Media Marketing Theory
MK5139: Social Media Marketing Theory
Semester 1 | Credits: 5
The objective of this module is to build upon marketing principles and investigate where the internet and other technologies provide opportunities for applications in marketing and business. The module provides an overview of the rapidly changing world of business and technology by addressing what is unique about digital marketing. It explores how these technologies are creating value for customers, as well as the benefits for companies, their products and brands.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Illustrate how digital marketing integrates with organisational aims.
- Recognise how digital marketing impacts organisations.
- Assess critically organisations' digital marketing efforts according to international standards of 'best practice'.
- Formulate a digital marketing plan for a particular organisation.
Assessments
- Written Assessment (50%)
- Continuous Assessment (50%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "Emarketing Excellence: Planning & Optimizing Your Digital Marketing" by Dave Chaffey,P. R. Smith,Paul Russell Smith
ISBN: 9780415533379.
Publisher: Routledge - "Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice" by Chaffey D., Ellis-Chadwick, F., Mayer, R. & Johnson, K.
Publisher: Hawlow, England: Prentice Hall/Financial Times/Pearson Education - "Increase Your Web Traffic in a Weekend" by Ford Jr., J.L. and Stanek, W.R.
Publisher: Cengage Learning - "Digital Marketing: Integrating Strategy & Tactics with Values" by Kaufman, I & Horton, C.
Publisher: Routledge - "Sticky Marketing: Why Everything in Marketing has changed and what to do about it" by Leboff, G.
Publisher: Kogan Page - "The Social Media Business Equation: Using Online Connections to grow Your Bottom Line" by Orsburn, E.M.
Publisher: Cengage Learning - "Take Your iPad to Work" by Proffitt, B.
Publisher: Cengage Learning - "Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation" by Ryan, D. & Jones, C.
- "E-Business" by Schneider, G.P.
Publisher: Course Technology, Cengage Learning; Kogan Page - "Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide" by Pears, R. & Shields, G.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN672: Environmental Literature: Nature and Narration
EN672: Environmental Literature: Nature and Narration
Semester 1 | Credits: 10
This module examines how literary texts, with their emphasis on storytelling, narrative, and style, help shape and communicate environmental awareness to global audiences. Drawing from the expanding field of ecocriticism, which has gained prominence in literary criticism since the early 1990s, the course will explore the historical significance of global ecological concerns and their influence on literature. It will focus on works that incorporate the natural environment as a fundamental element of textuality, while addressing emerging conceptual resources that offer new ways to re-think the field. The course adopts a key-word approach, examining concepts such as the Anthropocene and Technoscene, Petroculture and Energy Humanities, Blue Humanities and Hydrofiction, Waste/Trash Culture, Transcorporeality, Multinaturalism and indigenous ecologies, Extinction and Animalism, as well as activism and ecological hope. The module will explore how language and narrative style function in the literary representation of the ongoing planetary crisis.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an understanding of how literary texts address global environmental issues.
- Engage with Environmental Humanities theories, such as the Anthropocene, Energy Humanities, and Indigenous Ecologies, to interpret a range of literary works.
- Show understanding of the ways in which literary language and style are adopted in addressing the current planetary crisis.
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "The Shock of the Anthropocene" by Christophe Bonneuil,Jean-Baptiste Fressoz
ISBN: 9781784785031.
Publisher: Verso Books - "The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness" by Donna J. Haraway
ISBN: 9780971757585.
Publisher: Prickly Paradigm Press - "Extraction Ecologies and the Literature of the Long Exhaustion" by Elizabeth Carolyn Miller
ISBN: 9780691205267.
Publisher: Princeton University Press - "Literature for a Changing Planet" by Martin Puchner
ISBN: 9780691213750.
Publisher: Princeton University Press - "Animal's People" by Indra Sinha
ISBN: 9780743259200.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (UK) - "Why the moon travels" by Oein DeBhairduin
ISBN: 9781916493506.
Publisher: SKEIN PRESS - ""They Saw a Thylacine" in Endangered: Three Plays." by Sarah Hamilton and Justine Campbell
ISBN: 978192500587.
Publisher: Currency House Inc - "Three Short Plays" by Wole Soyinka
ISBN: 9780199110865.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA - "Origins of the Syma Species" by Tares Oburumu
ISBN: 9781496237026.
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press - "Hum" by Jamaal May
ISBN: 9781938584022.
Publisher: Alice James Books
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalFR6101: Language, Gender and Power
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
- Think critically about the relationship between language, gender and sexuality
- Reflect on how power relations can be disseminated through language
- Apply the different theoretical and methodological frameworks used for the analysis of language, gender and power in a range of different contexts
- Engage in the process of investigation of language, gender and power related issues through their own selection and analysis of texts
Assessments
- Department-based Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "Language and Gender" by Penelope Eckert,Sally McConnell-Ginet
ISBN: 9781107029057.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press - "Language, Society and Power" by Annabelle Mooney,Betsy Evans
ISBN: 9780415786249.
Publisher: Routledge - "Language and Gender" by Mary Talbot
ISBN: 9781509530090.
Publisher: Polity - "Researching Language, Gender and Sexuality" by Helen Sauntson
ISBN: 9781138637368.
Publisher: Routledge
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN6125: WB Yeats and the Cultural Revolution
EN6125: WB Yeats and the Cultural Revolution
Semester 1 | Credits: 10
As the commemorations for Yeats2015 proved, the 1923 Nobel Prize winner for Literature, W.B.Yeats, is known and still read worldwide as a poet. His ability to write ‘like God’, to quote the critic John Carey, is nowhere better exemplified than in the books of poetry through which he built his reputation. A close-reading reconsideration of these monuments are at the heart of this class, and structure the way in which his work is considered. But as central part of Ireland’s most important artistic family, he was also a politician, journalist, editor, printer, a dramatist and director who accepted the Nobel Prize on behalf of a theatre, and an incessant collaborator whose work with musicians, ballet dancers, artists, stage-designers, folklorists, broadcasters (including with prenaturarally talented lovers, family, and friends) proved extraordinarily protean and productive. If even now he remains (especially in Ireland) a divisive figure, it was here he helped created a cultural revolution with worldwide and contempory ramifications. This class encourages students to engage anew with Yeats’s written work and cultural impact, and forge projects of research, drawing on class readings, and NUI Galway’s James Hardiman Library for books and letters, for little magazines and Cuala Press holdings in Special Collections, for Abbey, Gate, and Lyric Theatre archives, and Galway County’s wider cultural resources Thoor Ballylee and Coole Park.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Practice close readings of selected poetry, plays, essays and criticism.
- Evaluate the context and production of the arts in modern Ireland.
- Pursue independent research in library resources and archives.
- Discuss and respond to the analysis of literary texts and cultural criticism.
- Plan and compose extensive academic written appraisals synthesizing arguments and producing new ideas.
Assessments
- Research (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "The Major Works" by W.B.Yeats
ISBN: 9780199537495.
Publisher: Oxford - "Yeats's Poems" by W.B.Yeats
ISBN: 0333675185.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan - "Selected Plays" by W.B.Yeats
ISBN: 978014018374.
Publisher: Penguin - "Literature, Modernism and Dance" by Susan Jones
ISBN: 9780199565320.
Publisher: Oxford University Press - "Yeats and the Visual Arts" by Elizabeth Bergman Loiseaux
ISBN: 0815629958.
Publisher: Syracuse University Press - "Ireland: A Social and Cultural History 1922-2002" by Terence Brown
ISBN: 0007125761.
Publisher: Harper - "Untwisting the Serpent: Modernism in Music, Literature and the Other Arts" by Daniel Albright
ISBN: 0226012549.
Publisher: University of Chicago - "Black Riders: The Visible Language of Modernism" by Jerome McGann
ISBN: 0691015449.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN6143: Media for Social Change
EN6143: Media for Social Change
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
Through this module students will gain an understanding of the history, ethos, and operation of media for social change. Students will explore a range of forms, from social movement activism, to community media, to innovative online activity.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate and critically discuss significant concepts and scholarly work related to media for social change.
- Apply scholarly work to practical case studies, both from the literature and personal research.
- Conduct original research, and prepare a scholarly paper based on that research.
- Reflect critically on the impact of pedagogy on the learning process.
- Work collaboratively with a team, using both in-person and remote/virtual modalities.
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (75%)
- Oral, Audio Visual or Practical Assessment (25%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
- FIONA BATEMAN 🖂
- DEARBHLA MOONEY 🖂
- ELIZABETH TILLEY 🖂
- MARIE-LOUISE COOLAHAN 🖂
- ANDREW Ó BAOILL 🖂
- Shania Collins 🖂
Reading List
- "Fissures in the Mediascape" by Clemencia Rodríguez
ISBN: 1572733691.
Publisher: Hampton Press - "Radical Media" by John D. H. Downing
ISBN: 1452238243.
Publisher: SAGE - "Alternative Media" by Chris Atton
ISBN: 1849202907.
Publisher: SAGE
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN581: Copy-editing and Proofreading
EN581: Copy-editing and Proofreading
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
This course will consist of training in professional copy-editing and proofreading, including marking up typescripts, proofreading, grammar and punctuation, combining text and images, working with authors, specialist texts, copyright and indices. Assessment is through two in-class assessments.
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
The above information outlines module EN581: "Copy-editing and Proofreading" and is valid from 2014 onwards.Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN6101: Books Journalism
EN6101: Books Journalism
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
This module will familiarise students with the various means by which books and authors are publicly ‘processed’ and discussed in professional fashion by readers and the writing marketplace generally. The prime focus will be styles of, and platforms for, literary reviewing.
Learning Outcomes
- To be confirmed
Assessments
- Department-based Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
The above information outlines module EN6101: "Books Journalism" and is valid from 2016 onwards.Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN547: Literature And Colonialism
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "Empire Writing" by Elleke Boehmer
ISBN: 9780199555598.
Publisher: OUP Oxford - "Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory" by Laura Chrisman,Patrick Williams
ISBN: 9781315656496.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalMK5116: Negotiations
MK5116: Negotiations
Semester 2 | Credits: 5
Negotiation is a dialogue to discover common ground among parties with differing aims, needs and perspectives in order to achieve a solution.
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Comparing distributive and integrative negotiations, as well as identifying the sub-processes of negotiations.
- Distinguishing between interests and positions, as well as outlining the elements of principled negotiations.
- Applying active listening techniques and investigating the joint outcome space through BATNA, ZOPA and anchoring.
- Exploring the agent-client dynamics in negotiations and crafting solutions via standards and persuasion.
- Managing hardball tactics and non-engagement, as well as identifying ethical issues in negotiations
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (66%)
- Department-based Assessment (34%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" by Fisher, R. & Ury, W.
ISBN: 978184794093. - "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most" by Stone, D., Patton, B. & Heen, S.
ISBN: 978067092134.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN671: Literature for Children and Young Adults in the 21st Century
EN671: Literature for Children and Young Adults in the 21st Century
Semester 2 | Credits: 10
The focus of this course is an in-depth analysis of selected children’s fiction and YA novels written in the 21st century.
In this course, the students will appraise each text individually and comparatively.
The main issues under scrutiny will include but are not limited to:
- The evolution of the literary genres of children’s fiction and YA fiction
- Gender politics
- Power abuse
- Injustice
- The representation of oppression
(Language of instruction: English)
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an understanding of the paradigms of the genre of children’s fiction and YA fiction
- Engage with the theories related to children’s fiction and YA fiction with a range of selected primary texts.
- Construct a coherent and well-informed textual analysis of the primary texts.
- Interpret and exploit secondary sources.
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
Reading List
- "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne COLLINS
ISBN: 978140713208.
Publisher: Scholastic - "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh MAFI
ISBN: 9781405292603.
Publisher: Electric Monkey - "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by Emily DANFORTH
ISBN: 978014138916.
Publisher: Penguin - "A Land of Permanent Goodbyes" by Atia ABAWI
ISBN: 978039954683.
Publisher: Philomel Books - "The Girl of Ink & Stars" by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
ISBN: 9781910002742.
Publisher: Scholastic Limited - "Politics and ideology in children's literature" by Aine McGillicuddy
ISBN: 978184682526.
Publisher: Four Courts Press - "The Gothic in Children's Literature: Haunting the Borders" by Anna JACKSON
ISBN: 978041596036.
Publisher: Routledge - "Female Rebellion in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction (Studies in Childhood, 1700 to the Present)" by Sara K. DAY
ISBN: 978147243149.
Publisher: Routledge
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
OptionalEN573: Travel Literature
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
- To be confirmed
Assessments
- Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers & Administrators
Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.
The above information outlines module EN573: "Travel Literature" and is valid from 2015 onwards.Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.
- Industry exposure: Benefit from contact with guest speakers from publishing and related industries who share their experiences and perspectives. Visiting speakers in recent years have come from Tramp Press, O’Brien Press, Gill Books and Cúirt International Festival of Literature.
- Hands-on experience: As well as gaining practical experience working on ROPES, students may volunteer with book fairs and literary festivals, or place as interns with Irish publishers.
- Specialist skills: Participate in workshops dedicated to topics like internships, writing cvs and cover letters, developing interview skills, and maintaining a personal digital brand. Students also gain Adobe InDesign training.
- Range of modules: Choose modules on a wide variety of topics, including literary and book history, environmental literature, colonial culture, marketing, creative writing and editing.
- Research dissertation / portfolio: Develop advanced skills in research, writing, and extended analysis by completing an original dissertation or portfolio based on your own interests.
- Community: Be part of a lively postgraduate community in the School of English, Media and Creative Arts, with opportunities to meet and attend courses and events with students from other MA programmes.
The MA in Literature and Publishing prepares you for a wide-range of exciting careers in publishing, the creative industries and beyond. The combination of advanced research, critical thinking and communication skills and practical knowledge fostered by the programme is highly relevant to employment in fields including: publishing and related industries, teaching, arts administration, public service, public relations, marketing, publishing, broadcasting and journalism. Some students also continue to further postgraduate studies, including PhD research and career opportunities in academia.
In recent years, graduates from the programme have filled posts as agents, editors and booksellers. They have gone on to work at companies including: Curtis Brown Books, Gill Education, Irish Writers Centre, Kenny's Books, Lilliput Press, Literature Ireland, O’Brien Press, Pan Macmillan, Poetry Ireland, Penguin, RTE, and UCD Press.
How Will I Learn?
Most of your learning will take place in weekly small-group seminars and workshops, some of them shared with students from other MA programmes such as the MA in English and the MA in Writing. Some modules may involve group projects and collaborative activities that will enhance your teamwork and communication skills, and these competencies will also be honed through your extracurricular work on ROPES. Individual assignments and the dissertation/portfolio will help you develop intellectual independence and critical thinking. The emphasis is on informed group discussion, and the development of individual analytic and creative skills. When you work on your dissertation and portfolio, you will be assigned a supervisor who will advise on the early stages of your topic formulation, structure and drafting.
Throughout the programme, you will have access to Adobe InDesign, the most widely used software in the publishing industry. You will also be able to use the extensive digital and physical resources of the James Hardiman Library.
How Will I Be Assessed?
Your progress throughout the programme is assessed through various kinds of coursework, including essays, oral presentations, reflective journals and project work. You will also be assessed on your 15,000-word dissertation/portfolio. Your coursework amounts to 60 ECTS in total; the final dissertation or portfolio amounts to 30 ECTS.
ROPES launch
https://www.cuirt.ie/whats-on/ropes-launch/
latest issue of ROPES: https://www.ropesliteraryjournal.com/catalog/
Tony Farmar Memorial Prize
Congratulations to Laoise Ní Cháinte (MA in Literature & Publishing 2023-24) who has been awarded the Tony Farmar Memorial Prize for her dissertation, “‘Safe as Houses’: The Domestic Spaces of Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad.”
The Tony Farmar Dissertation Prize is an annual award of €1,000 sponsored by ICLA, The Irish Copyright Licensing Agency (https://www.icla.ie/). It is offered annually to recognise excellence on the MA in Literature and Publishing in the Discipline of English at University of Galway.
The prize is a tribute to Tony Farmar who had a long and distinguished career in publishing and a passionate interest in Irish business and social history including his final work, The History of Irish Book Publishing. Tony was President of Publishing Ireland and the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency, both of which benefited significantly from his wisdom and guidance.
Well done Laoise!
Course queries:
alexandra.peat@universityofgalway.ie
Programme Director:
Dr Alexandra Peat
School of English, Media and Creative Arts
College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies
E: alexandra.peat@universityofgalway.ie
Candidates who do not meet the minimum entry criteria are encouraged to contact the programme director to discuss eligibility under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process. Such candidates may be interviewed to ascertain their suitability for the programme. Further information is available on the University’s Recognition of Prior Learning website here.
Graduates of the MA in Literature and Publishing will be able to:
- Demonstrate a breadth of understanding of a range of approaches to the study of literary texts and other cultural artefacts.
- 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.
- Demonstrate competencies in areas such as marketing, the practical elements of editorial and production work, and the business aspects of contemporary publishing.
- Plan, manage, and complete a substantial independent study project.
- Reflect deeply on a range of research perspectives, topics, and approaches related to literary study and book history.
- Exhibit the ability to self-assess and self-direct.
Accreditations & Awards
This MA gave me a good understanding of the publishing process and industry through a mixture of practical and more theory-based modules. I could then put that knowledge into action through the publication of ROPES. After completing the course, I found that employers responded positively to the qualification and that it is well respected within the industry. This is evident by the number of MALP graduates I have come across at various stages of my career.
Damien Lynam
Commissioning Editor, Educate.ie
I had been interested in a career in publishing for years, so the MA in Literature and Publishing was the natural next step after my undergraduate degree. I loved the variety of classes, many of which were practical and very different from my previous studies. Guest lectures from professionals, trips to publishing houses and printers, gave us fantastic real-world insight. A highlight was publishing our own literary journal, ROPES - a challenging yet invaluable experience. The value of the degree became clear when I secured a publishing internship soon after, which led to a full-time role.
Trionna Marshall
Media and Communications Officer, Royal College of Nursing
After completing the MA in Literature and Publishing, I began an internship at Ashville Media before joining Edco as a Market Research and Editorial Executive, while also earning a Postgrad Diploma in Digital Marketing. At Edco, I co-founded GirlCrew, a social network scaled to fifty cities worldwide. As a founder, I gave a TEDx talk on race and representation and was named by Forbes as a Top EU Founder to follow. In 2019, I joined The Dock, Accenture’s Global R&D and Innovation Centre, as an Innovation Designer. The MA gave me strong research, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Áine Mulloy
Amazon Web Services, Former cofounder @ GirlCrew
This course combines practical and theoretical skills with excellent exposure to industry through guest lectures and field trips. It also offers support in CV preparation, interview and design skills, alongside strong academic modules. The variety of options allowed me to tailor the programme to my goals. A highlight was publishing the journal ROPES, which developed project management, teamwork, and critical thinking skills while giving hands-on industry experience. The MA in Literature and Publishing provides an excellent grounding for a career in publishing.
Susan Bennett
Research Assistant, University of Galway
The book publishing world is hard to get into, with lots of applicants for every position. Graduates of the Galway MSc Literature and Publishing, the only Irish course which teaches directly about the industry, have demonstrated a real interest in and commitment to the world of books: we have employed several, and it has always been a good call! As an occasional guest lecturer, it is clear that the class are engaged and diverse. Students learn in an environment that encourages exploration, gaining real-world experience and strong industry insight before starting their professional careers.
Employer: Ivan O'Brien
Manager Director, The O'Brien Press LTD
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Entry Requirements and Fees
Minimum Entry Requirements
Minimum entry requirements for this programme include an NQAI Level 8 qualification with an overall degree result of H2.2 and with a H2.1 in one subject (or a BA with a 3.0 GPA or equivalent). Please note that admission to this programme is highly selective and meeting minimum achievement thresholds does not guarantee entry.
Candidates who do not meet the minimum entry criteria are encouraged to contact the programme director to discuss eligibility under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process. Such candidates may be interviewed to ascertain their suitability for the programme. Further information is available on the University’s Recognition of Prior Learning website here.
Academic entry requirements standardised per country are available here.
English Language Entry Requirements
For applicants whose first language is not English, a minimum IELTS score of 7.0 or equivalent at least is expected of applicants whose first language is not English.
More information on English language test equivalency are available here.
Supporting Documents
Applicants to this programme will be asked to supply the following supporting materials:
- A personal statement of approximately 600 words.
- A 1-2 page cv listing academic and professional qualifications and achievements.
- Scanned copies of full university transcripts (informal print-outs of exam results will not suffice).Note: this is not required for applicants who earned their BA from University of Galway.
- A scanned copy of a passport or birth certificate. Note: this is not required for applicants who were previously enrolled as students at NUIG.
- Two academic references. This may take the form of: a) scanned letters of support from two academic referees; b) documents listing the names and full contact details for two academic referees who would be willing to provide a letter of recommendation if contacted by the programme director.
Note: applicants who are a long time out of the education system and would struggle to find academic referees are advised to contact the programme director to discuss their situation.
You can apply online to the University of Galway application portal here.
Please review the entry requirements set out in the section above.
You will be required to upload supporting documentation to your application electronically. See the section above on entry requirements for further information on the supporting documentation required for this course.
Closing Dates
For this programme, there is no specific closing date for receipt of applications. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and course quotes will be reviewed continuously throughout the application cycle. Early applications are welcomed and may enjoy a competitive advantage. In order to maximise eligibility for internal and external scholarship opportunities, non-EU applicants, in particular, are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
Notes
- You will need an active email account to use the website and you'll be guided through the system, step by step, until you complete the online form.
- Browse the FAQ's section for further guidance.
Fees for Academic Year 2025/2026
| Course Type | Year | EU Tuition | Student Contribution | Non-EU Tuition | Levy | Total Fee | Total EU Fee | Total Non-EU Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Full Time | 1 | €8,000 | €19,500 | €140 | €8,140 | €19,640 |
For 25/26 entrants, where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 3.4% per annum for continuing years fees.
Postgraduate students in receipt of a SUSI grant – please note an F4 grant is where SUSI will pay €4,000 towards your tuition (2025/26). You will be liable for the remainder of the total fee. A P1 grant is where SUSI will pay tuition up to a maximum of €6,270. SUSI will not cover the student levy of €140.
Note to non-EU students: learn about the 24-month Stayback Visa here.
Postgraduate Excellence Scholarships
This scholarship is valued at €1,500 for EU students applying for full-time taught master's postgraduate courses. You will be eligible if:
- You have been accepted to a full-time taught master's course at University of Galway,
- You have attained a first class honours (or equivalent) in a Level 8 primary degree.
An application for the scholarship scheme is required (separate to the application for a place on the programme). The application portal for 2025-26 is now open and available here. Applications will close on the 30th September 2025. Full details available here.
Global Scholarships
University of Galway offers a range of merit-based scholarships to students from a number of countries outside of the EU. Visit here for schemes currently available.
Application Process
Students applying for full time postgraduate programmes from outside of the European Union (EU), You can apply online to the University of Galway application portal here.
Our application portal opens on the 1st October each year for entry the following September.
Further Information
Please visit the postgraduate admissions webpage for further information on closing dates, documentation requirements, application fees and the application process.
Why University of Galway?
World renowned research led university nestled in the vibrant heart of Galway city on Ireland's scenic West Coast.
College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies
University of Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland, H91 TK33
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Course Introduction
Founded in 1995, the MA in Literature and Publishing remains Ireland’s only postgraduate programme dedicated to literature and publishing. This distinctive offering allows students to deepen their existing knowledge of literature while also developing new skills in areas such as marketing, promotions, editorial and production work, and the business aspects of contemporary publishing.
