University of Exeter

Program Information

Degree Offered

MA English Studies

Format: Campus

Program Description:

The Renaissance Studies Pathway is comprised of two core modules, but also enables students to take further period-specific options if they want an even more specialized programme. The two core options, 'Country, City and Court' and 'Bodies Politic:Cultural and Sexual Politics', aim to situate the literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries within a context of unprecedented social, political and cultural upheaval. The modules maintain a chronological narrative, but differ in terms of their particular thematic concerns, as detailed below. Across the year, students will examine texts produced by writers such as Shakespeare, Jonson, Milton and their contemporaries, and will explore issues including: early constructions of nationhood, the foundations of subjectivity, structures of sexuality and gender difference, changes in social and economic relations, and the era's pivotal political upheavals. Both modules include an integrated programme of training in research methods, and encourage students to work with non-canonical material by exploiting the resources of Early English Books Online.

Other options available to students include: 'Beyond Shakespeare: Politics, Print and Performance in Jacobean Drama' and 'Renaissance Britain and the Islamic Mediterranean'. These modules offer more thematically-oriented approaches to the period, and the former underlines the Department's underlying commitment to the study of Renaissance drama. Students may also consider taking a related module from another department within the University thereby drawing on the institution's distinct strenghts in the early modern period. Beyond the degree programme itself, students will benefit from the activities of the interdisciplinary Centre for Early Modern Studies, which hosts research seminars and an informal Renaissance reading group.

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Accreditation:

University of Exeter

Tuition & Financial Aid

Financial Aid Offered: Yes