UCD School of English, Drama & Film

Scoil an Bhéarla, na Drámaíochta agus na Scannánaíochta UCD

MA in Renaissance Literature and Culture

Course Description

This one-year Masters programme provides a comprehensive introduction to the literary and cultural world of Shakespeare and his Renaissance contemporaries. Examining a range of texts from c.1500-1700, students will develop a deep understanding of the literary culture of the Renaissance in Britain and Ireland, as well as the technical skills for reading and handling early modern books and manuscripts.

Key figures such as Shakespeare, Spenser and Milton will be read alongside less well-known writers like Aemilia Lanyer, Barnabe Rich, Katherine Philips and many others. At the same time as giving a thorough grounding in canonical texts of the period, this programme draws on the latest research in the field, exploring in particular, early modern Ireland, gender and sexuality and national and international cultural encounters. The emphasis throughout is upon detailed close reading in context, placing these fascinating texts in their historical, political and cultural contexts, as well as upon the material aspects of textual production in the early modern period (manuscript, print, paper, handwriting, coteries, scribal culture). Students will develop strong skills in critical reasoning in a small-group teaching environment with leading experts in the field, as well as the specialist skills and expertise required for independent research.

UCD (and Dublin) is well resourced for the study of the Renaissance – libraries such as Trinity College and Marsh’s Library are nearby and have strong holdings of early modern manuscript and printed texts which students will have the opportunity to use. A new and exciting feature of the MA in Renaissance Literature and Culture is that it will be offered in collaboration with the School of English, Queen’s University Belfast, facilitating for our students an internationalized experience, close working contact with the staff and students of another highly respected MA Renaissance programme, aswell an impressive range of modules from which to choose. The MA is also offered part-time, over two years.

Modules (provisional):

Semester 1

In Semester 1, students will take three core modules:

• Introduction to Literary Research Methods

• Material Worlds

• Re-Reading the Renaissance: Texts and Contexts

Semester 2

In Semester 2, students choose 3 of the following modules:

• Writing Conflict in Early Modern Ireland

• Poetry, Piety and Patronage in the Renaissance

• New Worlds, Old Worlds

Alternatively, students may be able to substitute one of the above modules by taking a module from the MA in Medieval Literature and Culture.

Option modules available from the MA in Medieval Literature and Culture (provisional):

• Making or Breaking the Tradition: English Literature in the Fifteenth Century

• Medievalism: The Reception of the Medieval in Modern and Postmodern Culture

• Milton and Renaissance Humanism (at QUB)

• Performance Spaces in Early Modern England (at QUB)

• Shakespeare and World Cinema (at QUB)

• Writing Women 1600-1660 (at QUB)

• Literature, Religion and Politics in Renaissance England (at QUB)

Dissertation

Then, under the guidance of a supervisor, students will write a 15,000-word scholarly dissertation in the field of Renaissance literature and culture.

Assessment Procedures:

The taught modules will be assessed by continual assessment (essays, presentations, learning journals, etc.), and/or end-of-semester examinations. The grades from the taught modules together make up two thirds of the final MA result; the other third is made of the grade awarded to the dissertation.

Core Teaching Team:

Professor Danielle Clarke

Dr Jane Grogan (coordinator)

Dr Naomi McAreavey

For further information, please contact Dr Jane Grogan.