MA in Philosophy and Literature

 See an interview with a student of the MA in Philosophy and Literature:

MA PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE MODULE OPTIONS 2022-2023

The MA in Philosophy and Literature is an interdisciplinary one-year programme (or two years part-time), designed to offer graduates of either philosophy or literature the opportunity to study the many areas of overlap between the disciplines. The central questions concern the status of the text, the status of the genre, and the relationship between text, reader, and world.

Students must complete a dissertation of 12-15,000 words on a relevant topic, due in mid-August. The dissertation must be supervised by a member of the School of Philosophy, although students may consult members of other schools for informal advice.

In addition to the dissertation, the programme comprises six modules – three from the School of Philosophy and three from schools of literatures. (Information on each module can be found in the handbook and on SIS web by searching the module code). These must be chosen as follows:

One core module, compulsory for all students on the programme:

Autumn Trimester

• PHIL40410 Philosophy and Literature

 Two of the following philosophy modules:

 Autumn Trimester:

• PHIL41280 Feminist & Gender Theory
• PHIL41320 Topics in Continental Philosophy
• PHIL41570 Problems from Kant
• PHIL41800 Invention of the Modern Self
• PHIL41810 Critique & Destruction

Spring Trimester:

• PHIL40970 Consciousness, Agency, and the Self
• PHIL40250 Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception
• PHIL40960 The Cultural Mind
• PHIL41240 Newman: A Philosophical Perspective
• PHIL41330 Philosophy of Time
• PHIL41510 Ethics in Public Life

Three of the following literature modules:

Autumn Trimester:

• ENG41650 Expressions of Modernity*
• ENG42150 Energy, Modernity, Culture*
• HUM40050 Arts and Events Programming**
• IRFL40170 The Narrative Art*
• SLL40230 Introduction to Cultural Theory*
• SPAN40370 Latin American Literature***

Spring Trimester:

• EDF30060 Digital Methods
• ENG41640 Joyce, Ulysses*
• GRC40290 The Plays of Euripides
• GRC40330 Exploring New Worlds
• HUM40040 Creative Approaches**
• SPAN40360 Historical Memory in Spain***

*Limited places - students may only take one ENG module and must confirm with Dr Lisa Foran before registration 

**Students may only take one Humanities module

***Students require competency in Spanish – teaching and texts in Spanish language only.

Please note: The School of Philosophy is not responsible for modules in other schools. Some of these modules may not be accessible to students on this MA programme because of (i) cancellation, (ii) oversubscription, or (iii) a timetable clash. Changes in the timetables of other Schools might be made as late as August. Even when a module is available to philosophy students, places may be limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Any questions about the programme should be addressed to the programme co-ordinator, (opens in a new window)Dr Lisa Foran. Eligibility criteria are given on the postgraduate admissions page.

All administrative enquiries should be sent to the School Manager:

UCD School of Philosophy
Newman Building
University College Dublin
Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

Email: (opens in a new window)philosophy@ucd.ie
Tel: +353 1 716 8186