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:

Spring Trimester

• PHIL40410 Philosophy and Literature

 Two of the following philosophy modules:

 Autumn Trimester:

• PHIL40970 Consciousness, Agency, and the Self
• PHIL41280 Feminist and Gender Theory
• PHIL41320 Topics in Continental Philosophy
• PHIL41570 Problems from Kant
• PHIL41660 Moral Agency
• PHIL41810 Critique & Destruction
• PHIL41820 Philosophy of Life Writing

Spring Trimester:

• PHIL40250 Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception
• PHIL40420 The Good Society
• PHIL40960 The Cultural Mind
• PHIL41240 John Henry Newman: A Philosophical Perspective
• PHIL41510 Ethics in Public Life

Three of the following literature modules:

Autumn Trimester:

• ENG40940 Gender and Sexuality in Theory and Representation*
• ENG41570 World Systems, World-Literature*
• GER40280 Transcultural Encounters
• SPAN40330 Identity, Sex, and Sexuality in Post-Revolutionary Cuban Culture***

Spring Trimester:

• ENG41860 Queer Frictions: Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Literature and Culture*
• ENG42080 Un/Settling Global Literatures*
• FR40420 (Post) Colonial Lives in Frence**
• SLL40230 Introduction to Cultural Theory
• SPAN40310 Surrealism in Spain***

*Limited places - students must confirm with Dr Lisa Foran before registration

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

***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, 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: philosophy@ucd.ie
Tel: +353 1 716 8186