Contemporary Literatures MA

Why study with us?

• You'll be learning in a radical, forward-thinking environment – our distinctive approach to ‘Literatures’ recognises the multiple modes, positions and places from which texts do and can speak across the world
• Our research training encourages you to become an independent thinker and writer

• We work with Brighton and Sussex partners and employers to ensure you have a placement that matches your post-MA ambitions
• Our team of lecturers all have highly regarded publications and work in the field of contemporary literature and will use their experience to guide and inspire you

• With its thriving local and international literary, writing, media and arts scene, Brighton offers a unique environment in which to develop critical literary and creative skills

The Contemporary Literatures MA is based at our Falmer campus

Syllabus

The course consists of seven modules.

Core modules

• Literatures in the Contemporary World
• Writing Black Britain
• Communities of Practice (placement)
• Dissertation

Plus you'll choose three option modules, at least two of which must be literature related.

The course is taught across three semesters. Core modules feature in all three semesters, and you'll choose your options in semesters 1 and 2.

The dissertation is undertaken across the summer months (effectively the third semester), with completion in September. Research methods and preparation for the dissertation takes place in weekly sessions after Easter, with discussions with different members of staff about your research methods, practise and outputs.

Modules in detail

Core modules

• Literatures and the Contemporary World

This module asks you to consider the relationship between contemporary literatures and the world as observable objects. You will read a range of theoretical and critical texts alongside a selection of creative writing in order to consider how literature responds to and shapes the reader’s understanding of the a globally connected world.

It asks you to think critically about the different ways that the world can be imagined as a site of contestation. It provides an opportunity to explore concepts such as cosmopolitanism, environmentalism, globalisation, neocolonialism, internationalism, the planetary, and worldliness in order to examine how these ideas produce literary categories such as global English, postcolonial literature, or world literature. Reflecting on the legacy of colonialism in the making of the modern world and the ways in which it continues to shape the contemporary, the module encourages you to think critically about the ‘universals’ of global capitalism and the establishment of various ‘third’, ‘second’ and ‘non-Western’ worlds.

• Writing Black Britain

This module introduces students to a diverse body of Black British writing that is so often left out of the curriculum. By exploring the issues around its marginalisation, co-opted and often tokenistic inclusion, it re-positions Black British writing as an integral part of British history and literature. Students will have the opportunity to study Black British writing across a range of genres and modes, including examples of film, television and art.

• Communities of Practice

This module invites you to think about contemporary textual or literary communities and to consider how these connect to practices of reading or writing or creative practice. How do communities of writers or artists identify or organise around literary or artistic movements or groups? How do communities of readers share their experiences of reading through practices such as reading groups, fan fiction or online reviews? How do readers create meanings through collective activities that take place outside of the immediate experience of reading? How do publishers or writers attempt to create a connection between a text and a readership as a kind of imagined community?

You will have the opportunity to contribute to ongoing projects that involve local partnerships such as New Writing South, The Marlborough Theatre, the Coast is Queer Brighton LGBTQ+ literary festival, Brighton Pride and Trans Pride, and Afrori Books, as well as the University’s Research and Enterprise Group in Performance and Communities and the student-staff decolonising the curriculum group. Supported by tutors and the university’s placement team, you will identify a residency and engage with a project in order to produce a working or creative brief of benefit both to the organisation and your own ambitions. You will have master classes from experts including artists, campaigners, community workers and other professionals working in media, publishing and theatre.

• Dissertation

Your dissertation will be supervised by an individual tutor and can be on any topic that you have developed an interest in. It provides an opportunity for autonomous extended research – which is both an opportunity to develop a personal interest and yet also prepares you for the rigours of research methods and writing in any field.

Option modules

You'll choose three option modules.

At least two from:

• Queer and Now
• Performing Identities
• Practising Rhetoric: Affect, Sustainability, Inclusion
• Narrative: The Art and Design of Storytelling

Maximum of one from:

• Poetry
• The Process of Publishing
• Constructions of Britishness
• Postcolonial Heritages and Transnational Histories
• Lifewriting

Meet the team

Dr Kate Aughterson, course leader

Kate's scholarly interests focus on seventeenth-century drama, notably with regard to gender and literature, sexuality and literature, and performance culture. With a background in history and art history as well as literature, Kate encourages reading literary texts in the framework and context of the non-literary, linking scientific, textual, philosophical and political discourses, and believes in enabling students to develop reading, analytical and research skills through practical experience of writing and performance. Read more about Dr Kate Aughterson.

Dr Liam Connell

Liam's research is focused on the relationships of cultural texts to nations and transnational movements and most recently has concerned the cultural representations of work and workers. His publications explore the way that social, political and economic questions are played out through various kinds of cultural representations and practices including modern and contemporary writing in English, and in visual cultures of the late twentieth and twenty-first century. Read more about Dr Liam Connell.

Dr Vedrana Velickovic

Vedrana's research interests are in contemporary literature and culture, most specifically in Black British and post-communist/'Eastern European' writing. Her book Eastern Europeans in Contemporary Literature and Culture provides a comprehensive study of this 'wave' of migration to the UK and Western Europe following the enlargement of the EU in the twenty-first century, the social and political changes after the fall of communism, and the Brexit vote. Read more about Dr Vedrana Velickovic.

Dr Jessica Moriarty

Jess is an experienced researcher and editor for the book series, Performance and Communities. She has published extensively on creative writing pedagogy, autoethnography and community engagement. Her current book, the Creative Recovery Handbook, explores creative practice as a method for supporting well-being. Her pedagogic approach has a focus on diversity, personal story-telling and writing for change. Read more about Dr Jessica Moriarty.

Dr John McCullough

John's poetry focuses in particular on mental health, loss, the body, queer politics, queer history and Brighton as a centre for unique LGBT+ subcultures. He has written three collections: The Frost Fairs (Salt, 2011) which won the Polari First Book Prize and was a Book of the Year for The Independent and a summer read for The Observer; Spacecraft (Penned in the Margins, 2016) was shortlisted for the Ledbury-Forte prize and was a summer read for The Guardian; Reckless Paper Birds (Penned in the Margins, 2019) was recently shortlisted for the 2019 Costa. Read more about Dr John McCullough

Other staff who teach on the course include:

Dr Ailsa Grant Ferguson, Dr Andrew Hammond, Dr Aakanksha Virkar-Yates, Dr Joseph Ronan, Dr Bea Hitchman, Robyn Moallemi and Dr Patricia McManus.

Resources

You’ll have access to facilities across the university, specifically at the Falmer campus, where you’ll be based for your teaching, and at our City campus in central Brighton, where many events relating to research and practice are scheduled.

Falmer campus

• Drama studio – access is on Wednesday afternoons
• Postgraduate study spaces
• Study group rooms in Falmer library
• Centre for Transforming Sexualities 

City campus

• St Peter’s House Library – resources and study spaces
• Postgraduate study spaces
• Centre for Arts and Wellbeing
• Centre for Memory, Narrative and Histories
• Brighton Centre for Contemporary Arts

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in the fee, while studying a course in the School of Humanities are listed here.

• For a number of courses you will have the opportunity to attend field trips and off-site visits. These are optional and are not required to pass your course but under normal circumstances we would expect a budget of approximately £150 per year will cover the costs of particular trips. The amount spent would be based on location and number of trips taken.
• You will have access to computers and necessary software, however many students choose to buy their own hardware, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
• In most cases coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes and should budget up to £150 per year for printing.
• Course books are available from the university but you may wish to budget up to £200 to buy your own copies.

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships, as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2022–23.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

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