Compulsory research modules (all MRes Humanities)
HIS-40017 Research Skills in the Humanities (15 credits, Semester 1)
You will receive training in the practical and technical skills necessary for postgraduate research in the humanities, so you will be able to plan, then find and use the necessary resources for your research and writing. This includes: relevant University regulations; procedures for managing a research degree; the differences between popular press dissemination of research and academic forms; how to identify issues of research ethic affecting your work; and how to use real-world and digital archives and be creative in looking for primary research sources, such as film archives, digitised magazines and pamphlets, first editions of out of print literature. You will also develop essential personal and professional skills in time, stress and project management.
HIS-40016 Reflective Practice in the Humanities (15 credits, Semester 2)
Reflective practice describes a systematic approach to reflection that involves creating a habit, structure and routine around reflecting on our experiences and engaging in continuous learning. Whether you choose to learn from experience as an individual or with others, there are many benefits to be gained from sharing ideas, experiences and considering how you can change or improve your creative practice. Throughout this module, you will be asked to explore the intellectual connections between your research area and wider fields of study. We look at ‘big ideas’ relevant to contemporary society, such as the concept of ‘post truth’, ‘big data’ and the pulling down of statues, and we work to understand them from the perspective of our disciplines.
Compulsory pathway-specific modules (English)
ENG-40007 Criticism, Analysis, Theory in Literary Studies (30 credits, Semester 1)
This module aims to develop your analytical abilities through the study of a selection of key theoretical and critical issues and approaches in contemporary literary and cultural analysis. You’ll be introduced to the variety of interpretive methods currently used within the discipline of English. Collective weekly discussions about selected text examples build your confidence in selecting and applying such theory to a range of literary texts. In your assessments, you can choose to develop a project focusing on literary and filmic texts studied on the course or of your own choice.
ENG-40014 Individual Research Orientation (30 credits, Semester 2)
One of the major strengths of our MRes is the high degree of flexibility in tailoring your programme. Working closely with your dissertation supervisor(s), you will agree a personal development plan to equip you with the skills and knowledge to conduct and report on your in-depth research. While you may expect to be given directed reading in primary, secondary and theoretical texts within your chosen research field, you will also have considerable freedom when determining activities for your individual research preparation. You could choose to: complete detailed work focusing on the research context for your topic and test this out with a smaller-scale case study; write a piece of work on a particular aspect of your field that underpins or develops your understanding of some aspect of your dissertation project; receive training in a particular skill or methodology; complete a work placement; or study another Master’s-level module. Previous English pathway students have done archival work, textual editing and alongside more traditional aspects of textual analysis.
ENG-40013 Dissertation – English (90 credits, studied throughout the course)
Guided by extensive one-to-one supervision from a world leading expert in your field, you will research, plan and write a substantial piece of original work, locating your specific topic within the context of relevant debates within the discipline of English literature and the humanities more generally. The final dissertation is 20,000 words, excluding footnotes, bibliography and annexes. Previous dissertation students have written on topics as diverse as masculinity in Edmund Spenser's The Fairie Queen; Walter Scott and his Nineteenth-Century Readers; and sex, gender, spirituality and selfhood in the writings of Khaled Hosseini.
