Comparative Literature - MA
Comparative Literature at Kent offers an excellent environment for the postgraduate study of literature beyond national and linguistic borders. The programme involves the study of literature from two or more national and linguistic traditions, allowing you to gain an intercultural and transnational understanding of diverse cultural and literary practices.
Overview
The MA programme explores three main areas: themes, genres, movements and major literary figures; the interactions and exchanges between national literary traditions; and the theory and practice of comparative literature. These complementary strands encourage comparative analysis in a variety of contexts, ranging from the study of national literatures to the exploration of different genres, periods, media and literary theory.
The programme is offered by the Department of Comparative Literature and benefits from staff expertise in a range of areas, including European modernism, postmodernism, postcolonial literature, literature and medicine, literature and sexuality, literature and psychoanalysis and literature and the visual arts. Our programme also draws on additional expertise in the School of European Culture and Languages, particularly from colleagues in the Department of Modern Languages.
You begin by studying a choice of four modules across the Autumn and Spring terms, before writing a 12,000-word dissertation over the summer, supervised by an expert in the department. The programme can also be studied in Canterbury and Paris, where you relocate to Kent’s Paris School of Arts and Culture for the spring term.
The MA in Comparative Literature is an ideal programme for those wanting to engage in and pursue detailed literary and cultural analysis that crosses national boundaries.
Entry requirements
A first or 2.1 in a relevant subject (eg, English, French, German, Italian, Hispanic Studies, Classics), or equivalent.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
International students
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
English language entry requirements
The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.
For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.
Need help with English?
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
Form
Course structure
Duration: One year full-time, two years part-time
Modules
The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take modules from other programmes so that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas that interest you.
Compulsory modules currently include
CP810 - Comparative Literature in Theory and Practice (30 credits)
This module is designed to familiarise students with the history of Comparative Literature as an academic discipline, to develop their ability to analyse critically the major conceptions of Comparative Literature that have emerged over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and to enable them to apply theories of Comparative Literature in the analysis of literary movements, literary genres, literary topoi, and literary figures who recur at different moments in literary history.
Students will begin by studying a range of major conceptions of Comparative Literature, and will consider the implications for the discipline of Comparative Literature of theories of globalisation, multiculturalism, translation studies, and world literature. They will then proceed to analyse selected literary works within the framework of these conceptions of Comparative Literature. The module will therefore combine a theoretical with a practical literary-critical dimension, encouraging close reading and an appreciation of historical context in the analysis of theoretical and literary texts.
CP811 - Writing Unreason: Literature and Madness in the Modern World (30 credits)
This module is designed to introduce students to major literary works (in various genres) from the early nineteenth century to the present day that explore the theme of madness, with a particular focus on the function of madness as a metaphor. The module will encourage students to consider the historical contexts out of which the various texts emerge, and to analyse the ways in which modern European literature takes up the theme of madness to explore social, psychological, philosophical, religious, and aesthetic questions. Particular attention will be paid to the close analysis of literary style in order to assess each writer's attempt to capture the discourse of madness. Topics for consideration will include the relation between artistic creativity and madness, madness as a form of socio-political resistance, madness and gender, the figure of the 'double', and, above all, the extent to which Michel Foucault is justified in claiming in 'The History of Madness' that in the post-Enlightenment period 'unreason has belonged to whatever is decisive, for the modern world, in any work of art'.
CP815 - Tales of the Fantastic (30 credits)
Theoretical interest in the fantastic has increasingly developed over recent decades following the acclaimed seminal study by Todorov, The Fantastic (1973). Students will explore major works of the genre from several European countries in conversation with a range of critical perspectives (such as discourse theory, narrative theories, and psychoanalytical theory). The comparative nature of the module will also afford an opportunity to enhance understanding of the literatures and specific texts studied in their respective cultural contexts.
CP817 - Literature and Affect (30 credits)
We live, it is often said, in the 'age of affect'. Paradoxically, since Fredric Jameson's dictum on 'the waning of affect' in postmodern times, there has been a burgeoning surge of interest in our affects and emotions that has touched most academic disciplines as well as the general public. But a look at the historiography of affect shows that the current interest in our feelings and their cultural transformations, and with it the transformations of their often restrictive codes of representation, has been ongoing since the age of Romanticism at least. When we now speak of the 'emotional turn’, we tend to forget that in 1882 the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche already complained about the absence of ‘a history of love, of avarice, of envy, of conscience, of piety, or of cruelty’; that in 1941 the French historian Lucien Febvre contemplated the relation between ‘sensibility and history’; and that in the 1980s the American Historian Peter Gay flirted, at least temporarily, with a concept he defined as ‘psycho-history’.
The aim of this module is to reflect on this longstanding debate by addressing the following questions: What is an emotion, and what is an affect? Do emotions and affects change over time in intensity, prevalence, and character, or do they essentially remain the same while it is our attitudes towards them that change? And, most importantly to us as students of comparative literature: where or what is the subject who feels, and how can we define the relation between his or her feelings and the manifold ways in which they are represented? Our discussion will be based on critical analysis of a range of literary and autobiographical works from the eighteenth century to the present (for example by: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Emily Brontë, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Marguerite Duras, C.S. Lewis, and Roland Barthes). These works will be discussed in close conjunction with a selection of classic and contemporary theoretical texts (for example by: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Arthur Schopenhauer, Ruth Leys, Helmuth Lethen, Martha Nussbaum, Amy Coplan, and Eugenie Brinkema). The module is structured according to the following three areas of inquiry: Love & Desire; Loss & Mourning; Guilt & Shame.
Compulsory modules currently include
CP998 - Comparative Literature Dissertation (60 credits)
The topic of the dissertation will usually be based on, and develop from, work undertaken on one or more of the four coursework modules undertaken in the course of the MA. The dissertation must be comparative in nature, including an analysis of more than one work, from more than one national/linguistic tradition.
Teaching and assessment
Assessment is by one 5,000-word essay for each module, and the dissertation.
Programme aims
This programme aims to:
- provide you with the knowledge and skills to prepare you for the academic study of comparative literature at MPhil/PhD level
- attract outstanding students, irrespective of race, background, gender, or physical disability from within the UK
- further the University’s International Strategy by attracting graduate students from abroad as well as from the UK
- enable you to begin to specialise in your areas of interest
- enable you to hone your ability to read literature and literary theory critically and comparatively
- provide you, consistent with point one above, with a transition from undergraduate study to independent research
- provide you with a training that will culminate, if followed through to PhD level, in the ability to submit articles to refereed journals in comparative literature.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- several key periods in modern European literature, based on a critical study of the relevant literature and literary theory
- the applicable techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry in comparative literature, in particular through an engagement with questions of genre, the concept of literary movements, literary theory, and literature’s relation to other discourses (including psychoanalysis and philosophy)
- the ability to conceptualise, design and implement the final project (dissertation).
Intellectual skills
You develop intellectual skills in:
- listening attentively to complex presentations, using your powers of analysis and imagination
- reading carefully a variety of technical and non-technical material
- using libraries effectively
- reflecting clearly and critically on oral and written sources
- marshalling a complex body of texts
- remembering relevant material and bringing it to mind when needed
- constructing cogent arguments in the evaluation of this material.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in:
- the ability to understand and analyse complex literary and theoretical material
- the ability to read literature in a comparative context
- the ability to differentiate between the formal implications of differing genres (ie poetry, prose, drama, photography, painting, and film) and to respond to the differing problems of these genres and media
- the ability to situate literary and theoretical texts in their socio-historical context.
Transferable skills
You gain the following transferable skills:
- working with others: participating in seminar discussions, responding to the views of others and to criticisms of your own views without giving or taking offence, engaging in independent group work, including the running of the graduate seminar
- language skills: discussing complex material in English and (where possible) in the language(s) of original composition
- communication: producing focused and cogent written work, giving oral presentations, using visual aids where appropriate
- problem-solving: identifying problems, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of different solutions, defending your own solutions with cogent arguments
- improving your learning: identifying your strengths and weaknesses, assessing the quality of your own work, managing your time and meeting deadlines, learning to work independently
- using information technology: using online information sources, word-processing essays, using email for receiving and responding to communications.
Fees
The 2021/22 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
- Home full-time £8100
- EU full-time £12600
- International full-time £16800
- Home part-time £4050
- EU part-time £6300
- International part-time £8400
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
Your fee status
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Additional costs
General additional costs
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Funding
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
- University and external funds
- Scholarships specific to the academic school delivering this programme.
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The Complete University Guide
In The Complete University Guide 2021, the University of Kent was ranked in the top 10 for research intensity. This is a measure of the proportion of staff involved in high-quality research in the university.
Please see the University League Tables 2021 for more information.
Independent rankings
In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, modern languages and linguistics was ranked 3rd for research quality, 3rd for research output and in the top 20 for research intensity, research impact and research power in the UK.
Our submission was the highest ranked nationally to include modern languages – a testament to our position as the UK’s European university. An impressive 100% of our research was judged to be of international quality and the School’s environment was judged to be conducive to supporting the development of world-leading research.
Research areas
Areas of particular research strength in Comparative Literature at Kent include the European avant-garde, modernism and postmodernism, postcolonial literature, literary theory, literature and medicine, literature and the visual arts, literature and sexuality, and literature and philosophy. The list below indicates the range of current research interests of members of staff within Comparative Literature and the other disciplines with whom we work closely. Many of these staff are members of the Centre for Modern European Literature. They can supervise postgraduate students for the MA or PhD degrees in any of their respective areas of expertise. If you are considering applying to undertake a research degree, we encourage you to contact us to discuss your plans at an early stage of your application.
- The European avant-garde
- Modernism and postmodernism
- Postcolonial literature
- Literary theory
- Literature and medicine
- Literature and philosophy
- Literature and sexuality
- Literature and the visual arts
Centre for Modern European Literature
Many of the most significant European writers and literary movements of the modern period have traversed national, linguistic, and disciplinary borders. Co-directed by the departments of Comparative Literature and Modern Languages & Linguistics, the Centre for Modern European Literature aims to promote collaborative interdisciplinary research that can do justice to these kinds of border crossing. Ranging across English, French, German, Italian and Spanish literature, the Centre focuses in particular on the European avant-garde, European modernism and postmodernism, literary theory, the international reception of European writers, and the relations between modern European literature and the other arts, including painting, photography, film, music and architecture. The Centre’s activities include a lecture and seminar series and the regular organisation of conferences.
Centre for Language and Linguistic Studies
Founded in 2007, the Centre for Language and Linguistics (CLL) promotes interdisciplinary collaboration in linguistic research and teaching. Membership embraces not just the members of English Language and Linguistics but also other members with an interest in the study of language, as well as researchers in philosophy, computing, psychology and anthropology, reflecting the many and varied routes by which individuals come to a love of language and an interest in the various disciplines and subdisciplines of linguistics.
Staff research interests
Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website.
Careers
A postgraduate qualification from the University of Kent opens up a wealth of career opportunities by providing an impressive portfolio of skills and specialist knowledge.
Comparative Literature graduates develop key skills, including critical thinking, analysis and problem solving. They go on to successful careers in areas such as the media, academia and many different cultural institutions including libraries, museums and galleries.
We also recommend that you take advantage of the expertise and knowledge available from our Careers and Employability Service in Canterbury, which provides a range of advice, guidance and opportunities to enhance your career.
Study support
About the Department of Comparative Literature
Comparative Literature is part of the School of European Culture and Languages (SECL), which embraces eight other disciplines: Classical & Archaeological Studies, English Language and Linguistics, Modern Languages (encompassing French, German, Hispanic Studies and Italian), Philosophy and Religious Studies. This means that students enrolled on a postgraduate programme in Comparative Literature can draw on the excellent resources of a diverse team of teachers with expertise in many key areas of European culture.
The research interests of our staff are specifically comparativist in nature, and include the European avant-garde, modernism and postmodernism, postcolonial literature, literary theory, and the relationship between literature and the visual arts. In addition to the research expertise of our staff, all postgraduates in Comparative Literature benefit from the activities organised by the Centre for Modern European Literature. These include lectures by prestigious guest speakers, research seminars, conferences and a reading group.
Postgraduate resources
The Templeman Library has excellent holdings in all our areas of research interest, with particular strengths in modern European literature. The School of European Culture and Languages provides high-quality IT facilities, with state-of-the art language laboratories, dedicated technical staff and designated areas for postgraduate study. Language-learning and translation facilities include eight all-purpose teaching rooms and two networked multimedia laboratories.
Training
All postgraduate students in SECL have the opportunity to undertake both subject-specific training and an extensive postgraduate skills training programme provided by the Graduate School.
Language speaking
Every year, a considerable number of native speakers of foreign languages follow our courses, and several European exchange students stay on to do graduate work. There are also foreign language lectors who are either combining teaching with a Kent higher degree or completing a dissertation for their home universities. We can assist with language-training needs for overseas postgraduates, particularly where English is concerned, and are also involved in the Erasmus and Tempus networks.
Dynamic publishing culture
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Comparative Critical Studies; French Studies; Forum for Modern Language Studies; German Life and Letters; Modern Language Review.
Global Skills Award
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
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MA at Canterbury
Subject enquiries
Postgraduate Office, School of European Culture and Languages
T: +44 (0)1227 816119
E: seclpgadmin@kent.ac.uk
International student enquiries
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk