The Gothic Imagination

Contemporary culture is characterised by nothing if not a reawakened interest in Gothic, the aesthetic discourse of horror and terror which flourished following the publication of Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto in 1764.

The MLitt The Gothic Imagination offers an intensive historical, critical and theoretical investigation of this curious cultural phenomenon, from the rise of Gothic in the aesthetic and political discourses of the eighteenth century through to a range of contemporary Gothic manifestations in both literature and film.

Gothic Literature Programme Objectives

This programme provides you with opportunities to explore the full range of Gothic writing, from its beginnings in the 18th century to the present day.

The focus is on work from Ann Radcliffe and Mary Shelley, through Victorian and late 19th-century writers (Dickens, Stevenson, Wilde, Stoker) to the Edwardian heyday of the ghost story, and on to the various modern and post-modern examples of the Gothic in writers such as Iain Banks, Angela Carter and Stephen King.

Entrance Requirements

An upper second class or better single or combined Honours degree in a relevant subject or subjects from a UK university or an equivalent qualification. Applicants with other qualifications or other appropriate experience may be admitted on the recommendation of the Programme Director.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency such as a minimum IELTS score of 6 (minimum 5.5 in each skill), or TOEFL: Listening 21, Reading 22, Speaking 23, Writing 21.

Funding

information on possible sources of funding

Modes of Study

Full-time: one year Part-time: 27 months

September

Structure and Content

In parallel with the core module, two optional modules allow you to develop a more specialised knowledge. You will take one of these modules each semester.

If you are on the part-time programme you will take the two optional modules in year two. These modules vary depending on teaching staff, but in the past have included the following:

• American Gothic: An examination of the emergence and development of Gothic in 19th-century American fiction with particular attention to the ways in which these texts transform the optimistic narratives of the new American republic
• Gothic in Contemporary Film: An analysis of the ways in which Gothic tropes have been appropriated and reworked in a selection of contemporary films
• The Female Gothic: A study of selected contemporary texts as reworkings of the female Gothic tradition of Ann Radcliffe
• Transmutations of the Vampire: An investigation into the cultural significance of the vampire over the past 50 years
  

The term ‘Gothic’ is itself highly contested. Accordingly, theories relevant to the Gothic, such as Freud on the uncanny, Todorov on the fantastic and Kristeva on abjection will be examined.

Arts Research Training
Our innovative training for graduates enables students to build up a portfolio of skills that prepare them for academic and professional life. All graduate students will work with their supervisors to select what’s right for them from a menu of activities. Each student will build up a portfolio of skills every year. On a taught postgraduate degree, you may be given specific guidance on what activities you need to undertake
for those qualifications.

Delivery and Assessment

Dissertation
The most significant piece of work on the programme will be a dissertation of 15,000 words, written during the summer, on a subject of your choosing, in consultation with a member of English Studies. You may choose to develop work initiated on one of the modules you have studied. Those who do not embark on the dissertation may be awarded a Diploma. The work of the best students completing the programme may be deemed worthy of an MLitt with Distinction.

Timetable

Contact the School for information on your timetable and reading lists.

RAE Rating

Over half of our submissions in the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) were found to be ‘Internationally Excellent’ or ‘World-leading’.

Career Opportunities

Completing a Master’s degree as a prelude to further academic research is an increasingly common pattern of study for young scholars, and is a route encouraged by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Advanced education in the Arts, the practical experience of research and the production of a dissertation are significant transferable skills for many careers in business and the professions.