Your induction session will be held on Wednesday 28 September, 5pm – 7pm. Please go to room LP 0.26 on the ground floor of the Law and Psychology building.
As part of your session you’ll get to meet other students on your course and (hopefully) hear from some of our outgoing MA students.
If you’re unable to attend this induction session please contact your programme leader, Bob Nicholson, directly to arrange an induction meeting.
The Students’ Union will be holding their Welcome Fair from 10am until 2pm on Wednesday 28 September. Find out more about their Welcome Fair on the Students’ Union website.
Important: Your modules
Welcome to MA Nineteenth Century Studies. We’re really looking forward to teaching you. In advance of your induction, we would like you to select the modules you hope to study during your time on the MA.
Step one
Please begin by watching this guidance video (55 mins) where you’ll find an overview of the degree and short videos from each tutor introducing you to their modules.
If you have any questions or problems then please contact the MA 19th Century Studies Programme Leader: [email protected]
Semester One
For Semester One please select one of the following modules
LIT4001: Romantic Movements
Wednesdays 5-7pm
‘Romantic Movements’ will engage you in cutting edge approaches to and debates within Romantic Studies, including: globalizing and interdisciplinary approaches to the Romantic period and its literature which seek to decentre popular and academic canons; challenges to and new ways of close reading Romantic poetry and other texts; the role of feeling and emotion in the period and its literature; the material culture of the period and ways in which this culture has been remediated from the nineteenth century to today, from popular adaptations in theatre, TV, film and other media to other re-imaginings. We will also consider its roots in environmentalism and how this inspires sustainability initiatives today. The module aims to give postgraduate students a panoramic vision of the state of the discipline of Romantic Studies today
In Caught in the Act: Theatricality in the Nineteenth-Century English Novel (1992) Joseph Litvack notes that, for the nineteenth century, the theatre was in fact “diffuse[ed] throughout the culture that would appear to have repudiated it” (x). Why, then, is the theatre so often left out of discussions of nineteenth-century literature, culture, and art? In the ‘Theatre and Theatricality’ strand of LIT4006: Research Specialism we will consider why this gap exists in conventional scholarship, and work to reconnect the theatrical history, culture, and practitioners of the nineteenth century back to their contemporaries in other art forms. Topics covered will include theatrical styles and genres—such as melodrama, the well-made play, Naturalism, and political drama—theatre in the novel (considering works by Dickens, Collins, Wilde, and Marryat), and theatre in society more broadly, through a variety of primary source materials. You will be assessed on two submissions: a 1500-word project proposal and a final project of 3500 words or the equivalent, with the opportunity to workshop ideas and approaches in seminar over the course of the term.
The ‘Theatre and Theatricality’ strand of LIT4006: Research Specialism is designed to cater to a wide range of interests and approaches. To that end, there is no requirement for previous interest or training in performance, and there will be no requirement to perform as part of the module. Those with a performance background will certainly be encouraged to incorporate that knowledge into their work, but the module will explore many other ways of engaging with the pervasive theatricality of the period.
For Semester Two please select two of the following modules
LIT4002: Victorian Decades
Wednesdays 5-7pm
On Victorian Decades you will explore the literary and cultural developments of the nineteenth century, taking a decade-by-decade approach to understand the key cultural shifts of the period. Students will explore how social and cultural changes were both shaped by and shaping the literary trends of the period, from the optimism of the 1830s, the ‘Hungry forties’, and the sensation novel of the 1860s to the Realist movement, New Imperialism and Gothic anxieties of the fin de siècle. The module will take an interdisciplinary approach to the Victorian period, giving students a detailed subject knowledge as well as introducing a range of critical and theoretical approaches to the primary material.
Entertaining the Victorians (LIT4003) is a second semester module. It examines the history of nineteenth-century popular culture, with a particular focus on Victorian leisure and entertainment practices. What did the Victorians do for fun? How did this change over the course of the nineteenth century? What kind of debates and anxieties did leisure provoke? To answer these questions, we’ll examine a range of different topics, including: print culture, jokes, music hall, exhibitions, sport, obscene publications, nightlife, and the seaside. In the process, you’ll also refine your research skills by searching for relevant primary sources in digital archives.
This is a second semester module in which you will study aspects of crime history between c.1840-1940 as a valuable way to examine contemporary society, its fears, ideologies and prejudices, especially in relation to social class and gender. This period was crucial in the development and refinement of the modern criminal justice system during rapid industrial and technological change and so you will gain an understanding of some key features and institutions that compose modern society in England and Wales. It will therefore enable you to consider crime as a key lens through which to understand and critically analyse social, economic and cultural change. It will foster M-level skills in primary research, the development of critical thinking and oral and written skills. Some of the topics explored will be the criminal justice system, gendered-ideologies, murder, youth gangs, wife beating and motor bandits.
You will be assessed via:
1000-word research proposal
3000-word research project (developed from your research proposal)
1000-word scholarly blog (likely to be related to your research topic but not covering the same content)
You can choose to swap out one of your option modules for LIT4005, a year-long placement/project-based module. Please note that this module does not have formal, timetabled teaching sessions. You will be supported by a supervisor and it will be up to you to take the lead in managing your work.
Please get in touch to discuss your plans for this module with a tutor before selecting it.
LIT4005: Working on the Nineteenth Century
Year long module taught via supervision and placements.
This module allows you to make a direct connection between the subject matter of 19thC studies and your plans for a postgraduate career by engaging with workplace practice. You will work on either an independent research project as agreed with your tutor or with an external partner such as a school, museum or charity.