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Literary Studies in English

  • //applyindex.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/south-africa.png South Africa
  • University/Institute Name University of Cape Town
  • Attendance Type On Campus (Full Time)
  • Position Duration2 years
  • Application deadlineExpired
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Position Details (Master's)

The Department of English Literary Studies atUniversity of Cape Townrecently launched a revised coursework Master's degree that foregrounds research into Literary Studies in English in the global South.

The new MA in Literary Studies in English from the University of Cape Town aims toequip a new generation of postgraduate students to conduct research into the compelling issues that arise in our discipline at a time when questions of canonicity are under revision and new approaches to literary studies are generating new archives and addressing the coloniality of received archives. The course helps to equip students to develop their own research paths and would make excellent preparation before moving into the PhD.

Course Structure

The coursework MA includes the following components:

  • Two core courses
  • Two elective courses
  • One ‘minor’ dissertation of 25,000 words, to be undertaken in the second year of registration.

The first year of the MA is devoted to coursework, comprised oftwoelectives andtwocore courses. Students are invited to selecttwo electivesin total. These can be made up fromwithinone of thestreams, if they would like to align themselves with one of the sub-specialities in preparation for their dissertation the following year. However, it is not necessary to select both electives from onestream. Students are at liberty to choose their electives from 2 different streams.

There are 5streams, each of which represents an area of speciality within the Department:

  • Black Literary and Intellectual Traditions
  • Gender and Sexuality in African Literature
  • World Literatures in English
  • Literature and the Archive
  • Between the Critical andCreative

Course workiscompleted in the first year of the program.

A ‘minor’ dissertation of 25,000 words is undertaken in the second year of the program.Students register for the dissertation during the second year of the program, through the following code: ELL5001W.

Compulsory (core) courses

In addition to the 2 MA electives, students are required to take 2 MA core courses which are designed to support the work of research. All coursework MA students will, therefore, be required to register for the following two courses during their first year of study:

Courses include:

  • Black Literary and Intellectual Traditions
  • Gender and Sexuality in African Literature
  • World Literatures in English
  • Literature and the Archive
  • Between the Critical andCreative
  • Between the Critical and Creative
  • Environmental Humanities

    • Research Areas & Fields of Study involved in the position

    Position Start Date

    Feb 2026