MA Modern and Contemporary Literature

Our MA Modern and Contemporary Literature degree offers a rich and unique perspective on the remarkable literature and culture of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. At Essex, you won’t just study the familiar canon of English literature; you will study world literature in English. You will explore literature across time, geography and genre, combining traditional scholarly research with fresh and innovative ways of reading and engaging with texts.

As a postgraduate student of literature, you will have the opportunity to explore a broad and diverse range of types of writings, from lyric poetry to contemporary fiction, and study an array of literary and cultural traditions, from European literature of the early twentieth century to American literatures, including recent Caribbean writing.

You will be able to construct your degree based on your interests, drawing on an extensive list of options, including modules on;

• Modernism and postmodernism
• Adaptation
• The environment and new nature writing
• Queer literature
• African American literature
• Themes of war, violence, conflict and human rights in literature
• Literature and translation in a global context
• Literature and film
• US avant-garde poetry