MA English Literature: Renaissance and Eighteenth-Century Literature at University of Liverpool

The Renaissance and 18th-Century Literature MA Pathway draws together two of the richest and most fascinating periods in English literary history, encouraging you to think of them as being both in continuity and in contest with one another. The Renaissance and Eighteenth-Century Literature MA pathway covers writers such as Shakespeare, Marlowe, Cavendish, Pope, Swift, Behn and Equiano, and offers modules that consider: how literature responded and contributed to major social and political developments such as the rise of international travel, slavery and empire (including the role of Liverpool in that process); the transition from Renaissance alchemy to modern science; the literary contests fought over form and style across both periods; the theory and practice of scholarly editing; and Shakespeare’s dialogue with both contemporaries and later eighteenth-century adapters.

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences  |  Duration: 12 months full-time; 24 months part-time  |  Study mode: full-time; part-time also available  |  Intake: September 2027  |  Location: Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

Students opting for the Renaissance and Eighteenth-Century pathway are expected to take 30 credits of pathway-specific required modules and at least 30 credits of optional modules from their chosen pathway, in addition to the 90 credits of required English research modules (ENGL700, ENGL701 and ENGL702). If a student wishes, and with agreement of the pathway director, up to 30 credits of modules (normally no more than 15 credits in any given semester) may be taken from other pathways within the English module list of from the wider Faculty list. Compulsory modules in semester one include Research Skills and Practice, Shakespeare & Co, Editing the Early Modern.

Career pathways

The MA in English Literature will provide you with rigorous academic training in the broad interdisciplinary field of literary history, theory and culture. The professional skills that you will develop upon completion of the programme will prepare you well for a wide range of potential employment areas.

Official programme page