With debate continuing over ScotlandÕs political status, this Masters degree in at examines the role of literature in shaping the image and reality of the nation. YouÕll learn to view Scottish writing, from a perspective shaped by critical theory, as well as traditional literary history.

Ranging across four centuries of the Scottish literary imagination, this course explores key figures, texts and debates from the period of Regal Union (1603) to the present Ð often placing literary writing at the heart of cultural and political debate.

YouÕll look at a full range of writers, texts and debates from the early modern period to the present Ð including the works of Robert Burns, Walter Scott and James Hogg, right through to contemporary authors such as James Kelman, Janice Galloway and Kathleen Jamie. WeÕll also explore the work of Robert Louis Stevenson, Nan Shepherd, Muriel Spark and too many others to mention.

Class discussion examines the complex means by which national literary identity is sustained, renewed and reconsidered Ð as well as the role of novelists and poets in integrating Scottish identity into the ever-evolving project of ÔBritishnessÕ. ThereÕs an emphasis on critical debate, and weÕll question some of the assumptions that go along with studying a national literary tradition.

No previous experience in studying Scottish Literature is required. Leading Scottish writers and critics feature prominently in assigned reading, alongside key insights from book history, literary criticism and political theory.

Career

Advanced education in the Arts, and the practical experience of researching and producing a dissertation, will give you significant transferable skills that can be applied across a wide range of careers. Our graduates have gone on to a variety of roles in recent years, including research, teaching, journalism, photography and editing. Many others have progressed on to study a PhD.