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MA in English: Shakespeare & The British Dramatic Tradition

The Shakespeare pathway has been substantially revised and a new specialist Drama and Performance Critical Theory Module is now available.


This MA pathway explores Shakespeare and the unique literary heritage of British drama, continually reassessed and reinterpreted by theatrical performance. Students are able to take advantage of easy access to the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford, and to repertory theatres in Coventry, Leicester and Birmingham. On campus, Warwick Arts Centre, the largest of its kind outside London, is visited by companies of international standing specialising in both the established repertoire and new work. Some of the courses have a particular interest in Shakespeare and production history; all are concerned with the wider cultural significance of the dramatic text. This Shakespeare pathway might be particularly appropriate for students with a Joint Honours degree in English and Theatre/Drama but any student wishing to expand their knowledge of drama is equally welcome and no prior knowledge will be assumed.


Staff

The department has recently expanded its research and teaching in drama, where we have particular strengths in Shakespeare and contemporaries, modern drama and early theatre. As well as Professor Carol Rutter (Shakespeare) and Professor Tony Howard (Shakespeare and modern drama), the team includes Dr Liz Barry (modern drama, especially Beckett), Dr Teresa Grant (Medieval to Restoration theatre), Dr Paul Prescott (Shakespeare) and Dr Stephen Purcell (Shakespeare and contemporaries in performance), Dr Matthew Franks (modern drama), Dr David Taylor (long 18th Century, especially Sheridan) and Dr Michael Meeuwis (19th Century). We also have strong teaching and research links with IATL and Dr Nick Monk and Jonathan Heron (both of whom will be teaching on the new core course). The department is host to two major AHRC-funded drama projects: Multicultural Shakespeare: 1930-2010 and the Oxford University Press The Complete Works James Shirley. All of us would welcome enquiries from prospective MA students about dissertation supervision so don't hesitate to get in touch. Any general questions about the pathway should be sent to the MA in English Convenor, Dr Teresa Grant t dot grant at warwick dot ac dot uk.


Structure of the Degree

There are three main options open to students who decide to take this pathway:

1)The Foundation Module and four modules: at least two from the Core Modules for Shakespeare and The British Dramatic Tradition and up to two other modules that are offered by the Department.

2) The Foundation module, two Core Modules, plus a dissertation on an approved topic.

3) The Foundation module, three modules (at least two Core Modules and up to one other option), plus a dissertation on an approved topic.


Shakespeare & The British Dramatist Tradition: Optional Core Modules

The British Dramatist in Society: 1965-1995 

EN979 Eighteenth-Century and Romantic Theatre (1737-1832)

EN920 Shakespeare in Performance

IL903 - Practices of Translation: Or How to Do Things with Shakespeare


Other Options (indicative)


EN927 Condition of England: Perceptions in Victorian Literature

EN9B1 - Narratives of American Empire

EN905 - Nineteenth-Century Children's Literature

EN914 - Freud's Metapsychology and its Problems: Texts and Sub-texts (Core)

EN920 - Shakespeare in Performance

EN945 - Introduction to Pan Romanticisms

EN951 - Crossing Borders

EN954 - Romantic Elegy

EN964 - Translation Studies in Theory and Practice

EN970 - Psychoanalysis and Creativity

EN996 - Seven Basic Plots

EN9A3 - The Caribbean: Reading the World-Ecology

EN9A7 - Drama and Performance Theory (Core)

EN9B1 - Narratives of American Empire

IL903 - Practices of Translation: Or How to Do Things with Shakespeare


For a list of all the modules that the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies offers, click here