MA in Culture and Colonialism

The MA in Culture and Colonialism explores literature, politics and culture from Ireland to India, and from Africa to the Middle East. It is a multi-disciplinary taught Master of Arts programme, aimed at graduates from the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Students analyze imperial ascendancy, race and racial theories, nationalist movements, postcolonial experiences, the rise of neo-colonial thought, multiculturalism and interculturalism, and the implications of globalisation and development for the modern world.

This MA allows students to combine the specialization of postgraduate research with the adaptable skills training of a multi-disciplinary approach. Students benefit from the legacy of an MA programme established in 1994; the programme has continuously re-invented itself in changing ideological climates while maintaining its primary goal: to offer a critical education in the cultural discourses of power.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

MA in Culture and Colonialism graduates have gone on to careers in development work, NGOs, law, university lecturing, publishing, media, journalism, community work, teaching (primary and secondary), film-making, advertising, and the civil service. The programme has a particularly strong record in research training: a high proportion of its students have proceeded to doctoral programmes in Ireland, Britain and North America, with many of them winning prestigious funding awards.

Course Outline

Our teaching staff has been drawn over the years from the disciplines of English, History, Political Science and Sociology, Economics, Irish Studies, Film Studies, Spanish, French, Archaeology, German, Italian, and Classics, and is supplemented by Irish and international guest lecturers.

Modules/coursework on offer may include:

• Literature and Colonialism
• Cinema and Colonialism
• Studies in the History of Colonialism and Imperialism
• Decolonization and Neo-Colonialism: The Politics of ‘Development’
• Colonialism and Cultural Theory
• Approaches to Culture and Colonialism
• Travel Literature
• Political Economy, Colonialism and Globalization (How To Argue with an Economist)

Assessment

Most taught modules consist of 11-12 two-hour small-group seminars; they are usually assessed primarily through the submission of written assignments. The dissertation topic is determined in consultation with the programme staff, with submission in mid-August of the academic year.