MA in Literature, Romanticism and the English Lake District

The MA develops high-level analytical, interpretative, written and oral communication skills. Time management, research skills, teamwork, and independent working are also developed during the program.

Students are encouraged to respond to assessment briefs and other tasks both critically and creatively, and engaging analytically with representations of place and landscape in the written word will develop an advanced understanding of the complex relationship between nature and culture. They will also be asked to reflect critically and creatively on a range of ethical and environmental debates, as well as to consider the key role played by the Arts in helping to shape responses to such debates.

Via work with partner organisations in the region (e.g. the Wordsworth Trust and Brantwood), they will gain an understanding of the 21st-century cultural heritage industry and will explore the work and activities of this industry within a UNESCO world heritage site context.

Year One

British Romanticism and the Lake District

Develops an advanced critical understanding of the central philosophical and aesthetic ideas, and political and cultural events which influenced literary responses to the natural world and especially the English Lake District during the Romantic period.

Literature and the Environment

Explores literary responses to ecological issues, real and imagined, such as anthropogenic climate change, overpopulation, ecological and agricultural catastrophe and ecological sustainability.

A Natural Education: Children's Literature and the Lake District

Explores features of literature written for children which is set within Cumbria and reflects on the ongoing influence of Romantic ideas about childhood and nature on the development of literature for children and considers the impact the text relating to the moral influence on the developing child.

Contemporary Cumbrian Writing

Explores recent texts from genres including new nature writing, the novel and journalism, to consider their engagement with issues such as Cumbria's UNESCO World Heritage status, rewilding, regenerative agriculture and the nuclear industry, as well as how these local issues can inform global debates

Poetry and Place

Explores the relationship between poetry and place; it looks at the ways in which a range of poets have been influenced by place, with a particular emphasis on poets writing about Cumbria.

Literary Tourism and Cultural Heritage in the Lake District

Seeks to develop an understanding of the influence of key writers (e.g. Wordsworth, Ruskin) on the development of the ‘place myth’ (Urry) of the Lake District and awareness of the role played by literary texts in first the formation of the Lake District National Park.

Dissertation

Gives you the opportunity to produce an in-depth and substantial piece of work on an appropriate topic, thereby gaining knowledge and skills that will be invaluable for future careers or further postgraduate study.

How You Will Be Assessed

The programme assessment strategy makes use of a range of assessment methods to enable you to demonstrate the extent to which you have achieved the learning outcomes of individual modules and the programme of study overall, and to encourage your development as an independent and autonomous scholar.

The critical essay remains a central mode of assessment in literature but other assessment modes deployed throughout the programme include portfolio exercises (e.g. shorter close readings; annotated poems), the scripting and recording of a documentary-style programme, the production of a leaflet or webpage and project work, as well as the dissertation.

A range of assessment modes are used because this enables us to test different aspects of your learning but this also reflects our commitment to engaging with the needs of different learners. The assessment strategy encourages you to plan your time effectively, with some activities involving ongoing and incremental engagement and others lending themselves more to shorter and more focussed periods of work.

On This Course You Will...

• Study surrounded by the stunning and inspiring scenery of the Lake District, which has inspired many of the UK's greatest writers
• Take part in field trips to explore how the Lakes have influenced literature
• Be involved in Cumbria's thriving literary scene and get the opportunity to work with local cultural heritage organisations
• Benefit from small class sizes so we can help you to personally develop and flourish throughout your MA Programme
• Be taught by literary experts and published academics
• Have opportunities to develop real-world projects relating to the contemporary cultural heritage industry

How You Will Learn

Modes of delivery within the programme depend ultimately on module content and academic aims, although most learning and teaching within the programme will be conducted through seminars. The latter encompasses informal tutor input, whole and small group discussion, interaction with peers, close textual study, and directed tasks.

Across your programme, you will, however, experience other teaching modes, including small group and individual tutorials, workshops, directed study tasks, student-led sessions, field trips, specialist sessions (e.g. working with the archive at Wordsworth Grasmere; IT workshops), and distance-learning (e.g. online tutorials to support work on Dissertation).

The variety of learning and teaching methods used within the programme is designed to ensure inclusivity and to support a range of learner types, and at all times we seek to cultivate a nurturing and supportive learning environment.