Entry requirementsEntry Requirements Good honours degree in an appropriate discipline.
Academic titleMSc Material Cultures and the History of the Book
Course descriptionProgramme
Distinctive for its integration of traditional bibliography, special-collections training, and advanced theoretical approaches, Material Cultures and the History of the Book brings together theory and practice in new and innovative ways.
Combining the study of cultural history, intensive archival research, and the latest intellectual developments, the postgraduate programme is taught across several academic units by leading international experts in the field.
How You Will Be Taught
Students take two core courses, one per semester, along with two specialised option courses. Cultures of the Book, the first-semester core course, offers an introduction to an extensive range of media forms and technologies, from manuscript to electronic text.
In the second semester, students choose from one of two core courses: 2A: Book History, Media Theory, and Communications explores some of the major theoretical issues with which practitioners of the material culture of the text have engaged in recent years; while 2B: Working with Collections, based in the University Library's Special Collections division addresses problems in conservation, cataloguing, digitisation, and the display and management of collections.
All candidates take two core courses, one in each semester, along with two specialised option courses. Cultures of the Book, the first semester core course, offers an introduction to an extensive range of media forms and technologies, from manuscript to electronic text.
In the second semester, students choose from one of two core courses: 2A: Book History, Media Theory, and Communications explores some of the major theoretical issues with which practitioners of the material culture of the text have engaged in recent years while 2B: Working with Collections, based in the University Library’s Special Collections department addresses problems in conservation, cataloguing, digitisation, and the display and management of collections.
Students also choose two options from a variety of courses, including:
* Palaeography and Codicology
* Medieval Persian Book Painting
* Illuminated Books: Their Makers and Owners
* Prints and Printmaking in 16th Century Italy
* Society and Culture in Britain, 1560-1640
* Material Culture of Gender in the 18th Century
* The Literature Industry in the 19th Century
* Middlebrow Literary Culture, 1918-1939
* Textual Editing and the Politics of the Canon
* The Hypernovel from Boccacio to Manganelli
In addition, candidates receive training in advanced research skills and undertake a directed project, involving the intensive use of a key archival resource. The final element is the 15,000 word Dissertation, to be submitted in late August.