University College Cork

Course Outline

This MA offers students the opportunity to explore the full variety and contexts of Old English, Middle English, and Renaissance literature from the islands of Britain and Ireland, as well the afterlives and legacies of these literary traditions in the modern era.


The MA examines interactions between texts in English from these islands, tracing the beginnings of Anglo-Irish writing, as well as the cultural transmissions and transformations between classical, European, and insular intellectual and literary traditions circa 700 to circa 1700. The programme takes a particular interest in interrogating conventional boundaries between periods (such as medieval and Renaissance), genres, and media (drama, prose, poetry, oral traditions, film etc.). Modern writers and filmmakers have a fascination with the Medieval and Early Modern that goes far beyond rewritings of ancient myths, or star-studded movie versions of Shakespeare's plays, and this programme aims to alert students to some of these recent cultural approaches. The MA programme is also stimulated by exceptional contexts and resources from medieval and early modern sites, such as Spenser's Kilcolman Castle in north Cork, to the early printed book collections of the Boole Library's Special Collections.


Thus, the MA Texts and Contexts: Medieval to Renaissance programme is designed to provide students with the ability to analyse, understand, and communicate:

- the conceptual and critical issues involved in the study of Old, Middle, and Renaissance English;


- the historical and cultural contexts that the study of these periods involves;


- the issues surrounding the reception, transmission, appropriation, and transformation of early writing across time and especially in modern texts and media.


Moreover, this intensive taught MA provides the foundations for study at higher degree level. It introduces the subject-specific skills that are required for the primary study of earlier English (palaeography, codicology, analysis of the physical composition of printed texts, use of databases and bibliographies) and seeks to develop essential transferable skills (writing, research, analysis, referencing, presentation, teamwork, time-management) that are invaluable as students embark on a scholarly project or career.


Taught Element

The subject modules and the Literary Research Skills module comprise the taught element of the MA and run from October to March. The subject modules introduce students to the specific thematic area of their choice. The Literary Research Skills module aims to equip MA students for the development and implementation of their research strategy through the acquisition of a range of research skills.


Research Element

Dissertation: the dissertation will be written between March and the end of September, and will be submitted in October. It will be supervised by a member(s) of staff, after consultation and agreement, and will be 15,000 to 17,000 words. Supervision will take place between March and the end of September.


Why Choose This Course

The MA: Texts and Contexts offers a unique graduate programme covering the full range of the three linguistic and cultural phases of earlier English writing: Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) to c.1100; Middle English (or later Medieval writing) to c.1500; and Early Modern (or Renaissance) writing (c.1500-1700). Through each of its modules, the MA provides an exciting and challenging course of study in a supportive research-led teaching environment. Students engage in independent research, small group discussion, and collaborative projects to develop and acquire knowledge and transferable skills essential to further study and a range of careers. The programme will appeal to students interested in Old, Medieval, and Renaissance literature, and the afterlives of these traditions, and to those who wish to develop their knowledge and skills in critical and creative thinking, communication, organisation, and problem-solving.


MA students benefit from the School's thriving research community and have the opportunity to attend scholarly conferences, research seminar series, masterclasses, reading groups, and public outreach events. Past MA students also have a long history of actively contributing to Cork's literary and cultural life and to UCC's vibrant research community (e.g. through events such as Inkwell, the UCC English Society Medieval and Renaissance symposium, and Bookends, the annual UCC English postgraduate conference).


Study in UCC also affords graduate students the opportunity (subject to approval) to enrol in modules in other languages and literatures of the European Middle Ages and Renaissance such as Latin, Irish, Italian, and the languages of the Iberian peninsula.