Modern and Contemporary Fiction

MA

The MA Modern and Contemporary Fiction is an innovative programme that explores a rich variety of twentieth- and twenty-first-century fiction.

Campus Chester
Course MA
Length 1 Year Full-time
Start date September 2012

Why Study Modern and Contemporary Fiction at Chester?

The programme, which will run from September 2012 and is available to both full-time and part-time students, is taught by a dynamic and experienced teaching team with research strengths in modern and contemporary fiction. Members of the Department have particular expertise in British, American, Irish, and South African fiction; science fiction; historical fiction; crime/detective fiction; and the short story. They have published books, chapters, and articles on a wide range of authors and topics, including Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, J. R. R. Tolkien, John Fowles, Nadine Gordimer, J. G. Ballard, Don DeLillo, Bret Easton Ellis, David Mitchell, Hunter S. Thompson, and Irvine Welsh; modern textual editing, the short-short story, drugs and addiction, 9/11 and terrorism; and representations of the Holocaust, famine, miscegenation, and the female body.

The Seaborne Library (Chester campus) is well-stocked with key texts on modern and contemporary fiction, and houses the ‘Flash Fiction Special Collection’, the world’s largest archive of short-short story anthologies, collections, and journals.

Next: Modules

Features

The MA comprises six modules:

  • Shorter Fiction
  • Novel Histories: Past, Present, Future
  • Popular Fictions
  • Special Author(s)/Topic(s)
  • Research Methods
  • Dissertation

Programme Structure

  • Shorter Fiction – this module typically focuses on flash fiction (or ‘the short-short story’), the short story, and the novella. As well as considering works by major short-story writers and the development of the genre of the short story, the module explores its relation to the shorter and longer forms of flash fiction and the novella.
  • Novel Histories: Past, Present, Future – focuses on fiction in which the representation of the past, present, and/or future is central. It typically includes historical fiction, contemporary ‘political’ fiction, and ‘future histories’ (including utopian/dystopian fiction).
  • Popular Fictions – focuses on some of the best examples of various ‘genre fictions’, typically including crime/detective fiction, science fiction, neo-Victorian fiction, and the campus novel.
  • Special Author(s)/Topic(s) – focuses in depth on a specific author or topic, or on an illuminating combination of author(s) and/or topic(s).
  • Research Methods – designed to prepare students for the Dissertation, this module provides training in research methodologies, typically including the use of bibliographies, periodicals, and archives. There will also be workshops in which students present and discuss the initial research findings they will subsequently develop in the Dissertation.
  • Dissertation – allows students to pursue their own particular interest in modern and contemporary fiction. Students will devise their Dissertation proposal during the Research Methods module, and then work under the guidance of a supervisor, who will provide advice and support in one-to-one tutorials.
Next: Assessment

Each module is assessed by coursework, which may include essays, dissertations, research portfolios, and seminar papers. There are no formal examinations.

Next: Careers

Students of the MA will already be successful degree-level graduates of English or related disciplines and may well be taking time out of employment to develop their careers. It is expected that a number of students will go on to register for MPhils and PhDs with an eye to a career in HE. Studying for the MA also develops the transferable skills so much sought after by employers in a wide range of other fields.

Next: Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class honours degree, or the equivalent, in an appropriate discipline. 

Credit exemption may be given for appropriate certificated or experiential learning undertaken or completed within the previous five years (in line with the University of Chester’s policy on APCL/APEL). 

Admission to the programme is subject to written application, an acceptable entry qualification profile, evidence of written work, and in some instances an interview.

Beginning: Overview

Who to contact