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Friday 5 August 2011

MA Literary London

I have just realised that I have been writing blogs just over a year and I rarely write about the programme I am studying and what the course entails. Rather my blogs contain random events or how I always dread starting coursework. Well readers, since I am almost at the end of my programme, here is your personalised blog of my experience on the programme.



AUGUST 2009
It all started in 2009, when I decided I wanted to expand my education and explored courses that the University of Greenwich offered. I found the programme MA Literary London and contacted the programme director, Jenny Bavidge, who just happened to be my personal tutor in my first year of my BA English course. After speaking to her, I realised I wanted to study on the course and applied around early 2010 and was given an offer.


FAST FORWARD SEPTEMBER 2011.
I enrolled on the MA Literary London and met my fellow Literary Londoners. It was a different experience from the BA programme which I started at the mere age of 18. I was now 24 and full of worldly wisdom! We had an induction session were we introduced ourselves and our views of London. There was a wide range of student who all had their own opinion of what London was for them. The first session was an induction and we got to find out what is it about London that makes it London through listening to opinions put forward. Me, who never really ventured outside the city much, found it fascination when comparisons were drawn to other cities. Even when I was a child, I never really needed to venture outside of East London, so when I did start the course it really opened my eyes and I fully appreciated the city in all its glory.

In the first term, we studied four modules:

Foundations for Postgraduate Study (15 Credits)
This module prepared us for the Masters programme in general. It taught students how to research articles using specialised academic search engines and how we could structure our essays to put forward a strong argument within the essay. There were two assessments, the first assessment was to demonstrate how well we were able to find related articles and use search engines. The second assessment was a critical evaluation and we had to evaluate an essay and how academically strong it was.

Theory & Research Methods (15 Credits)
This course was studied throughout both terms. In the first term we looked at theory behind the city and what research we could include. We were also introduced to the Literary London website, which is a website that includes articles on the city, dating from 2003. It would be a recommended read for anyone interested in broadening their horizons of the city and is available on the following link: www.literarylondon.org. You will be happy to know there is no assessment for this module in the first term.

The Commerce of Vice (30 Credits)
The topic has two assessments, one coursework and one presentation. The module was divided into two parts. The first part explored London art and the industry. We explored how London was presented in art and the effect of the industry on the city. The second part explored plays that centred around London.

Imagining the Metropolis (30 Credits)
This topic explored the city through texts and films (woohoo!) dating back from Dickens era to the present time. We may have explored earlier texts but my mind is hazy and it seems like a lifetime ago. The texts we studied mainly looked at how the city was represented and the formation of the city. The railway line comes to mind as we had to read Dombey and Son. With this module there is one essay per term.

FAST FORWARD TO JANUARY 2011
Aside from the presentation for The Commerce of Vice module and the first assessment from Foundations for Postgraduate Study, the deadlines for the essay were at the end of January so we had the winter holidays to work on them. The set date may vary year to year as sometimes additional lectures may be needed.


In the second semester we studied the following three modules (some overlapped from the first term).

Imagining the Metropolis (30 Credits)
In the second term we studied a different set of text. These were recently published texts and contained a range of themes within them. Topics included eschatological events, post war, modernism and the presence of the “other” in the city. The “other” could be ghosts, monsters or anything else your imagination can think of.







Theory & Research Methods (15 Credits)

The second half of this course consisted of exploring writing approaches and looking at topics for dissertations. We had lectures and individual tutorials. This was useful as it helped mould ideas up into a suitable topic for the dissertation.

The portfolio for this assessment was not intense but there was a lot of work involved. The portfolio needed to contain an annotated bibliography, a critical evaluation of an essay and the abstract for the dissertation with a preliminary bibliography.


Landscape/Dreamspace (30 Credits)
The topic has two assessments, one coursework and one presentation or those who hated presentations had the option of writing two essays. The module was divided into two parts. The first part explored London and the uncanny. This module was interested as it gave me ideas for my final project. The second part explored postcolonial poems and novels.

The deadlines for the second term assessments were in May and that gave me plenty of time to start the reading for the dissertation. Unfortunately I still have not started writing anything.

LECTURE HOURS
It may seem that there are a lot of modules but once put in a timetable it seems more manageable.




FINAL PROJECT
The final project is a dissertation on your chosen topic and it is 12,000 to 15,000 words. I am quite excited as my topic explores the representation of the underground and how many perceived the underground. As exciting as the topic is as it is summer the lack of motivation to sit in front of the computer is greater but I will start soon. The deadline for the final project is on 30th September so I still have time.


ME, MYSELF AND I
I came on the course naive and it really did broaden my horizon on the city and changed my attitude towards learning. Unlike the undergraduate course, it is intense and there is a lot reading that needs to be done and a lot of work and effort that would need to be put in. The reading list is usually emailed to students before summer by the programme director.


However do not let the intensity of the course put you off, as it is a great course with excellent tutors. Also some lectures contain films and poems so you get a week or two to relax and catch up! I hoped you enjoyed reading about the programme and if it does make you want to enrol on the course, then the blog has not gone to waste.