2008-06-27 00:05:06 - A new postgraduate degree offered by the English Department of Muenster University starting October 2008

MA National and Transnational Studies:
Literature -- Culture -- Language

Master of Arts in National and Transnational Studies:
Literature - Culture - Language
Application deadlines will be on 15th July 2008.

The two-year M.A. programme 'National and Transnational Studies: Literature - Culture - Language" combines traditional types of classes, such as lectures and seminars, with more individualised forms of learning and a strong research component which enables students to start developing their

own specialisations and personal academic profiles at an early stage. The programme accepts a maximum of 30 highly qualified students per year, thus ensuring a good teacher-student ratio and enabling participants to work at a high level. The thematic specialisation of this degree programme reacts to increasing social and academic interest in nationhood, nationalism, transnationalism, and their cultural ramifications.

Central course contents include interactions between culture and society in various epochs and countries, comparative perspectives on different nations and regions, changing constructions of national identity, integration, canon formation, national aesthetics, tradition, cultural memory, cultural contacts and conflicts, inter- and transnational processes, (post)colonialism, globalisation, migration and diaspora, minority languages and cultures, as well as the role of English as a world language.

While the programme is mainly based in the English Department, it also offers a strong interdisciplinary perspective, not only in the Department's own courses (e.g. by linking cultural with socio-historical factors, and through comparisons between such different cultural zones as the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, India, Africa, or the Caribbean), but also through a special interdisciplinary module in which students choose from a range of thematically relevant courses from other disciplines.
In line with the international orientation of the programme, all courses at the Department are taught through English. The programme is rounded off by the opportunity to spend a semester abroad, and a compulsory 'Work Experience' module where students become acquainted with relevant national or international career options.

The thematic specialisations of the programme also reflect the research interests of teaching staff, which not only ensures high quality of teaching and mentoring, but also gives students an early insight into current research developments, even before the (potential) PhD phase. Possible specialisations and teaching/research connections span five continents, several centuries and a wide range of different genres - from Shakespeare to Bollywood, and from Adam Smith to Zadie Smith.

The programme starts every winter semester. The application deadline for the winter semester 2008/09 is on 15th July 2008. More information is available at www.zsb.uni-muenster.de/studium_wwu (the University's central study advice centre; only German) and www.wwu.de/MA_transnational www.wwu.de/ptts