Contemporary Literature and Culture

The aim of this module is to introduce key contemporary theories and literature to explore phenomena that structure our present world, such as technology, time, consumption, work, identities, and globalisation. Attention will be given to case studies of contemporary crises, including 9/11, the financial crash (2007-8), twenty-first-century increases in migration to the West, Black Lives Matter, the Covid-19 global pandemic, and other examples.

The module aims to introduce students to a range of different research methods; develop their research skills to Master's level; and enhance their library skills. It also aims to introduce them to different ways of engaging in research cultures appropriate to the focus of their studies; enable them to develop a research profile; understand ethics approval; and gain skills in the presentation of their research. The module prepares students for their dissertation or writing industries project at the end of the MA.

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the modes of writing used to interpret for contemporary audiences matters related to heritage and culture. This will include historical novels, memoirs, non-fiction and public-facing information and reviews. We will consider what we can learn about contemporary society from the way these topics are being written about in contemporary (post 2000) texts.

The aim of this module is to introduce three formative intersecting elements of contemporary literature and culture: the market for books, the world of literary prizes, and the evolving 'canon' of contemporary literary works being subjected to sustained study within the academy. Attention will be given to: (1) the particular features of book marketing and the market for contemporary literature in Britain; (2) the operation and significance of literary prizes (with a particular as-it-happens focus on the Booker Prize for Fiction); and (3) the correlation/disrelation between what is popular in the marketplace, what has been deemed prize-worthy, and the works which have become part of the literary canon by attracting the interests of multiple and intergenerational academic readerships and bearing (or appearing to bear) what Ezra Pound once called the 'stamp of permanence'.

On this collaborative, project-based module, students will collectively plan, curate, promote, and hold a modest literary festival at the end of semester two, open to the public and the Loughborough University community. This will involve developing and utilising practical skills in terms of event planning and organisation, logistics and scheduling, and marketing and promotion. Intellectual and literary discussions will inform decisions over invitee authors, the design, tone, and theme of the festival, considerations of representation and equality, and the drafting of interview questions and introductory speeches. The festival is delivered in partnership with Loughborough University Arts and will also be an opportunity to showcase creative writing by students on the Creative Writing and the Writing Industries MA.

The aim of this module is to explore forms of literary, cinematic and other cultural production that have emerged in the United States during the particularly fraught era of the twenty-first century.  Students will be encouraged to consider the craft and techniques behind these text, in relation to their own creative as well as critical practice.

This module will give you the opportunity to develop a significant piece of your writing, alongside a sustained section of research-driven work that relates to the creative project. You will use research methods learned in Resources for Advanced Research (semester one) to conduct research into an aspect of your creative work, and deploy your findings in the subsequent writing. You will have the opportunity to work one-to-one with a specialist in your field, developing the writing project being undertaken in the Writer and the Writing Industries module (semester two), and moving it closer to completion and publication.

This module will give you the opportunity to develop a significant piece of your writing, alongside a sustained section of research-driven work that relates to the creative project. You will use research methods learned in Resources for Advanced Research (semester one) to conduct research into an aspect of your creative work, and deploy your findings in the subsequent writing. You will have the opportunity to work one-to-one with a specialist in your field, developing the writing project being undertaken in the Writer and the Writing Industries module (semester two), and moving it closer to completion and publication.