MA Scottish Literature/Sociology

About this course

Scottish literature and sociology is a combination that brings together the literary culture of one of Europe's most distinctive national traditions with the analytical frameworks of the social sciences, exploring how stories, poems and plays both reflect and shape the social world in which they are produced. Scotland has a literary tradition of exceptional depth and variety, from the medieval makars and the Reformation through the Enlightenment and the works of Burns, Scott and Stevenson to the twentieth-century renaissance and contemporary writers working in English, Scots and Gaelic. Sociology provides the tools to analyse the social structures, class relations, national identities and cultural formations that have shaped that tradition and been shaped by it in turn. At the University of Glasgow, this part-time programme benefits from an exceptional resource: the university hosts the only academic unit in the UK exclusively dedicated to teaching and researching Scottish literature, as well as the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, engaged in producing a major new scholarly edition of Burns's works. You will study Scottish literature from medieval times to the present alongside sociological theory, research methods and the sociology of culture, identity, inequality and social change. A year abroad is part of the programme, giving you the opportunity to study at a partner institution overseas and to develop an international perspective on both disciplines. Part-time study means you can pursue the degree alongside other commitments. The skills the combination develops, including literary analysis, cultural interpretation, sociological reasoning and research competence, are valuable across many professional contexts. Graduates go on to careers in education, journalism, publishing, broadcasting, heritage and cultural organisations, social research, the civil service and community development. Further study in Scottish literature, sociology, cultural studies or related disciplines is also a common route.

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