Overview

The MA English - Texts and Contexts: Medieval to Renaissance at University College Cork examines interactions between texts in English from these islands, tracing the beginnings of Anglo-Irish writing, as well as the cultural transmissions and transformations between classical, European, and insular intellectual and literary traditions circa 700 to circa 1700. 

The programme takes a particular interest in interrogating conventional boundaries between periods (such as medieval and Renaissance), genres, and media (drama, prose, poetry, oral traditions, film etc.).

Learning outcomes

The seminars for the taught core programme of the MA Texts and Contexts: Medieval to Renaissance consist of two two-hour sessions per week. 

Each seminar will concentrate on the close reading of primary texts and on contextual issues, considering authors and texts along with key criticism concerning matters such as genre, history, book history, politics, culture, and art. In the past, students have participated in once-off masterclasses from visiting experts (e.g. on Shakespeare’s Globe theatre) and field trips to local sites of Medieval and Renaissance interest and sites of importance to the production and dissemination of Anglophone writing in Ireland (such as Spenser’s Kilcolman Castle, Co. Cork, and Marsh’s Library, Dublin).