Medieval Literature and Culture (MA) - 2013/2014 entry

This programme offers the opportunity to make a special study of the medieval period, considering the richness and diversity of its literature, art and history. It is possible to study in either an interdisciplinary or a more literary way.

A combination of taught core and option modules with an independent research component enables you to tailor the programme to your personal interests. The programme allows you to engage with advanced work at Master's level and is also an excellent preparation for doctoral research. Students at Birkbeck have access to some of the best resources in the world for medieval research, being close to many renowned research libraries, galleries, museums and manuscript repositories. This programme teaches the skills which are needed to explore those riches in original and scholarly ways.

• Draws upon the strengths of literature, art, history and archaeology to explore the social, cultural and intellectual life of medieval Europe.
• Conveniently located for the British Museum, the British Library and a range of specialist research centres.
• Find out what our students say about our courses.

The core module, English Medieval Writing, focuses on questions about language and literary culture in a manuscript age. It suggests ways to interpret a fascinating diversity of early writings, the images that often accompany them, and their ideas in the context of the cultures in which they were made.

Option modules will reflect the research interests of Birkbeck staff from the Department of English and Humanities, but also from the disciplines of history, archaeology and art history. These will variously cover: Middle English and Anglo-Saxon literature and books; religious, cultural, political and gender history; visual and literary theory; the archaeology of a number of different parts of Europe; and European architecture and art.

This programme encourages students to develop key research skills in medieval research, while promoting the use of modern theoretical frameworks to structure a study of the people, places, artistic productions and social patterns in the medieval past.

Find out more in our departmental handbook.

The British Museum and the British Library are just a few minutes’ walk away, as are other specialist research centres such as the Warburg Institute, the Institute of Historical Research, the Institute of English Studies, and the Institute of Archaeology. The combined library resources of these institutions are phenomenal for medievalists, and several of them also run regular research seminars on topics of interest to our programme. Find out more about our range of world-class research resources.

Annually we hold a one-day seminar, the Birkbeck Medieval Seminar. Everyone is welcome and the event is free.

If you are interested in further research, we offer a PhD/MPhil in English.

Graduates go on to careers as researchers, as archivists, in museums and galleries, in education, and as journalists.