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Masters of Arts (Literature)

MASTERS OF ARTS IN LITERATURE

M.A in Literature combines exhaustive introduction to twentieth century and contemporary literature with in-depth examination of individual writers and exploration of existing critical thought and practice in specific areas. The graduates are expected to master their area of specialization but also to develop an adequate understanding of how these relate to other disciplines. They should also become aware of the new frontiers of knowledge in their field as well as the practical applicability of their specialization.


Objectives
  1. To expose students to a broad knowledge of modern  literature and critical theory.
  2. To enable students understand how literature both reflect  and impact upon cultural change and difference;
  3. To Enable students comprehend the way texts are written and received within literary, cultural and socio-historical contexts
  4. To impart in students a command of methodologies for  understanding and analysing texts and ideas, and the skills of independent scholarly enquiry, information retrieval and presentation
  5. Enable students gain some insight into a selection of  critical theories that can be of practical help in scholarly  research.
  6. Enable students to appreciate and evaluate the aesthetic  qualities of texts and the cultures from which they are drawn

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have a Bachelors degree in Literature, Theatre or Film or the equivalent:- first class; second class(honours) or Lower Second class with working experience in the relevant field.

Duration
The Masters program shall normally take four semesters of sixteen weeks each. Semester one and two are devoted to coursework and research methodology, semester three to field and library research ,analysis of data and drafting of the thesis, in semester four students complete coursework as they finish the final draft thesis. The dissertation must be submitted to the department at least a month before the end of the program.

Programme Structure
The minimum units of coursework shall be 42 distributed through coursework, research and thesis to be covered in four semesters.

First Semester

Code

Title

Units

SAS 801

General Research Methods

3

LIT 810

Principles and Practice of Criticism (Core)

3

LIT 811

Research Methods in Literature and the Performing Arts

3

LIT 812

Literary Movements and ideas up to the 21st Century

3

LIT 813

Diaspora Studies (Elective)

3

LIT 814

The Epic Tradition in Literature (Elective)

3

LIT 815

Experimental Creative Writing (Elective)

3


Second Semester

Code

Title

Units

LIT 820

Postmodernist Criticism

3

LIT 821

Research Proposal

3

LIT 822

Research Methods in Oral Literature (Core)

3

LIT 823

Tragedy

3

LIT 824

Memory, Writing and Identity (Elective)

3

LIT 825

Modern Drama and Theatre Arts (Elective)

3

LIT 826

Creative Writing

3

LIT 842

The Novel

3


Third Semester

Code  Title  Units
 LIT 830 Research (Core)    9

Fourth Semester

Code

Title

Units

LIT 840

Research and Thesis

8

LIT 841

Genre / Regional Studies in African Literature

3


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