Postgraduate Courses, MA in Literature and Publishing

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THE INTRODUCTORY MEETING FOR STUDENTS ON THE MA IN LITERATURE & PUBLISING (2010-11) WILL TAKE PLACE ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2-4PM, IN IT207, IT BUILDING, NUI GALWAY

The innovative MA in Literature and Publishing offered by the English Department at NUI, Galway enables students to build upon their previous study of literature, but also introduces them to a new set of relationships which are rarely studied in any depth at undergraduate level. These include the interfaces between literature and publishing, between writing and the marketplace, and between the aesthetic and the material aspects of texts. While the course is not a training course for a career in publishing, it gives the student insight into the industrial and commercial dimensions to the production of literature, and many of our graduates have in fact gone on to careers in publishing and related activities.

Students of the MA choose from a range of option courses, and also write a minor dissertation. The course is a full-time degree which commences in September and continues until the following August.

All students will take Courses 1, 2 and 3 and five other courses. Applicants should note that there may be slight variations to the list from year to year. Equivalent courses may be substituted for or added to the list.  Contact the programme secretary for an up-to-date timetable and list of courses.

Admission

Applicants must meet the NUI Galway entry requirements prescribed for admission to MA (Mode B) programmes: that is, at least Second Class Honours in the BA degree (US GPA 3.0 minimum). An interview may form part of the selection process. The number of places on the programme is restricted to 15-20.

Assessment

Students will be assessed at the end of each semester, either by examination or continuous assessment. A minor dissertation must be submitted at a specified date in mid-August.

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Courses

Publishers on Publishing
Various speakers
This course will consist of presentations by those working within the publishing industry on the various aspects of their work. Publishers will discuss at first-hand the state of the industry in respect of current processes of management, decision-making, copy-editing, production, indexing, marketing and distribution. Publishers will analyse the different kinds of companies that constitute the industry in Ireland and abroad.

Electronic Publishing
Mr Robert Smyth
This course will address such issues as: what is electronic publishing? how to run an EP project; the future of electronic publishing. Students will be introduced to the history of electronic publishing, to traditional publications in the new media and to new publications enabled by the electronic media. Students will work within the Information Technology area of the College and also learn about electronic publishing from the point of view of its management within the international marketplace.

Students on the MA in Literature and Publishing also publish a Review of Postgraduate Studies Ropes.

Book History, EN570
Dr Elizabeth Tilley
This course examines the role of the book as a material object within western culture.  From the print revolution in the fifteenth century to the advent of the world wide web and its fundamental alteration of society's attitude toward print, the book is at the forefront of social change and forms a convenient matrix through which the interrelations between the production and consumption of texts can be observed.

Textual Studies, EN563
Dr Sean Ryder (convenor)
The purpose of this course is to explore the theoretical and practical problems associated with textuality, and to show how the material, historical and physical aspects of texts are related to the ways in which they are interpreted. Seminars will address such themes as "authorship" and "textuality", the material histories of specific literary works and the evaluation of different types of editorial practice.

Contemporary Publishing, EN579 
Mr Toner Quinn
This course will introduce students to key facets of book, magazine and digital publishing, from business models and the structure of the industry to commissioning, costing, production, distribution and sales. The emphasis will be on practical knowledge and preparing the students for working in the industry. Assessment is through two practical assignments. The course will include a visit to publishing companies and a printer.

Copy-editing and Proof-reading, EN581
Mr Toner Quinn
This course will consist of training in professional copy-editing and proofreading, including marking up typescripts, proofreading, grammar and punctuation, combining text and images, working with authors, specialist texts, copyright and indices. Assessment is through two in-class assessments.

Medieval Aesthetics and Poetic Art, EN522
Dr Dermot Burns
This course examines how medieval theorists extended previous concepts of aesthetics in fresh ways, making innovative contributions to theories of beauty and the development of art. A variety of literature, architecture and painting from the Middle Ages will be considered in light of these philosophical developments.

Literature of North America, EN527
Dr Julia Carlson
This course examines current trends in contemporary North American writing of the past ten years within a cultural and theoretical context.

Discovering the Archives, EN511
Dr John Kenny/Prof Adrian Frazier
This course involves learning what archives of primary documents are available in the James Hardiman Special Collections at NUI Galway and how to interpret them by means of secondary sources and reference materials.  Each student will compose an original essay based on personal research. (Class size limited to 12)

Theatre and Globalization, EN582
Patrick Lonergan
Since the early 1990s, theatre has been transformed by economic and cultural globalization. Globalization has allowed theatre practitioners and writers to have their works seen by audiences throughout the world, and has transformed the ways in which audiences engage with and respond to new plays. It has allowed for the development of global theatre festivals (in Edinburgh, Avignon, and elsewhere), and has led to new kinds of theatre being produced in such places as Broadway, Las Vegas, and the West End in London. A small number of directors have become famous as a result of their ability to respond to globalization – figures such as Robert Lepage, Ariane Mnouchkine, Romeo Castellucci, and Peter Brook. Finally, globalization has become an important theme in new drama, with many writers seeking to investigate its consequences for individuals and communities.
This course aims to allow students to understand and respond to these developments. Course readings will include key texts on theatre and globalization, historical material, relevant case studies, and several plays by major authors, including Harold Pinter, Sarah Kane, David Greig, Martin McDonagh, and others. Students will need to be prepared to read plays closely and to have some interest in theatre practice, but no prior knowledge of the existing scholarship on globalization is required.

Marketing Communications (Promotion Management), EN559
Dr Ann Torres
The objective of this course is to examine critically methods and opportunities that companies should use to promote themselves and their product. Students will examine the ways in which promotion facilitates the creation of new markets and the sale of existing products or services. Coursework will be done in groups consisting of three to four and each group will develop a project in the form of a promotional plan for a given firm.

Theatre as a Creative Industry, EN591 (not offered 2010-11)
Dr Patrick Lonergan
A study of how literature and other creative arts may be understood in the context of economic and commercial factors, such as risk analysis, marketing, celebrity, branding, staff wages, pricing, awards, and return on investments. The primary focus is on theatre, drawing upon case studies both from Ireland and elsewhere

Travel Literature, EN573
Dr Daniel Carey
Narratives of travel constituted one of the most popular publishing genres of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  This course examines the literary conventions, genres, and modes of representing otherness that characterised this disparate body of texts.  We will make particular used of Early English Books Online which makes available virtually everything printed from 1475-1700.

Twentieth-century Irish Womens' Writing, EN571
Dr Sinead Mooney
This course will involve reading fiction and poetry by Irish women from various periods of the 20th century, and will highlight issues such as gender and its relation to post-colonial nationalism; feminism; sexuality, in the context of a changing Ireland.

Publishing Law, EN593
Dr Maureen O'Sullivan
This course introduces students to a number of legal issues pertaining to the publishing industry.  It deals with copyright, both from philosophical and practical perspectives. Students will come to understand the rationale for the way the law has developed in this area, especially since the arrival of the digital age, by looking at the works of Locke, Hegel and Kant and their application to new technologies. The roles played by various stakeholders in the publishing and other industries will be examined.  New trends in publishing, such as making works available for free, where the author or creator of the work has no obvious remuneration, blogging, and the creation of collaborative works online, along with the effects of these trends on the traditional industry will be evaluated.

Theatre and Modernity in the Irish Literary Revival, EN540
Dr Lionel Pilkington
An examination of the relationship between theatre, politics, and religion in early twentieth-century Ireland through detailed study of plays by Synge, Lady Gregory, Yeats, and others. Special attention is also given to prose writings, letters and manuscript drafts, as well as to the political and social history of the period.

Early Modern Print and Manuscript Cultures, EN507 (not on offer 2011-12)
Dr Marie-Louise Coolahan
This course examines the relationships between print and manuscript cultures in the seventeenth century though poetry and prose, exploring the social and political contexts informing decisions about the appropriate medium of textual dissemination. It will also examine difficulties and issues surrounding the editing of seventeenth-century writers for the twenty-first century.  Authors will include John Milton, Katherine Philips, George Herbert and Lucy Hutchinson, alongside lesser-known writers.

Irish Playwrights Since the Sixties, EN512
Dr Riana O'Dywer
An exploration of the rich development of contemporary Irish theatre, which includes study of the texts of seminal plays and a consideration of the impact of their premier performances through artefacts such as theatre programmes and through contemporary reviews and interviews with playwrights and directors. The course includes discussion of theatre in the North of Ireland, women playwrights and politics on the Irish stage. (Class size limited to 15)

Studies in Oral History, EN561
Dr Cartriona Clear
This examines the methodology and uses of oral history and provides guidance on devising and carrying out an oral history project.

Literature and Colonialism, EN547
Students will develop an in-depth  knowledge and understanding of literature relating to the British Empire and its former colonies. The course will analyse literature in relation to colonial power structures and consider the relationship between political power and literary representation. Students will read a wide range of postcolonial literary theory and learn both to apply these theories and to consider them critically. By the end of the course, students will be encouraged to consider how ideas concerning literary representation relate to present-day debates about representation and power in a modern globalised world.

What our students and graduates say:

"Exciting. Dynamic. An Adventure. These are my first impressions of the M.A. in Literature & Publishing. The reason I applied to the programme was to further my knowledge of the book marketplace and gain access to the world of the publisher. Within one month, the programme has already exceeded all my expectations. A warm and friendly atmosphere is combined with excellent teaching that creates a sense of already being a team member in a Publishing House. How this multi-disciplinary programme differs from other Masters programmes is through its blend of applying the practical with the creative. Few Masters programmes can boast of proving their students with the opportunity of producing an end-product as part of their course structure. The annual literary journal ROPES, which all students become part of, is an additional bonus to an already rewarding and enriching course. The M.A. in Literature & Publishing is a five star programme that builds confidence and instils positivity in the student to be geared for a professional and highly skilled marketplace". Eoghan Timoney, MA in Literature & Publishing, 2009-10

"Everything from the individual classes to the Speaker Series but especially working on ROPES gave me a fantastic insight into the world of publishing and helped me hit the ground running. If it were not for the MALP, I doubt I would have found a job so fast from college, or have taken to it so quickly. As a publishing assistant in the publicity and marketing department of Liberties Press, I frequently use the skills I learned from the course, and it gave me a far stronger base to build upon than if I had just entered from street level". Caroline Lambe, MA in Literature & Publishing, 2008-09

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PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE 2011-12

NB: Times & Venues subject to change

Students may also take Electronic Publishing, Tuesdays, 6-8pm, Software Engineering Suite

Sem I

Sem II

Further Information

For further information, please contact the Academic Administrator:

Department of English
National University of Ireland, Galway
tel. 353 (0)91 493339
fax 353 (0)91 524102

or email the Programme Director at julia.kilroynuigalway.ie

Applications should be made online via The Postgraduate Applications Centre (PAC)

See  PAC Website or

NUI Galway Postgraduate Admissions Office for further details.

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