Home  >  Postgraduate  >  Masters (MA) programmes  > 

MA/MRes in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies

[Please note that external links open in a new window]

The MA and MRes in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies give you the opportunity to explore the vibrant culture that existed in Europe between 1450 and 1700. The MA programme is designed to allow you to explore a wide range of materials, from literature to visual arts and political theory before writing your dissertation; the MRes version is for students who already have a strong sense of what area they want to focus on, both for their MRes dissertation and for future doctoral research. Both programmes offer a high level of training in manuscript, palaeographic and visual skills. Our approach to this material is genuinely interdisciplinary: you will look at the history, religion, literature, and visual culture of the period, and be taught by experts working in the Departments of English, History, and Modern Languages. The specially designed modules examine some of the most influential figures of the Renaissance including Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Montaigne, Cervantes, and Michelangelo, and address the central issues that are informing current discussions about the early modern. Among the topics that we investigate are: the emergence of new national identities, the nature of performance, the role played by religion, changes in ideas about the self and the body, and the impact of new technologies in printing and publishing. In all cases, the aim of the programme is to generate a historical understanding of the key movements, debates, and ideas which shaped the period.

The teaching staff at Queen Mary includes some of the world’s leading Renaissance scholars. Among those who contribute to the MA programme are: Julia Boffey, Warren Boutcher, Andrea Brady, Jerry Brotton, David Colclough, Bridget Escolme (Drama), Lisa Jardine, Colin Jones (History), Michael Moriarty (Languages, Linguistics and Film), Miri Rubin (History), Catherine Silverstone (Drama), and Evelyn Welch.

There is a lively early modern research culture at the College to which graduate students are encouraged to contribute. Of particular note are the Centre for the Renaissance and Early Modern Studies’ Renaissance Witnessed seminars, which reflect on how new methods and approaches have helped to shape our understanding of the period. Among those who have spoken at recent events are: Quentin Skinner (Cambridge and Queen Mary), James Shapiro (Columbia), Jonathan Bate (Warwick), and Ludmilla Jordanova (Kings College London). For more details about the Centre please visit their website.

Students take this programme for different reasons. Many graduates of the MA in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies have gone on to win funding for doctoral study, and some are now established academics in their own right.

Course of study

MRes students take the double-module Textual Scholarship; MA students take the core modules The Renaissance in Context (semester one); and Renaissance and Early Modern Studies: Research Preparation (semester two). You will also take two additional modules (one per semester). Details of modules on offer during the current academic year can be found in the online MA Module Directory.

The programme is assessed by means of written work. You will be required to submit a 4,000-word essay for each course you take (except for Textual Scholarship) and over the summer you will write a dissertation of 12,000-15,000 words.

At the beginning of the academic year you will be assigned a personal advisor who will help you with your choice of courses and dissertation proposal, as well as any issues which may arise relating to the programme. At the end of the spring semester you will be assigned a supervisor who will provide one-to-one guidance in planning and structuring your dissertation, and will read and comment upon drafts in a series of meetings arranged in May and June. The deadline for submission of the dissertation is normally at the end of August.

Top