School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

MA Comparative Literature (2022 entry)

Select year of entry: 2022 2021

Overview

Overview and entry requirements

The MA Comparative Literarure (Asia/Africa) attracts students who seek an opportunity to move from the familiar Euro-American literary canons into the fresh but less well known worlds of African and Asian literature.

At SOAS, students benefit from the unique expertise in this vast field possessed by the school’s faculty. This expertise is available to students interested in studying these literatures through English - including both original English language literatures of Africa and Asia and literature written in African and Asian languages presented through English translations.

While exploring new horizons and breaking out of the Euro-centric space in which comparative literature has developed so far, the programme covers the major theoretical contributions made by Western scholars. In doing so, it constructs a unique multi-cultural domain for the study of literature and its location in culture and society.

A prior knowledge of an African or Asian language is not a requirement for admission to the MA Comparative Literature.

See School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

Why study Comparative Literature at SOAS

SOAS is ranked 1st in London in the Complete University Guide 2021 for Middle Eastern and African Studies, and 6th in the UK
Ranked 8th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2021 for South Asian Studies
Modern Languages and Linguistics at SOAS has been ranked 10th in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
we've also been ranked 4th for research environment - with 100% of our research ranked as 'internationally excellent' and 85% as 'world-leading' - and 8th for research outputs in the REF 2021
SOAS is specialist in the studies of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia
access SOAS’s comprehensive cross-regional expertise and gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of these regions in an increasingly globalised world.

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Entry requirements

We will consider all applications with a 2:2 (or international equivalent) or higher in social science of humanities subject. In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application such as supporting statement. References are optional, but can help build a stronger application if you fall below the 2:2 requirement or have non-traditional qualifications.

Please see our 'postgraduate entry requirements' page for Overseas and EU qualifications and equivalencies.

Featured events

duration:: One calendar year (full-time). Two or three years (part-time, daytime only) We recommend that part-time students have between two-and-a-half and three days a week free to pursue their course of study.

Fees 2022/23

Home students fees:: £11,980

Overseas students fees:: £23,400

Fees for 2022/23 entrants. This is a Band 1 fee. The fees are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. Further details can be found on the Postgraduate tuition fees page

Convenors

Dr Keya Anjaria Convenor

Q&A

Q&A with Dr Keya Anjaria

Dr Keya Anjaria describes what students can expect who join the MA Comparative Literature programme at SOAS.

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Q&A video with Dr Keya Anjaria, MA Comparative LIterature

Structure

Students take 180 credits, 60 of which are a dissertation and a 120 from taught modules. All students take 30 credits of core modules, 15 credits from List A, 45 credits from List B (which may include up to 30 credits of language acquisition modules at appropriate level), and up to 30 credits from the list of Postgraduate Open Options.

Programme

Dissertation

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Dissertation in Cultural, Literary, and Postcolonial Studies	15PCSC999	60	Full Year

Core Modules

Students take both of the following modules

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Comparative Literature: Methodology and Critique	15PCSH004	15	Term 1
Comparative Literature: A New Era	15PCSH005	15	Term 2

List A

Guided Options - select 15 credits from list A below

Module	Code	Credits	Term
World Literature (PG)	15PCSH002	15	Term 2
Intersecting Worlds: Race and Gender in the Contemporary Postcolonial Novel	15PAFH031	15	Term 1

List B

Guided Options - select modules to the value of 45 credits from List B, this can include 30 credits of appropriate level language aquisition modules. Then select another 30 credits frrom the open options list

Module	Code	Credits	Term
725 African and Asian Diasporas: Culture, Politics, Identities	15PANH085	15	Term 2
African Philosophy (PG)	15PAFH008	15	Term 1
Chinese Cinema (PG)	15PCHH050	15	Term 2
Cinemas of of the Middle East and North Africa 1	15PNMH048	15	Term 1
Cinemas of of the Middle East and North Africa 2	15PNMH049	15	Term 2
Contemporary African Literature (PG)	15PAFH032	15	Term 2
Cultural Studies: New Practices and Widerning Horizons	15PCSH006	15	Term 2
Cultural Studies: Origins, Ideas and New Approaches	15PCSH003	15	Term 1
Directed Readings in a South East Asian Language	15PSEH016	15	Term 1
English Literatures of South East Asia	15PSEH013	15	Term 1
Gender in East Asian Literature (PG)	15PEAH014	15	Term 2
Genders and Sexualities in South East Asian Film	15PSEH011	15	Term 1
Intersecting Worlds: Race and Gender in the Contemporary Postcolonial Novel	15PAFH031	15	Term 1
Japanese Cinema (PG)	15PJKH058	15	Term 2
Language, Identity and Society in Africa (PG)	15PAFH033	15	Term 1
Literature, Politics and National Identity in Modern China (PG)	15PCHH042	15	Term 1
Literatures of Resistance in South Asia (PG)	15PSAH038	15	Term 1
Modern and Contemporary Arts in Africa	15PARH048	15	Term 1
Modern Palestinian Literature (PG)	15PNMC379	15	Term 2
Myths, Legends and Folkways of East Asia (PG)	15PJKH052	15	Term 1
New Taiwan Cinema and Beyond (PG)	15PCHH002	15	Term 1
Politics of Culture in Contemporary South Asia - A	15PSAH034	15	Term 1
Politics of Culture in Contemporary South Asia - B	15PSAH035	15	Term 2
Postcolonial Theory	15PCSH007	15	Term 1
Postcolonial Practices	15PCSH008	15	Term 2
The Afghanistan Wars, 1979 to the Present	15PHIH056	15	Term 2
Trajectories of Modernity in Korean Literature and Film (PG)	15PJKH006	15	Term 1
Translating Cultures 1	15PJKH019	15	Term 2
War, Revolution and Independence in South East Asia Literatures in Translation (Masters)	15PSEH009	15	Term 2
World Literature (PG)	15PCSH002	15	Term 2
Writing from the Margins: Minority and "Outsider" Texts in Modern Japanese Literature (PG)	15PJKH031	15	Term 2

Programme Specification

MA Comparative Literature Programme Specification 2019/20 (pdf; 241kb)

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching & Learning

One-year Masters programmes consist of 180 credits. 120 credits are taught in modules of 30 credits (taught over 20 weeks) or 15 credits (taught over 10 weeks); the dissertation makes up the remaining 60 units. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

Contact hours

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework and revising for examinations. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

More information is on the page for each module.

SOAS Library

SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Fees for 2022/23 entrants, per academic year (Band 1 tuition fee)

Full-time		Part-time 2 Years		Part-time 3 Years
Home Students	Overseas Students	Home Students	Overseas Students	Home Students	Overseas Students
£11,980	£23,400	£5,990	£11,700	£3,955	£7,725

Fees go up each year, therefore, your tuition fee in your second and subsequent years of study will be higher.

Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.

For full details of postgraduate tuition fees see our postgraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

Felix Non- Indian Scholarship

Application Deadline: 2022-01-28 15:00