English Literature and Culture

• Groningen is the only university in the Netherlands to offer an MA programme with creative writing modules.
• We offer a programme in line—in terms of content and quality—with leading British and North American universities.
• Our programme is tailored to your needs, with small classrooms that facilitate plenty of interaction with your lecturers and fellow classmates.
• With a range of electives you can design your programme to meet your ambitions and interests.
• Over the past decade, our BA and MA courses have been rated as the best in The Netherlands in the Keuzegids university rankings.
• Our academic staff have a reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Their research contributes to pressing debates in society and their findings are brought into the classroom to shape education.
• Our student body is composed of domestic and international students. This year's cohort, for instance, had 40% international students from countries such as Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Romania, the USA, India, China and others.
• We foster independent thinking and always strive to provide the care and support needed for each student to fulfil their potential.
• Our learning community celebrates diversity in ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age and neurotypes.

The course titles of the literature tutorials, above, are recent examples. Courses vary each year. For detailed information about compulsory and optional courses, please visit Ocasys.

For information about the variety of areas in which students can write their dissertations, click the Research tab below.

As part of the programme, students can opt to complete a 10-credit work placement (an internship). At the Faculty of Arts, students are responsible for finding a placement for themselves and having it approved by the placement coordinator for their programme.

Students can also follow Masterlanguage courses. These courses are jointly organised by the English departments of the universities of the Netherlands and take place all over the country. More information about them can be found on the Masterlanguage website .

After graduating from the MA English Literature and Culture programme, you will be equipped with academic and professional skills that will prepare you for further study at PhD level and for the job market. You will have developed the ability to:

• Think independently.
• Present in a professional setting.
• Work as a part of a team.
• Undertake individual research projects.
• Communicate professionally for a range of different audiences, from a generalist popular audience to academic specialists.

Your degree in English Literature and Culture is the perfect preparation for your future career. As an MA English graduate, you will not only have obtained a broad and detailed understanding of the language, its history and cultural contexts, but will have acquired specialist skills that are highly sought after by numerous institutions and companies. Our graduates think critically, are self-motivated, disciplined, reflective and have an excellent style of communication.

• Battle Kennings in Old English Poetry.
• The Sin of Crime in the Early Irish and Anglo-Saxon Penitentials and Secular Laws.
• The Use of Archery-related Language in Anglo-Saxon Literature.
• Geoffrey Chaucer and His Creation of a Mad Narrator.
• The Representation of Turks in Late-Medieval and Early Modern Europe.
• Homosexuality in Late Medieval English Literature: Langland, Chaucer, Gower and the Gawain Poet.
• Saints, Satan and Stylistics: Stylistic Features in Medieval Miracle Plays.
• Melancholy in Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale and The Book of the Duchess .

• The Mother's Portrayal in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century English Popular Literature.
• Representations of Queen Elizabeth I in Seventeenth-Century Histories.
• Self-Reflection in Jane Austen’s Novels.
• The Symbolic-allegorical and the Supernatural Interpretations of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner .
• Changing Attitudes towards Imperialism and Its Ideology During the Age of New Imperialism.

• Psychological Elements in Contemporary and Modern First World War Literature.
• Fantasy Fiction Medievalism: Carnivalesque Laughter between the (Post)Modern and Premodern.
• The Media of Cyberpunk: An Analysis of Postmodern Science Fiction.
• Religion and Secularisation in Modernist Novels.
• Polarization and Demonization in British Cold War Fiction.
• Travel as a Metaphor for Story and History in Tolkien’s Fiction.
• Fairy Tales for Teenagers: The Lost Potential of Young Adult Dystopian Fiction.
• Language as a Means of Control in Dystopian Fiction.
• Equality and Identity in the Poems of Langston Hughes.
• Representations of Madness in Contemporary Women’s Memoirs.