Scottish Ethnology and English Literature, MA (Hons)

Course summary

This innovative joint honours programme combines two related yet distinct approaches to the study of human cultural expression, past and present. Based in the first UNESCO World City of Literature, and drawing on world-leading resources such as the School of Scottish Studies Archives, it is the only full undergraduate programme of its kind in the UK. Scottish EthnologyEthnology is the study of the culture and traditions of developed societies. It is sometimes described as being at the intersection where history and anthropology meet. Focusing on Scotland, but also looking at comparative material from elsewhere, you will study the varying ways in which a modern European nation expresses itself culturally. The programme explores questions like:

• how do customs, beliefs, social organisation, language, music and song help to create and shape identity in the modern world?

• how do we use and make sense of the past from within our present?

• how can this understanding help us to shape our future?

Follow in the footsteps of fieldworkersA highlight of our programme is the chance to work with the rich range of materials in the School of Scottish Studies Archives and Scottish Studies Library.You will explore the work of former staff and students who, since 1951, have been capturing elements of life in Scotland's farming and fishing communities, towns and cities. Today, the Archives include:

• 33,000 recordings of songs, music, stories, rhyme and verse in Scots, Gaelic and English, as well as in dialects now extinct

• thousands of photographs and rarely-seen historic documents which capture exceptional and everyday aspects of Scottish culture and heritage

These materials are kept alive through our teaching, undergraduate and postgraduate research, and through the work of our Traditional Artist and Gaelic Writer in Residence. English LiteratureEdinburgh is a remarkable place to study, write, publish, discuss and perform prose, poetry and drama. From the University's Special Collections to the National Library of Scotland, the city's resources for studying literature are exceptional. We are the oldest department of English and Scottish Literature in the UK, one of the longest-established in the world. Study with us, and you will gain the essential skills needed for the critical close reading of poetry, drama and prose. In Years 1 and 2, in addition to building your close reading skills, you will explore the cultural contexts of writing in English from the late Middle Ages to the present. At honours level, Years 3 and 4, you will select courses on the basis of your own interests in specific topics, periods or genres of literary study. Develop skills for a range of careersScottish Ethnology gives you a nuanced understanding of culture and society, and how these shape our world. Studying literature prepares you to contribute to a society in which an understanding of texts of all kinds is crucially important. Over the course of your four years with us, you will gain the practical and intellectual tools to handle and interpret traditional resources, modern media and digital data. As our pre-honours years are very flexible, you will also gain intercultural competencies in other areas of the arts, humanities and social sciences. Combining literature with ethnology shows an openness to ideas and perspectives other than your own, an essential attribute in many careers and a global marketplace.

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