MA in Comparative Literary Studies: Pathway in Literature of the Caribbean & its Diasporas

This pathway of the MA in Comparative Literary Studies aims to introduce you to a wide range of texts and issues in the literature of the Caribbean and the Caribbean diaspora to highlight significant movements relative to the social, political and historical contexts impacting upon these new literatures. In particular, the core course at the centre of this pathway ("Literature of the Caribbean & its Diasporas"), will trace the developments within the main forms of literary and artistic expression in the literature of the Caribbean to study how literary texts, forms and genres veered between consolidation and experimentation from beginnings marked by the slave narrative. The preoccupation with history and memory and the close affinity of the literary with the aural/ oral will also be examined, alongside the influence and textual embodiment of intellectual and cultural developments in the region's literature and that of its diaspora, including the impacts of Colonialism, post-Colonialism, Negritude, and Globalisation.

These developments are studied through the analysis of representative texts either in English or in English translation.

Thanks to the flexible structure of the MA, you will have the opportunity to pursue your wider interests by studying three options from the large provision of the department, choosing at least one of these in an area that is relevant to Caribbean, diasporic, or post-colonial literature. Both the core course and the options are taught by leading specialists of the subject.

You will be able to further develop your interest in the literature of the Caribbean and its diasporas through a 15,000-word dissertation to be submitted at the end of your programme of study.

In studying for this pathway, you will be able to rely on the expertise and materials available at Goldsmiths’ Caribbean Centre.