Welcome to the Comparative Literature (M.Phil.) website - Features
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Distinctive features of the Trinity MPhil
in Comparative Literature
Trinity College Dublin is a natural place to study Comparative Literature. Some reasons for this are outlined on the "Why?" page and the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. Our broad language coverage is one strong factor: Czech, Dutch, French, Irish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Latin, Greek and Hebrew are among the languages taught here as central components in our four-year undergraduate degrees. Our Library collection is among the best in Europe. Our staff and students bring great expertise and talent to their work.
But all of these environmental advantages would be of little value if the course design failed to make the most of them. Having thought through the programme in considerable detail, we felt that we had done a good job, and we were encouraged by the following observations, drawn from an independent external assessment of our new course.
The design of the TCD Master's course is quite distinctive by comparison with other programmes available internationally. It rightly assumes that in studying Comparative Literature, theory and practice are indissolubly linked. Critical theory is contextualised in terms of essential issues or problems. This linkage is achieved by having the two core courses complement each other, relating methods and theories to textual instances. The spread of topics in the Theory & Methodology core course covers many of the issues confronting serious students of comparative literature.
Taken together, the two core courses provide an internally coherent, well-stocked shop window for the discipline, together with a series of methodological springboards for students to employ not only in their dissertations, but also as the basis for potential doctoral work, whether at TCD or elsewhere. The options on offer are varied, in terms of objects studied and approaches suggested, so as to appeal to a range of motivated students.
Individual parts of the course will be enhanced by the fact that they can also be taken by students registered for other cognate Master's programmes at Trinity College Dublin. The resultant mix can be intellectually positive, as shown by recent developments between comparative literature, film studies, visual culture and translation studies. The Comparative Literature degree is very well integrated with other new and established postgraduate programmes.
In short, it looks as if we may have got it more or less right. We will, however, constantly monitor the course as it runs, and seek student feedback and ideas for its continuous improvement. Trinity has a tradition of open discussion with students, whose representatives are encouraged to attend the management committee meetings for postgraduate degrees.