This MA programme builds on our thriving undergraduate programme in Comparative Literature. This field, sometimes also understood as comparative cultural studies, has since its beginnings, recognised the realities of cultural movement and of exchange and dialogue. At its centre is the notion of 'world literature' along with attention to cultural, philosophical and theoretical questions. We also examine cosmopolitanism, transnationalism, exile, and other phenomena of our increasingly interconnected world. Comparative Literature belongs to those areas of cultural study which prepare us to deal with a globalised or globalising world. It aims to recognise and articulate the specific identities of national literatures and cultural traditions on the one hand, while also exploring the boundaries between cultures and the meaning of cultural differences on the other. The transnational reception of literature and of other cultural production has been a central concern since the field’s inception. Processes of adaptation (for example, from novel to film) as well as the relations between word/image and word/music are also focal points. The field is informed by philosophy, by literary and cultural theory as well as, increasingly, by translation studies and postcolonial studies. Students choosing this MA will come from varied backgrounds such as Foreign Languages, English, Philosophy, Classics, History and Cultural Geography. Knowledge of one or more foreign languages would be desirable but is not presently required. This programme will: Introduce you to the history and nature of Comparative Literature as a discipline; Examine interdisciplinary, cross-national approaches to literature and critical theory; Give you greater understanding of cultural contexts and the books which excite our imagination across epochs and cultures.