Students in this course will analyse literature including poetry, drama, and fiction, alongside multiple forms of visual and popular culture. By doing so, they will engage with historical and contemporary traditions of writing, media, and critical thought.
Texts, both literary and from multiple forms of media, will be critically explored as reflective of people’s ways of knowing, thinking and communicating. In this new degree, students will engage in debates and dialogues around writing and media, as well as critical and cultural theories. They will also develop invaluable skills in writing and expression that will contribute to their communication and critical thinking skills.
Whether you see your future in writing, teaching, or elsewhere, this programme allows you to analyse and interpret different forms of literature and media from various historical periods and cultural contexts. You will engage with poetry, drama, novels, and short stories as well as cinema, TV, and new emerging forms of screen media. You will explore each of these elements while developing your critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills through close reading and debate, as well as critical and creative engagement with various forms of text and contemporary Critical and Cultural Theories. This course meets the requirements of the Teaching Council for teaching English at post-primary level.
In year one, you will study modules on literature beginning with the early novel and 18th Century Writing, and moving to discussions on poetry, American Literature, and theatre. In year two, modules covered include Irish literature, international modernist literature, and 19th & 20th century writing. Year three sees you undertake a project that will showcase writing and research skills. You will also complete modules relating to censorship, politics and the media, contemporary literature, posthumanism, and technology. Alongside this, you can choose to specialise your learning in fields relating to gothic and horror, short story forms and platforms, law and literature, or folklore.
Graduates from similar programmes in IADT have developed careers in sectors like research, international relations and politics, publishing, copywriting, advertising, creative writing, trade unionism, human rights and advocacy, film production, television, teaching, and broadcasting.
Postgraduate opportunities include the Professional Master of Education courses to teach English at second level, as well as other graduate fields including literature, philosophy, law, sociology, sustainability, governance, politics, and equality studies. Graduates of similar courses at IADT have gone on to study at postgraduate level in Cambridge University, Goldsmiths, Trinity College Dublin, and many more.