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The LCCT offers a specialized training programme in English literature and culture aimed both at academics and researchers and at professionals in the fields of translation, education, law and management. It caters for the twin requirements of the obtention of knowledge and the acquisition of skills. By the end of the course students will be able to submit and defend a thesis, handle information sources competently, and enter the world of the publishing and culture industries.

            The LCCT is designed as a one-year M.A. programme which can also be taken on a part-time basis. Students obtain the M.A. degree after having gained 60 credits. Credits are based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Most courses are assigned 5 ECTS credits.

            The working unit of the LCCT is the module. The programme is articulated as a set of seven modules covering the basic aspects of a round training in the field of English literary and cultural studies. Module 1 (mandatory) offers a methodological grounding. Module 2 (elective) concentrates on analysis of literary processes and contextualization. Module 3 (elective) focuses on the study of literature within the framework of cultural studies. Module 4 (elective) deals with theoretical and practical aspects of translation. Module 5 (elective) consists of a Research Seminar offering various activities in support of Module 1. Module 6 (elective; mandatory in the professional itinerary) provides opportunities for practical professional work. Lastly, Module 7 (mandatory) covers the Masters Thesis (‘Trabajo de Fin de Master’, TFM).

            Within most modules one or more subject areas (‘materias’) are identified (exceptions being modules 5 and 7). Eleven subject areas in all are on offer. These define general thematic concerns and remain unchanged from year to year.

            Lastly, each subject area is realized as a specific course or subject (‘asignatura’) which may change from one year to another.

            This organization by modules and subject areas offers considerable stability to the programme, while the system of replaceable subjects provides a very necessary flexibility. Two further measures ensure additional flexibility. In the first place, a system of suggested profiles (‘itinerarios’) cutting across the modular system which allow for shifts of emphasis but which have no obligatory value. In the second place, students may choose up to fifteen ECTS credits in courses offered by other Masters degrees in the Faculty (these are Spanish Philology, French Philology, Literary Theory and Comparative Literature, and Art and Philosophy).

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Structure of the programme

Choices/ Possible combination of subjects within this structure:
The choice of form and contents of this Master’s programme was made under the conviction that the concept of postgraduate studies should be based upon the widest breadth of subject choice possible. The proposed courses of study are, therefore, recommended rather than imposed, with the exception of such modules as the Masters thesis and Module 1, which are mandatory for all courses.

1) Research Profile 

2) Professional Profile (with emphasis on cultural studies)

3) Translation profile

The LCCT is structured in the following Modules:

Module 1. Texts, Representation , Discourse.

Credits: 10 ECTS
Type: Compulsory

This module provides a preeminently formal and methodological approach. Courses taught are thoroughly practical, and seek to train students in the correct use of the most characteristic tools for philological, literary and textual research, methods in literary historiography and text analysis, as well as in the theory and praxis of interpretation, hermeneutics and semiotics. Students will have to take two courses, both of which are to be taught in the first semester.

Module 2. Literary languages

Credits: 25
Type: Elective

Students will be expected to apply the conceptual and methodological tools provided in Module 1 to specific aspects of literary studies. It has a) a theoretical component that explores critical reading and debate, and b) a practical one aimed at honing skills in text analysis. It seeks to form researchers and professionals able to analyze literary processes and to interpret a great variety of literary works in sociocultural, comparative and interdisciplinary contexts. It will also cultivate an awareness of the problems arising from conceptualizations of ‘Britishness/Englishness’ in our contemporary, globalized world. Students can select all 25 credits from this Module or combine them with credits from Modules 3 and 4.

Module 3. Literature and Society: Cultural Studies in the English-Speaking Countries

Credits: 25 ECTS
Type: Elective
Students will be expected to put into practice conceptual and methodological tools and skills acquired in Module 1. Module 3 provides a) a theoretical focus on cultural studies and b) strategies for dealing with literature as a cultural product and in the context of the other art forms, again with a comparative and interdisciplinary bias. As with Module 2, students can select all 25 credits from this module or combine them with those in Modules 2 and 4.

Module 4. Translation Studies

Credits: 10 ECTS
Type: Elective

This module focuses on the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills in the field of translation, which is to be understood in any (or as a combination of) the following senses: (a) as a professional engagement; (b) as a contemporary cultural praxis; (c) as a mediator among different cultures, textual and artistic practices in our contemporary world.

Module 5. Research Seminar

No credits

Type: Elective

A series of lectures and seminars with emphasis on debate, conceived as a practical supplement to the other modules, and in particular as support for Module 1; it will provide a forum in which students and lecturers may present the results of their work and research for debate and feedback. No credits are assigned to this module this year.

Module 6. Practicum

Credits: 5/10 ECTS
Type: Elective

This module provides supervised practical work, and consists of two autonomous subjects areas. (a) In-house training (‘Prácticas internas’): students will join the Northanger Library Project, which is currently busy with translating, editing and studying a series of forgotten texts from the ‘long’ eighteenth century. (b) Work-experience placement (‘Prácticas externas’) in a firm or institution, tutored by both academic and professional experts; designed for students who wish to acquire professional experience and skills in editing, publishing, cultural management, etc.

Module 7. Masters Thesis

Credits: 15 ECTS
Type: Compulsory

At the end of their Masters studies students will submit a monograph which should show they have acquired an adequate mastery of the knowledge, tools and skills to be expected from a postgraduate training in English Literature studies. A tutor selected by the student from amongst the lecturers in the programme will supervise the work. Once the Master’s Dissertation has been passed by the tutor, the student will have to defend it before a panel composed of three doctors specializing in Literature /Translation from UAM who teach on the Masters Programme, plus one external examiner from another university. This panel will award a mark to the dissertation which, in turn, will be decisive in determining the student’s aptitude for writing a doctoral thesis.