Title: MSc Applied Economics with specialisation in Banking and Finance - G503
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MA English Studies (One Year Full-Time)

1.	Objectives
This programme will serve a growing need in higher education for highly trained personnel in the area of English (Literary Studies, Cultural Studies and Linguistics). The degree should prepare graduates for jobs where critical skills are required.  Prospective students should hold a good honours degree in any area of Arts, Humanities and the Social Sciences. Students from other disciplines are also encouraged to apply.
2. 	General Entry Requirements
	Successful completion of an undergraduate degree with
•	at least a Second Class or 50%, whichever is applicable or
•	a GPA not less than 2.5 out of 4 or equivalent, from a recognised higher education institution. 
OR  alternative qualifications acceptable to the University of Mauritius.
3.	Programme Requirements 
At least a Second Class Degree in English, History, Media Studies and Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, Film, Linguistics, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, from a recognised University or alternative qualifications acceptable to the University of Mauritius. 
Students must have a first degree where English was one of the languages of learning and teaching.
4.	Programme Duration
	Minimum [Semester(s)]	 Maximum [Semesters]	
Master’s Degree:			2				4
Postgraduate Diploma:			2				4
Postgraduate Certificate:		1				2
5.	Credits per Semester
As per University Regulation.
6.	Minimum Credits Required for Awards
				      Core Modules	Dissertation	Electives	  Total
Master’s Degree:		9 credits	   	  12 credits	 15 credits	36 credits
Postgraduate Diploma:		9 credits	     	     - 		 15 credits	24 credits
Postgraduate Certificate: 	6 credits	    	     - 		   6 credits	12 credits

7.		Assessment
Each module will carry 100 marks and will be taught over 1 semester and examined at the end of the semester with details as follows (unless otherwise specified).
Written examination will be of 2 hours duration (at the end of the semester) and continuous assessment will carry 30% to 40% of total marks.
The Research Design and Methodology and the Graduate Research Seminars modules will be assessed entirely by Continuous Assessment (see module descriptions below).
Except for these two modules, Continuous Assessment will include at least one assignment and one class-test per module. 
An overall total of 40% for combined continuous assessment and written examination components would be required to pass the module, without minimum thresholds within the individual continuous assessment and written examination. 
No resit examinations will be organised. Instead, students will be allowed to carry forward a maximum of three modules at any point in time and will be allowed to sit for the examinations with the next cohort of students.
All modules carry their own credit value.
8	Submission Deadlines for Dissertation:
First Draft: End of July of the academic year.
Final Copy: Last week day of August in the final year by 4.00 pm at latest.
9.	Choice of Electives
Students will be required to submit their choice of Semester 1 Electives in order of priority by the start of Semester 1.  They will be required to submit their choice of Semester 2 Electives in order of priority by the middle of Semester 1. A minimum of five students is required for a module to be offered.
The University reserves the right not to offer a given elective module if the critical number of students is not attained and/or for reasons of resource constraints.

10. 	Programme Plan – MA English Studies

Semester 1

Code

Module Name

Hrs/Wk
L+P

Credits

CORE | | |
ENG 5101R | Research Design and Methodology | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5102 | Locating Mauritius Culturally | 3+0 | 3
ELECTIVES | Choose any TWO | |
ENG 5103 | Critical Perspectives on English Language Teaching | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5104 | Perspectives on Multilingualism | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5105 | Postmodern Identities | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5106 | Feminist Literary Voices | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5107 | Cultural Constructions of Africa | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5108 | South Asian Diasporic Cultures | 3+0 | 3
Semester 2

Code

CORE

Module Name

Hrs/Wk
L+P

Credits

ENG 6000 | Dissertation | - | 12
ENG 5200 | Graduate Research Seminars | | 3
ELECTIVES | Choose any THREE | |
ENG 5201 | Issues in Literacy | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5202 | Applied Sociolinguistics | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5204 | World Postcolonial Literatures | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5206 | Transnationalism and Asian American Literature | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5208 | Transculturalism of African American Music | 3+0 | 3
ENG 5209 | Bollywood Spaces | 3+0 | 3

11.	Outline Syllabus

ENG 5101R – RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
This overall aim of this module is to develop the information skills needed to access the research literature and to develop critical skills in order to evaluate that literature.  With a focus on Linguistic Studies, Literary Studies and Cultural Studies, this module provides an overview of qualitative research methodology, exploring the various stages of qualitative investigations, from collecting data to reporting the results.  This module also deals with the theoretical, ethical and methodological issues that are central to qualitative research.  By the end of this module, students should be able to respond to the strengths and weaknesses of research methods in order to select the appropriate research method(s) of research for their own research projects. Ultimately, this module aims to prepare students for conducting research and writing up academic papers and their dissertations.

ENG 5102 – LOCATING MAURITIUS CULTURALLY
The aim of this module is to explore the extant literature that describes and discusses Mauritius from a literary, linguistic and a Cultural Studies perspective.  In the first part of the module, we will investigate the way in which various literary texts have imagined Mauritius.  In the second part of the module, we will explore the recent empirical literature that engages with the complexities of the language situation in Mauritius.  In the third part of the module, we will discuss key scholarly works that examine the cultural fabric of Mauritius using contemporary critical theory and ethnographic tools.

ENG 5103 – CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
This module seeks to present a coherent portrait of current concerns and developments in English Language Teaching. It deals with ideas that impact on how English language teaching/learning is conceived, and ultimately on how language courses are delivered. In short, it is an issues-based course exploring ideas that have animated debate, and sometimes controversy, in the applied linguistics and English language teaching community in recent years.

ENG 5104 – PERSPECTIVES ON MULTILINGUALISM 
This module explores the phenomenon of multilingualism in the context of language use and practices by individuals in specific socio-historical contexts.  In this module, we will discuss key issues, concepts and theories on multilingualism, with the aim to develop an understanding of multilingualism in a variety of contexts and a critical engagement with current thinking about multilingualism.  Some of the themes that may be covered in this module are:  the place of languages in society and education; majority and minority languages and language rights; multilingual education within the competing forces of multiculturalism and globalisation; researching multilingualism; multilingualism in urban contexts.

ENG 5105 - POSTMODERN IDENTITIES
One of the most fascinating stories in contemporary cultural history is how the social conditions of the postmodern world and postmodern philosophy have conspired to destabilize our sense of self.  Proposing a variety of perspectives that answers the legitimate concerns of selected postmodern thinkers, this course aims to enhance students` understanding of difference in the context of postmodern relations. The text-based orientation of this module also shows that postmodern space, though accessible to others, is imbued with a special significance. It is through the possibility of such textual ‘encounters’ that students will be able to assert a sense of agency and development that has previously been denied.  
ENG 5106 – FEMINIST LITERARY VOICES
After a quick overview of the history of feminist thought, this course aims to take students through the contemporary ramifications of feminist theory in the contemporary reality of a post-postcolonial world. It will be specially concerned with the interaction between cultural politics of representation and the double edged problematic of ‘authentic’ cultures. The theories of feminism will be studied against a range of contemporary women writers.

ENG 5107 – CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF AFRICA
This module aims to explore how cultural texts create and sustain perspectives about sub-Saharan Africa. The foray may include constructions about Africa by Africans and non-Africans such as through colonisation and decolonisation, and Africa as a contemporary space, African philosophy, African cinema, African visual arts, as well as the cultural, economic and political constructions of Mauritius within the continent.   

ENG 5108 – SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORIC CULTURES
This module begins with the premise that the South Asian diaspora is made up of heterogeneous communities. The module will explore the cultural texts that shape the old and the new Indian diasporic communities as well as their different sub-groups, distinguished by religion, region or gender. South Asian diasporic narratives and cultural practices will be read in terms of experiences of dislocation/ double-consciousness/cultural fusion within the specific contexts of multicultural policies of the hostland. 

ENG 5200 – GRADUATE RESEARCH SEMINARS 
The Graduate Research Seminars are a set of three seminars that provide an opportunity for students to further develop their research and presentation skills as they formulate and frame their dissertation question(s).  The Graduate Research Seminar is a platform for students to think through their dissertation topic, discuss relevant issues with their peers and academics, and receive feedback as they go through the research process.  
By the end of Semester 1, students are expected to identify a field of specialisation (Linguistics, Literature or Cultural Studies) and a tentative topic for research. Semester 1 modules will help students in identifying potential areas of interest. It is recommended that the topic of research leads to the formulation of the final dissertation, and remains as closely related to it as possible, either partly or fully. You may contact a potential supervisor at this stage, or the Department of English Studies will assign one to you by the start of Semester 2.
Training sessions will be organised by individual supervisors to advise and prepare students for the seminar presentations.
Each student will deliver 3 seminar presentations on their selected topic as related to each of the following points of research:
1.	Identifying a problematic (10 minute presentation, excluding questions)
2.	Literature Review/Methodology (15 minute presentation, excluding questions)
3.	Analysis (15 minute presentation, excluding questions)
Weightage: Each presentation will carry a maximum of 30% of total marks (3 x 30%). Participation during the various seminars of the module will be assessed over 10%.  
Attendance to all seminars is compulsory for every student and will be closely monitored.

ENG 5201 – ISSUES IN LITERACY
This module provides an overview of the major theoretical approaches to the study of literacy. Drawing upon the distinction made between the autonomous and the ideological models of literacy, this module takes a social view of literacy and provides students with a social lens through which to read literacy events and literacy practices in a world which is increasingly multilingual, multimodal and multiliterate.

ENG 5202 – APPLIED SOCIOLINGUISTICS
This module will use Fasold’s (1990) distinction between theoretical and applied sociolinguistics as its structural backbone and will build on key skills about formal models and methods for analysing the structure of speech communities, speech varieties and communicative competence acquired at undergraduate level. In line with the above, the focus of this module will be micro-sociolinguistic in nature and will explore the ways in which social forces act as essential factors impacting upon the structure and perception of languages. Students will be exposed to key themes in the sociolinguistics of language (cf. Fasold 1990) and will be encouraged to look at an array of questions and concerns dealing with identity, sexuality and linguistic inequality amongst others.

ENG 5204 – WORLD POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURES
This module will examine the representations of postcolonalism throughout the world. Topics will include political and cultural subjugation, resistance, independence, hybridity, exile, and postcolonial diaspora. A range of texts of by various writers across the world will be selected by the instructor, for example, Amitav Ghosh, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Yvonne Vera, and Ben Okri. Critical readings will include works by theorists like Amílcar Cabral, Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon, Barbara Harlow, Edward Said, Neil Lazarus, Gayatri Spivak,  Leela Gandhi and Dipesh Chakrabarty. Students will engage with theoretical discourse and be encouraged to contextualise postcolonial writing with their geographical and cultural specificities.

ENG 5206 – TRANSNATIONALISM AND ASIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Asian America was constructed by U.S. immigration policies via exclusion acts and quotas. In the 21st century Asian America is located within complex spaces characterised by geographical and cultural border crossings. Interactions between the U.S. nation state and Asia are transformed by globalisation and the rise of Asia. This course will explore the reconceptualisation of Asian America from the perspective of transnationalism through a selection of literary texts. Topics include immigration and settlement patterns, nation/nation building, transnationalism, transculturalism, boundaries, border-crossing. 

ENG 5208 – TRANSCULTURALISM OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC (HIP HOP/RAP)
The aim of this module is to give an overview of the historical development of Hip Hop/Rap as a subculture in the USA, explore Hip Hop/Rap in terms of a nexus of racial, gender and sexual politics and discuss the ‘polycultural’ appeal of Hip Hop/ Rap in different parts of the world.

ENG 5209 – BOLLYWOOD SPACES
This module seeks to explore how what is possibly the most prolific film industry in the world represents the world. It will analyse the way Bollywood text constructs itself for instance, through its narrative, its characters, its music score, its song-and-dance sequences, its clothes, its reading of East and West, of purity and of good and evil. It may also investigate the reception of Bollywood by various audiences as part of the space it creates.    

ENG 6000 – DISSERTATION
The dissertation will consist of an extended research project of 10 000 to 14 000 words to be submitted at the end of the year as partial requirement for completion of the programme. A project supervisor will be identified by the programme coordinator and the title of the project will be approved by the Department of English Studies.

19March 2011