MLitt in Medieval Scottish Studies

An introduction to the degree course

The MLitt (taught) in Medieval Scottish Studies is a one-year interdisciplinary degree taught by experts in the fields of History, Celtic, Archaeology, and Literature. One of the attractions of studying the middle ages on the scale of Scottish Studies, rather than in a more general way, is that the interdisciplinary connections have a focus which allows them to be understood more readily. Also, every member of staff teaching the course is a specialist in more than one aspect or period of the middle ages (or beyond), so that their understanding of the medieval dimension of their discipline is broader and deeper than is typical of those in more ‘mainstream’ areas. This cross-fertilisation of disciplines and periods has the potential to be a breeding ground for fresh perspectives and innovative techniques.

The degree is designed to expose you to postgraduate life and prepare you to your full potential for life as a PhD student. If you are not sure what topic you wish to research, the structure of the degree has the flexibility to allow you the opportunity to explore some options before honing in on one in particular for your dissertation. If you know already what topic you wish to pursue, the degree offers expert guidance for you in developing it further. If you want to discover whether you are cut out for PhD work, the degree gives you some experience of what PhD life is like, and enables you to prove to yourself and others where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and whether you wish to continue with research.

Each part of the degree has a specific role towards these ends.

1. The core courses

• ‘Critical Evaluations of Sources and Methods in Scottish Medieval Studies: Secondary Sources’ in semester 1, and
• ‘Critical Evaluations of Sources and Methods in Scottish Medieval Studies: Primary Sources’ in semester 2.

As undergraduates you may well have been introduced to some of the difficult issues at the core of your discipline, but you are unlikely to have been exposed fully to the real experience of fundamental doubts and challenges which confronts anyone seeking to engage in an original way with medieval studies (or any subject in the arts and humanities). Some seek to protect themselves from the anxiety of this experience by embracing an established theoretical perspective. In these courses we prefer to lay the emphasis on openly acknowledging uncertainties and relishing their intellectual potential. In the first semester course students are encouraged to develop a critical approach to general issues such as the writing of national history, models, postmodernism, and gender. Also, the more intimate aspects of some of the bread-and-butter tools of scholarship, such as the creation of edited texts and translations, and the production of excavation reports and inventories of ancient monuments, are revealed and discussed. In the second semester course the focus shifts to primary material. The emphasis is not only on understanding the problems associated with particular sources, but also gaining an inside view of some of the latest ways in which these sources can be used to their greatest potential. These include inscriptions, church archaeology, hagiography, charters, chronicles, law-tracts, poetry, and philosophy. Every weekly session in both semesters is taught by an expert in the field.

Each student in the core course is assessed by presenting a 15 minute paper delivered at an afternoon or day conference attended by staff and fellow students involved in the degree. This not only introduces students in a friendly environment to what can be one of the more intimidating aspects of the life of a PhD student, but it also affords an opportunity to explore aspects of what you will have in mind as a possible topic for your dissertation which is completed at the end of the degree.

2. Specialisms (one in each semester)

These specialist courses are intended to lay the groundwork for possible topics for your dissertation and to enable you to explore their potential and discover whether they suit you or not. This is achieved by tailoring the courses to meet the needs of individual students. You will be taught throughout by an expert in your field. In the first semester you may meet in a group with students who share your interests and develop these in a series of ten seminars with a member of staff. You may, alternatively, have weekly meetings on a one-to-one basis with a member of staff. One-to-one supervision is how your specialism will be conducted in the second semester, and will aim to prepare you for your dissertation topic. This will also give you some experience of what it is like to work closely with a supervisor, which is the norm for PhD students. Each specialism is assessed by an essay.

3. Skills

These courses are designed to allow you to acquire the linguistic and other technical skills that you will require for your dissertation, or to find out where your particular technical strengths and weaknesses lie, and tailor your dissertation topic accordingly. The most popular skills courses are beginners Latin, Early Gaelic, Medieval Welsh, and Reading Original Documents (which includes an introduction to codicology and diplomatic). Although some of these will be demanding of your time, they contribute in total to only 10% of the overall assessment for the degree, which means that if you find you are struggling with a particular skill it will not have a detrimental impact on your overall result.

4. Dissertation

This is your opportunity to put everything you’ve learnt into use in the topic you have chosen to specialise on. It will also give you some experience of writing a piece on the scale of a PhD thesis chapter (10-15,000 words), and of what this aspect of PhD life can be like. Guidance will be available from one of the members of staff who taught your specialisms.

Moving on to your PhD

Graduates of the MLitt in Medieval Scottish Studies have gone on to study for PhDs in History, Celtic, or Archaeology, or have opted for an interdisciplinary PhD project supervised by staff from two of these three departments. Students have also gone on to study for PhDs elsewhere (including one who took a PhD in Museum Studies at the University of Sydney).
For those of you who are applying to the AHRC for funding for a PhD we endeavour to have a portfolio of your work double-marked and assessed by the external examiner in time for this to be used in references in support of your application (which will typically have an institutional deadline of the end of March in time for the university to check it and send it on to the AHRC).

Research environment

All postgraduates are warmly encouraged to attend the fortnightly Medieval Scottish Studies research seminars, which are given by PhD students and other scholars from Glasgow and further afield. This is an occasion to meet your fellow students, PhD students and staff in a relaxed setting, and to share in the latest research and thinking not only on Scottish medieval topics, but on subjects which are of wider interest: there have, for example, been papers on literacy in the Low Countries, children in Irish law tracts, and the politics of the reign of William II of England.
All postgraduates have access to the unparalleled range of primary sources and journals on Scottish History in the Baillie Room and on Celtic studies in the MacLean Room.

Summary

This one-year taught postgraduate degree offers:

· An unparalleled variety of specialist courses in Medieval Scottish Studies in history, archaeology and literature covering the whole span of medieval history from the sixth to the sixteenth centuries.
· An extensive range of courses for acquiring the skills for primary research
· A unique interdisciplinary core course which provides an introduction to essential methodological issues in medieval archaeology, history, and literary studies.
Teaching is conducted in seminars and in regular individual and small group sessions with an acknowledged expert in the field in the departments of Archaeology, Celtic, History, and Scottish Literature.

The University of Glasgow is a recognised centre of excellence in the fields of Medieval Scottish Studies, and the teaching expertise of its departments is supported by the breadth of primary and secondary source materials contained in its libraries and archives. Numerous research projects are ongoing, as well as a continuing series of research seminars. Please follow the links on the left for further information and details of how to apply. Do not hesitate to contact the course organiser with any enquiries.

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