A Message from the Graduate Program Director

A Message from the Graduate Program Director

Thanks for your interest in the MA in Literatures of Modernity!

The Literatures of Modernity program provides literature-focused professional skill development for academia and beyond. Our innovative courses investigate diverse works from cultural, historical, and global perspectives and, in doing so, illuminate the ideas and social structures of modernity that have shaped and continue to shape our contemporary world.

A leader in experiential learning, we offer scholarly and learning professionalization in the form of paid assistantships. Research assistantships enable students to collaborate with faculty members on research and publishing projects, some of which might be affiliated with TMU's Centre for Digital Humanities, the Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre, or our internationally recognized creative-writing journal, the White Wall Review. Teaching and grading assistantships enable students to collaborate with faculty in teaching our BA English courses.

Experiential learning is also at the heart of the culmination of the program: students have the option to write an original scholarly research paper under the supervision of a faculty advisor, or engage in a practicum that focuses on professionalizing for the creative and other industries through work experience, skill-development seminars and professional writing and editing opportunities.

Our students have the opportunity to participate in diverse extracurricular intellectual, creative, and social activities, such as presenting papers at national and international conferences across Canada, the US, and Europe, and attending the Dickens Universe at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Digital Humanities Summer Institute at the University of Victoria, BC. A range of other opportunities typically present themselves in a given year, and students are encouraged to consult with me about what may be available.

While much at present remains unclear about the continuing impact of COVID-19 on university education in Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area in the future, we are confident that we can continue to achieve the learning goals that distinguish our graduate program in English.

I hope you enjoy exploring our website and learning about our program's many scholarly, creative, and professional benefits. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss further what our MA has to offer you.

Sincerely,

Jason Boyd, Associate Professor, jason.boyd@torontomu.ca