Literary Journalism – (M.Litt.)

Contents

Course Structure

Students take two classes from the following list:

* Journalism & Cultural Politics
* Journalists in Film & Literature
* The Literature of Journalism

Journalism and Cultural Politics -explores the implications of journalism for the relationship between culture and politics. The class looks at the role of journalism in the development of distinctions between high and low, mainstream and marginal forms of culture, and at the place of journalism in emergent forms of citizenship and civic engagement. Particular examples covered by the class include the relationship between journalism and different types of scandal, and between journalism and forms of celebrity.

Journalists in Film & Literature - explores the representation of journalists in film and (to a lesser extent) literature from the early 20th century to the present day. In so far as filmic and other representations can be read as an index of social and cultural
attitudes, we will explore the evolving image of the journalist in popular culture as a method for studying the changing role and status of the journalist in society. We will consider how public debates about the role and function of journalism are reflected in
cinema and literature.

The Literature of Journalism - focuses on the development of long-form nonfiction
narrative Journalism. The class will look at the roots of the social realism of the 19th century, including Charles Dickens, as well 20th-century writers such as Hemingway, through to the advent of `New Journalism´ postworld war 2. Throughout, journalism
will be seen as a way into debates over the society of any given period. The mid-to-late 20th century cinematic influence will be also examined in novels such as Capote, in addition to the emphasis on imagery in non-fiction works such as Junger.

Students take an additional two classes from the following list:

* Investigative Journalism:
* History and Theory
* Investigative Journalism: Project
* Manufacture of Consent
* Investigative Research
* Discovery of Scotland
* Visions of Suburbia
* The Victorian Occult
* Scottish Cultural Studies
* Literature and Landscape
* Canadian Literature

Students also take a class in Research Skills in Literature, Culture and Communication, and write a dissertation of 15,000 to 20,000 words on a subject of their own choice, related to the theme of the course.