Scottish Literature/Theatre Studies

Scottish literature has its own distinctive tradition, shaped by a complex interplay of Gaelic, Scots and English, by Reformation theology, Enlightenment philosophy and the peculiar pressures of a nation that retained a separate cultural identity within political union. Theatre studies, meanwhile, examines performance as both an art form and a social phenomenon, asking how plays work on audiences, how theatrical meaning is made and how theatre has functioned across different historical periods and cultures. At Glasgow, which hosts the only dedicated academic unit in the UK devoted exclusively to Scottish literature, you will study both subjects at the highest level over four years of full-time study.

Within Scottish literature you will read works from the medieval makars through the Renaissance and Reformation, the poetry of Burns and the fiction of Scott, the modernist experiments of MacDiarmid and the contemporary voices that have made Scottish writing one of the most energetically debated literatures in the English-speaking world. Theatre studies introduces you to dramatic theory, theatre history, performance analysis and the practical and conceptual questions that arise in staging a text. The course includes a year abroad, extending your exposure to literary and theatrical traditions beyond Britain.

You will develop skills in close reading, critical writing, historical contextualisation and theoretical analysis.

Graduates combine detailed knowledge of a specific national literary tradition with a broader set of humanistic and analytical skills that open a wide range of career paths. These include roles in publishing, editing, journalism, broadcasting, arts administration, teaching, community arts, script development and cultural policy. Theatre studies graduates also find routes into stage management, directing, arts marketing and education work.

Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in Scottish literature, literary studies, theatre and performance, or creative writing, and the University of Glasgow's research environment provides strong preparation for an academic career.