The MA in Sexual Dissidence, founded in 1990, was one of the first MA degrees of its kind in Britain, and indeed, the world. It continues to offer students the opportunity to undertake an interdisciplinary training in queer studies.
Students on the MA in Sexual Dissidence take four courses, two in the Autumn term and two in the Spring term. Students are strongly encouraged to take the course “Critical Issues in Queer Theory” in the Autumn term, as it provides a firm grounding in queer studies. Students choose their other courses from a range of options that explore sexuality, offered by the School of English and by other Schools and Departments at the University of Sussex. Sussex faculty bring a broad range of interdisciplinary expertise and scholarly perspectives to bear on the study of sexual dissidence. The course options that have recently been offered on the MA cover a range of areas including literature, film, popular culture, digital culture, media studies, creative writing, contemporary critical theory, and feminism and gender studies. The contexts that these courses address include contemporary culture, postcolonial contexts, and a range of historical contexts, such as the Renaissance and the Romantic period. You can explore our people page to see some of the faculty with whom you might be able to take a course as part of the MA in Sexual Dissidence.
The full-time course of study for the MA is one full academic year. Part-time students complete the degree within two years. After the two terms of coursework, students complete the degree by preparing a research dissertation of 15,000 words. The dissertation is written under the supervision of a member of the faculty at the University of Sussex; you can look over our people page to see some of the faculty members that might supervise your dissertation.