The flexibility of the Contemporary Literature and Culture MA course has really allowed me to explore my diverse interests. This year, to name a few, I’ve written about the cultural exploitation of the Global South, the harm that AI is doing in the industry, jumped into completely different fields to do stylometry and then write creatively, and began my dissertation on animal representation in literature and news. Without a course which supported my eclecticism as Loughborough’s does, I would have felt stifled.

My dissertation supervisor, Dr Paul Jenner, has been especially helpful already, even as I am only in the early stages of writing my dissertation. He has been proactive about arranging meetings and trying to support me, helped motivate and hold me to deadlines, and has even offered to take time away from his own research to read some of the texts I am studying so that we can discuss them together in greater depth. Other lecturers have also been very supportive, open to meeting and discussing things even if they are beyond the remit of the course, such as my PhD applications or theories I might have.

Our cohort enjoyed trips to two historical sites which were relevant to our module on heritage, as well as taking a particularly interesting trip to the Booker archive where we got access to internal communications of the Booker Advisory Committee and had some insight into how one of the largest literary prizes in the world is actually run.