Professor Klemola's Seminar

This seminar is open for all students who are interested in linguistic topics. However, I would recommend the seminar especially for students who are interested in corpus-based studies of variation and change in English. Possible seminar (and pro gradu) projects may focus, for example, on grammatical variation in World Englishes. The following titles exemplify the kinds of topics covered in recent MA theses: ‘Damn funny la! ̶ A Comparative Corpus Study on Intensifiers in Singapore English’; ‘A painful divorce or the opportunity of a lifetime? Metaphor in political speeches in Scottish independence referendum campaigns’; ‘Colouring the News – Hypocoristics of Nouns in Selected New Zealand Newspapers between 1996 and 2012’.

The main task during the autumn term will be to write and present a research proposal (five to ten pages). In addition, each student will be expected to draft—in consultation with me—a personal study and research plan for the whole academic year. We will also focus on practical questions linked with writing a thesis, look at some examples of recent gradus completed in the English department, and read a number of articles linked with the topics you are working on.

During the spring term, each student will write a seminar paper (20+ pages), to be presented and discussed in the group. Ideally, the seminar paper will function as the first draft of your pro gradu thesis.

Assessment will be by completion of assignments and participation in the class (attendance, fulfillment of all presentation requirements, performance as commentator, and contribution to class discussions).

Lecturer McGinley's Seminar

This course is designed to help you in writing your MA thesis and to give experience of academic discussion and debate. The first half of the course will see you define your topic and submitting an abstract for discussion with your supervisor early in the course, and building towards a presentation of the thesis proposal (around 8-12 pages) and discussion of it with other students. The second half of the course will involve writing a draft of your thesis (6000-8000 words), and again presenting it to the class for comment and discussion. During the presentation sessions, each student will also serve as commentator on another student's thesis, giving constructive feedback on the presentation before the discussion will is open and the other students invited to share their thoughts. In addition, individual consultations will be arranged with the tutor. Assessment will be on the basis of assignments, attendance, and participation in class.

Associate Professor Riquet's Seminar

This thesis seminar is especially recommended to students interested in literary spaces, the links between literature and geography, ecocriticism, travel writing, magic and the supernatural in fiction, phenomenology, deconstruction, and cinema, but students working on other topics are also welcome.

In the first semester, you will develop a concise abstract (300 words) and a detailed research proposal (5-8 pages) for your project; in the second semester, you will first submit a draft chapter (6000-8000 words) before writing the thesis itself. Throughout the seminar, we will discuss important questions pertaining to research techniques and methodologies as well as academic writing and style. We will also occasionally read texts written by established academics in order to discuss the problems and challenges they encountered and the solutions they found; in this way, we will familiarise ourselves with a variety of models and approaches to research in the field of literary and cultural studies.

At each stage, students will present their projects to the class and get feedback from each other. Active participation on the part of all students is therefore an indispensable part of the seminar. Students will be assessed on the basis of the different assignments, attendance, and participation in class.

Professor Nevala's Seminar

Language in context, discourse studies, applied linguistics

The seminar is intended for students who are interested in analyzing language use in context, i.e. in relation to various language-external factors, using qualitative or quantitative methods, including discourse analysis or corpus linguistics. The students’ interests can relate, for example, to English in specific social or situational contexts, bi- and multilingualism, computer-mediated communication, or language use in the history of English. Students interested in studying English in the context of learning and teaching are also welcome.

The seminar offers practical advice, guidance and support during the process of planning and writing the thesis, addressing each step in the research process. As working methods we will use collaborative group work, including discussions of relevant reading and the students’ own projects.

During the first term, students are expected to produce a research proposal, specifying the main elements of their pro gradu thesis, to present it to the seminar group, and to start working on their thesis. In the second term, students continue to work on their thesis. The aim during the seminar year is to finish a draft version of the entire thesis; the minimum requirement is to produce at least 1-2 draft chapters of the thesis, serving as “the seminar paper”. Towards the end of the seminar year, each student’s thesis draft will be discussed in class.