I learned about this degree program today so I thought I’d copy it here to give it a plug. From the University of Derby School of Humanities, an MA in Horror and Transgression:

Why choose this course?

* It combines taught and individual research modules to allow you to focus on your own research project, while exploring different approaches to humanities scholarship.
* You’ll be supported by a team of published researchers who will enable you to develop your own skills and scholarly interests within horror and transgression.
* You can undertake research projects in a range of humanities subjects including American Studies, Creative Writing, English Literature, Film Studies, Media Studies and Theatre Studies.

About the course

The new MA Humanities – Horror and Transgression is an innovative postgraduate course in film, literature and cultural studies offering the opportunity to work both critically and creatively. Drawing on the expertise of internationally renowned practicing writers and critics, the themes of Horror and Transgression explores what our limits consist of and the boundaries of culture and society. Through the analysis of culture we understand what defines us collectively and individually as humans and what is beyond the human. The course has the support of horror writer Clive Barker who is planning to be involved, saying “Thank you for Raising Hell in Derby!”

This MA is international and transnational in scope, including work on cinema and literature in the East and world cinema. This would suit all of those interested in diverse forms of film and literature, with the option of creative coursework for those that want it. It also suits those interested in philosophical and literary theoretical developments from Nietzsche to Bataille, Foucault, Kristeva, and Deleuze and transgressive writers, such as Burroughs, Ballard and Burgess.

“The UK has always had a rich history of horror, and a time when a new generation of British horror practioners are making interesting and provocative work, The University of Derby’s MA in Horror and Trangression looks to be an important step forward in further establishing the genre as a rich source of social, political and cultural significance.”

– Steve Shiel, director of critically acclaimed Brit-Horror feature Mum & Dad as well as one of the organisers of the Mayhem Horror Film Festival.

You will cover the following modules:

Research Skills in Humanities

In this taught module you will explore the different skills used by humanities researchers and develop your knowledge and understanding of research methodologies.

Issues in Humanities

This taught module will introduce you to a range of critical and theoretical concepts that underpin humanities scholarship, including postmodernism, psychoanalysis, the concept of ‘ideology’ and theories regarding identity.
Horror without Boundaries: Horror Cinema and the International Cultures of Horror

This is a taught module will introduce you to theoretical and critical enquiry into horror as a phenomenon that crosses cultural and national boundaries. Horror will be examined in its roots in literature and folk traditions; through visual, oral and dramatic expression; in its cinematic manifestations within national cultures and in trans-national exchange.
Transgression: Theories and Practices

In this taught module you will explore a range of theories of transgression, engaging with questions of aesthetics, ethics and social boundaries and norms. You will examine a wide range of transgressive texts, from world literature, film and art; the selection of materials for study will encourage you to consider ways in which the notion of transgression alters across different historical periods and cultural formations. To ‘transgress’ is to cross a boundary; the culturally-constructed borders and boundaries whose limits we shall explore will be those of taste, morality, identity, gender and sexuality, among others.

You can read more about this degree program here.