Hi There,
I am also taking the course, starting in September 2009.
My name's Jake, please get in touch with me at jacobayres@hotmail.com, it would be good to talk to another person on the course before it starts and perhaps help each other with pre-reading etc as I believe the course is likely to be tough.
By the way, it is quite normal for Masters degrees to run for one year in the UK, particularly one's which are very 'academic'. The 2 year courses tend to either be more practical in nature or run part-time. That is, to the best of my knowledge - which is not great on this subject!
Please reply to my email address above? What is your background? Why are you taking this course?
Best,
Jake.