Module Choice Handbook 2016-17 Level 2 PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 1 Contents DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Language and Linguistics (Single) ........................................................................... 4 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Language and Linguistics (Duals) ........................................................................... 5 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Language and Literature ........................................................................................ 6 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Literature (Single)................................................................................................... 8 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Literature (Duals) ................................................................................................. 10 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English and Theatre .......................................................................................................... 11 EGH202: History of Persuasion ....................................................................................................................................... 13 EGH206: Introduction to Modern Irish ........................................................................................................................... 14 EGH207: Writing the Real ............................................................................................................................................... 15 EGH221: Theatre Practice: Performance I ...................................................................................................................... 16 EGH236: Theatre Practice: Performance II ..................................................................................................................... 17 ELL207: Phonetics ........................................................................................................................................................... 18 ELL216: Language Politics, Language Policy and Language Planning ............................................................................. 19 ELL217: Sociolinguistics................................................................................................................................................... 20 ELL221: Syntax ................................................................................................................................................................ 21 ELL222: Semantics........................................................................................................................................................... 22 ELL225: Introduction to Old English................................................................................................................................ 23 ELL226: First Language Acquisition ................................................................................................................................. 24 ELL227: Language Attitudes ............................................................................................................................................ 25 ELL228: Language and Cognition .................................................................................................................................... 26 ELL231: Issues in Language Change ................................................................................................................................ 27 ELL234: A Sense of Place: Local and Regional Identity ................................................................................................... 28 ELL236: Introduction to Middle English .......................................................................................................................... 29 ELL237: Corpus Linguistics .............................................................................................................................................. 30 ELL238: Special Subject ................................................................................................................................................... 31 LIT2000: Genre ................................................................................................................................................................ 32 LIT2004: Satire and Print................................................................................................................................................. 33 LIT204: Criticism And Literary Theory ............................................................................................................................. 34 LIT207: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature ................................................................................................ 35 LIT219: Creative Writing Poetry 2 ................................................................................................................................... 36 LIT224: Representing the Holocaust ............................................................................................................................... 37 LIT237: Love and Death in the Films of Woody Allen ..................................................................................................... 38 PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 2 LIT241: Adaptation: From Theory to Theatrical Practice ................................................................................................ 39 LIT244: Storying Sheffield ............................................................................................................................................... 40 LIT254: Christopher Marlowe ......................................................................................................................................... 41 LIT255: John Donne......................................................................................................................................................... 42 LIT260: Post-War British Realist Cinema......................................................................................................................... 43 LIT264: America in the 1960s.......................................................................................................................................... 44 LIT265: Literary Mad Scientists: From Frankenstein to Einstein .................................................................................... 45 LIT266: Secrets and Lies: Victorian Life-Writing ............................................................................................................. 46 LIT270: Literature and Nonsense .................................................................................................................................... 47 LIT271: Radical Theory .................................................................................................................................................... 48 LIT273: Creative Writing Prose Fiction 2 ......................................................................................................................... 49 LIT274: The Postcolonial Bildungsroman ........................................................................................................................ 50 PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 3 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Language and Linguistics (Single) All modules are 20 Credits No core modules SINGLE honours students will choose: 120 credits from the modules available OR 100 credits with ONE unrestricted module (to the value of 20 credits) outside English. Autumn Semester EGH202 EGH206 ELL216 ELL217 ELL221 ELL225 ELL227 ELL228 ELL231 The History of Persuasion (Pre-requisite EGH102) Introduction to Modern Irish Language Politics and Language Policy Sociolinguistics Syntax Introduction to Old English Language Attitudes Language and Cognition Issues in Language Change Spring Semester EGH207 ELL207 ELL222 ELL226 ELL234 ELL236 ELL237 ELL238 Writing the Real (Pre-requisite EGH102) Phonetics Semantics First Language Acquisition A Sense of Place: Local and Regional Identity Introduction to Middle English Corpus Linguistics Special Subject PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 4 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Language and Linguistics (Duals) No core modules DUAL students will choose: 60 credits from the modules available. Autumn Semester EGH202 EGH206 ELL216 ELL217 ELL221 ELL225 ELL227 ELL228 ELL231 The History of Persuasion (Pre-requisite EGH102) Introduction to Modern Irish Language Politics and Language Policy Sociolinguistics Syntax Introduction to Old English Language Attitudes Language and Cognition Issues in Language Change Spring Semester EGH207 ELL207 ELL222 ELL226 ELL234 ELL236 ELL237 ELL238 Writing the Real (Pre-requisite EGH102) Phonetics Semantics First Language Acquisition A Sense of Place: Local and Regional Identity Introduction to Middle English Corpus Linguistics Special Subject PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 5 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Language and Literature All modules are 20 credits Core Modules: Autumn Semester EGH202 The History of Persuasion Spring Semester EGH207 Writing the Real Choose 20 Credits from the following Literature shortlist: Autumn Semester LIT204 Criticism and Literary Theory LIT234 Renaissance Literature Spring Semester LIT2000 Genre LIT207 Restoration and 18th Century Literature Choose 20 Credits from the following Language shortlist: Autumn Semester EGH206 Introduction to Modern Irish ELL216 Language Politics and Language Policy ELL217 Sociolinguistics ELL221 Syntax ELL225 Introduction to Old English ELL227 Language Attitudes ELL228 Language and Cognition ELL231 Issues in Language Change Spring Semester ELL207 Phonetics ELL222 Semantics ELL226 First Language Acquisition ELL234 A Sense of Place: Local and Regional Identity ELL236 Introduction to Middle English ELL237 Corpus Linguistics ELL238 Special Subject Continued overleaf… PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 6 Choose 20 Credits from the following list: Autumn Semester EGH206 Introduction to Modern Irish ELL216 Language Politics and Language Policy ELL217 Sociolinguistics ELL221 Syntax ELL225 Introduction to Old English ELL227 Language Attitudes ELL228 Language and Cognition ELL231 Issues in Language Change LIT2004 Satire and Print in the Eighteenth Century LIT204 Criticism and Literary Theory LIT224 Representing the Holocaust LIT234 Renaissance Literature LIT255 John Donne LIT260 Post-War British Realist Cinema LIT265 Literary Mad Scientists: From Frankenstein to Einstein LIT266 Secrets and Lies:Victorian Life-Writing LIT273 Creative Writing Prose Fiction 2 Spring Semester ELL207 Phonetics ELL222 Semantics ELL226 First Language Acquisition ELL234 A Sense of Place: Local and Regional Identity ELL236 Introduction to Middle English ELL237 Corpus Linguistics ELL238 Special Subject LIT2000 Genre LIT207 Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature LIT219 Creative Writing Poetry 2 LIT237 Love and Death: The Films of Woody Allen LIT241 Adaptation: Theory and Practice LIT244 Storying Sheffield LIT254 Christopher Marlowe LIT264 America in the 1960s LIT270 Literature and Nonsense LIT271 Radical Theory LIT274 The Postcolonial Bildungsroman You may then choose ONE unrestricted module (20 credits) outside English or a further 20 credits from the options above. PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 7 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Literature (Single) All modules are 20 credits Core Modules Autumn Semester LIT204 Criticism and Literary Theory LIT234 Renaissance Literature Spring Semester LIT2000 Genre LIT207 Restoration and 18th Century Literature Choose 40 credits English Literature optional modules Autumn Semester EGH202 The History of Persuasion (Pre-requisite EGH102) EGH206 Introduction to Modern Irish ELL225 Introduction to Old English LIT2004 Satire and Print in the Eighteenth Century LIT224 Representing the Holocaust LIT251 British Theatre Since 1960 LIT255 John Donne LIT260 Post-War British Realist Cinema LIT265 Literary Mad Scientists: From Frankenstein to Einstein LIT266 Secrets and Lies:Victorian Life-Writing LIT273 Creative Writing Prose Fiction 2 Spring Semester EGH207 ELL236 LIT219 LIT237 LIT241 LIT244 LIT254 LIT264 LIT270 LIT271 LIT274 Writing the Real (Pre-requisite EGH102) Introduction to Middle English Creative Writing Poetry 2 Love and Death: The Films of Woody Allen Adaptation: Theory and Practice Storying Sheffield Christopher Marlowe America in the 1960s Literature and Nonsense Radical Theory The Postcolonial Bildungsroman PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 8 You may choose ONE unrestricted module (20 credits) outside English Literature in place of the optional module. These may include the following modules: IPA2000 Interdisciplinary Research in Practice IPA2010 LGBT* Studies PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 9 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English Literature (Duals) You must choose 40 credits of Literature core modules from the 80 credits available. Core Modules: Autumn Semester LIT204 Criticism and Literary Theory LIT234 Renaissance Literature Spring Semester LIT2000 Genre LIT207 Restoration and 18th Century Literature You have the option of choosing 20 credits from the following lists: Autumn Semester EGH202 The History of Persuasion (Pre-requisite EGH102) EGH206 Introduction to Modern Irish ELL225 Introduction to Old English LIT2004 Satire and Print in the Eighteenth Century LIT204 Criticism and Literary Theory LIT224 Representing the Holocaust LIT234 Renaissance Literature LIT251 British Theatre Since 1960 LIT255 John Donne LIT260 Post-War British Realist Cinema LIT265 Literary Mad Scientists: From Frankenstein to Einstein LIT266 Secrets and Lies:Victorian Life-Writing LIT273 Creative Writing Prose Fiction 2 Spring Semester EGH207 Writing the Real (Pre-requisite EGH102) ELL236 Introduction to Middle English LIT2000 Genre LIT207 Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature LIT219 Creative Writing Poetry 2 LIT237 Love and Death: The Films of Woody Allen LIT241 Adaptation: Theory and Practice LIT244 Storying Sheffield LIT254 Christopher Marlowe LIT264 America in the 1960s LIT270 Literature and Nonsense LIT271 Radical Theory LIT274 The Postcolonial Bildungsroman PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 10 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for English and Theatre All modules are 20 credits Core Modules: Autumn Semester EGH236 Theatre Practice: Performance II Spring Semester EGH221 Theatre Practice: Performance I Choose 40 credits of Literature core modules from the 80 credits available Autumn Semester LIT204 Criticism and Literary Theory LIT234 Renaissance Literature Spring Semester LIT2000 Genre LIT207 Restoration and 18th Century Literature Choose 40 credits from the following: Autumn Semester EGH202 EGH206 ELL225 LIT2004 LIT204 LIT224 LIT234 LIT251 LIT255 LIT257 LIT260 LIT265 LIT266 LIT273 The History of Persuasion (Pre-requisite EGH102) Introduction to Modern Irish Introduction to Old English Satire and Print in the Eighteenth Century Criticism and Literary Theory Representing the Holocaust Renaissance Literature British Theatre Since 1960 John Donne Shakespeare on Film Post-War British Realist Cinema Literary Mad Scientists: From Frankenstein to Einstein Secrets and Lies:Victorian Life-Writing Creative Writing Prose Fiction 2 PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 11 Spring Semester EGH207 ELL236 LIT2000 LIT207 LIT219 LIT237 LIT241 LIT254 LIT264 LIT270 LIT271 LIT274 Writing the Real (Pre-requisite EGH102) Introduction to Middle English Genre Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature Creative Writing Poetry 2 Love and Death: The Films of Woody Allen Adaptation: Theory and Practice Christopher Marlowe America in the 1960s Literature and Nonsense Radical Theory The Postcolonial Bildungsroman PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 12 EGH202: History of Persuasion Description We shall look at a number of text-types associated with particular domains: journalism, advertising, political speaking, science writing, and preaching. We shall use the tools of stylistics and textual analysis to look at what counts as authoritative or persuasive communication in each area. For example, contemporary journalism makes use of very distinctive methods of structuring narrative, while in science writing it is usual to write in a highly impersonal style rarely found in other contexts. We shall think about why these stylistic characteristics have come to be associated with these different types of writing, looking both at the history of each and its status in present-day culture and society. Teaching There will be two lectures each week to introduce you to important concepts and demonstrate different techniques of analysis. In addition, there will be a weekly seminar in which you can practice these techniques and share your ideas with the group. The course is also supported by a number of podcasts available through the MOLE site. Assessment Essay (2,000 words) - an analysis of texts selected by you: 50% Exam - one stylistic comment question and one essay: 50% Convener(s) Dr Richard Steadman-Jones Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 13 EGH206: Introduction to Modern Irish Description This course provides students with an introduction to the Irish language. On its completion, students should possess a basic conversational fluency and good listening comprehension skills. They will have learned to read simple texts and generate simple sentences, developed a firm grasp of Irish phonology and basic sentence structure, and be comfortable with the past, present and future forms of the verb. Teaching is through seminars and independent study, and assessment by means of written assignments, quizzes, and exam. Teaching To promote speaking and listening skills, in the seminars emphasis will be placed on encouraging participation from all students, with small-group and pairs work incorporated into each session. Listening exercises will be used to increase comprehension. Short presentations from the instructor will introduce grammar points. Independent study will be guided by the instructor, with specific recommendations made for each weeks reading, listening and (where appropriate) viewing. Assessment Written exam (2 hrs) 60% Written assignments (5) 20% Quizzes (4, 15 mins each.) 10% Oral exam 10% Convener(s) Dr Kaarina Hollo Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 14 EGH207: Writing the Real Description This module explores the often problematic relationship between literature and 'the real world', using a range of stylistic approaches. We will consider why 'realism' is such a difficult term to get to grips with; why describing a fictional or dramatic text as 'realistic' can be a very politically charged act; how ideas of 'the real' have changed over time; and what effects the inclusion of 'real' materials into fictional works may have. We will explore 'the real' in a wide range of prose and drama texts, including works by George Eliot and Kurt Vonnegut. Teaching Lectures, Seminars, Independent Study Assessment A stylistic analysis of a passage of fictional prose of 1,500 words (30%), followed by a final essay of 2,500 words (70%) on a text of your choice (which can be either prose or drama). Convener(s) Dr Joe Bray Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 15 EGH221: Theatre Practice: Performance I Description This is a studio-based module in which students will engage practically with one or more texts from a given period or genre. They will contribute as members of a group to explorations of the material from different perspectives, focusing primarily on its challenges and potential for staging today. Under staff supervision or direction, they will then work creatively to rehearse and perform all or sections of the text to an audience. Within this process, there may be opportunities to approach the material from within a variety of roles, including those of performers, designers, directors and dramaturgs. Alongside the practical work, students will also study the material from appropriate and specific theoretical and historical perspectives, which will both feed into and draw from the practical work. Teaching Tutor-led practical workshops and seminars; individual and group research into specific areas and questions, including practice-based research; theatre visits, as appropriate. Rehearsal under staff supervision and/or direction. Assessment There are two components to the assessment of this module, each worth 50% of the total mark: a) A practical assessment of one or more group performances, based on the standard criteria used for practical work throughout the Theatre programme;this assessment will incorporate both a group and an individual mark; b)A written assessment. Convener(s) Professor Steve Nicholson Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 16 EGH236: Theatre Practice: Performance II Description This core module explores aspects of contemporary performance practice. Areas which may be covered include Live Art, Site Specific Theatre, Physical Theatre and Devised and Experimental forms. You will be introduced to one of more model of contemporary performance practice and to relevant historical, theoretical and cultural materials. As with all core theatre modules, practice will be central to the investigation; but practice informed by thinking and critical reflection. Teaching Laboratory work, Independent Study Assessment Performance and written assessment. Convener(s) Dr Rachel Zerihan Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 17 ELL207: Phonetics Description This module aims to provide a detailed understanding of all aspects of speech sounds. Phonetics components of first year modules will be expanded on in order to give a practical knowledge of a much broader range of speech sounds, how they are produced and how they are (and have been) analysed. A working knowledge of phonetics is fundamental to the wider study of linguistics, both theoretical and applied, and the discipline draws its methods and insights from a range of other areas of study including physics, biology and medicine. As well as furnishing students with necessary linguistic skills, this module will also give straightforward access to other bodies of knowledge which are often denied to students of the humanities, such as the biological and physical sciences. Teaching There will be one lecture and one workshop each week. Some workshops will support and develop topics covered in lectures; others will provide backup for learning to accurately produce, perceive and transcribe sounds as presented on the alphabet of the International Phonetic Association. Assessment A transcription exercise (25% of the total mark for the module), which will take place in Week 12. An articulation exercise (25% of the total mark for the module), which students attempt individually in week 12. A written examination of 2-hours duration (50% of the total mark for the module), which will involve a series of short questions and may cover any aspect of the course (lectures, seminars, reading). Convener(s) Dr Gareth Walker Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 18 ELL216: Language Politics, Language Policy and Language Planning Description Language is highly political. It has always been closely linked to how people define themselves and how they define others and so it has always been a means of control in society. From our earliest years we are taught that some features of language are good while others are bad, and this doctrine is based on the idea that there are standards in language. We start the module by exploring this idea before moving on to see how control is exercised in language matters in a range of contexts and in various parts of the world. Languages change and languages die and languages are reborn. Some of this is based on internal change but mostly things happen to languages because people do things to them. Language can be manipulated or managed at every level from the home and the school right up to national and international governments, and in this module we will be encountering the full range of intervention in languages. This module is about what we do with our languages and why we do it. You will encounter and have the chance to work on cases studies from across the world, and there will be a strong emphasis on the role of English worldwide. Teaching You will be required to attend two classes each week. Some of these will be traditional lectures and some interactive workshops where your preparation and input is essential. Assessment The first assignment will be to write an essay of not more than 2500 words on a topic chosen from a list of titles handed out in week 6. The topics will relate to the issues discussed in the first half of the module, and the workshop in week 6 will focus on preparation for this element of the course. The second assessment will be another essay of not more than 2500 words, this time discussing the roles and effectiveness of various agents in language planning and language politics and based on the material presented in the latter half of the module. Convener(s) Dr Gerry Howley Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 19 ELL217: Sociolinguistics Description Sociolinguistics explores the relationship between language and society, and this module will introduce you to variationist approaches to this discipline. Variationists are concerned with measuring the relationship between language features and social identities. We will address (and challenge) questions such as: Why do working class people use more localised language features than middle class people? Do women use more linguistic innovations than men? To what extent do speakers adapt their speaking style and what causes them do so? We will also consider how language change occurs over time and explore how language change spreads across social groups. Who are the movers and the shakers in language change? We will begin by exploring the origins of the field (in particular, exploring sociolinguists’ criticisms of mainstream linguistics) and go on to consider the quantitative research methods developed by sociolinguists to explore the relationship between key social factors (social class, gender, age, ethnicity) and language. This course will train you in sociolinguistic techniques and provide you with the skills to undertake your own research at Level 3. Teaching The course is taught by 1 weekly lecture and 1 weekly seminar. The weekly seminar will follow upon the lecture material. Seminars will be student-centred and include group work, reading tasks and presentation-orientated tasks. Assessment Assessment will be by a series of research tasks. These will include: extracting data and analysing audio recordings from a corpus of interviews; analysing which social factors correlate with language variation; and devising a proposal for your own sociolinguistic study. Convener(s) Dr Emma Moore Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 20 ELL221: Syntax Description This module builds on what students have learnt in ELL113 Structure of English at Level 1, providing a more in-depth look at the structure and organising principles of sentences. We develop the tree structures students learn in first year, and see how these structures form a system of representation that can be used for any language. This involves thinking about the universal constraints on the grouping of words into phrases, and consideration of various operations that move elements around inside sentences to generate the word orders we see written or hear spoken, while at the same time ensuring that sentences satisfy formal constraints. In other words, the module provides an opportunity for students to think in more depth about why sentences are structured the way that they are. Teaching There is one lecture plus one seminar per week. The lecture will introduce the content, which we will then discuss in the weekly seminar. Assessment Weekly assignments, final exam Convener(s) Dr Robyn Orfitelli Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 21 ELL222: Semantics Description This module is an introduction to the fundamental concepts, techniques and analytical tools of linguistic semantics. The course covers the basic areas of semantics, focusing on sentence meaning (as opposed to discourse meaning). Specifically the course introduces the notions of reference, sense, truth and truth conditions, sentential relations such as entailment, presupposition, etc. Basic formal techniques such as propositional and predicate logic are covered in detail. The course also includes topics that past students expressed their interests in such as tense and quantification. Teaching The course follows a set textbook (Hurdford, Heasley and Smith 2007), together with a set of supplementary readings (book chapters). The module has two contact hours per week: • 1 hour lecture: Tutor-led, going through main theoretical concepts and their formal representations • 1 hour workshop: Student-led. Students work in groups to discuss their prepared answers to assigned workshop exercises, while raising individual questions to the tutor. The groups come together to discuss their answers with the tutor. Assessment • Take Home Exam (30%) • Formal Exam (70%) Convener(s) Dr Kook-Hee Gil Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 22 ELL225: Introduction to Old English Description This module teaches students to read the earliest written English, texts from over a thousand years ago. The first half of the course give an intensive introduction to basic Old English grammar. As you build confidence, we’ll gradually transition to translating a set text chosen by you (last year's was a sermon about witchcraft). The course typically recruits equal numbers of literature and language students, and assessments allow both approaches. All teaching is in small groups with a lively atmosphere. Teaching There are two one-hour classes per week, and an additional bi-weekly one-hour translation workshop. Assessment 20% - weekly translation tasks taken via MOLE • 40% - two in-class tests • 40% - translation of 30-line passage from set text Convener(s) Dr Mark Faulkner Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 23 ELL226: First Language Acquisition Description This course investigates how children acquire their first language with ease, even before mastering relatively simple tasks like tying their shoes or adding two numbers. We’ll look at how linguistic abilities develop in the first few years of life, and see how children make certain, predictable errors, while avoiding others we might predict. You’ll evaluate theories to explain language development in light of these empirical facts and consider how language development is researched, through sessions dedicated to research methods, in you’ll study experimental techniques that have been devised by acquisitionists. Teaching One 2-hour lecture per week, which covers aspects of language acquisition from phonology through morphology to syntax and semantics. An additional methodology wprkshop every other week will cover the methodologies used in language acquisition. Assessment Two midterms and a final paper, which will consist of a project proposal for an experimental study of some area of acquisition. Full support is provided to help you develop the skills required for the final project, and no technical knowledge is assumed. Convener(s) Dr Robyn Orfitelli Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 24 ELL227: Language Attitudes Description Language attitudes impact daily on peoples' lives and this module will enable students to understand and investigate this important field. Students will be given a critical introduction to a varied range of techniques that have been used to investigate the attitudes we all hold about languages and language varieties. The results of language attitudes studies will be compared with students' own attitudes to linguistic variation and the module will encourage students to reflect on the foundations of these attitudes. The impact of language attitudes will be considered in a wider context, with students encouraged to understand the implications of theory and research findings for language users. Throughout the module, students will be encouraged to reflect on their own development as they conduct and present research into the language attitudes prevalent in the general population. Teaching Lectures, Seminars, Study hours, Independent Study Assessment This module has three pieces of assessment: 1. Presentation (10%). You will record a brief (5 minute) presentation dealing with key terms and concepts in the study of attitudes. 2. Poster presentation (40%). You will design and present a poster in which you will outline your methodological approach to a study of language attitudes. 3. Research report (50%). You will write up a piece of language attitudes research completed according to the methods outlined in assessment 2. Convener(s) Dr Chris Montgomery Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 25 ELL228: Language and Cognition Description This module introduces students to the key theories and frameworks at the core of cognitive linguistics. The module explores the relationships between language and the human mind and considers how recent advances in the study of human cognition can enhance our understanding of the conceptual processes that underpin the production and reception of discourse. The module introduces students to such concepts as embodiment, prototypes, situated simulation, profiling, mental representation, conceptual mapping, and conceptual integration. The module equips students with the necessary knowledge and analytical skills to design and carry out their own investigations into language and cognition. Teaching Lectures, Seminars, Problem solving, Independent Study Assessment Course work Convener(s) Dr Joanna Gavins Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 26 ELL231: Issues in Language Change Description Languages are born, languages die; but above all else, languages change. This module investigates how and why they do so. In addition to studying a multitude of types of change in words, pronunciation, morphology and syntax, we'll also look at relationships between languages, methods used in historical linguistics, language birth and death, and the social realities of language change. Evidence will be taken from languages around the world, but focus is on English - both past and present varieties. No prior knowledge of any language but English is needed. Teaching There will be one fifty-minute lecture and one fifty-minute workshop each week. A study hour will take place every other week. Assessment Assessment consists of weekly online quizzes (via MOLE) and two essays. Convener(s) Dr Ranjan Sen Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 27 ELL234: A Sense of Place: Local and Regional Identity Description This module takes an interdisciplinary approach to issues of regional and local identity in contemporary Britain. Classes will focus on different aspects of the ways in which language is involved in the creation, dissemination and commodification of regional and local identity. A number of different ways of thinking about and conceptualising place will be covered, including topics under the following headings: 'Changing places', 'Describing places', 'Identifying places', and 'Enregistering places'. This module has an Enterprise element, and students will work in teams with representatives of local organisations (cultural and heritage organisations, local businesses, charities, or museums) to solve 'real life' problems. Teaching The majority of the module will be taught in one block per week, which will comprise a variety of learning exercises. Typically, this block of teaching time will be run as a lecture/seminar class, and the emphasis will be on whole-class discussion, reflecting on how the various themes covered help to understand the ways in which language contributes to ideas of place. The lecture/seminar classes will be supported by fortnightly study hour sessions, during which external project work will be undertaken. All classes will be structured in order to facilitate reflective learning, which is a cornerstone of the module. As part of the module, students will work with an external organisation to solve a ‘real-world’ problem (examples of which from previous years include market research, producing materials for heritage organisations, creating documentary films, and working with oral history archives to produce public exhibits). This task, supported by external partners and module staff, will see students developing a number of skills and competencies which they will be encouraged to reflect on as part of their assessment. Assessment The module has three assessments in total, as follows: Assessment 1: Personal reflective journal, filed fortnightly via MOLE (20%); Assessment 2: Project presentation; (30%) Assessment 3: Essay (50%) Convener(s) Dr Chris Montgomery Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 28 ELL236: Introduction to Middle English Description The late Middle Ages is a major milestone for English language and literature, and writing in Middle English includes some of the most fantastic and significant examples from our language's history: from internationally renowned superstars like Geoffrey Chaucer to the first examples of women writing everyday letters for themselves. This is also the period in which English is elaborated as a language (i.e. used in new contexts, such as letter-writing). In this module we will read a selection of different types of texts in the original Middle English. No previous knowledge of Middle English is necessary and you will be provided with multiple resources, including translations and dictionaries, to help you gain confidence in reading and discussing these texts as literary and linguistic artifacts. Primary texts include: Chaucer's masterpiece, Troilus and Criseyde; Malory's Sir Lancelot and Guinevere; the anonymous dreamvision Pearl; and the morality play Mankind. Teaching The course will be delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars. Lectures and seminars will rotate between linguistic and literary focus, allowing students from diverse backgrounds (and different degree programmes) to engage at all levels of the course. There are also bi-weekly study hours, which will be set aside as extra office hours specifcally for this module. Assessment Two 2000-word essays (50% each). For the essays, you will choose one question from a list of questions. The choice of questions will allow for you to focus on literary and/or linguistic approaches, and will ask you to apply these to the primary texts on the module. Convener(s) Dr Graham Williams Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 29 ELL237: Corpus Linguistics Description This module introduces the theoretical and practical issues of using language corpora in linguistic studies and explores how the corpus-based approach and other methodologies can be combined in the study of language. The module builds on the knowledge acquired from other modules (Structure of English, Varieties of English, History of English, as well as Sociolinguistics), but focuses on actual language phenomena. Students will be introduced to the notion of the linguistic corpus and will be expected to become familiar with at least one of the major computerised corpora currently in the public domain. Teaching With a dual focus on ‘why’ and ‘how to’ in corpus-based language studies, this practical module will be delivered through a series of lectures and hands-on lab sessions. The weekly teaching typically comprises two parts. The first is a lecture introducing key concepts, theories and data analysis skills. Lab sessions are designed as hands-on events, aiming both at (i) exposing students to some available corpora, as well as to (ii) providing familiarity with tools and techniques for handling corpora. Students may be asked to replicate a case study (either the one illustrated in the theoretical component, or a different one), and to address a set research question/hypothesis, for which they would need to get involved in obtaining and manipulating relevant data. Assessment The assessment consists of (i) a 1,000-word essay that critically reviews either a corpus exploration tool or a corpusbased study (40%); and (ii) a 2,500-word project report based on students’ independent research (60%). Convener(s) Dr Gabriel Ozon Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 30 ELL238: Special Subject Description This module will explore a different, cutting-edge topic on each run, reflecting the research expertise in the department. It will develop analytical tools in linguistics, appropriate to the topic and level of study. The topic may involve examining current issues in socio-, theoretical, historical, or applied linguistics, or any other area within the department’s interests. As topics based on staff research are particularly encouraged, this module provides an excellent opportunity for students to experience explicitly research-led teaching. The analytical tools developed may include rigorously interpreting language data within theoretical frameworks, or evaluating competing influences in accounts of linguistic phenomena. In 2016-17, this module will be on a sociolinguistic topic’ In a globalised world where migration patterns are changing rapidly, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the ways in which transnational speakers acquire and express themselves in new languages. This module will explore the nature of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) primarily from a variationist sociolinguistic perspective. Key areas of focus include: migration and SLA; identity and SLA; the acquisition of linguistic variation in a second language; sociolinguistic research methods into SLA; and the acquisition of multicultural British English. Teaching One lecture per week to introduce and explain topics, explaining the theoretical and methodological approaches to SLA, in particular what social approaches to SLA can be used to address specific research questions, with examples from a variety of SLA contexts. One workshop per week to explore the relevant linguistic topics in detail and discussion of recent research conducted into second language acquisition and use in a range of migrant communities Assessment An essay of 2000 words on the topic, its research questions, methods, their relevance, and context. A project consisting of a group presentation/poster and individual write-up of 1000 words Convener(s) Dr Gerry Howley Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 31 LIT2000: Genre Description This module gives you the opportunity to study developments in comedy and tragedy from classical antiquity to the present day. Though the majority of core modules on the English Literature degree offer a series of chronological accounts of discrete periods of literary history, ‘Genre’ enables you to take a broadly comparative approach, setting, for instance, works of classical antiquity along those of the early modern, modern and postmodern worlds, or translated texts from Ancient Greece alongside those of nineteenth-century England. Part of the aim of the module, therefore, is to use genre as a means of drawing connections between periods studied separately at different points on the degree and to resist the compartmentalization of certain forms and styles imposed by a modular degree structure. In demanding that you bring your own encounters with genre to bear on the texts studied in lectures and seminars you are encouraged to reflect upon generic development across a wide variety different media: poetry, prose fiction, drama, photography, opera, cinema, dance, painting, sculpture, radio, television and the internet. Over the course of this module we will consider questions such as: what is genre, and why is it important? How does genre reflect or respond to historical change? Is there any such thing as a “pure” genre or is hybridization a defining feature of genre itself? We’ll answer these questions by reading texts by authors such as Angela Carter, Aristotle, Noel Coward, Thomas Hardy, Sarah Kane, Plautus, William Shakespeare and Sophocles. Teaching 2 lectures per week plus a 50-minute seminar Assessment 1 x seminar participation mark (10%) 1 x 3000-word essay (90%) Convener(s) Dr Jonathan Rayner Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 32 LIT2004: Satire and Print Description This course captures the filth, fun and exuberance of a period when, amidst political, religious and cultural ferment, new ideas about literature’s role in the wider world emerged. By the end of the course you should have acquired a critical understanding of the genre of satire; the social and cultural contexts in which these writings worked; the features of the contemporary world that are targeted in popular and satirical writing. The period considered is the first half of the 'long' eighteenth century: roughly 1688-1745. Teaching Seminars occur in the department twice a week and each lasts for 50 minutes. They are your opportunity to share your ideas and discuss them with other students and with me. Mini lectures and group discussions will form the basis of the first half of the semester's teaching. I also offer research training on databases that’ll help you on this, and other, modules. The second half of the semester is spent preparing for, delivering and discussing your group presentations (see below). By the end of the course you should know how satirical and popular texts written and published during the period engaged with and challenged the cultural and moral standards of their time; how to associate particular issues with particular modes of satirical writing (for example, how polite manners were represented in periodicals, scurrilous personal abuse in squibs, ballads and newspapers and so forth); how the publishing history of literature can affect its content (for example, the impact of 'grub street' on contemporary writing habits); how literature in England began to become a commercial activity rather than the preserve of an educated elite; the importance of copyright laws and trade guilds in shaping the history of popular print's rise. The course will map-on nicely to LIT207, by the way. Assessment There are two forms of assessment: a group presentation delivered in the course of the semester, the other a (c. 2000 word) end-of-semester essay. The group presentation contains an element of peer-review, and will be fully supported by me, with tutor meetings before the presentation, and a full debriefing afterwards. It is worth 40% of the module grade. You can use elements of your group project research in your essay (60%). The aim is to encourage independent study and allow you to pursue and reflect upon your own interests within the topic to a greater extent. I will go over this thoroughly with you, anyway, when we start. Convener(s) Dr Hamish Mathison Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 33 LIT204: Criticism And Literary Theory Description The module in Critical and Literary Theory engages with interdisciplinary approaches to the study and critique of texts, culture and society. To begin with, it interrogates the notion of what, for example, constitutes a ‘text’, but the issues raised in this course move beyond the study of ‘literature’ into wider political and cultural spheres. The module employs the most ground-breaking and influential theorists of both the past and the present (including Marx, Lacan, Kristeva, Barthes, Jameson, Foucault, Derrida, Haraway, Virilio, Deleuze and Guattari, Spivak, Žižek, Shukin, Morton) to explore a range of concepts such as power, knowledge, identity, empire, capitalism, body, myth, subject, discourse, trauma, human, technology, environment, animal, terror—concepts that, in turn, can be used to illuminate the reading of words/worlds. The course develops thematically, and invites each topic under consideration to be approached from a number of theoretical or critical angles; the objective of the course is to give you a fundamental grounding in literary theory, a critical approach that is frequently provocative, radical, and openended. Teaching The module will be taught by a combination of lectures and seminars that will help you develop an awareness and understanding of the key ethical, political and theoretical debates in literature and culture. By the end of the module, you will have • acquired a knowledge of the history of and debates within critical theory; • engaged with and compared different kinds of cultural production (e.g. novels, films) drawing on an informed critical vocabulary; • accessed and used information from a wide variety of sources, both critical and historical; • undertaken independent research Assessment The assessment for this course consists of 2 essays: the first of which is 1,500 words long and is weighted at 35%; this essay invites you to explore the material presented in lectures and seminars during the first half of the course, and ask you to either focus on a specific theory or work of a theorist or encourage you to understand the connections between and/or within theoretical movements or approaches. The second essay is 2,500 words long and weighted at 65%; in this assessment, you will apply at least two theoretical or critical approaches as studied on the module to the analysis of at least one literary or cultural text. In the process of this application of theory, you will evaluate the ways in which the different theories produce different textual readings. Convener(s) Dr Fabienne Collignon Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 34 LIT207: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature Description We’ll survey some of the most important Restoration and Eighteenth-Century authors and genres (from the astonishing epic poetry of Paradise Lost to the seminal epistolary novel Evelina, via the Restoration stage and new colonial writing). We’ll think about the issues of canonicity, periodicity and the evolution of specific modes and genres of writing (for example the ‘rise of the novel’) and relate our discussions to both the previous (Renaissance) and following (Romantic) literary eras. Examining a wide range of authors and genres, we ask big questions about how literary texts relate to the socio-economic, political and cultural conditions in which they were written, published and performed. Teaching Lectures form an important part of the course and fall into two main types: some are designed principally to increase your contextual knowledge of the period, while others focus more on the reading of specific texts. The opening lecture also offers an overview of the whole period, while the final one offers some tips for the examination and anticipates next year’s modules on Romantic and Victorian poetry and prose. Seminars pick up on the ideas and themes raised in lectures, so it is important that you prepare for these thoroughly by doing the reading specified each week by your tutor. In addition there will be a MOLE2 site for the course, which will contain valuable primary and secondary resources, as well as important practical information. Training exercises will help you become an advanced user of electronic resources such as the OED, MLA Bibliography, EEBO and ECCO – all of which you can use throughout your undergraduate career. Assessment There are two assessments on the course that test different skills: a mid-semester essay of 1,000 words (worth 30% of your overall grade) and a final closed-book exam (70%). The assessment deadlines are set centrally and will be available towards the start of semester. Lecturers and tutors will say more about the details: that final lecture in particular will give clear guidance on tackling the exam. In your first essay you will need to offer a close and contextualised reading of a passage from one of the period’s texts (supplied by your tutor) that we lecture on prior to the Easter vacation. The exam will be 3 hours long and will require you to answer two questions. The first focuses on the eighteenth-century material from the second half of the course (after Easter). The second question will be on a more general topic and will invite more of an overview of the period. The exam rubric requires you to address at least 3 works. Convener(s) Dr Hamish Mathison Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 35 LIT219: Creative Writing Poetry 2 Description We learn by example: creative writers are first and foremost creative and critical readers of their own work. This module explores poetic form and techniques for creating new poems through the critical study of published examples, imaginative exercises, discussion and feedback on students’ own writing. This exploration will help students to develop their own creative work while sharpening critical appreciation of published poetry. Subjects covered will include: voice, language and imagery; metrical and free verse; rhyme and verbal patterning; traditional and new forms. Teaching The module will be taught by one weekly seminar / workshop of two hours. Time will be divided between analysing published poems and discussion / feedback on students’ own creative work. This is primarily a creative writing class, so students will be expected to produce a short poem, or a draft to work on each week. It is very important that students attend regularly so that the group becomes cohesive and students learn to trust each other’s ideas and critical judgements. Assessment You will be required to submit two portfolios, the second to be accompanied by a critical self-commentary. The work you submit in Week 6 will account for 35% of your final mark and the work you submit in Week 14 will account for 65%. Not everything you write this semester will be seen by your tutor, but every class exercise and homework assignment will feed into your work: they are all necessary stages so you will need to attend most meetings. Portfolio 1, Week 6/7: a portfolio containing two elements 1. 2. A collection of 3-5 poems arising from class exercises (up to 40 lines) A writerly appraisal of a contemporary poem: (800-1000 words) Portfolio 2, Week 14: a portfolio containing two elements 1. A collection of 6-10 poems arising from class exercises and discussions (at least one of these should be formal) which could be thematically linked...(up to 90 lines) 2. A critical self commentary (1500 words) Portfolio One: 35% Portfolio Two: 65 % Convener(s) Dr Agnes Lehoczky Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 36 LIT224: Representing the Holocaust Description This course focuses on the range of representations concerning the Nazis' genocidal policies in the Second World War. It will explore the variety of generic responses to the Holocaust, including testimony, memoir, non-fiction prose, fiction, graphic novels, poetry and film, by writers ranging from Primo Levi to Anne Michaels, Art Spiegelman to Charlotte Delbo. Issues to be examined include the nature and boundaries of the genre of testimony, the possibility and appropriateness of poetry after Auschwitz, the relationship between the Holocaust and the postmodern, the significance of gender issues in the representation of the Holocaust, and the issues which arise in the representation of this event from a child’s perspective. We also consider critical and theoretical approaches to these texts, provided in a course pack of secondary reading. Teaching There are two seminars each week. In one we will discuss the set text for the week; and in the second we will relate the text to the critical reading from the module course pack. Assessment You can choose either two essays (one of 1500 for 40%, one of 2500 for 60%), or a long essay of 4000 words for 100%. Convener(s) Professor Sue Vice Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 37 LIT237: Love and Death in the Films of Woody Allen Description This module combines an interest in contemporary American cinema and film theory with a close study of the work of a single film director, Woody Allen. As well as being one of the most prolific filmmakers of his generation, Woody Allen is also one of the few directors to have complete artistic control over the writing, casting, filming, editing and scoring of his work. A study of his career thus offers the chance to see a single artist develop and evolve a very distinct cinematic language. Issues to be raised in seminars will include the relationship between image and music in film narrative, the problem of assessing comic elements in cinema, Allen's relationship to recent and contemporary American cinema, the use of auteur theory in film studies, and feminist, Marxist and psychoanalytic critiques of Allen’s work. Films to be studied will include Love and Death, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Zelig, Hannah and Her Sisters and Husbands and Wives. Teaching There will be two teaching hours per week (one lecture, one seminar). Lectures will provide biographical, cultural and philosophical contexts for the study of Allen’s films and will also offer advice on preparing for the close analysis exam. In seminars you will have the opportunity to share your ideas and discuss them with other students and your tutor. The course will proceed chronologically through Allen’s career, from the ‘early, funny films’ of the early 70s through to the mature and serious work of the 80s and 90s. There will also be opportunity to look at Allen’s contemporary work. There are normally film screenings of each of the course films. Assessment Assessment will be in two parts. There will be a two-hour close analysis exam counting for 40% of the mark and a 2,500 word essay counting for 60% of the mark. The exam will take the form of a close analysis of a 10-minute sequence from a Woody Allen film not studied in class. There will be opportunity for practising this exercise in class. In the essay you will be asked to focus on at least two Allen films in order to address larger issues and themes that arise from the study of his career. Convener(s) Dr Jonathan Ellis Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 38 LIT241: Adaptation: From Theory to Theatrical Practice Description This module explores and theorises practices of adaptation from literary to dramatic form. You will become familiar with changing critical approaches pursued within adaptation studies, from arguments defending medium specificity; through comparative analysis; towards a postmodern eclecticism of method that embraces multiple frameworks by which we can understand the phenomenon of ‘adaptation’ as both process and product. Our discussion will be focused around a series of case studies, each of which derives from a prior text that poses very specific problems for translation to live performance. These texts and their adaptations also form the starting point for a series of intensive workshops designed to help prepare you for the practical assessment task: a small-group adaptation or an individually authored playscript based on a literary text that you select in negotiation with the tutor. Through the practical project, a written essay and the variety of teaching methods used, you will engage closely with formal issues of adaptation, investigating the processes and implications of transposing literary texts to the medium of live performance. Equally central to the module will be questions of thematic content, production context and authorial/directorial perspective; in this regard the work undertaken will demonstrate the ways in which adaptation may function as imitation, interrogation and intervention. Teaching Alternating weekly seminars and practical workshops; occasional film screenings. The module aims to incorporate a theatre visit (subject to programming). Assessment (i) 1 x 1,500 word coursework essay. (40%) (ii) 1 x small group short performance demonstrating principles of dramatic adaptation applied to a group selected short story, supported by individual submission of a working notebook. (60%) OR 1 x individual original short playscript (rehearsed reading and script submission) demonstrating principles of dramatic adaptation applied to an individually selected short story, supported by individual submission of a working notebook. (60%) Convener(s) Dr Frances Babbage Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 39 LIT244: Storying Sheffield Description Storying Sheffield is an innovative course focusing on the idea that stories are a resource for understanding lives, places, and histories. It combines academic study with practical project work. The first part of the module provides students with academic and practical input into the use of narrative as a research methodology, the theory and practice of 'personal geographies', representing life narratives using creative means, and practical training in eliciting and producing life narratives. Workshops will include sessions on narrative and British film; cross-cultural stories; the study and analysis of everyday life; objects as narratives. Students will then work alongside Sheffield residents to develop narratives of Sheffield people’s lives and experiences, using a wide variety of techniques and media, including: text, audio, video, images, and performance. A public exhibition is staged at the end of the course in which students' work is displayed. [See www.storyingsheffield.com] This module will give you a valuable opportunity to utilise your academic abilities in practical ways, while also learning new skills and ideas. In addition to helping you develop skills in research techniques, communication, and project management, working on this project will provide you with opportunities to enhance your CV and to gain experience which is likely to be attractive to many potential future employers. Teaching Teaching will consist of one 3 hour workshop per week. The workshops will be diverse, offering a range of small and large group discussions and exercises; informal and interactive lectures; and student-led presentations. Assessment Students will be assessed using learning portfolios. These will be in the form of electronic portfolios incorporating reflections on the following: workshops and other relevant activities; reading; planning; learning encounters; ideas for work. Content in the journals can be presented through a variety of means (film, audio, notes, writing, images etc). Students will also be encouraged to use their learning portfolios to build a 'research scrapbook', in which a variety of relevant sources are collected and referenced. The learning portfolio will also incorporate a brief summative report. Convener(s) Dr Brendan Stone Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 40 LIT254: Christopher Marlowe Description This module gives students the opportunity to read the entire dramatic and poetic output of Shakespeare's great rival, Christopher Marlowe. In putting plays into dialogue with lyric and narrative poetry, we will interrogate the implications of the label 'poet-dramatist' to describe the trajectory of Marlowe's career. Students will also look at important institutional contexts for the publication of Marlowe's work: professional theatre, patronage networks and print. Marlowe’s work was both dramatically innovative and intellectually challenging, engaging with controversial questions of religious belief, political theory and sexual identity as well offering striking scenes of theatrical spectacle and dazzling linguistic pyrotechnics. While reading it we will explore a variety of critical themes, including identity, violence, gender, sexuality, rhetoric, race, religion, atheism and colonialism. This module will be of interest both to students wanting to deepen their understanding of Renaissance literature and culture and to those wanting to explore the world of Elizabethan drama that lies beyond Shakespeare. Teaching The module is taught in a combination of lectures and seminars. Teaching will be supported by a MOLE site including an extensive bibliography. Students will be encouraged to use appropriate electronic resources such as Early English Books Online and the OED. Assessment You have a choice of assessment for this module: either 1 x 4000-word essay (100%) or 1 x 1500-word essay (40%) + 1 x 2500-word essay (60%). Convener(s) Dr Tom Rutter Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 41 LIT255: John Donne Description This module focuses on the work of one of the most charismatic, provocative, and intellectually challenging poets and preachers of the early modern period, John Donne. Ranging across Donne’s writings, we will consider his erotic and religious poetry, political satires, letters, and sermons. The module will examine the social and literary circles in which Donne’s work was written and read, with a particular emphasis on contemporary cultures of print and manuscript, and also seek to locate Donne’s work in the wider context of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century society, exploring, for example, his engagement with court politics, religious controversy, debates about women, and the exploration of the New World. The module will conclude with an examination of the critical reception of Donne’s work and, in particular, the ways in which his biography has been constructed from the seventeenth-century to the present day. Teaching The module is taught in one lecture and one seminar each week. The lectures provide contextual background and introduce a series of interpretative frameworks for reading Donne’s works. The seminars provide opportunities for both detailed close reading and participation in broader debates in Donne studies. Assessment The module is assessed by 1 x close reading paper; 1,000 words (25%) 1 x research essay; 3,000 words (75%) Convener(s) Dr Emma Rhatigan Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 42 LIT260: Post-War British Realist Cinema Description This module represents a journey through British realist cinema from the post-war period to the present day, covering key thematic and textual trends and providing a thorough exploration of relevant social and cultural contexts in the process. You will explore the immediate post war period in British cinema, examining the formative influence of wartime fiction films and documentaries on realism, before moving to the work of key filmmakers and film cycles, such as: the social problem film (It Always Rains on Sunday [Robert Hamer, 1947]); the British New Wave (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner [Tony Richardson, 1962]); Ken Loach (Raining Stones [1993]); Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies [1995]); Black British Cinema (Pressure [Horace Ove, 1976]); the films of Stephen Frears and Hanif Kureishi (My Beautiful Laundrette [1985]); the ‘Brit Grit’ and post-industrial realist cycles of the 90s (Brassed Off [Mark Herman, 1996]); the work of Shane Meadows (Dead Man’s Shoes [2004]); and recent examples of contemporary British realism (Weekend [Andrew Haigh, 2011]). The module will examine how British filmmakers have explored the changing political and social landscape of post-war Britain, with a particular focus on issues of class, race, gender and sexuality. Teaching Teaching will be delivered via one weekly 2 hour seminar, accompanied by one weekly film screening (up to two hours). The seminars will provide an introduction to the topics associated with the film selected for screening, and will be a combination of verbal and audio-visual exhibition (informal lecture) and group discussion. Set texts and further reading/viewing will be specified to provide a basis for seminar discussion and assessment. Assessment You will be assessed via a learning journal and a research essay. The journal will provide you with an opportunity to reflect on what you have learned each week, and will offer you a space to illustrate your understanding of the issues raised in the lectures and seminars. The research essay will be a 2500-3000 word piece to be delivered at the end of the module. You will set the essay topic (in consultation with the tutor). In doing this, you will be encouraged to explore the areas of research that have interested you most over the course of the module. Convener(s) Dr David Forrest: Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 43 LIT264: America in the 1960s Description This course involves students in the interdisciplinary study of American society and culture during the watershed decade of the 1960s. The major themes of the course are the rise of a variety of dissident political and cultural movements, analyzed through documents, films, music, and literature. Particular topics include Civil Rights, the ‘second wave’ of American Feminism, Environment and 60s, Bob Dylan, Kennedy, Counterculture, 1960s Film, the Space Race, and other topics. These are examined through the study of a range of historical documents and literary texts, and cinema, all framed in a MOLE online environment. The MOLE elements of this course consist of essential documentation and information and demand active participation in vital issues of the 1960s. The topics will depend on the expertise of available tutors. Multiple staff are involved in the delivery of the module, each sharing a part of their research expertise related to US culture in the 1960s. The flexibility of this module and the variety is one of its characteristic features. The 2013 edition of the module, for example, features Professor Simon Armitage with a lecture on Bob Dylan. Teaching The teaching methods employed in this course – lectures, seminars, MOLE environment and individual tutorial contact – are designed to promote interdisciplinary study of America in the 1960s, facilitate in-depth evaluation of particular historical documents and cultural artefacts such as literature and film, and enhance both analytical and presentational skills. There will be one lecture and one seminar each week; there will also be screenings of films. Assessment Assessment 1: 1,500 word essay: 40% Assessment 2: 2,500 word essay: 50%, research essay Assessment 3: Bulletin Board: 10%. Each week, students complete the exercise/question/discussion on the bulletin board. Upon completion, the students receive a 70% for the 10% of the module. Convener(s) Dr Duco Van Oostrum Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 44 LIT265: Literary Mad Scientists: From Frankenstein to Einstein Description What is the relationship between literature and science? How do individual authors use their work to celebrate or critique scientific worldviews? The contemporary poet Ruth Padel writes that: 'Poetry and science have more in common than revealing secrets. Both depend on metaphor, which is as crucial to scientific discovery as it is to lyric. A new metaphor is a new mapping of the world.' This module explores interchanges between literature and science, both in terms of metaphor and content, with the figure of the scientist as creative genius or ‘mad scientist' providing a unifying theme. You will also discuss similarities scientific creativity and literary creativity; after all, some authors, such as William Carlos Williams or Lewis Carroll, had a primarily scientific education. In the course of the module you will build up a picture of literary engagement with science from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first century through analysis of canonical literature, science fiction and popular science writing. You will study multiple genres (novels, poetry, plays) and sciences (robotics, astronomy, biology) to cater for a wide range of interests. Writers studied will include Mary Shelley, H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov and Michael Frayn and many others. Teaching This module is delivered via two sessions each week: the first takes the form of an informal, interactive lecture led by the tutor; the second takes the form of a seminar. Existing scientific knowledge is not required for this module, as we will approach the literary and scientific texts primarily through close reading: you only need to be interested by the topics and ideas. I also hope to offer a field trip as part of this module, depending on funding and numbers. Assessment 1500 word research report (40%) 2500 word essay (60%) Convener(s) Dr Katherine Ebury Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 45 LIT266: Secrets and Lies: Victorian Life-Writing Description How do lives become stories? How is the telling of life-stories shaped by history, society and culture? This module interrogates life-writing traditions across the long nineteenth century, from Romantic autobiography-in-verse to the “new” biography of the Bloomsbury Group and Modernism. Students will consider the anxieties raised by life-writing and its troublesome relationship to truth and public exposure, secrecy, lies and censorship. Major works, including Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Life of Charlotte Brontë, will be read alongside more unusual, exceptional forms—such as working-class autobiography, prison-writing, homosexual confession, and the biography of a dog. Students will explore a range of formal and thematic strategies at work in nineteenth-century life-writing, relating these to contemporary historical and cultural debates. These will include: sexual identity and morality; public and private spheres; health and psychology; constructions of class and gender. This module introduces students to the diverse literary and print culture of the long nineteenth century and encompasses multiple genres: biography, autobiography, essays, poetry and fiction. Writers studied include: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Thomas Carlyle, Elizabeth Gaskell, John Addington Symonds, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf and William Wordsworth. Teaching This module is delivered via two sessions each week: the first takes the form of a seminar, and the second takes the form of a workshop led by the tutor. Up to five seminars will be student-led as part of the module assessment. In small groups, students will: 1) introduce a text and topic, 2) set activities for their peers, and 3) manage class discussion. Assessment 25%: Student-led seminar (assessed group work). 25%: 1000 word close-reading exercise. 50%: 2000 word essay. Convener(s) Dr Amber Regis Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 46 LIT270: Literature and Nonsense Description This module aims to introduce students to literary nonsense published between the eighteenth century and the present day. Challenging the common conception that nonsense literature is a Victorian phenomenon that begins and ends with Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, it will trace both the forebears and the heirs of these two fathers of nonsense in order to propose nonsense as a kind of writing that presents radical formal, philosophical and ideological challenges to literary and critical practice. Teaching Teaching takes the form of a 1-hour seminar, twice a week, over eleven weeks. The seminars will be discussion led, and are used to introduce the aims and produce the outcomes of the course in detail. The remaining hours per week of study for this module are to be divided between seminar preparation (directed reading), small group work, individual research, and preparation for assessments. Assessment Close Reading (30%) A 1500-word close reading of a poem or short extract from a nonsense text. Online Anthology (70%) You will compile and edit an online anthology that will include a short selection of texts and extracts (including those not studied on the module) and write a 3000-word introductory essay to their selection that justifies and explores the connections between the different texts included. Convener(s) Dr Anna Barton Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 47 LIT271: Radical Theory Description The premise of this course is the necessity to re-interpret the university as a site for philosophical speculation and theory-based intervention. Run collectively, the course will address, to use Walter Benjamin's terms, the catastrophe of the status quo, and is structured around three aims, which are: 1) to address 'moments' of crisis such as, for example, climate change; the neoliberal, market-driven higher education system; the state of exception; the myth of the human; 2) to theorize these crises, and 3) to explore the relationship between theory and practice: in particular to explore theorized agency as enabling political activism. Teaching This course will be taught by weekly 2-hour workshops that begin by identifying (together, staff and students) some of the most pressing political events or issues to be addressed and which we will then explore by way of theoretical texts. Some of these texts will be set by the course convenors-we will run this module under a collaborative 'convenorship'-which we will discuss during the first stage of the course, during which we will also form groups according to areas of research/intervention selected by the students. The next stage of the course involves independent and group research; each group will be assisted by one of the course convenors-this research will lead into the final stage of the module, in which we investigate the possibilities of resistance and theorized intervention offered by critical theory. Assessment Students will be assessed through a 4,000 word portfolio submission, inclusive of documentary research on a cultural crisis, the key questions raised by this event or issue, and an essay that theorizes this current event. Convener(s) Dr Fabienne Collignon Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 48 LIT273: Creative Writing Prose Fiction 2 Description The aim of this unit is to help you develop your expressive and technical skills in writing prose fiction and to improve your abilities as an editor and critic of your own and other people's writing. You will be be guided in the production of new work and encouraged to develop an analytical awareness of both the craft elements and the wider cultural and theoretical contexts of writing. The emphasis throughout will be on reading as a writer and writing as a reader. The first half of the course will be exploratory and practical, using structured exercises, published texts, handouts, discussion and homework to stimulate the production of new work and an understanding of such issues as character, voice, genre, structure, temporality, dialogue, setting, point of view, etc. You should expect the programme to be flexible, adapted by your tutor as required. Most class exercises will be based on a study of the work of established authors. You will analyse the ways in which exemplary texts work and ask what you can learn from them. On occasion you will be asked to write about ‘what you know’ and for this purpose you should be keeping an observational journal. You should also keep a writer’s journal in which to record your reading, your responses to class exercises, and your analysis of the progress of your own writing. In the second half of the semester the emphasis will shift to constructive group discussion of students’ own self-generated work with a view to guiding the editing and redrafting process. You may also be required to give a class presentation - a writerly appraisal of a story or novel you’ve been reading. Teaching Two seminar groups per week in Autumn term, one seminar is 1h30 mins. The module will be taught by one weekly seminar / workshop of two hours. Time will be divided between analysing published texts and discussion / feedback on students’ own creative work. This is primarily a creative writing class, so students will be expected to produce a short text, or a draft to work on each week. It is very important that students attend regularly so that the group becomes cohesive and students learn to trust each other’s ideas and critical judgements. Assessment You will be required to submit two pieces of short fiction, the second to be accompanied by a critical selfcommentary. The work you submit in Week 7 will account for 30% of your final mark and the work you submit in Week 13 will account for 70%. You will be issued with separate guidance on this, and on the composition of the critical self-commentary element of the Week 13 assignment. You will also be issued with Creative Writing marking scales and criteria. Week 7: Short Story and Critical Review/Close Reading 30% Week 7 a short story arising from class exercises (1,500 words) a critical review of a contemporary prose fiction published recently (1000) Week 13, Short Story and Critical Self-Commentary 70% Week 13 1. a short story arising from class exercises and workshops (2,000 words) 2. a critical self-commentary (1500 words) Convener(s) Dr Agnes Lehoczky Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 49 LIT274: The Postcolonial Bildungsroman Description This module considers the bildungsroman as a global form that, having emerged in tandem with Western imperialism, remains a vital means of constructing the self and (re)imagining social and political relations in postcolonial literatures. We will focus on the representation of growth; development and community in novels from South Asia, Nigeria, South Africa and the Caribbean, paying attention to features that are, arguably, antidevelopmental, including primitivism, animality, violence, illness and disability. We will investigate how ‘postcolonial’ or ‘global’ novels stretch, resist or overhaul, an inherited form and ask how contemporary concerns with race, gender and religious conflict play out for protagonists in whose lives the local and the global meet Teaching • There will be one lecture and one seminar per week. The lectures will be used to present students with a range of historical and theoretical means for thinking about the bildungsroman as a postcolonial form and to demonstrate the stylistic analysis of novels from a range of locations. • There will be one seminar a week. In each class one or two students will give their presentation on a chosen text or topic. Students will be required to prepare for class by doing one or more of the following: (i) read a specific article and be prepared to discuss it (ii) analyse a passage of text in the way that was demonstrated in the lecture (iii) find their own example of the kind of material that was discussed in the lecture, or (iv) research a particular topic. In the seminar students will then have the opportunity to discuss this work, express their own ideas, and ask any questions they may have. • During private study time, students will prepare for seminars and work on the essays, presentations and posters Assessment This module will be assessed by class presentations (15%), a research poster (25%) and a 2,500 word essay (60%). For the class presentations students will agree a topic with the seminar tutor in week 1 and will research it and present their findings in a 10 minute presentation followed by a short question and answer session. Students will be encouraged to present research questions or compelling lines of enquiry rather than a finished argument; the topic will then be developed in the research poster. For the poster students will work to extend the ideas presented in class and demonstrate how they can be related to the historical and political situation of the text considered and how postcolonial theory might be used to explore the topic effectively. The posters will be displayed in the Jessop West foyer and discussed with other students and staff. For the essay, students will respond to a discursive question on one of the novels studied (e.g. relating the postcolonial bildungsroman to race, education, gender, sexuality or disability). To answer the question, they will identify appropriate critical material and analyse it using the theoretical frameworks and historical considerations introduced in the course of the module. Convener(s) Dr Veronica Barnsley Email [email protected] PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 50 PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BOOKS OR MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE UNTIL CONFIRMATION IN SEPTEMBER - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PREPARE, PLEASE USE LIBRARY RESOURCES OR LOOK ONLINE - PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK 51
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