Faculty of Arts American Studies Module Catalogue Study Abroad Students Semester one 2017/2018 Module Code:
Module Name:
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
AM1111
Introduction To American Studies 1
30
1
Level 4
Denise Hanrahan
Module Description:
This double module introduces significant themes and concepts of American Studies, and aims to develop an initial understanding of the methodologies and practices of interdisciplinarity and area studies. It does so via a combined pattern of work in which a schedule of lectures and seminars introduces and examines the topics for study which a small group meeting follows up in detail.
Specific to:
American Studies
American Studies Combined
Exchange/Visiting Faculty of Arts
American Studies and History
American Studies and Politics
Assessments:
001:
002:
003:
004:
Library Research Exercise
Iterative Essay X 2 (1000 Words)
Presentation
Blog
Availability:
Occ.
A
Year
17/18
Semester
S1
20%
40%
20%
20%
Module Code:
Module Name:
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
AM1203
America And Americanisation
15
1
Level 4
Matthew Leggatt
Module Description:
This module deals with Americanisation ‐ the process by which American products (eg foods such as Coke, burgers, pizza etc) and patterns of living (in popular entertainment, or auto‐culture) have been exported to and received by the rest of the world. Study will consider this with regard to the history of this process and to theories such as globalisation. Case studies will be made of particular examples in the UK, for instance McDonalds and shopping malls, in which students will be invited to assess the impact of the United States on their own lives.
Specific to:
American Studies
American Studies and History
American Studies and Politics
English with American Literature
English
Assessments:
001:
002:
Definitions Dossier (1500 Words)
Commentary (1500 Words)
Availability:
Occ.
A
Year
17/18
Semester
S1
50%
50%
Module Code:
Module Name:
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
AM1205
American Genres
15
1
Level 4
Denise Hanrahan
Module Description:
This module examines America via the genres of popular culture such as the Western, Science Fiction, Crime Fiction, Romantic Fiction. Study will commence with an examination of the place of genre in popular culture, and then proceed to case‐studies of two genres in detail, exploring issues of production, audience and gender, and specific cultural and social significances of particular genres; for example, the city and crime fiction or the meaning of the alien in science‐fiction film.
Specific to:
American Studies
American Studies and History
American Studies and Politics
English with American Literature
English
Assessments:
001:
002:
Book/Film Report
Essay
Availability:
Occ.
A
Year
17/18
40%
60%
Semester
S1
Module Code:
Module Name:
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
AM2302
American Gothic
15
1
Level 5
Denise Hanrahan
Module Description:
This module examines the notion of an American Gothic form and traces the literary tradition in the context of the contemporary. The module establishes itself in the 19th C work of Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving, and then progresses through writers such a HP Lovecraft to examine contemporary manifestations in the form of horror fiction by authors such as Anne Rice and Steven King and in Film and TV such as The X Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sleepy Hollow
Specific to:
American Studies
American Studies Combined
American Studies and History
American Studies and Politics
English with American Literature
English
English Joint
Assessments:
001:
002:
Availability:
Occ.
A
Written Assignment (Essay, 2,000 Words)
Oral Assessment And Presentation (Group Presentation ‐ 20 Mins)
Year
17/18
Semester
S1
50%
50%
Module Code:
Module Name:
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
AM2504
Literature And Film
15
1
Level 5
Matthew Leggatt
Module Description:
This module introduces debates over the principles and processes of adaptation by reference to specific critical discussions of literary work and film adaptations from a comparatively wide chronological period (Ulysses; An American Tragedy / A Place in the Sun; Gone with the Wind). Its main focus is on fairly recent films and their literary source (or vice versa), such as The Stepford Wives, Romeo & Juliet, Clueless, Ten Things I Hate About You, Brokeback Mountain, Fight Club, Pride and Prejudice, Election, Naked Lunch and Daughters of the Dust. Films such as these are examined to show how a range of cultural tendencies (such as multiculturalism, changes in gendered identity, the effects of space and place on individuals) cross between these forms, being reshaped, to a greater or lesser extent, in the process. Specific to:
Assessments:
001:
002:
Availability:
Occ.
A
American Studies
American Studies Combined
American Studies and History
American Studies and Politics
English with American Literature
English
English Joint
Essay (1500 Words)
Group Presentation (1500 Words Equivalent)
Year
17/18
Semester
S1
50%
50%