Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
No
This core year-long module is designed to develop your understanding of how literature interacts with the wider contexts within which it is written and read. Over the course of two semesters, and through the study of a range of poetry, drama and prose, we will explore how English literature has developed from the Renaissance period to the present day, and the influences that have shaped it along the way. You will also be introduced to a variety of critical approaches and methods, such as gender studies, New Historicism, and postcolonial criticism, and you will learn how these approaches can be used to develop your understanding and appreciation of literature and how it works.
Aims
To give students a greater understanding of how literature has developed from the Renaissance to the present dayTo give students a greater sense of the relationship between literature and its historical contextsTo familiarise students with some of the most important critical and theoretical approaches to literary worksTo develop students¿ ability to analyse texts in detail, using a variety of approachesTo develop students¿ ability to formulate arguments both orally and on paper
Intended Learning Outcomes
demonstrate the ability to formulate arguments in both written and verbal form: 1,3demonstrate the ability to analyse texts in detail, using a variety of approaches: 1,3show an understanding of the role played by historical context in literary analysis: 1show an understanding of how literary theory can illuminate literary texts: 2,3articulate some of the key concepts in a range of literary theory: 2,3work constructively with others, weighing up differing or opposing critical positions and articulating a clear assessment of them: 2
24 hours: Lectures24 hours: Workshops24 hours: Small group classes158 hours: Seminar preparation and private study10 hours: Group presentation reading and preparation60 hours: Essay research and writing (30 per essay)
Description of Module Assessment
1: Essay weighted 30%1500-word essay
2: Group Presentation weighted 20%Group presentation
3: Essay weighted 50%Essay