ENG5412 - Literary Period: Twentieth Century Literature

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate detailed knowledge of a range of twentieth century texts.
Analyse and discuss selected texts in terms of their relation to particular social/cultural debates of the period.
Critically analyse texts from the point of view of language, style and form.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of relevant concepts such as modernism, postmodernism, and intertextuality, as appropriate.
Write critically and sensitively on topics of their choice, drawing on a wide range of reading.

Content:

Students will have the opportunity to gain a critical appreciation of the variety of literature produced during the twentieth century by engaging with a range of texts from different genres and from a range of cultures including British and European Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance, and work by African and African-American writers. Students will have the opportunity to develop understanding of such concepts as modernism, postmodernism, the absurd, intertextuality, and magic realism. The course will consider the selected texts in their social, cultural and political contexts, drawing where relevant on the insights of gender theory and postcolonialist thought, among other critical approaches.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The plenaries will focus on tutor input, interspersed with work in pairs, group-work, and whole-class discussions. Research tasks, including online exercises, will be set as guided preparation for the seminars. The seminars will promote student-centred learning through the use of small-group discussions of short, informal student presentations. The module will also include 3 workshops, focusing on preparing for the assessment tasks.

Plenary workshops
Hours: 13
Intended group size: 50

Workshops/Seminars
Hours: 20
Intended group size: 25

Guided independent study
Hours: 167

Further details relating to assessment
The take-away paper will require students to make a close reading of a passage from a modernist text, demonstrating a critical appreciation of modernist techniques.

Assessment:

001 Take-away paper; 1000 words; mid semester 2 25%
002 Essay; 2000 words; end of semester 2 75%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Professor Jane De Gay
Level - 5
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered -

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