| Unit name | Literature 1940-1970: Writing After War, After Modernism |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGLM0035 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Masud |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Reading texts against the background of the aftermath of the Second World War, the Cold War, and the great cultural and sociological changes of the period, this unit will offer the chance to study continuities with and challenges to high modernism, and to investigate the alternatives offered to modernist modes by the resurgence of realist and traditionalist models, on the one hand, and by the rise of postmodernism, feminism and postcolonial writing on the other.
The unit will consider Anglophone writing from around the world – postwar Britain, Ireland, the Caribean, the US, Africa – and explore literary responses to the huge shifts of the time, e.g. the hydrogen bomb, the rise of consumerism and the mass media, burgeoning social justice and rights movements, the dismantling of empires and the emergence of new, postcolonial realities. The period 1940-1970 presented new challenges to the writer and new ways of answering them, and the unit examines a range of authors in order to build a complex picture of the writing of the period. Writers studied might include Doris Lessing, George Lamming, Muriel Spark, Thom Gunn, James Baldwin, Ann Quin and E.L. Doctorow.
1. A broadened experience of the range and variety of writing from the period 1940-69.
2. Improved independent critical thinking about literature of the period.
3. A maturing ability to apply critical, social and cultural contexts to the discussion of mid-twentieth century English literature.
4. Developing an appropriate style of critical writing for the discussion and analysis of literary works.
5. Improving existing skills through independent reading, research and writing on defined texts and topics.
6. Present findings in a coherent and communicable form orally.
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities. These can include seminars, lectures, class discussions, formative tasks, small group work and self-directed exercises.
Tasks which do not count towards your unit mark but are required for credit (zero-weighted)
1,000 word presentation (0%, required for credit) [ILO 6]
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
4,000 word essay (100%) [ILOs 1-5]
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ENGLM0035).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
