| Unit name | Welsh Literary Landscapes |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL20050 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Helen Fulton |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit provides a chronological account of Welsh literature in English and in English translation, from the Middle Ages through to the present day, with a focus on the literary representation of landscape and the politics of space in Wales as a colonised country. Core texts include the medieval prose tales of the Mabinogion, court poetry of the late Middle Ages, humanist writing of the Renaissance, early fiction and the industrial novel, twentieth-century poetry including the work of David Jones, Dylan Thomas, and R. S. Thomas, and contemporary writing in post-devolution Wales. The aims of the unit are to develop student knowledge of Welsh literature and its historical development, to increase their skills in literary analysis, and to increase their understanding of theories of space and the relationship between literature and its political context of production.
On successful completion of this unit, students will have: (1) developed a detailed knowledge of the chronological development of Welsh literature in both English and Welsh (through English translations); (2) developed a critical understanding of the historical and political contexts in which texts are produced, including the politics of space; (3) acquired a detailed understanding of critical approaches to Welsh literature and theoretical approaches to the politics of space; (4) demonstrated their ability to analyse and compare different critical accounts of the primary texts; (5) strengthened their skills in academic writing, constructing an argument, and evaluating primary literary texts in terms of language, meaning, and critical assessment.
Weekly 2 hour seminar
One essay of 2000 words (40% weighting) and one essay of 3000 words (60% weighting). Both assessments are summative, though the first essay serves a partly formative function in that feedback will help students to improve their work for the second essay. Both elements assess ILOs 1-5.
A.O.H. Jarman, gen. ed., Guide to Welsh Literature, 5 vols. (University of Wales Press, 1997-2000)
John Davies, A History of Wales (Penguin, 2007)
Sioned Davies (trans.), The Mabinogion (OUP, 2008)
Complete Works of Dylan Thomas, Centenary Edition (Wiedenfeld and Nicholson, 2014)
A. Conran (ed.), Welsh Verse (Seren, 1995)
Robert Tally (ed.), Geocritical Explorations: Space, Place and Mapping in Literary and Cultural Studies (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)
