| Unit name | Writing the Self: Literature and Autobiography |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL30107 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Bennett |
| 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 |
The unit offers a wide-ranging historical survey of the development of autobiographical writing from its emergence as a major literary mode at the end of the eighteenth century to the late-twentieth century.
We examine key texts in a variety of genres, including poems and poem-collections, novels, short stories, memoirs, and essays. The focus is on works by individuals who have significant reputations as authors and on their development as writers. A consideration of such texts necessarily leads into questions concerning the development of autobiography as a genre; the relationship between fiction and history; how memory, forgetting and the unconscious are represented in such works; the idea of ‘confession’; the relationship between individual and his or her society; the question of personal identity; and the politics of gender, class, nationhood and race in relation identity formation and autobiographical writing.
Students are given the opportunity to submit a draft or outline of their final, summative essay of up to 1,000 words and to receive feedback on it.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of key autobiographical texts and authors of the period;
2. Apply a thorough understanding of a range of historical, cultural and intellectual contexts to readings of these texts;
3. Discriminate between and analyse different critical and theoretical perspectives on autobiographical writing;
4. Present and critically assess pertinent evidence to develop a cogent argument;
5. Demonstrate advanced skills in close textual analysis, argumentation, aspects of literary theory, and critical interpretation using evidence from primary texts and secondary sources.
Teaching will involve asynchronous and synchronous elements, including group discussion, research and writing activities, and peer dialogue. Students are expected to engage with the reading and participate fully with the weekly tasks and topics. Learning will be further supported through the opportunity for individual consultation.
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. ENGL30107).
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.
