| Unit name | Women on the Verge: Gender and Experimentation in the 20th/21st Century |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGLM0086 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Kennedy-Epstein |
| 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 |
Why is this unit important?
As a specialist subject option, this unit reflects the research expertise and enthusiasms of the convenors, and offers students the chance to work directly with a member of staff who has strong connections to the subject field. You will have the opportunity to engage in greater depth with a specialised theme or topic, pursue advanced discussions, and develop your own arguments and contributions. Your specialist subject may build directly on work introduced at an earlier stage of study, or branch out in a different direction. It may reflect some of your longstanding interests, or expose you to new and unexpected ideas. In all cases, specialist subject options encourage students to think reflectively, creatively, and with increased independence about their identities and interests as scholars.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Specialist subject options are offered in the second and final years of the English programmes. Specialist subject options are available to students on Liberal Arts programmes, and may in some cases also be available to taught postgraduates (MA English Literature, MA Medieval Studies, MA Black Humanities, MA in Comparative Literatures and Cultures, MA in Environmental Humanities). The portfolio of units available will change from year to year based on staff availability, but it will consistently represent a full range of research strengths across the English department, as well as demonstrating our commitment to supporting choice and providing increased optionality as students progress through their programme.
An overview of content:
In Feminist Aesthetics and the Politics of Modernism, Ewa Ziarek writes that the women of the early twentieth century turned the ‘right to vote into a right to revolt’, and for over a 100 years women writers and artists have continued to push the boundaries of gender and aesthetic norms. Exploring experimental literary, visual, and cultural material made by women from the early twentieth century to the present – including poetry, prose, film, dance, painting, craft, and new media – this course will examine the intersection of formal innovation and the interrogation of gender, race, sexuality, and identity. Looking at both genre experimentation – Surrealism, Docupoetics, Autofiction, Erasure Poetry – and works that defy genre, we will consider how women’s experiments in form complicate, erase, or widen textual and artistic canons. We will think about how writers create new modes to respond to political or social events or to tell new histories about desires and bodies. We also think about what experimental works do to us, the reader or viewer. Students will have the opportunity to write critical and creative work for a final portfolio and will be given the opportunity to submit a draft or outline of the final, summative essay, and receive formative feedback.
How will you be different:
On completion of the unit students will have had the opportunity to engage with a diverse range of writing by women and gain an increased understanding of 20th/21st-Century literature and culture, be introduced to writers and artists they might not have studied before, as well as theories of gender and sexuality. They will refine their understanding of women’s writing and experimental forms in ways that not only connect to the content of this unit, but will be a valuable frame of reference for progress into a possible starting point for their dissertation research, as well as meaningful consolidation as they complete their programme.
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
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.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Students will have the opportunity to receive feedback on an outline of the final critical essay on a topic they develop with support from the tutor. (0%, Not required for credit)
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Final Portfolio: 1,500 words creative writing and 3,500-word critical essay (100%) [ILOs 1-6]
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. ENGLM0086).
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.
