| Unit name | American Revolutions |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL30108 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Theo Savvas |
| 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?
This unit will teach you to think critically about the politics behind the ‘American century’ through the literature that so frequently contests and challenges that politics. It will engage with some of the most important historical and social movements of the last 100 years, including civil rights and women’s liberation, and it will enable you to develop your own perspective on such movements. You will learn how matters of literary form and practice are frequently connected to the social and political conditions from which they emerge. Each session will build upon the previous week allowing you to develop the cumulative knowledge and understanding needed to successfully complete the assessments.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Exploration units offer thought-provoking and engaging investigations into key topics, including period-focused, thematic, and trans-historical options. You will hone your abilities as a researcher able to navigate skilfully a range of databases and archives, as well as engaging effectively with more advanced critical and theoretical perspectives. Exploration units ask you to both rethink the familiar and meet the unexpected, and encourage you to develop depth as well as breadth of critical understanding.
An overview of content
This unit, exploring twentieth-century American literature, aims to give an overview of the richness of the ‘American century’ by focusing on moments of social change, protest and activism, and the ways in which they were represented by and / or effected through literary and cultural movements. Drawing on a range of sources – from speeches to novels, nonfiction prose to drama, poetry to journalism – it will encourage students to think about what is at stake in literary representation; how literature, theory, and action might intersect; and how contemporary ‘America’ and its literatures have been formed through cultural and political ‘revolutions’ through the twentieth century.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
On completion of the unit students will have had the opportunity to engage with a variety of American political texts allowing them to gain an increased understanding of the connections between political discourse and literary form and representation. This will refine their understanding of America as both a cultural and political superpower in the twentieth century. This will provide meaningful consolidation as they complete their programme and provide a valuable point of reference either for further study or for engagement in the world outside academia.
Learning Outcomes
The unit is taught by seminars and a programme of cohort sessions. Teaching includes group discussion, research and writing activities, and peer dialogue. Students are expected to attend all timetabled teaching, 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 count towards your unit mark (summative):
Group project (30%) [ILOs 1-3].
2,000 word essay (70%) [ILOs 1-4].
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. ENGL30108).
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.
