| 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. Wootten |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The unit introduces students to primary and secondary literary texts of the period 1940-1969. It addresses formal and generic questions raised by late modernist and early postmodernist texts, as well as attending to social, cultural and political contexts for writing of the period such as the Second World War, the Cold War, totalitarianism and the Holocaust, the nuclear threat, the rise of feminism, postcolonialism, immigration and multicultralism, and sexual liberation.
The unit aims to: develop students' awareness of the variety of writing from the period; introduce relevant literary genres, traditions, conventions and motifs; enable students to discuss and at a mature level write about literary works in the period; develop existing skills through independent reading, research and writing.
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.
7 x 2-hour seminar, 1 reading week, 11 Consultation Hours
1 essay of 4,000 words which would assess the standards reached of the abilities and knowledge listed in learning objectives 1-4.
Katharine Cockin and Jago Morrison, eds., 'The Post-war British Literature Handbook' (London: Continuum, 2010)
Nigel Alderman and C. D. Blanton,eds., 'A Concise Companion to Post-war British and Irish Poetry (Oxford: Blackwell, 2009)
Brian W. Shaffer, 'A Companion to the British and Irish Novel, 1945-2000', (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005)
Alan Sinfield, 'Literature, Politics and Culture in Postwar Britain' (1997; London: Continuum, 2004)
Magali Cornier Michael, 'Feminism and the Postmodern Impulse: Post-World-War II Fiction' (Albany: State University of New York, 1996)
Lorna Sage, 'Women in the House of Fiction: Post-War Women Novelists' (Macmillan, 1992)
