Unit name | Critical Issues |
---|---|
Unit code | ENGL20209 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. James |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None. |
Co-requisites |
None. |
School/department | Department of English |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit is intended to enhance the sophistication and open-mindedness of students' critical responses to literature by exploring the potential relevance of various theoretical ideas to the reading of specific (primarily narrative) literary works. Topics studied may include: the act of reading, the figure of the author, the nature of narrative, the construction of character, metafiction, historical and cultural contexts, ideology, gender, tragedy, comedy, the uncanny, post-colonialism, beginnings and endings.
The course aim is to familiarise students with the critical and theoretical vocabulary of, and the concepts which are central to, some of the most influential schools of criticism and theory in the twentieth century, such as narrative theory, feminism, psychoanalysis, post-colonialism, and postmodernism.
Students should:
1 x 2-hour seminar per week.
Both summative essays map onto ILOs 1-5.
Detailed reading lists will be provided by individual tutors prior to the start of teaching.
Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, 4th edn (Routledge, 2009)