| Unit name | Writing the Self: Literature and Autobiography |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL30107 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| 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 | |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit focuses British and American literary texts from the nineteenth century to the present that take as their theme the life of the writer. The unit explores the relationship between life and text as it is figured in memoirs, poetry, and autobiographical fiction (‘autofiction’). We will examine a number of key texts published over the last two centuries, including poems and poem-collections, novels, short stories, memoirs, and essays. A consideration of such texts will necessarily lead into critical, theoretical, and literary-historical questions concerning the nature of biography and autobiography; the historical development of autobiography as a genre; the relationship between fiction and history; memory, forgetting and the unconscious; the nature of confession and questions of personal identity; the politics of gender, class, nationhood and ethnicity in relation identity formation and self-representation; the limits of genre; ‘literary’ and other writing.
The unit is intended to provide an introduction to literary autobiography, to fictionalized autobiography, and to questions surrounding such modes of writing; it is intended to encourage students to develop their skills of critical analysis and thinking by engaging with a series of literary texts particularly concerned with the life of the writer and the critical and theoretical issues raised thereby.
Students will be given the opportunity to submit a draft or outline of their final, summative essay of up to 1,500 words and to receive feedback on this.
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 Faculty 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. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
