| Unit name | Comparative Literature: Debates, Contexts, Methods |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODLM0076 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Li |
| 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) |
MODLM0002 Cultural Encounters |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
As one of the two mandatory TB1 units on the MA in Comparative Literatures and Cultures, ‘Comparative Literature: Debates, Contexts, Methods’, is aimed at a) introducing to students state-of-the-art developments in the discipline across several global geopolitical regions; b) developing students’ core writing and research skills as they transit from undergraduate to postgraduate level study. The unit reflects the research strengths, variety, and passions at the School of Modern Languages, and allows students to work closely with members of staff who have distinctive research profiles and are committed to sharing their cross-cultural and multilingual insights and critical perspectives. While receiving rigorous academic skills training, students are introduced to a number of key theoretical debates and their intellectual contexts, and are expected to bring their critical reflections to the consideration of individual examples and case studies.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This mandatory unit is designed to provide the MA cohort with foundational critical knowledge and skills to study and compare literatures across languages and cultures. On the one hand, it addresses and bridges the disciplinary and methodological gaps faced by students whose previous main educational backgrounds are in arts and humanities subjects other than literature. On the other hand, the general critical issues covered in this unit, such as transnationalism, translingualism, postcolonialism, and world literature, are intended to intellectually prepare students for optional units, which are of a more specialist nature.
An overview of content
What is the purpose of comparative literature? Rather than attempting at another historical overview of the discipline in the Western context, this unit seeks to address this obvious yet complex question by engaging concretely with a selection of key concepts, contemporary critical trends and debates in comparative literature, such as transnationalism, translingualism, postcolonialism, and the notion of world literature. Students will be introduced to a good range of foundational and scaffolding theoretical and methodological texts, together with illustrative literary examples drawn from a variety of linguistic, political, historical, and cultural contexts.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
On completion of this mandatory unit, students will have built confidence and practical skills when formulating research problems in comparative literature at postgraduate level. You will have received adequate intellectual and academic support for investigating various literary components in optional units throughout the programme.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit, a successful student will be able to:
Each week, you will have two hours of class in person, which typically combines elements of lecture, seminar, and workshop.
Lectures equip you with foundational subject knowledge. Far from being a passive mode of learning, lectures help you build critical analysis and evidence-gathering skills by modelling critical interpretation, outlining methodologies and their underlying assumptions, and posing key questions related to the discipline. There may also be interactive elements depending on the lecturer’s delivery style.
Seminars are a student-centred mode of learning. In pairs or small groups, you will discuss key questions about set texts and critical concepts. You will develop, share and defend your own arguments. Guided reading questions are provided to support your preparation for seminar discussions.
Workshops are dedicated to a specific skill, such as academic writing or textual analysis. Workshops are held occasionally in place of the discussion or seminar class, usually in advance of assessment.
Occasional asynchronous online tasks, including contributions to Padlets to cement your learning and enable your tutors to respond to your learning needs.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative)
2 optional writing workshops will be provided by the Centre for Academic Language and Development (CALD) in the weeks leading up to Week 5 to prepare students for the two summative assessments (0%, Not required for credit)
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The optional formative tasks will provide you with detailed writing guidance and instructions for the two assessed coursework assignments. While the commentary targets your close text reading skill, the critical reflection encourages you to critically apply theoretical and conceptual tools to your understanding and analysis of a particular subject or topic. The combination of the two summative tasks is aimed at offering a scaffolded approach that will help building students’ confidence and intellectually prepare you for longer essay assignments in optional units.
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 form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic 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. MODLM0076).
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.
