Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
Yes
The nineteenth century saw great changes in American society. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, shifts in economic structure, the movement away from a hard, masculine, Puritan Christianity toward more domesticated and sociable forms of worship: these trends and more had profound effects on the way gender roles were defined and perceived. This module looks at a number of major literary works by canonical U.S. authors and explores the ways in which anxieties about changing gender roles and relationships were dramatised and narrativised. It also explores the relationship between authorship, gender and sexuality and how the demands of the literary marketplace may have placed particular demands on both male and female authors of the time.
Aims
To introduce students to a range of major authors, artists and works from the nineteenth centuryTo analyse the different ways in which male writers portray the female and work through anxieties about gender identitiesTo introduce students to key themes, issues and problems in American literatureTo develop literary critical skillsTo develop broad skills in written expression and literary analysisTo develop research skills
Intended Learning Outcomes
describe and evaluate basic features of disciplinary (literary) scholarship relating to study of the United States: 1,2describe and analyse features of the social, historical, and political identity of the United States with particular reference to issues of gender and sexuality: 1,2analyse and interpret a range of primary (novels and poems) and secondary (critical books and articles)written sources: 1,2make coherent arguments based on evidence and analysis orally and in writing: 1,2relate textual analysis to social, cultural and historical contexts of the nineteenth century: 1,2carry out detailed and focussed research for essays using a range of textual and electronic sources: 1,2consistently employ the bibliographical, referencing and presentation requirements of the core disciplines in preparing reports and essays: 1,2
24 hours of seminars and asynchronous activities such as online discussion threads; 36 hours seminar preparation; 60 hours critical report and essay; 30 hours wider research
Description of Module Assessment
1: Report weighted 30%1,000-word report in preparation for longer essayStudents come up with essay title and prepare plan, bibliography and detailed analysis of 2 or 3 relevant secondary sources.
2: Essay weighted 70%2,500-3,000-word essayTraditional, discursive essay on same topic as the report.