Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
No
Successful completion of one ENG module at either FHEQ Level 4 or FHEQ Level V
Module OverviewFrom celebrations of friendship and sociability to cautionary tales of inebriety and debauchery, from the euphoria of intoxication to the misery of the hangover, from the public house to the home, the stage to the pulpit, literature and the arts have a long and ambivalent relationship with alcohol. This module will present students with some of the key representations of alcohol and drinking culture from the Renaissance to the present day. Students will examine the social and cultural function of different types of alcohol, look at the economic factors that have affected the consumption and licensing of drink, interrogate some of the common myths and discourses which surround alcohol, explore changing medical understanding of subjects such as alcoholism and addiction, and explore the associations that literature often makes between sexuality, class and alcohol. The module covers a comprehensive series of texts ¿ ranging from poetry to prose, film to the fine arts ¿ that each represent a different aspect of what has become known as The Alcohol Question. I have kept texts for purchase to a minimum and will provide much of the material via the KLE. There will be screenings for film and TV content.AssessmentCase Study (30%): 1,200-word Commentary OR a Creative Writing exercise. Students will use one historical document (e.g. medical/religious/political) addressing the consumption of alcohol to provide a commentary on one of the texts from the module OR students will write a drinking song or temperance tale.Essay (70%): 3,500-word essay. Students will write an essay of 3,500 words choosing the topic from a list of set questions.
Aims
The module aims to enable students to identify and reflect upon some of the key discourses in the cultural representation of alcohol; critically to analyse some of the major social and economic debates surrounding the representation of alcohol in literature and film; to analyse and interrogate common myths surrounding drinking cultures; to demonstrate a critical understanding of changing attitudes to alcohol and addiction.
Talis Aspire Reading ListAny reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/eng-30073/lists
Intended Learning Outcomes
reflect critically on a range of representations of alcohol and drinking cultures: 1,2identify and engage critically with the historical contexts and discourses of a text's production: 1,2carry out independent research, assimilate and synthesise research, and present this in oral and written form: 1,2devise, develop and construct detailed arguments debating the aesthetic, social, economic and medical depiction of alcohol consumption: 1,2
10 x 2-hour seminars; 40 hours seminar preparation, 40 hours private study, 50 hours assessment preparation.
Description of Module Assessment
1: Case Study weighted 30%1,200 word commentaryStudents will EITHER use one historical document (medical/religious/political) addressing the consumption of alcohol to provide a commentary on one of the texts from the module OR produce a piece of creative writing on a module theme (e.g. write a drinking song or a temperance narrative)
2: Essay weighted 70%3,500 word essayStudents will write an essay of 3,500 words choosing the topic from a list of set questions