ENG-40007 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

No

Barred Combinations

No

Description for 2020/21

`Criticism, Analysis, Theory¿ focuses on a selection of key theoretical and critical issues and methods in contemporary literary and cultural analysis. It introduces all students on the English MA and MRes programmes to a common framework of critical discourse in order to: (a) showcase the variety of interpretive methods presently at work in the discipline of English; (b) enable students to draw distinctions between major paradigms in literary criticism and cultural and critical theory; and (c) help students to make informed decisions about their individual critical priorities and methods in the light of collective debate and discussion, and give them confidence in applying such theory to a range of literary texts.
The nature of Masters work requires you to think about these theories and critical paradigms in relation to the texts that most concern your chosen field of study, but in order to facilitate collective weekly discussions, we require you to be able to draw examples from and refer to the primary texts that tutors have chosen for their sessions. (You are of course also welcome to bring insights and examples from any author(s), texts, topics and fields in which you are interested.)

`Criticism, Analysis, Theory¿ focuses on a selection of key theoretical and critical issues and methods in contemporary literary and cultural analysis. It introduces all students on the English MA and MRes programmes to a common framework of critical discourse in order to: (a) showcase the variety of interpretive methods presently at work in the discipline of English; (b) enable students to draw distinctions between major paradigms in literary criticism and cultural and critical theory; and (c) help students to make informed decisions about their individual critical priorities and methods in the light of collective debate and discussion, and give them confidence in applying such methods to a range of literary texts. Students are also encouraged to attend and reflect on programme-related research seminars organised through the School of Humanities as part of this module.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Describe and evaluate a range of theoretical approaches, summarising their key underlying suppositions and identifying their key predecessors;: 1,2
Articulate some of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to literary texts, orally and in writing;: 1,2
Identify the critical approaches they wish themselves to employ in future writing, articulate the reasons for their choice, and analyse literature with that approach;: 1,2
Identify, classify, and apply the theoretical underpinnings of literary critics they encounter in their reading for the MA English Literatures.: 1,2

Study hours

22 hours of 2-hour weekly seminars
4 hours consultation time
10 hours attending and reflecting on research seminars
10 hours preparing formative presentation
40 hours preparing and writing the first assignment
80 hours preparing and writing the second assignment
134 hours of preparatory reading/independent research

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment