ENG-40061 - 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

None

Barred Combinations

ENG-30073

Description for 2020/21

From 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. It invites students to reflect upon the reasons why alcohol is such a pervasive, but divisive, topic and why so many creative minds have felt the need to address its importance to the human condition in such a variety of different ways.

The module aims to enable students to:
Develop advanced knowledge and understanding of important trends in the representation of alcohol in literature at different historical periods
Explore and critically reflect upon changing moral and political attitudes to the production and consumption of alcohol
Create nuanced arguments that engage with advanced scholarship concerning the representation of alcohol consumption in men and women
Engage in interdisciplinary approaches to the analysis of drinkers and drinking cultures

Intended Learning Outcomes

Develop and apply new skills and an advanced knowledge in textual analysis and intellectual argument and engagement: 1,2
Critically assess the relevance and usefulness of an extensive range of primary and secondary sources , including advanced scholarship in the discipline: 1,2
Critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline, to develop critiques of them, and to propose new solutions: 1,2
Communicate a systematic sense of the research process and research findings clearly to an advanced academic audience using a variety of written and oral means
: 1,2
Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing programmes of research: 1,2
Develop and apply interdisciplinary methodologies to the literature of different periods: 1,2

Study hours

Seminars 24 hours
Individual Tutorial 6 hours
Assessment preparation 110 hours
Seminar Preparation and research 160 hours

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment