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ENG-20098 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Business, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences

For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 17 March 2026

ENG-20098 - Literature and Society
Coordinator:
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2026/27

In this second-year module, you will extend your knowledge of different literary approaches and theories, exploring topics such as feminism, race studies, ecocriticism, thing theory and the history of emotions. You will explore how literature reflects and influences social issues, both those contemporary to the literature you study and those relevant in today’s society. You will deepen your skills in critical analysis as you apply your literary understanding to real-world debates and situations.

Aims
To provide students with a knowledge of various critical frameworks (cultural and literary) such as feminist theory, ecocriticism, postcolonialism and critical race study, and to develop their ability to work with these as part of an independent critical practice.
To enable students to reflect on the social contexts and political ideologies that have informed the production of literary texts.
To enable students to reflect on the ways that their own social contexts and political opinions may inflect their understandings of literary texts.
To allow students to understand the ways in which literary texts may influence the worlds in which they are read and understood

Intended Learning Outcomes

analyse literary texts in relation to social contexts
: 1,2
identify and evaluate the usefulness of socially-inflected critical approaches and theories such as postcolonialism, gender studies, critical race theory, queer theory, thing theory, theory of the emotions.: 1,2
construct and support a theoretically-informed argument about the interconnections between literature and society
: 1,2

Study hours

lectures (11 hours)
small group classes (10 hours)
individual consultation/feedback (1 hour)
Group consultation and feedback (2 hours)
seminar preparation and private study (67 hours)
podcast preparation and taping (45 hours)
formative exercise preparation and writing (13 hours)

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Essay-Plan weighted 15%
Plan for final assessment
Students will write a plan of approximately 800 words delineating the topic, sub-themes and argument(s) they intend to make in their final assessment and identifying the areas they intend to pursue for further research. The plan should include a bibliography of further reading

2: Podcast weighted 85%
Podcast
Students will develop the ideas in their plan into an 8 minute podcast addressing some aspect of the relationship between literature and society.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 17 March 2026