ENG-20114 - Module Specification School of Humanities Faculty of Business, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences
For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 17 March 2026
ENG-20114 - Radical Writing: From Modernity to Counterculture
Coordinator: Rebecca Bowler Room: 2.037 Tel: +44 1782 7 33017
School Office: 01782 733147
Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27
Available as a Free Standing Elective
Co-requisites
None
Prerequisites
None
Barred Combinations
None
Description for 2026/27
Radical Writing looks at twentieth-century experimental writing, from Modernism's rallying call of 'Make it New!' to the mid and late twentieth century’s experiments with poetry, narrative forms, film, and revolutionary counter-politics. Why did this impulse towards radical politics and disruption of literary form occur in tandem at this time? What do we mean when we call something ‘experimental’? What were these writers trying to do or to rebel against?
To introduce students to modernist and countercultural writing of the twentieth century.To enable students to reflect on the social and political contexts of the twentieth century and relate these to writing produced in the period.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Identify and assess critically the formal techniques used in narrative, film, and/or poetry throughout the twentieth century.: 1Demonstrate close reading skills appropriate to the analysis of poetry, film and/or fiction.: 1Demonstrate research skills in secondary reading, textual research, and information gathering.: 1
Study hours
One hour lecture X12One hour seminar X12Independent study hours: 126 for reading primary texts, set secondary criticism and further recommended reading, essay preparation.
School Rules
None
Description of Module Assessment