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FIL-20023 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2023/24 Last Updated: 13 February 2024

FIL-20023 - 21st-Century Apocalypses
Coordinator: Oliver Harris Room: CBB1.053 Tel: +44 1782 7 33016
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2023/24

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2023/24


Aims
The module aims to introduce students to a range of cultural representations, mainly but not exclusively cinematic, of a variety of urgent twenty-first century global issues, from the climate emergency to the rise of AI technologies. The "Apocalypse" in the title is understood in both senses of the word: forces of destruction (such as of the environment, of privacy and rights) and counterforce of revelation, engaging by developing skills in close analysis with how media both represent and ideologically contain urgent issues.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Examine critically how contemporary media represent urgent political issues: 1,2
Compare the ways in which twenty-first century apocalypses are conceptualised across different media forms and genres: 2
Engage with formal features of contemporary media to see how the medium shapes our understanding of and response to urgent global issues: 1,2
Develop skills in the close analysis of visual and or literary works: 1,2
Engage with urgent contemporary global issues: 1,2
Research widely in order to contextualise the representation of one or more issues of urgent contemporary crisis: 2

Study hours

Teaching Hours (38):
11 x 2-hour seminars (= 22 hours) [Week 6 has no seminar, to enable students to focus on their Short Paper]
10 x 1-hour lectures (= 10 hours)
6 x 1-hour workshops (= 6 hours)
Independent Study hours (112):
32 hours preparing for classes
30 hours preparing for Short Paper
50 hours preparing for Essay

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Short Paper weighted 30%
Short Paper of 1,000 words
Short Paper of 1,000 words, in which students will apply the module's framework ideas to one of the first set texts, and/or a text of their own choosing, in order to demonstrate skills in close analysis of visual and/or literary works and an engagement with urgent contemporary global issues.

2: Essay weighted 70%
Long essay, of 2,000 words
The long essay of 2,000 words is intended to test students' abilities to research widely in order to contextualise the representation of one or more issues of urgent contemporary crisis and develop an argument based on the close analysis of texts and/or visual detail supported by illustrating images.

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and 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/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 13 February 2024