Sie sind auf Seite 1von 5

COURSE DESCRIPTOR

1. Course Title: A319 : Literature in the Modern World

2. Level: Third level

3. Credit Value: 60 points/16 credits

4. Programme (s) to include this course: Core


(state whether core or elective)

5. Pre-requisite and co-requisite courses: A210: Approaching Literature

6. Date of first presentation: October, 2005

7. Course aims:

i) to give practise in the close reading of texts from all three genres. For drama, this
includes learning to recognise the ways in which the words on the page can be
translated into performance.
ii) to identify and analyse narrative and thematic issues in texts and to make
productive comparisons between them.
iii) to learn to engage critically with a range of theoretical studies and to apply these to
readings of the literary texts.
iv) to help the students develop a fluent, reflective and analytical style of writing and to
encourage them to consider the relationship between literary texts and the historical
and cultural contexts within which they are written and read.

8. Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should achieve the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge and understanding of:

• A broad knowledge of twentieth-century literary works, most of them written in English,


in the three major genres (prose fiction, poetry and drama – the latter including an
awareness of performance as well as text).
• As well as works in English and in translation by canonical European writers, this will
include appreciation of ‘new writings in English’ with their distinctive styles and thematic
concerns.
• The ability to demonstrate an understanding of some theoretical issues relevant to the
study of literature.
• Awareness of how the meanings within texts come into being through their relation to
ideology.
• An understanding of the relationship between a literary text and its historical contexts

1
Cognitive skills – be able to:

• Develop skills in literary analysis as established at Level 2 (A210).


• Develop additional analytical skills as students seek to engage with a culture other than
their own, remaining sensitive to possible constraints on understanding as well as to the
‘opening up’ that close analysis produces.
• Develop skills of critical thinking and the ability to engage with and evaluate complex
arguments (applied in this case to literary criticism and theory as well as to literary texts).
• Develop an ability to engage in comparative argument and to develop a synthesis
• Develop an awareness of literature and literary criticism as subjects which are, in
themselves, open to change and bearing the mark of their own cultural circumstances.

Practical skills – be able to:

• Develop subject-specific skills such as the ability to offer an independent intellectual


response to both imaginative and discursive forms of writing.
• Analyse, interpret and use highly organized language in a way that prepares students for
further study.
• Understand and respond to a variety of different tasks ranging from ones which are
relatively closed to ones which are complex and open-ended.
• Use scholarly conventions in an appropriate and consistent way.

Key skills – be able to:

• Develop skills that can be used effectively in environments other than literary study. These
include the ability to articulate a sophisticated argument and to communicate fluently in
written English.
• Enhance existing strategies for learning through critical reading and listening.
• Manage own independent learning effectively and to use feedback in order to improve
performance.

2
9. Course Content : There are six blocks:

• Block one is an introductory block which gives guidance in close reading, introduces
some of the major theoretical approaches to be used in the block and offers an overview of
the course as a whole.
• Block Two studies the development of a ‘school’ of writing within the context of cultural
and historical changes in the early twentieth century.
• Block Three begins with the discussion of ideology which lays the foundation for much
of the subsequent theoretical and methodological discussion. This then leads into an
applied analysis of ideology in action via the theme of ‘Englishness’.
• Block Four is an exploration of the effects of the dissolution of the British Empire on a
range of texts from the 1920s to the 1060s.
• Block Five introduces students to the variety of literature written in English in countries
which were once a part of the British Empire. This block also allows students to study the
ways in which the English language itself has been split into a variety of individual
‘englishes’
• Block Six explores the relationship between literature and history

10. Assessment :
(indicate mode e.g. essay, report, exercise, examination and weighting of each; and
provide a grid to show which learning outcomes are assessed by each element)

• MTAs x 2 : (15%)
• TMAs x 4: (35%)
• Examinations x 2: (50%)

The teaching and learning strategy assessment methods are as follows:

Learning Outcomes Teaching and learning strategy Assessment method(s)

Knowledge &* Students are acquainted with TMAs and MTAs are designed to
Understanding the literary material and introduced to develop skills – see below
related critical debates through ‘Details of each assignment’
structured teaching and associated
reading and audio and (tutor-directed)
video material. In-text questions
encourage students to interact with
the material, practise argument and
establish their understanding of the
material.

* As given in (8) above.

3
Cognitive Skills * The Course Guide and the Teaching These skills are assessed in the
Blocks emphasise the acquisition of TMAs and the two examinations
the above cognitive skills. In particular The skills required in discussion
Blocks 1 and 2 prioritise the practice and analysis of a specific text
of close reading and skills of analysis, and literary movement (i.e.
and Blocks 3-6 work progressively Modernism) are assessed in
to develop skills of critical thinking in TMA 01. TMAs 02 and 03
relation to theory. Block 6 is specific- assess skills in comparative and
cally concerned with developing an cross-genre evaluation, and the
awareness of the relationship between ability to analyse critical
literature, criticism and their historical material. The ability to work
contexts. with complex theoretical
arguments is assessed in
TMA04. All skills
are assessed in the two
examinations.
Key skills * Students are required to communicate These skills are assessed
effectively and appropriately as in the TMAs and in the two
judged by the standards of the discipline examinations.
at this level. Tutors correct spelling and
grammar and poor style. Learning skills
focus on planning, self-assessment,
identifying strengths and weaknesses,
setting priorities, reviewing and
reflecting, reading and listening with
understanding.
Practical skills * Practical skills are developed by asking These are assessed in TMAs and
students to analyse both primary and in the two examinations by
secondary material in a guided manner, setting students a variety of
giving in text practice. They are also tasks. Particular emphasis is given
provided with models of good practice to the analysis of literary sources
in the set books and by means of the in the two examinations.
teaching materials and are assessed both The examinations also provide
in the TMAs and the two examinations. an opportunity to practise a
range of skills, which build in
complexity; from an exercise in
close reading of one text to a
comparative evaluation of two
texts from different genres, to
a broader analytical discussion
of texts which includes an
engagement with critical and
theoretical debate.
Students are taught to use
appropriate scholarly
conventions and learn how to
to properly acknowledge
the work of other scholars.

*As given in (8) above.

4
11. Bibliography :
(include web-sites)
1. Ashcroft, Bill et.al (1989) The Empire Writes Back: Theory and practice in Post-
Colonial Literatures, Routledge
2. Bloom, Harold,ed. (1987) E.M. Forster's A Passage to India: Modern Critical
Interpretations, Chelsea House
3. Cohen, R, ed. (1974) New Directions in Literary History, Routledge
4. Critical Inquiry 2: 465-86, the University of Chicago 1976
5. Levinson, M. et.al, eds (1989 Rethinking Historicism : Critical Readings in Romantic
History, Blackwell
6. Said, Edward. 1978 Orientatism, Routledge and Pantheon Books
7. ________ 1988. Nationalism, Colonialism and Literature, Field Day Pamphlet # 15

The A319 AOU Course Chair will produce the required website in due time.

12. Delivery:
(recommended student learning hours by mode, e.g. distance learning, face-to-face
teaching, or laboratory work)

Learning hours: 600 spread over two semesters

• Private study (Reading) : 360 hours (180 per semester)


• Private study (Audio) : 40 hours (20 per semester)
• Tutorials : 60 hours (15 two-hours tutorials per semester)
• Assessment (4 TMAs) : 70 hours (35 per semester)
• Assessment (2 exams : 70 hours (1 final examination and 1 MTA
& two MTAs) per semester).

Date prepared: August 6, 2005 By: Professor Trevor Herbert


(Slightly adapted by
Professor Mohammad Awwad,
Dean, AOU Faculty of Language Studies)

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen