Contemporary North American Fiction
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| AMCS2056 | American and Canadian Studies | 2 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- AMCS2056
- School
- American and Canadian Studies
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
This course will consider the contexts and development of contemporary fiction and the novel in the United States and Canada since the 1990s. It will do so by positioning literary works within their wider historical, political and cultural context. The course will examine the dominant ideas and concerns of a number of fictions and novels by writers from a range of ethno-cultural backgrounds. Issues for discussion will include the impact of race, ethnicity; gender, class, generation and sexuality on North American fiction and the novel; the bearing of technology on contemporary fiction and various debates about the nature of the historical novel in the twenty-first century.
Students who need to complete one or more components of assessment during the summer, due to extenuating circumstances or for progression purposes, will be required to submit one essay of 2,000 words. This form of assessment has been set in order to accommodate early submission deadlines for candidates undertaking a year of study abroad, who will not be resident in Nottingham during the usual summer examination period. The essay will be due on the third Wednesday in July.
Target Students
Optional module for SH and JH American and Canadian Studies students. Available to Liberal Arts and international exchange students. Available to Year 2 students in Arts and Social Sciences.
Classes
- One 1-hour lecture per week for 11 weeks
- One 2-hour seminar per week for 11 weeks
Assessment
- 40% Coursework 1: Coursework 1 - 2,000 word essay
- 20% Participation: Seminar participation and engagement
- 40% Exam (2-hour): 1 x 2 hour exam
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
To build a much fuller awareness of the intellectual and aesthetic development of contemporary literature in the United States and Canada;To establish a clearer sense of American and Canadian literature in their aesthetic and ethno-cultural diversity;Learning Outcomes
1. Knowledge and understanding
Students will
- (A2) acquire an in-depth awareness of the cultural, historical and political contexts appropriate to the Contemporary North American Novel,
- (A3) develop an appreciation of the relationship between dominant and “subaltern” cultural, historical and social contexts
- (A4) handle with assurance a range of critical and analytical stratagems and tools in their approach to these contexts.
2. Intellectual Skills
Students are given the tools with which to
- (B1) engage in informed discussion of the influences on and evolution of contemporary fiction
- (B2) demonstrate a critical awareness of the historical and socio-political contexts of the contemporary novel;
- (B4) deploy effectively a range of critical stratagems and approaches in their analytical work.
3. Professional/practical skills
The training offered in this module allows students to
- (C3) undertake relevant research and construct a reasoned argument on a topic/issue both orally or in writing.
4. Transferable/key skills
Students are provided with the training to be able to demonstrate
- (D3) the ability to construct and defend a coherent and well-researched argument
- (D4) appropriate preparation skills in relation to written documents and oral discussion
- (D6) general research skills;
- (D7) time-management, prioritising and general organisational skills; and the ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally.