Literature and Popular Culture
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| ENGL2010 | English | 2 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- ENGL2010
- School
- English
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
You will engage with exciting works situated at the interface of the literature and popular culture. In addition to exploring topics such as aesthetics and adaptation, module material will be situated within cultural, political and historical contexts allowing for an interrogation of the distinction between the literary and the popular. We will explore works from across a range of genres and mediums such as prose fiction, poetry, comics an graphic novels, music, television and film (though note that not all genres/media will be covered in any given year).
Target Students
Only available to second-year students on SH and JH English programmes, including 2+2 programmes; students participating in exchanges from the School partner institutions; and second or third-year students on the Liberal Arts programme.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 11 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 11 weeks
Assessment
- 30% Coursework 1: Coursework 1 - Mid-semester 1,000 word exercise
- 70% Coursework 2: Coursework 2 - End-semester 2,000 word essay
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
This module aims to provide students with:An understanding of the relationship between literature and popular culture.The ability to reflect critically on categories such as ‘literary’ and ‘popular’.The skills to relate different media/genres and to discuss the formal features of textsA practical understanding of the intersection of the creative and the criticalAn opportunity to develop further written and oral communication skills, with a specific emphasis on creative modes of expression.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
- critical and theoretical approaches to the study of texts, including appropriate critical terminologies (A1)
- the literary, cultural and historical contexts for literature (A2)
- the interaction of genre with specific content in the analysis of literary texts (A5)
- the relationships between English and a range of cognate humanities disciplines (A6)
Intellectual skills
- engage in close and logical analysis of texts and arguments (B1)
- think independently while giving due weight to the arguments of others and to reflect on their own critical practice (B2)
- understand complex ideas and relate them to specific problems or questions (B3)
Professional practical skills
- articulate knowledge and understanding of literary and theoretical concepts relating to English, using appropriate terminology (C1)
- analyse texts with an awareness of how circumstances of authorship, textual production, convention and/or audience affect what they communicate (C2)
- write accurately and grammatically, demonstrating awareness of the importance of style and register in communication, and present written material using conventions appropriate to literary or language work including bibliographies (C3)
- to construct and communicate a sustained analysis of texts, verbally and in writing (C5)
- carry out research (including the use of scholarly resources and databases), to evaluate the material so acquired and use it appropriately (C5)
Transferable (key) skills
- work productively with others (D1)
- communicate effectively in writing (D2)
- communicate effectively by oral presentation (D3)
- organise and manage working time, including scheduling tasks and meeting deadlines (D4)
- to retrieve information from a range of written and electronic sources and present the results in a clear and accurate fashion (D5)
- reflect upon and assess their own progress, strengths and weaknesses (D6)