Speculative Fictions
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| ENGL4402 | English | 4 | N/A | April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK |
- Code
- ENGL4402
- School
- English
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- N/A
- Semesters
- April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK
Summary
This pod offers students the opportunity to explore the speculative and fantastical traditions in English literature. Students trace the differing periods and modes of speculative fiction, from early modern works like Utopia and The Tempest, through the nineteenth-century developments like Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and into the flourishing subgenres of the twentieth century, from high fantasy to dystopia. Authors whose work falls within the scope of this pod include Ursula Le Guin, Margaret Atwood, H.G. Wells, J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, Joanna Russ and others. As well as considering the possible histories and pre-histories of speculative fiction, students will develop critical and theoretical languages to distinguish between kinds of speculative fiction, and to relate these to their political, social and ideological contexts. They are invited into the ongoing debates around the purpose, value and nature of speculative fictions, and equipped to make their own contributions to those conversations.
Target Students
Students registered on the School of English online masters scheme.
Assessment
- 100% Participation: Student Participation
Assessed by end of designated period
Educational Aims
This module comprises an optional component in the following pathways: Applied English, English Literature, and Modern and Contemporary Literature. As such, it contributes in its specific aims to the programme-level coverage of these pathways.Learning Outcomes
Perform close analysis of literary texts, relating elements such as style, symbols and tropes to historical, literary and generic contexts
Recognise and discuss critically the issues of history and value in debates around speculative fiction.
Apply critical concepts and models to speculative fiction.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired to the appropriate disciplinary and professional standard.
Assimilate and present subject-specific material in an appropriate format (assessed within the ‘Assessment Portfolio’ 1, 2 or 3).