Last modified: 27 Feb 2018 11:09
This level-three course offers an introduction to American literature and culture between 1850 and 1950, a century in which the United States was transformed from a rural economy to an industrialised super-power. You will learn about the key writers of this period, the issues that sparked their imaginations, and the literary strategies which they adopted, or at times invented, to express their response to the changing world around them. This course is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | None. | Sustained Study | No |
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American Innovation explores literature written in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to the Second World War, analysing the work of major writers in historical and political context. Between 1850 and 1950, America experienced three major wars, and was transformed from a developing rural economy to a world super-power. These dramatic social and cultural changes are reflected, and sometimes resisted, in the writing of the age. This course considers the rise of a distinctively American perspective in literature, and it looks at how writers of the period experimented with new forms and styles. It engages with the themes of conflict, gender, race and religion through the work of writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald and William Faulkner.
1 one-hour lecture per week
1 two-hour seminar per week
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
1st Attempt: continuous assessment: Two essays, each 2500 words (each 40%); group project (10%); seminar assessment mark (10%). Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%)
Essay feedback will be given in written form. Students will also have opportunities to discuss their progress with their tutor. This course also includes extensive use of group work and peer review.
Detailed written feedback on the essays. Detailed oral feedback on the presentations. Peer review of presentations.
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