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EL35VB: BILDUNGSROMAN TO ALIEN INVASION (2020-2021)

Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04


Course Overview

This module covers some of the most prominent and popular genres of the Victorian period, including realism, detective fiction, sensation fiction, the ghost story and the social problem novel. We will learn how to identify a genre’s distinctive features, but also how it may overlap with other forms of fiction. By reading authors such as George Eliot, Charlotte Brontë, Mary Elizabeth Braddon and H. G. Wells, we will think about how writers help to create and challenge generic boundaries.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Term Second Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Helena Ifill

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Programme Level 3
  • English (EL)
  • Any Undergraduate Programme

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • EL30VB Bildungsroman to Alien Invasion (Passed)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

This module covers some of the most prominent and popular genres of the Victorian period, including realism, detective fiction, sensation fiction, the ghost story and the social problem novel. We will learn how to identify a genre’s distinctive features, but also how it may overlap with other forms of fiction. By reading authors such as George Eliot, Charlotte Brontë, Mary Elizabeth Braddon and H. G. Wells, we will think about how writers help to create and challenge generic boundaries. Considering both style and content, we will look at how different genres tackled similar themes (such as class, ethnicity and gender) in diverse ways, and why they were designated as “high” or “low” forms of literature by reviewers. This will also allow for a consideration of how literary critics (then and now) have theorised genre, and how approaching a text in terms of genre can help and hinder us.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

1000 word essay 25%

3000 word essay 65%

Seminar Participation 10%

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome

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