| Module Identifier |
EN31020 |
| Module Title |
LITERARY THEORY PROJECT |
| Academic Year |
2001/2002 |
| Co-ordinator |
Dr Sarah Prescott |
| Semester |
Semester 2 |
| Other staff |
Mrs Carol Marshall |
| Pre-Requisite |
EN20120 , EN30920 |
| Course delivery |
Seminars / Tutorials | Variable, not less than 5 hrs per student |
| Assessment |
Project work | Project essay (c.5,000 words). | 100% |
| |
Resit assessment | Resubmit any failed element and/or make good any missing element. | |
Brief description
The literary theory project gives students an opportunity to write an extended project essay of around 5,000 words that is significantly different in range and approach from the essays written for other modules. This module comes at the end of the sequence of literary theory modules and is intended to give students an opportunity to develop a particular area of interest in literary theory. There will be regular tutorial meetings, five or six sessions, to which students will be expected to bring drafts of work in progress, and where they will be able to discuss and develop their ideas and be given guidance on the structure and argument of their essays. The project essay is written over several weeks thus giving students an opportunity to rework and refine their ideas. It can therefore serve as a training ground for postgraduate work, or offer to students who do not wish to go further with English Studies an opportunity to make their own statement on an area of literary theory in which they have acquired a particular interest.
Aims
- to build upon the experience gained in the previous theory module;
- to enable students to engage in independent work in literary theory;
- to enable students to explore further the relationship between literary theories and/or between literary theory and literary analysis.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students should typically be able to:
- distinguish between different theoretical approaches;
- evaluate the significance of particular theoretical approaches for the practice of literary criticism;
- employ particular theoretical approaches in the critical analysis of literary texts.
Content
The topic to be agreed between student and tutor, should normally fall within the following guidelines. YOU MAY NOT REPRODUCE WORK THAT HAS BEEN OR WILL BE SUBMITTED FOR ANY OTHER MODULE.
1) An extension and expansion of your knowledge of a particular school or movement within the field, offering a critique of that body of theory: e.g. cultural materialism, French feminism, queer theory, post-colonialism, deconstruction, etc.
2) An exploration of the ways in which one branch of contemporary literary theory has transformed our perceptions and understanding of cultural practice within a particular historical period.
3) An assessment of the impact of one thinker on the field of literary theory, e.g. Matthew Arnold, Marx, Freud, Walter Benjamin, Julia Kristeva, etc.
4) A comparative study of the work of two theorists.
5) An exploration of the ways in which a particular theorist or body of theory has influenced literary practice. Or vice versa.
Any student wishing to take the project module must submit a completed proposal form to the Project Convenor before the end of the first semester. This will consist of a brief outline of the area of study to be investigated and a brief initial bibliography.