| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminars / Tutorials | Ten 1-hour seminars |
| Lecture | Ten 1-hour lectures |
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 3,500-word essay | 25% |
| Semester Assessment | 2 individual oral presentations (15-20 mins) on topic of student's choice | 75% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay on a topic different to 3,500-word essay to be resubmitted if failed (=75%), or if c/a is failed because of failure of oral component only, a piece of written work (1,500 words on different topic) is to be submitted in lieu of oral work (=25%) |
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a critical understanding of a range of twentieth-century Latin American examples of the literary fantastic and of the debates in which they intervene;
Demonstrate awareness of the intersections of history and narrative in a geocultural context;
Demonstrate an engagement with relevant critical/theoretical texts and debates;
Synthesise detailed textual analysis, conceptual/theoretical discussion, and culturally informed debate in a written assignment and oral presentation;
Express themselves clearly, coherently and in a logical fashion, both orally and in writing.
This M.A. module focuses on the study of fantastic literature in Spanish-American narratives. Closely exploring the work of practitioners from Christopher Columbus to modern-day 'magical realists' such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the module discussions revolve around issues of genre, form, culture and difference.
What is the meaning and use of the 'fantastic' in literature? What does the fantastic do to a story or novel that a 'realistic' account cannot perform? How has the genre/mode/form of the fantastic come to be entwined with a geopolitical and multicultural conception of Latin America and the 'Third World' in general? This module closely explores these broad issues while focusing on the specific case of Latin American fiction. Students will study key theoretical texts on genre and the fantastic, the 'marvelous real' and 'magical realism', while simultaneously analyzing exemplary works of fiction.
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | n/a |
| Communication | Participation in seminars and writing of essay will require students to express their ideas clearly, cogently and coherently. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Independent preparation for essays and seminars; independent research for essays and seminars |
| Information Technology | Use of online journals and source collections; delivery of course materials and information via email and e-learning system. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Students will be required to manage their own time effectively and to engage in independent lines of research in preparing their essays. |
| Problem solving | Selecting appropriate reading material; developing evaluative analysis and critical skills and formulating a detailed argument. |
| Research skills | Relating literary texts to cultural and theoretical contexts and synthesising information in an evaluative argument; search for appropriate material in journals and texts of fiction and non-fiction; preparation for seminars. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Detailed critical/theoretical analysis of literary texts and evaluation of broad intellectual concepts; exposure to regional expressions from literature of different Hispanic linguistic contexts. |
| Team work | This will apply in the seminars. |
This module is at CQFW Level 7