2016/17 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
ENGL32153 Refugee Narratives
20 creditsClass Size: 40
School of English
Module manager: Dr Samuel Durrant
Email: s.r.durrant@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2016/17
Pre-requisite qualifications
Grade B at 'A' Level in English Language or Literature (or equivalent) or an achieved mark of 56 or above in a Level 1 module in English (or its non-UK equivalent).This module is approved as a discovery module
Module summary
This module is open to all students with an interest in the current refugee crisis. The focus is on literary narratives by and about asylum seekers and refugees and students should be prepared to read roughly a novel a week.Refugee Narratives affords students the opportunity to reflect on the current refugee crisis by looking at a wide range of writing by and about refugees, migrants and stateless people. While the module features contemporary narratives about people seeking asylum in the UK (Chikwava, Abani, Clanchy, Gurnah), it also looks at earlier narratives of Jewish and Palestinian displacement (Michaels and Kanafani), contemporary migration to the US (Cole) and one narrative in which the host nation remains deliberately obscure (Coetzee). The module will explore refugee experience and the process of seeking asylum; personal, political and literary practices of hospitality; statelessness, citizenship and the limits of the nation-state; the ends and limits of sympathy and compassion; xenophobia and racism; human rights and global inequities; the difficulty of distinguishing between refugees and other migrants. While our main focus is on novels, we will also look at a variety of other forms of representation, including poetry, short stories, refugee testimony and film.Objectives
- To explore writing by and about refugees- To explore issues of reception, hospitality, empathy and action in relation to the current refugee crisis
- To think about the ways in which writing itself may be hospitable and/or exclusionary.
Learning outcomes
- Broad understanding of how refugees are legally defined in international law
- Broad understanding of the process of seeking asylum in the UK and elsewhere
- In depth understanding of specific refugee narratives: how they are produced, by whom and to what effect.
Skills outcomes
Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
Critical reasoning.
Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
IT skills.
Time management and organisational skills.
Independent learning.
Syllabus
Refugee Narratives affords students the opportunity to reflect on the current refugee crisis by looking at a wide range of writing by and about refugees, migrants and stateless people. While the module features contemporary narratives about people seeking asylum in the UK (Chikwava, Abani, Clanchy, Gurnah), it also looks at earlier narratives of Jewish and Palestinian displacement (Michaels and Kanafani), contemporary migration to the US (Cole) and one narrative in which the host nation remains deliberately obscure (Coetzee). The module will explore refugee experience and the process of seeking asylum; personal, political and literary practices of hospitality; statelessness, citizenship and the limits of the nation-state; the ends and limits of sympathy and compassion; xenophobia and racism; human rights and global inequities; the difficulty of distinguishing between refugees and other migrants. While our main focus is on novels, we will also look at a variety of other forms of representation, including poetry, short stories, refugee testimony and film.
Teaching methods
Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
Workshop | 1 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
Film Screenings | 2 | 1.50 | 3.00 |
Lectures | 1 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
Seminar | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
Private study hours | 185.00 | ||
Total Contact hours | 15.00 | ||
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 |
Private study
Teaching will be through weekly seminars (10 x 1 hour) plus five additional hours used for lectures (1 x 1 hour), essay workshops (1 x 1hr ), and film screenings (2 x 1.5 hrs).Private study: Reading, seminar preparation and essay writing.
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
- Attendance at Seminars- Contribution to online discussion group
- Feedback on draft/proposal for assessed essay
Methods of assessment
Coursework
Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
Essay | 4000 word assessed essay. As well as this, there is compulsory unassessed work. This includes 100 word/week contribution to online discussion group and 750 word draft/proposal for assessed essay. This does not form part of the assessment for this module, but is a requirement and MUST be submitted. Students who fail to submit the unassessed essay will be awarded a maximum mark of 40 for the module (a bare Pass). | 100.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100.00 |
As well as this, there is compulsory unassessed work. This includes 100 word/week contribution to online discussion group and 750 word draft/proposal for assessed essay. This does not form part of the assessment for this module, but is a requirement and MUST be submitted. Students who fail to submit the unassessed essay will be awarded a maximum mark of 40 for the module (a bare Pass).
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 04/04/2016
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