This module is inactive in the selected year. The information shown below is for the academic year that the module was last running in, prior to the year selected.
2014/15 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
ENGL32762 Encountering the Past: The United States through Other Cultures
20 creditsClass Size: 10
School of English
Module manager: Professor Bridget Bennett
Email: b.k.g.bennett@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2014/15
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).Please note: This module is restricted to Level 2 and 3 students. Enrolment priority will be given to Level 2 students for a restricted period (as detailed in the School’s Module Handbook).
This module is approved as a discovery module
Module summary
This module investigates the way in which US literary culture has conceived of and represented other cultures both within and beyond its borders, including those North and West Africa and the South Pacific. We will focus on key issues: the relation of indigenous occupants and new migrants to the contemporary United States (Cather); fatal engagements with Europe (James and Wharton); the way the South Pacific is imagined as a utopian alternative to the United States (Melville; Logan); the experience of captivity and enslavement in the United States ( Equiano) or Algeria (Tyler). Exmining a range of diverse literary genres over a long historical period, we will explore the United States through a transnational lens, examining the complex ways in which US Americans have written about other cultures from the earliest period onwards. So we look at novels, captivity narratives, short fiction and a film to consider a rich and fascinating history of encounter in order to relate it to the present period.Objectives
- To gain a critical and contextual (historical, political, cultural) understanding of a range of nineteenth century and early twentieth century United States texts (including fiction, drama, journals and film).- To gain an understanding of the development of and experiments in literary form, and to explore the relationship of writers and their work to their social environment and to larger political issues.
Learning outcomes
Students will have developed:
- the ability to use written and oral communication effectively;
- the capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse;
- the ability to manage quantities of complex information in a structured and systematic way;
- the capacity for independent thought and judgement;
- critical reasoning;
- research skills, including the retrieval of information, the organisation of material and the evaluation of its importance;
- IT skills;
- efficient time management and organisation skills;
- the ability to learn independently.
Syllabus
This module investigates the way in which US literary culture has conceived of and represented other cultures both within and beyond its borders, including those North and West Africa and the South Pacific. We will focus on key issues: the relation of indigenous occupants and new migrants to the contemporary United States (Cather); fatal engagements with Europe (James and Wharton); the way the South Pacific is imagined as a utopian alternative to the United States (Melville; Logan); the experience of captivity and enslavement in the United States ( Equiano) or Algeria (Tyler). Exmining a range of diverse literary genres over a long historical period, we will explore the United States through a transnational lens, examining the complex ways in which US Americans have written about other cultures from the earliest period onwards. So we look at novels, captivity narratives, short fiction and a film to consider a rich and fascinating history of encounter in order to relate it to the present period.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Meetings | 5 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| 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 up to 5 additional hours (content to be determined by the module tutor).- The 5 additional hours may include lectures, plenary sessions, film showings, or the return of unassessed/assessed essays.
Private Study: Reading, seminar preparation, essay writing.
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
- Seminar contribution.- Submission of 500 word unassessed component. 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).
Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay | This module will be assessed by one essay of 5000 words (including quotations and footnotes). One unassessed piece of 500 words is also required (submitted during Week 7). 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 piece will be awarded a maximum mark of 40 for the module (a bare Pass). | 100.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 25/03/2015
Browse Other Catalogues
- Undergraduate module catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
- Undergraduate programme catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team.PROD