2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
ENGL3020 American Words, American Worlds, 1900-Present
20 creditsClass Size: 136
School of English
Module manager: Dr Denis Flannery
Email: d.j.m.flannery@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2008/09
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.PLEASE NOTE:- This module is restricted to Level 3 students.
Module replaces
ENGL3015 American Texts in the 20th CenturyThis module is approved as an Elective
Module summary
American Words, American Worlds, as its title implies, is a module for people with a serious interest in both American literature and American culture more broadly considered. Thus the lectures elucidate the set texts, but they also tackle major issues that some might consider extra-literary: the United States as a political force in the world; the way race and ethnicity have shaped and sometimes limited individual aspirations; American conceptions of scale as registered in the transcontinental railroad or the rise of the skyscraper; the phenomenon of the 'the road trip' as evoked in countless songs and movies; and 'Yankee know-how', or why the US lauds and fears technology. The seminars, which demand full preparation, both discuss each of the set texts and expect students to respond to a range of contextual material analogous to that treated in the lectures. The module is assessed partly by an examination, and partly by a project-style essay in which students are encouraged to deploy their knowledge of American culture, whether that knowledge embraces 'high culture', such as the painting of the Ash Can School, or the graphic novel, jazz, and other dimensions of popular culture.Objectives
On completion of this module, students will possess an increased knowledge of American literature and an enhanced awareness of some of the preoccupations of American culture in the period from 1900 to the present. Also, students will have augmented their critical and analytical skills with respect to different kinds of texts, including poetry, and further developed their skills in essay writing and oral presentation.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.
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
This module examines American texts in their cultural contexts in the period from 1900 to the present, the so-called American century. It consists of a series of probes that reflect three preoccupations. The first is geographies, including the frontier, the suburbs, and the city and America's global reach. The second is memories, which we take to embrace both personal reminiscence, as in autobiography and 'confessional' poetry, and cultural memory, as in Toni Morrison's 're-memories' of African American history. The third is technologies; here we will look at a variety of responses -- in poetry, drama, fiction and film -- to the objects and media that increasingly occupy American life. In the course of seminars and lectures, we will often be asking whether, and how, the chosen texts may usefully be described as distinctively 'American.' In addition to studying the set texts, students will be invited to draw on their own interests in film, painting, photography, music, or other forms to explore the broader terrain of American cultures and society.
Teaching methods
Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
Lecture | 22 | 1.00 | 22.00 |
Seminar | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
Private study hours | 168.00 | ||
Total Contact hours | 32.00 | ||
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 |
Private study
Seminar/Essay/Exam preparationOpportunities for Formative Feedback
Participation in seminar discussion.1 x unassessed assignment (allocated by tutor)
Methods of assessment
Coursework
Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
Essay | 2,000 words | 40.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 40.00 |
One unassessed assignment (allocated by tutor) must be submitted in order for you to receive the credits for the module.
Exams
Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 2 hr | 60.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 60.00 |
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: 06/08/2008
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