2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL3330 Danger, Domesticity and American Literature

20 creditsClass Size: 10

School of English

Module manager: Professor Bridget Bennett
Email: b.k.g.bennett@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

This module is not approved as an Elective

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to engage with a variety of literary texts and genres, and to construct arguments about the relation of these texts to ideas that have been explored in seminars and that students will pursue in their own readings and investigations.

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

The events of 9/11 have made Americans reflect upon the issues of danger and threat within the apparently safe domestic boundaries of the republic, often constituted as "home". This module will examine how the threat of danger from within (sometimes from outsiders, but also from the inside) has persistently undermined more optimistic American narratives about the nation, providing a troubling counter-narrative to these dominant discourses. We will look at a range of texts that address differing types of danger set within or constituted out of differently imagined versions of domestic space.

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 and essay writing.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Contribution to seminars

1 x 1700 word unassessed essay (submitted during Week 7 of the semester)

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	4000 words	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

One unassessed essay of 1700 words is required. 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 website

Last updated: 24/04/2008

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