2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL3362 Something Rotten: Transatlantic Capitalism and the Literature of Waste, 1970-present

20 creditsClass Size: 40

School of English

Module manager: Dr Andrew Warnes
Email: A.Warnes@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

This module is not approved as an Elective

Objectives

1. To develop a command of major modes of dissent in post-1960s US and UK Culture.
2. To cultivate an interdisciplinary approach that can no only compare different literary traditions but also different media.
3. To develop new ways of understanding Western consumerism and its impact on individual self worth.
4. To critique the commodification of the academy among other fields of western social life.

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

In his tour de force "Wasted Lives" (2003), Leeds sociologist Zygmunt Bauman claims that the production of human waste--refugees, lumpen proletarians, outcasts and misfits--is an inevitable consequence of modern capitalism. Modern capitalist culture, Bauman argues, remains obsessed with novelty and obsessively consigns what was new yesterday to its burgeoning rubbish dumps; it is hardly surprising, therefore, that it should begin to treat certain kinds of people the same way, deeming them, too, dispoable, "used", or otherwise redundant. In this module we consider this recent sociological idea, asking whether it is reflected in certain key literary and cultural works produced in the UK and US since 1970. Beginning with "The Bluest Eye"'s meditations on blackness and beauty, we go on to consider several texts that share Toni Morrison's interest in those whom Western life has rendered unproductive or placed beyond the pale. We also consider certain phenomena--from UK punk's celebration of all things rotten, to the IRA's dirty protests of the late 1970s and early 80s--in which individuals almost seem to affirm this kind of low designation. The module concludes with a consideration of two seminal Yorkshire texts: "The Full Monty", Peter Cattaneo's well-known film about redundancy and sex in postindustrial Sheffield; and "1980", David Pearce's vicious and confrontational novel about the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper in and around Leeds.

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

Reading, seminar preparation and essay writing

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Contribution to seminars and unassessed work.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Written Work	One unassessed project plan of 1,700 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 project plan will be awarded a maximum mark of 40 for the module (a bare Pass).	0.00
Essay	4,000 words	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 website

Last updated: 24/04/2008

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