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2021/22 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL32156 Quiet Rebels and Unquiet Minds: writing to contemporary anxiety

20 creditsClass Size: 20

School of English

Module manager: Dr Helen Iball
Email: h.iball@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2021/22

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.

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

We will study examples of drama and prose from Britain and North America, which share an impulse to represent the psychological damage done by contemporary culture, whilst at the same time identifying hope in human compassion. This module explores interfaces between:1. The representation of prevalent mental health issues such as anxiety and addiction. We will examine how the set texts interrogate current evidence about biological, psychological, and social causes: debates about ‘what makes people who they are?’ 2. Prose fiction, play scripts, and essay collections (part-memoir, part-literary criticism) with a particular emphasis on imaginatively ‘putting oneself in another person’s shoes’. Later in the module, we will explore the impetus for aesthetic empathy to be translated into social action with a study of specific author-led public engagement projects, some live and some online. Echoing the title of Robert Holman’s play Making Noise Quietly, we will examine how these narratives work from the intimate minutiae of everyday lives to resonate with current – and, frequently, controversial – debates e.g. psychiatry and psychopharmacology; religious faith, conflict and secularism; crime, punishment and rehabilitation.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the ways in which the set texts respond to and comment upon particular socio-cultural and political circumstances impacting upon mental health.

- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the functions of empathy in relation to the set texts, and in comparative studies across these texts.

- Explore in seminars and in writing (and, optionally, through a creative portfolio), the compatibility of aesthetic and social interventions in this field.

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.

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

We will study examples of drama and prose from Britain and North America, which share an impulse to represent the psychological damage done by contemporary culture, whilst at the same time identifying hope in human compassion. This module explores interfaces between:

1. The representation of prevalent mental health issues such as anxiety and addiction. We will examine how the set texts interrogate current evidence about biological, psychological, and social causes: debates about ‘what makes people who they are?’

2. Prose fiction, play scripts, and essay collections (part-memoir, part-literary criticism) with a particular emphasis on imaginatively ‘putting oneself in another person’s shoes’. Later in the module, we will explore the impetus for aesthetic empathy to be translated into social action with a study of specific author-led public engagement projects, some live and some online.

Echoing the title of Robert Holman’s play Making Noise Quietly, we will examine how these narratives work from the intimate minutiae of everyday lives to resonate with current – and, frequently, controversial – debates e.g. psychiatry and psychopharmacology; religious faith, conflict and secularism; crime, punishment and rehabilitation.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	2	1.00	2.00
Film Screenings	1	1.00	1.00
Lectures	2	1.00	2.00
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

- Attendance at Seminars
- Attendance at workshops
- Feedback on 2250 word assessed essay
- Talk and Q&A session

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Written Work	2,250 words critical and comparative account of independent study and seminars	50.00
Written Work	Either 2,250 word essay OR 1,250 word CW plus 1,000 word critical contextualisation	50.00
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: 30/06/2021 10:18:03

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