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2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL32165 Text is a Technology

20 creditsClass Size: 20

School of English

Module manager: Dr. James Mussell
Email: j.e.p.mussell@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

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 mutually exclusive with

ENGL3292

Beyond the Book: Textuality after the World Wide Web

Module replaces

ENGL3296

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Text is a technology. In literary studies we often talk about the text as if it is somehow fixed and independent of its manifestation on page or screen. Yet text cannot exist without some sort of material substrate: something that can store it up, that can fix it in time and space, that allows a text to be handled and processed by a reader. Looking at literary texts from a range of periods and in a variety of modes, this module draws out this interdependence, examining the way text and medium interact to produce the work as read. Seminars dedicated to concepts such as ‘Writing’, ‘Code’, and ‘Network’ will consider what different media have in common, focusing on the way such things underpin our understanding of reading and writing more broadly. Alongside these, seminars dedicated to specific media such as ‘Manuscript’, ‘Print’, and ‘Digital’ explore the historical conditions of each, as well as the way they relate to one another. In each class, conceptual material is paired with a literary author: conceptual material will include work by Lisa Gitelman, N. Katherine Hayles, and Walter Ong; literary work will include William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Emily Brontë, Rudyard Kipling, Tom Philips, and Jennifer Egan. Accompanying the seminars will be five workshops where what is discussed in class can be put into practice. We will visit Special Collections to view and discuss artists’ books’; we will go the print room in the School of English to experience printing with movable type; and we will spend sessions in the computer lab, investigating digital materialities.

Objectives

The module introduces students to a range of different textual technologies from a variety of different periods in order to think about how texts rely on, and are shaped by, the media on which they are inscribed. We will focus on writing in manuscript, print, and digital technologies; however, while each will be considered in its historical, material, and cultural specificity, we will also think across media, putting these technologies into dialogue with one another to expose similarities as well as differences. Seminars will pair conceptual and literary work; workshops will include more practical tasks, such as carrying out digital exercises in a computer lab, or exploring movable type in the print room.

Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
1. describe the ways different media forms affect textuality
2. account for the history of different textual technologies
3. compare literary texts from different periods with regards to their thematic content and modes of production
4. discuss the way texts are produced in manuscript, print, and digital forms

Skills outcomes
close reading; comparative approaches to texts and textuality; basic digital literacy

Syllabus

The module is organized thematically, with literary texts paired with secondary reading throughout. Seminars will be dedicated to broad themes, some intended to cut across different media, others to focus on them specifically. Seminars will include ‘Introduction: Media Matter’; ‘Writing’; ‘Code’; ‘Network’; ‘Remediation’; ‘Manuscript’; ‘Print’; and ‘Digital’. There will also be five additional classes dedicated to more practical work. We will use these classes to visit Special Collections, the print room in the School of English, and work in a computer lab to create webpages etc. Conceptual material studied on the course will include work by Lisa Gitelman, N. Katherine Hayles, and Walter Ong; literary work will include William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Emily Brontë, Rudyard Kipling, Tom Philips, and Jennifer Egan.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	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

Students will be expected to prepare for each class, reading the set texts and carrying out preparatory tasks.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Feedback on unassessed essay.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1700 words (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).	0.00
Essay	4000 words	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

One unassessed essay of 1700 words is required which will be returned individually (due 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 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: 26/04/2017

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