EN1MAC: Modern American Culture and Counterculture

Module code: EN1MAC

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor David Brauner, email: d.brauner@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Beginning with Beat poetry and the counterculture of the 1950s and finishing with fiction responding to the Black Lives Matter movement and the challenges of social media in the twenty-first century, on this module you will be studying different perspectives on American culture in work by African-American, Native American (Indian) and white American creatives operating in a variety of genres and sub-genres: poetry, short stories, YA fiction, science fiction, drama, songs, films, war reportage, and the graphic novel.  You will develop your skills in the close reading of a wide range of texts and you will learn about and begin to debate ideas of cultural, ethnic, class, racial and gender differences in relation to American national identities, as well as acquiring the ability to respond to shifts in modes, styles and preoccupations across the period.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate broad, deep, and coherent knowledge of American literature in its principal modes and genres: across poetry, prose and drama in the twentieth and twenty-first century; and engage with a range of other genres such as song, film and the graphic novel, developing a sense of the global reach of the English language
2. Apply discipline-specific practices of close reading, interpretative analysis and critical argument
3. Articulate their own and other people’s ideas concisely, accurately, and clearly
4. Make sound judgments on complex and culturally sensitive issues and to communicate them in an appropriate and effective manner

Module content

Designed to introduce you to a wide variety of genres from a wide range of perspectives this module will start with the counter-cultural provocation of Beat poetry in the 1950s and take you chronologically through to the twenty-first century.

Texts may include a selection of Beat poetry, short stories by Shirley Jackson and Sherman Alexie, war reportage by Michael Herr, Angie Thomas’ YA novel, The Hate U Give, Ursula Le Guin’s Sci-Fi novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, Nick Drnaso’ graphic novel, Sabrina, the films of West Side Story (Wise and Spielberg versions) and songs by Bob Dylan and Marvin Gaye.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module is taught by a combination of weekly in-person lectures and weekly discussion-based seminars that will develop from the lectures and into discussions based on the close analysis of the set texts, where critical and theoretical issues raised in the course of the close reading are the subject of further discussion within the group.  

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students will be expected to submit a formative assignment of 1,000 words that will help them prepare for the end of semester summative examination. The feedback on this essay will provide guidance feeding forward for the summative examination.

Reassessment

Additional costs