EN2WAPN: Writing America: Perspectives on the Nation

Module code: EN2WAPN

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Sue Walsh, email: s.a.b.walsh@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): Before taking this module, you must have at least 40 credits of EN-coded modules at Part 1 (except for visiting students) (Open)

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

This module is concerned with literary constructions of American national identity in American literature from a range of different perspectives.  We will focus on some of the ways imaginative writers have perceived and defined their sense of America as a New World in relation to the Old World of Europe and also study the way they helped to shape or challenge the nation’s sense of itself as culturally distinct.  We will examine both a diversity of American voices and the emergence of common preoccupations, including myths of the frontier, Manifest Destiny, personal and political liberty, and the construction of race, gender and sexuality. 

One focus of this module will be on the construction of national identity as tied to questions of race, especially as expressed in Native American (Indian) voices and the writing of Frederick Douglass (an ex-slave) as set against the now controversial Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. We will also study the way the texts on this module both celebrate and problematise ideas of the frontier and American expansionism (‘Manifest Destiny’). We will read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and explore how these two novels articulate their concerns over how to express America and American identity in literary terms; and through the work of two very different poets like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, we will examine their uniquely American poetic expression in terms of questions of gender and sexuality and their different concerns with the place of the individual in society, with spirituality and personal liberty.  

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 and prose; covering a vital historical period
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

Since the module is concerned with literary constructions of America and American identities it requires an examination of both the diversity of American voices and a sense of shared preoccupations. The set texts for study will include Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. It will also aim to include the representation of Native American (Indian) voices and may include the Life of Black Hawk, or Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak or other Native American texts (subject to availability). 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module is taught by a combination of weekly pre-recorded screencasts, in-person interactive lectures following on from the viewing of those screencasts and discussion based seminars in which the group discussions will be based on the close analysis of the set texts, where critical and theoretical issues raised in the reading are the subject of discussion as they arise from the close readings. 

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 1,500 words that will help them prepare for the end of semester summative examination, they will each be entitled to a one-to-one feedback session of half an hour on this assignment which will provide guidance feeding forward for the summative examination. 

Reassessment

Additional costs