ENMMAC: Modern and Contemporary Literature

Module code: ENMMAC

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Stephen Thomson, email: s.thomson@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

This module aims to help you to identify and develop your own interests within the period from literary Modernism up to the present day. Through a wide range of primary and secondary texts, seminars will introduce you to questions of form and genre relevant to the period, as well as issues and problems associated with the ideas of modernity and the contemporary. You will be taught by a variety of members of the Department of English Literature, encouraging a diverse range of interests and critical approaches. Texts and topics will be set in such a way as to open up possible areas of further study not only in Spring Term options, but also in the Dissertation. 

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the selected modern and contemporary texts 
2. Formulate critical questions and interpret texts critically and within their critical contexts 
3. Demonstrate ability to engage critically with secondary and theoretical texts 
4. Synthesise a written argument locating analysis of particular texts in a broader theoretical and contextual setting 

Module content

The module will trace a number of key concepts and ideas in literature and culture since the start of the twentieth century. The first half of the module will focus on texts from the period of Modernism, possibly including texts not usually considered as Modernist. The second half will focus on texts from the latter half of the twentieth century addressing topics of contemporary importance such as postmodernism and late modernism, feminism, women’s writing, and gender, and diasporic and transnational writing. 

The syllabus for any given year will be decided in advance by the teaching team and advertised before the start of the course. An indicative list of authors studied might include Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, Samuel Beckett, Alice Notley, Ted Berrigan, Helen Oyeyemi. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching will be delivered through weekly intensive seminar discussions (one two-hour seminar per week over eleven weeks). Each seminar will involve discussion of texts or special materials that have been set and prepared in advance. Module tutors will also be available for consultation with students on a one-to-one basis to discuss their work and the progress of the module as a whole. 

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 50% 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.

Reassessment

Additional costs