| Unit name | The Rise of the Novel in 19th-Century |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODLM2035 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Andreas Schonle |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
In the twenty-first century, the realist novel has become a default: the go-to literary genre for authors who want to present a vision of the ‘real world,’ the standard form that is no longer experimental or, indeed, novel. In the nineteenth century, however, the novel was an innovative genre that was intimately connected to the rise of Realism as a radical form of literary representation. Indeed, the nineteenth-century novel presents challenging and at times controversial images of social, political, aesthetic, and religious change in the period.
In this unit you will explore novels from different national and linguistic traditions. You will examine these through a transnational framework, drawing connections across the texts whilst also thinking about their peculiarities and differences. You will also examine the Realist novel’s dominance as a literary genre, and question why – and how – these texts have become embedded in and beyond the canon of European literary culture.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This optional unit introduces you to a major literary genre and is a chance for you to explore literary works in depth. You will develop close reading and analytical skills by working closely on a range of novels and develop knowledge about the wider cultural and aesthetic frameworks in which this genre developed. You will develop key comparative skills, as well as skills of literary analysis and scholarly writing. You will also explore a specific aspect of the novel(s) studied in your assessments, working independently to deepen your knowledge and understanding of the field.
An overview of content
In this unit you will consider the realist novel as a major literary genre and examine the aesthetic and cultural frameworks that precipitated its development. You will also examine a range of novels from different cultural and linguistic traditions, working on these in close detail in seminars with tutors who are experts in their field.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
In this unit you will become an expert in the nineteenth-century realist novel and work to apply knowledge across a broad range of novels. Through seminar activities and independent work, you will be supported to become a creative, enquiring, and independent scholar. You will become an effective communicator or your ideas in writing and orally. You will hone key transferable skills (including close reading, literary analysis, academic writing) to build your confidence and resilience as a scholar. You will reflect on your own consumption of cultural texts and reflect critically on the role individual authors and texts play in the cultural canon.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Each week you will be expected to complete independent work to prepare for seminars. This includes reading the primary texts and preparing some secondary materials, amongst other tasks. Tutors will provide you with further information each week on what to prepare. This is designed to support your development as an independent scholar.
This unit is taught in weekly 2-hour seminars. Class work will centre on discussions about primary texts and supplementary materials, designed to increase your knowledge and hone your understanding of the topic. You will develop skills of close reading and literary analysis to support your interpretation of literary texts, and be encouraged to engage with other materials to supplement your knowledge. Seminar activities will lead to your formative assessment, which will also feed into your summative assessment for this unit.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare for summative tasks
The summative assessment formats of this unit are very similar to those of the core unit MODLMXXXX Comparative Literature: Debates, Contexts, Methods. There will be spaces in this core unit to train your research skills for literary studies. In addition, two optional workshops, led by colleagues from CALD, will be aimed at developing your academic writing skills and tailored for the two specific summative assessment (0%) [ILOs 2-3].
Tasks which count towards your unit mark
The formative tasks, in close connection to the core unit, will offer tailored, hand-on help with the two summative assessments respectively and build your confidence for academic writing. The close reading and analytical skills you’ll have developed in writing the commentary will also help improve your final essay. You will produce a response to a given stimulus (essay question) and present an analysis of primary materials in response. You will be required to engage with wider scholarly debates in constructing your argument. You will be expected to format and reference this in line with PGT conventions at the University of Bristol.
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MODLM2035).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
