| Unit name | Writing the Self: Literature and Autobiography |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL30107 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Bennett |
| 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 | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
What is a ‘self’ and how do we know it? How do narratives – the stories we tell ourselves and each other – not only reflect our sense of self but contribute to its formation? And, rather differently, what place does autobiography play in the literary tradition? The unit seeks to trace the development of autobiographical writing from its emergence as a major literary mode towards the end of the eighteenth century up to the end of the twentieth century. We attend to a variety of different kinds of writing (both poetry and prose), and consider the richly imaginative and inventive ways in which authors explore themes of memory, subjectivity, history and fiction, and the social and cultural pressures that help to form them as writers.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Specialisation units challenge and empower you to engage with specific elements of advanced literary study. Specialisation units include taught options, which are closely informed by the world-leading research of individual academic staff, as well as final-year dissertation units that will enable you to pursue your own research or creative interests. Specialisation units cultivate ambition and independent learning, and showcase the department’s wide-ranging and varied expertise.
An Overview of Content
We examine key texts in a variety of genres, including poems and poem-collections, novels, short stories, and memoirs by writers such as William Wordsworth, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, Derek Walcott, and Sylvia Plath. We focus, in particular, on literary autobiography and on what Wordsworth calls ‘the growth of a poet’s mind’ – on the stories authors tell about their development as writers. A consideration of such texts necessarily leads into questions concerning the development of autobiography as a genre; the relationship between fiction and history; how memory, forgetting and the unconscious are represented in such works; the idea of ‘confession’; the relationship between individual and his or her society; the question of personal identity; and questions of gender, class, nationhood and race in the context of identity formation and autobiographical writing.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
On successful completion of the unit, students will have an increased understanding of the range and diversity of autobiographical writing, as well as a better understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of autobiographical discourse from the nineteenth and twenty centuries. Students will refine their understanding of key academic skills and disciplines (comparative analysis/contextual analysis/interdisciplinarity) in ways that not only connect to the content of this unit, but will present a meaningful consolidation as they complete their programme.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
1. Develop and demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of key autobiographical texts and authors of the period;
2. Apply a thorough understanding of a range of historical, cultural and intellectual contexts to readings of these texts;
3. Evaluate and analyse different critical and theoretical perspectives on autobiographical writing;
4. Demonstrate advanced skills in close textual analysis, argumentation, aspects of literary theory, and critical interpretation using evidence from primary texts and secondary sources.
Teaching will involve asynchronous and synchronous elements, including group discussion, research and writing activities, and peer dialogue. Students are expected to engage with the reading and participate fully with the weekly tasks and topics. Learning will be further supported through the opportunity for individual consultation.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Students will be given the opportunity to submit an outline of your final summative essay, and receive formative feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative)
Essay, 3,500 words (100%) [ILOs 1-4]
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 format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the 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. ENGL30107).
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.
