Unit information: Confronting the Modern in World Literature in 2027/28

Please note: Programme and unit information may change as the relevant academic field develops. We may also make changes to the structure of programmes and assessments to improve the student experience.

Unit name Confronting the Modern in World Literature
Unit code MODLM0073
Credit points 20
Level of study M/7
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Dr. Connor Doak
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

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

Modernism, modernity, postmodernism: these are some of the most evocative – and most contested – terms in literary and cultural studies. When does the ‘modern’ era begin and end, if it has ended already? How is the modern experienced in different cultures and societies? To what extent is modernity a culturally homogenizing force?

This unit explores how writers across the globe sought to confront the modern, in all its guises, through literary texts. The unit’s centre of gravity lies in 1890–1945, a period of remarkable technological, political, and economic transformations, although we move either side of those boundaries, recognizing that the modern is not historically delimited and that the impact of modern transformations is not confined to the modernist period. Key questions include: How did literature respond to the rapid technological innovation, from film and flight to robotics and mass communication, or to new understandings of the world unleashed by advances in theoretical physics? How was literature involved in the creation and dissemination of new ideologies, such as fascism and communism, as well in challenging and resisting them? What role did writers play in the making of empire, and liberationist movements that challenged it? How is literature implicated in the spread of global capitalism, and can it offer an alternative?

How does this unit fit into your programme of study

For students in the Comparative Literatures & Cultures programme, this optional unit allows for an in-depth study of modernist literature and its afterlife in the broad context of world literature. We consider the relationship between literature and modernity in a comparative and transnational context. We explore how modernity travels across national and cultural boundaries and how constructions of modernity vary across place and time.

The unit will develop your skills in literary analysis, as well as grounding you in broader debates around the concepts of the modern, modernity, modernism, and postmodernity which have increasingly moved beyond Europe to focus on a global approach. The unit will also provide training in academic writing, and presentation skills.

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Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

This unit offers an in-depth study of how writers across the globe reckoned with the ‘modern’ in all its permutations. We focus primarily on literature from the period 1890–1945, often traditionally defined as the heyday of modernism in Europe and North America but extend beyond those regions to consider the modern in its global context, including non-Western literatures. We also extend beyond the temporal core to include consideration of late modernity and postmodernist responses to the same. We explore literature in its political context, including its connections to new ideologies such as fascism, communism, and national liberationist movements. While the focus is literary, we are aware that this period saw close intermedial engagements between literature and visual art, including new media such as film and radio. Finally, we consider the modern period as a time of unprecedented global movement and migration, considering how culture travels across borders and is translated, adapted, and reinterpreted.

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?

The literature from this period often tackles major questions about politics and identity, the fate of the individual in the age of mechanization, and the place of art in an era of mass production. Many of these issues have come into sharper relief in our own time with the rise of digitization and AI. Students will emerge from the class with a deeper understanding of the modern and contemporary world and their place in it.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

  1. Analyse literary texts from the modern period (broadly conceived) at level M.
  2. Engage in contemporary conceptual and theoretical debates in the academy around modernism, modernity, postmodernism.
  3. Consider how literature confronted modernity in different national/regional contexts.
  4. Give presentations, demonstrating advanced communication skills appropriate to Level M;
  5. Develop an extended argument about the unit content, demonstrating advanced academic writing skills appropriate to Level M.

How you will learn

Each week, you will have a two-hour class. Typically, the first half will take the form of a lecture, and the second half will be a more interactive discussion. Some sessions will also be devoted to workshops.

Lectures: Lectures equip you with foundational subject knowledge. Far from being a passive mode of learning, lectures help you build critical analysis and evidence-gathering skills by modelling critical interpretation, outlining methodologies and their underlying assumptions, and posing key questions related to the discipline.

Discussion: Discussions or seminars are a student-centred mode of learning. In pairs or small groups, you will discuss key questions about set texts and critical concepts. You will develop, share and defending your own arguments.

Workshop: Workshops are dedicated to a specific skill, such as academic writing or presenting your work to an audience. Workshops are held occasionally in place of the discussion or seminar class, usually in advance of assessment.

Beyond the classroom, you will devote much time to primary and secondary reading, essential in the humanities. Primary readings will include literary texts from a variety of cultural contexts; specific authors will vary from year to year. Secondary readings will include scholarship and criticism: scholarly books, book sections, journal articles, as well as a wide variety of primary sources. Reading is sometimes misunderstood as a ‘passive’ activity, but engaged reading is an active process, as you will not only be expanding your subject knowledge, but also developing your sense of empathy and judgement.

In total, you will have 20 hours of class teaching and 180 hours of independent learning.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):

In-class workshops will be held on presentation skills (before Assessment 1) and writing skills (before Assessment 2).

Tasks that count towards your unit mark (summative):

Individual presentation, 10 minutes (30%) [ILOs 1,2 and 5]

Essay, 3000 words (70%) [ILOs 3 and 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 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.

Resources

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. MODLM0073).

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.