Literature and the Environment
| Module title | Literature and the Environment |
|---|---|
| Module code | HUC2004 |
| Academic year | 2019/0 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Nick Groom (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
This module investigates the relationships between writing and place, focusing on how the physical environment shapes literary work, and how reading and writing shape our perception of the country and the city: nature, ecology, and the metropolitan. Texts are selected from a range of historical periods, literary genres, and cultural traditions, with an emphasis on addressing current debates in environmentalism from a literary perspective. Among the areas covered will be the pastoral and cultural environmentalism’ the ‘blue humanities’ and ‘blue wellbeing’, urban psychogeography, regional and national identities, and the Anthropocene and climate change. Topics discussed are likely to include the politics of access and ownership; issues in conservation; how gender, race, and class inflect the perception of landscape; and travel writing. The module will include a regional field trip, at student cost.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module will introduce you to a range of literary texts and genres that represent different environments in order to present to you contemporary thinking in ecological humanities and cultural environmentalism, and practical issues in conservation and environmental politics.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Explain the role literary texts play in how we understand prior historical moments
- 2. Describe how literary and cultural practices can affect environmental issues
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Analyse a variety of writing and relate its concerns and its modes of expression to environmental contexts
- 4. Interrelate texts and discourses specific to their own discipline with issues in the wider context of cultural and intellectual history
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Through seminar work, demonstrate communication skills, and work both individually and in groups
- 6. Through essay-writing, demonstrate appropriate research and bibliographic skills, construct a coherent, substantiated argument, and write clear and correct prose
Syllabus plan
Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:
- The Pastoral (and Its Discontents) – texts and/or extracts may include William Shakespeare, As You Like It; James Thomson, The Seasons; Dorothy Wordsworth, Grasmere and Alfoxden Journals; poems of John Clare; Tim Robinson, Connemara: A Little Gaelic Kingdom
- The Coast, Islands, and the Sea – texts and/or extracts may include Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe; Samuel Taylor Coleridge, ‘The Ancient Mariner’; Derek Walcott, Omeros; Kathleen Jamie, Findings
- The City – texts and/or extracts may include Alexander Pope, The Dunciad Variorum; Elizabeth Gaskill, North and South; Charles Dickens, Hard Times; John Rechy, City of Night; Iain Sinclair, Downriver
- The Traveller – texts and/or extracts may include Thomas Nashe, The Unfortunate Traveller; selected poems of Jack Clemo; Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia; W.G. Sebald, The Rings of Saturn
- The End – texts and/or extracts may include ‘The Revelation of St John the Divine’ and apocalyptic writings; Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Cormac McCarthy, The Road
More information is available via the ELE and College intranet.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | 129 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 5 | Lectures large group teaching (5 x 1 hour) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 10 | Seminar small group teaching allowing for in-depth discussion (5 x 2 hours) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 6 | Mandatory field trip to regional heritage site |
| Guided Independent Study | 129 | Reading, researching, writing, seminar preparation, ELE- and web-based activity, attending office hours with tutor, etc. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group presentation | 20 minutes | 1-6 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Review essay (reviewing a relevant work) | 50 | 1000 words | 1-4,6 | Written |
| Literary trail design | 50 | 1000 words | 1-4, 6 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review essay | Review essay | 1-4,6 | Referral/deferral period |
| Literary trail design | Literary trail design | 1-4, 6 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic reading:
- See list given in syllabus plan.
Sample secondary reading:
- Nicholas Allen, Nick Groom, and Jos Smith (eds), Coastal Works: Cultures of the Atlantic Edge (2017)
- Alexander Elliot, Vinita Damodaran, and James Cullis (eds), Climate Change and the Humanities: Historical, Philosophical and Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Contemporary Environmental Crisis (2017)
- George Monbiot, Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life (2014)
- Timothy Morton, Being Ecological (2018)
- Robert Macfarlane, Landmarks (2016)
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 23/03/2017 |
| Last revision date | 06/08/2019 |