Narratives of Child Sexual Abuse
| Module title | Narratives of Child Sexual Abuse |
|---|---|
| Module code | MLI2207 |
| Academic year | 2022/3 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Luciano Parisi (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 16 |
|---|
Module description
This module is open to all students of the University of Exeter, and reading across different cultures is encouraged. – ‘The ordinary response to atrocities is to banish them from consciousness’ (Herman). Child sexual abuse is one of such violations, it is widespread, and it is helpful (and, perhaps, morally required) to discuss it. In this research-led module you will study the conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud as it appears in novels or short stories written in the past 150 years. Texts by Ferenczi, Freud and Herman provide the essential theoretical background.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The module’s main aims are:
- To make you fully aware of how stories can make duration into oriented and meaningful life, and to reflect on the implications of silence, when stories remain untold
- To approach relevant, controversial and emotionally charged topics with an informed and well-balanced approach
- To recognise, analyse and evaluate the traumatic aspects that sexual violence very often has
- To illustrate the different ways in which stories of child sexual abuse have been told in a European and North American context, according to time, place, medium, interlocutors and point of view
Lectures introduce you to the material covered, identifying critical and interpretative approaches and providing the historical, social and cultural background. You are expected to reflect on texts independently. Responsibility for the seminars is shared between the tutor, who informs you of the topics to be discussed, and you, who is asked to make presentation in the group and to participate in discussions. Parts of the lectures will also be developed as critical discussions. You are given feedback on your work.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate a sound understanding of the traumatic nature of child sexual abuse and of the various contexts in which it takes place
- 2. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the major works associated with the chosen theme, and an understanding of their significance in the broader historical and cultural context in which they were produced
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. With some guidance from the course tutor(s), evaluate and apply a range of critical approaches to the material covered
- 4. Mount a detailed argument in the appropriate register of English, mustering a range of textual or other evidence in its support
- 5. Understand and use, in written and oral contexts, a range of critical terms
- 6. Access and use critically printed and, where appropriate, electronic learning resources identified as useful by the course tutor(s), and, to a limited extent, discover other useful materials independently
- 7. Analyse selected texts/films, relating them to significant elements in their cultural/historical/generic context
- 8. Use recommended reference works to compile a bibliography, within given parameters (chronological, thematic, etc.) on a specified topic
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 9. Undertake defined learning activities with a measure of autonomy, asking for guidance where necessaryUndertake defined learning activities with a measure of autonomy, asking for guidance where necessary
- 10. Adopt a critical approach to the selection and organisation of material in order to produce, to a deadline, a written or oral argument
- 11. Present a cogent and sustained argument orally/in writing, in English/in the TL, on a topic chosen from a range of options provided, following broad guidelines but selecting and adapting them as required
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:
- Domestic violence and child sexual abuse: Freud, Ferenczi, Herman
- The dialectic of psychological trauma.
- The nature, value and constraints of narratives
- Narratives of child sexual abuse: is a periodization possible?
- Terror, disconnection, captivity
- Cristina Comencini’s Don’t Tell and its reception history.
- Dacia Maraini’s Voices , discussion and analysis
- Dacia Maraini’s The Age of Discontent , discussion and analysis
- Alberto Moravia’s Time of Indifference , discussion and analysis
- Alberto Moravia’s other work and Grazia Deledda’s Ashes
- Paola Drigo’s Maria Zef . Discussion and analysis of Maria Zef
- Discussion of the essay questions. Revision
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 134 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 10 | Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 5 | Seminars and class discussions |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 1 | Revision |
| Guided Independent Study | 134 | Private study |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 500 words | 1-11 | Oral and written feedback |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | 2500 words | 1-11 | Oral and written feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 1-11 | 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 submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Set texts:
- Sigmund Freud, ‘On the Aetiology of Hysteria’, (1896), The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud , Volume III (1893-1899): Early Psycho-Analytic Publications , pp. 187-221
- Sándor Ferenczi, ‘The Confusion of Tongues Between Adults and Children: The Language of Tenderness and of Passion’ (1933), International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 30 (1949), no. 4, pp. 176-85
- Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery (London: Pandora, 1997), introduction and a further chapter agreed with the lecturer
- Paola Drigo, Maria Zef (London: University of Nebraska Press, 1989) [1936]
- Dacia Maraini, The Age of Discontent (London: Panther Books, 1968) [1963] and selected passages from Voices
- Alberto Moravia, The Time of Indifference (London: Secker & Warburg, 1953) and selected passages from some of his other works
Suggested texts:
A detailed list will be circulated in class: it will include helpful secondary literature and a list of other novels and short stories about sexually victimized children, from Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment (1866) to Christiane Rochefort’s La porte du fond (1988) and Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999). Students are allowed to replace one of the three set novels with a different text from any literature, if available in translation or in a language spoken by the tutor(s). This must be agreed with the module convenor by the end of week 7.
ELE – A good selection of set and suggested texts is available on ELE. All set texts are available on either ELE or the library.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
- http://www.bacp.co.uk/
- http://www.d2l.org/site/c.4dICIJOkGcISE/b.6035035/k.8258/Prevent_Child_Sexual_Abuse.htm
- http://www.generationfive.org/
- http://www.siawso.org/
- http://www.stopitnow.org/
- http://www.virtualref.com/abs/809.htm
- http://www.cristinacomencini.it/
- http://www.daciamaraini.it/biografia_english.htm
- http://www.fondoalbertomoravia.it/static/index.php?pagina=english
If you have been affected by any of the issues thematised in this module, you can access support such as the following:
- the Guild Student Counselling Service ( http://as.exeter.ac.uk/support/counselling/)
- the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (0800 085 3330), and
- Mind ( http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/sexual_abuse)
| 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 | 06/03/2016 |
| Last revision date | 11/03/2020 |
