Newcastle University > Undergraduate > Find a Degree > Module

• Offered for Year: 2020/21

• Module Leader(s): Dr Kathryn Robson
• Lecturer: Dr Helen Ferstenberg, Professor Shirley Jordan, Professor Beate Muller
• Other Staff: Miss Alba Griffin

• Owning School: Modern Languages
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Aims

•       To introduce you to four different types of text: the short story, the play, poetry, and the novel.
•       To show and enable you to practise critical approaches to these different types of text.
•       To equip you with tools for close reading and textual analysis.
•       To enable you to develop critical, widely contextualised, and theoretically informed approaches to the subject.
The course assumes no prior knowledge of the texts to be studied and no previous experience of studying literature to Advanced level is necessary.

Outline Of Syllabus

There are 36 contact hours in the module, all of them obligatory:
•       Each week there is a one hour seminar in language groups (i.e. 23 hours of seminars).
•       In semester 1 in weeks 1–3 and 5–6 and in semester 2 in weeks 1–2 and 5–6, there are additional one hour plenary lectures (i.e. 9 hours of lectures).
•       In semester 1 and semester 2 in weeks 4 and 7, there are additional individual "surgery hours" (i.e. 4 hours of surgery).

Teaching Methods

Please note that module leaders are reviewing the module teaching and assessment methods for Semester 2 modules, in light of the Covid-19 restrictions. There may also be a few further changes to Semester 1 modules. Final information will be available by the end of August 2020 in for Semester 1 modules and the end of October 2020 for Semester 2 modules.

Teaching Activities

Jointly Taught With

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lecture materials (in the form of recordings and written documents) will provide essential introductions to the set texts and their authors and to their literary genres (short story, play, novel, poetry) more widely. They will also offer guides to the use of literary terms. Students will be expected to work through the lecture materials and accompanying directed reading/viewing which will be clearly signposted on Canvas.

In seminars, students will analyse the chosen texts in detail, working through specific questions and specific extracts; emphasis will be placed on close literary analysis, and they will be given support to develop and practise their skills.

Assessment Methods

Please note that module leaders are reviewing the module teaching and assessment methods for Semester 2 modules, in light of the Covid-19 restrictions. There may also be a few further changes to Semester 1 modules. Final information will be available by the end of August 2020 in for Semester 1 modules and the end of October 2020 for Semester 2 modules.

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Formative Assessments

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The summative essay assesses students’ ability to write about the novel or poetry studied in semester 2, using the terms taught and the skills practised throughout the academic year. The students will be expected to analyse the text(s) in detail and in depth and to use detailed examples.

The formative essay in semester 1 on the play allows students to develop and test out their essay-writing skills and receive feedback before going on to write the longer summative essay in semester 2. They will be given guidance on essay writing before the formative essay is written and be given individual and full-cohort feedback on the formative essays that will support them to write the summative essay in semester 2.

Reading Lists

• SML1018's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• SML1018's Timetable