SCHOOL OF ENGLISH INFORMATION BOOKLET FOR CK109 - BA ENGLISH SECOND YEAR 2020-2021 - UCC
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28th September 2020
SCHOOL OF ENGLISH
INFORMATION
BOOKLET
FOR
CK109 - BA ENGLISH
SECOND YEAR
2020-2021
1
School of English
Second Arts Committee:
Dr Tom Birkett t.birkett@ucc.ie
Dr Adam Hanna adam.hanna@ucc.ie
Dr Andrew King a.king@ucc.ie
Dr Eibhear Walshe e.walshe@ucc.ie
-o-o-o-O-o-o-o
BA English Programme Co-ordinator: e.semple@ucc.ie
BA English 2nd Year Co-ordinator: Dr Tom Birkett t.birkett@ucc.ie
Plagiarism Officer: Head of School claireconnolly@ucc.ie
Teaching Officer: Dr Heather Laird h.laird@ucc.ie
Extensions: Apply to Dr Tom Birkett english@ucc.ie
-o-o-o-O-o-o-o
Seminar Registration: english@ucc.ie
-o-o-o-O-o-o-o
School of English Office
O’Rahilly Building, ORB1.57
Email: english@ucc.ie
Telephone: 021- 4902664, 4903677, 4902241
2
The Department of English is committed to delivering as much on-
campus, face-to-face teaching as possible in the current circumstances,
although how we deliver our teaching in English will and must be
contingent on public health advice. Introductory lecture will take place
on Tuesday 29th September 2020 at 1.00 p.m. in Western Gateway
WGB_107.
Attendance at large lectures will be staggered, and rotas for attendance
for each of these modules will follow once students have registered their
module choices. All English lectures will also be recorded and will be
available via Canvas. We plan to teach our seminar modules on campus
and in person: again, depending on numbers and room capacity, we
may have to stagger seminar teaching, supplementing in-class teaching
with online activities. Further information specific to individual
seminar modules will be made available once the registration for
seminars is completed. Registration for seminars will take place
remotely using canvas in late September, and students will be given
instructions on how to use this system on the week of September 21 st.
Selected seminar modules will be available as online options for those
who cannot attend classes on campus: please contact Dr Tom Birkett in
relation to Second Year seminars at t.birkett@ucc.ie
3
Table of Contents
Timetable ..…………………………………. 5
Essay Calendar .………………………….... 6
Programme requirements ..…..…...….. 7
BA English Modules ……………………… 9
Modules & Texts ………..………………….. 11
Interdepartmental Modules ………… 18
Critical Skills Seminars ………………… 21
Seminar registration ……………………. 23
2nd Year Seminar List………………….… 24
Policies on Assessments…………………. 40
Essay Guidelines ….………………………. 41
Plagiarism Policy ……..…………………. 49
Canvas & TurnItIn ………….…………… 53
Guidelines for students planning
a teaching career…………………………. 59
4
7th Sept 2020 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
SECOND YEAR BA ENGLISH 2020-2021
Wed. 1.00
Mon. 12.00 Tues. 4.00 Tues. 1.00 Tues. 5.00 Civil Eng.
Boole 2 & KANE G19 & WGB 107 & Kane G18 & G10 & Thursday Wed 9.00 - Thurs 9.00
Tues.10.00 Wed. 12.00 Weds.10.00 Wed. 2.00 Fri. 2.00 10.00-12.00 10.00 ORB132 10.00 (S)
Semester 1 FSB_A1 GG LT Boole 2 Boole 1 Kane G18 CPB LG08 (S) ORB 202
28-Sep-20 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE - online
05-Oct-20 EN2012 EN2073 EN2046 EN2023 EN2066 EN2101 EN2103 EN2103
12-Oct-20 Old English Introduction American Eighteenth- Drama: Creative Special Topics in Special Topics
Literature and in Literature
19-Oct-20 Language to Literature Century Medieval Writing 1
and Culture
26-Oct-20 Shakespeare to 1900 Literature and
02-Nov-20 Renaissance
09-Nov-20 DIRECTED READING
16-Nov-20 EN2012 EN2073 EN2046 EN2023 EN2066
23-Nov-20
30-Nov-20
07-Dec-20
14-Dec-20 (TB) (ES) (AG, LJ) (GA, CÓG) (AK, ES)
21-Dec-20 CHRISTMAS RECESS
28-Dec-20 CHRISTMAS RECESS
04-Jan-21 Study Period
11-Jan-21 S1 Assessments
18-Jan-21 Marking
Mon. 12.00 Tues. 4.00 Tues. 1.00 Tues. 5.00 Thurs.1.00
Kane G01 & Boole 3 & WGB G05 & Boole 2 & Wed. 1.00 CE 110 &
Tues. 10.00 Wed. 12.00 Weds. 10.00 Wed. 2.00 & Fri. 11.00 Thursday 10-
Boole2 Boole 1 GG LT Boole 1 Fri. 2.00 Kane G18 12 CPB LG08
25-Jan-21 EN2071 EN2011 EN2079 EN2043 EN2078 EN2077 EN2101
01-Feb-21 Women The Adaptation, Romance and Colony Modern Creative Writing 1
08-Feb-21 and Canterbury Literature, Realism and Drama
15-Feb-21 Literature Tales and Culture Nation
22-Feb-21
01-Mar-21 DIRECTED READING
08-Mar-21 EN2071 EN2011 EN2079 EN2043 EN2078 EN2077
15-Mar-21
22-Mar-21
29-Mar-21
05-Apr-21 EASTER RECESS
12-Apr-21 EN2071 EN2011 EN2079 EN2043 EN2078 EN2077
19-Apr-21 (HL) (KR) (MC, KR, AG, MB) (JHR, GA) (CC, CÓG) (AE)
26-Apr-21 Study Period
03-May-21 Semester 2 Examinations
10-May-21 Semester 2 Examinations
5
SECOND YEAR ESSAY CALENDAR 2020-21
(Two assignments per module, titles will be released on Canvas and essays to submitted to
Canvas by
11.59 pm on dates outlined below)
MODULE Date for release of Date for Submission
titles (by 11.59 pm)
EN2012.1
Old English Language Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Tuesday 17th November 2020
(Dr Tom Birkett)
EN2012.2
Old English Language Tuesday 15th December 2020 Friday 15th January 2021
(Dr Tom Birkett)
EN2023.1
Eighteenth-Century Literature Wednesday 4th November 2020 Wednesday 18th November 2020
(Professor Graham Allen)
EN2023.2
Eighteenth-Century Literature Wednesday 16th December 2020 Friday 15th January 2021
(Dr Clíona Ó Gallchoir)
EN2046.1
American Literature to 1900 Wednesday 4th November 2020 Wednesday 18th November 2020
(Dr Alan Gibbs)
EN2046.2
American Literature to 1900 Wednesday 16th December 2020 Friday 15th January 2021
(Professor Lee Jenkins)
EN2066.1
Drama: Medieval and Friday 6th November 2020 Friday 20th November 2020
Renaissance
(Dr Andrew King)
EN2066.2
Drama: Medieval and Friday 18th December 2020 Friday 15th January 2021
Renaissance
(Dr Edel Semple)
EN2073.1
Introduction to Shakespeare Wednesday 4th November 2020 Wednesday 18th November 2020
(Dr Edel Semple)
EN2073.2
Introduction to Shakespeare Wednesday 16th December 2020 Friday 15th January 2021
(Dr Edel Semple)
6
26th August 2020
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK
SCHOOL OF ENGLISH
Second Year English Courses for 2020-21
This is an outline list of English courses for the session 2020-21-20. Every effort is made
to ensure that the contents are accurate. No guarantee is given that modules may not be
altered, cancelled, replaced, augmented or otherwise amended at any time.
Before deciding which courses you are going to choose you will also need a timetable
and fuller details of course arrangements which will be available in September.
PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH INDIVIDUAL
STUDENT TO DISCOVER AND FULFIL THE EXACT REQUIREMENTS OF
THE COURSE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM, ANY CHANGES TO REGISTRATION
MUST BE APPROVED BY THE SCHOOL OF ENGLISH
OUTLINE OF MODULE REQUIREMENTS
BA English (60 Credits)
Students take 60 credits as follows:
Semester 1
EN2103 Special Topics in Creative Practice 10 credits
EN2012 (Old English Language) 5 credits
2 lecture modules (2 x 5 credits each) 10 credits
EITHER EN2101 (Creative Writing)
OR EN2006 (Critical Skills Seminar) 10 credits
Total: 35 Credits
Semester 2
3 lecture modules (3 x 5 credits each) 15 credits
EITHER EN2101 (Creative Writing)
OR EN2007 (Critical Skills Seminar) 10 credits
Total 25 credits
7
NOTE:
Students cannot take EN2101 in both semesters
EN2101 is a pre-requisite for Creative Writing modules in Third Year (i.e. if you
wish to take a CW module in Third Year, you must take EN2101 in Second Year.)
As well as EN2012, students must take at least one lecture or seminar course
from the range of Old English, Middle English and Renaissance courses. (These
are designated with the letters OMR.)
Students may substitute one module from Semester 1 with one module from
DH2006, DH2008, GR2019, GR2046, LL2003 or HS2046 or students may
substitute one module from semester 2 with FX2008 (numbers capped and places
are limited for FX2008)
Students who take EN2006 and EN2007 will be registered on Canvas for
EN2009
33.33% of marks from Second Year English are carried forward towards the Final
Degree mark in English
The outline list of English courses for the session is available in this Information Booklet.
Every effort is made to ensure that the details are accurate. No guarantee is given that
modules may not be altered, cancelled, replaced, augmented or otherwise amended at any
time.
Before deciding which courses you are going to choose you will also need to consult
the timetable and fuller details of course arrangements.
.
8
MODULES DESIGNATED FOR BA ENGLISH STUDENTS
EN2103 Special Topics in Creative Practice
Module Code Module Co-ordinator
EN2103 Miranda Corcoran
Semester 1 Day Time Venue
Wednesday (Seminar) 9.00 – 10.00 a.m. Wednesday: ORB 132
Thursday (Seminar) 9.00 – 10.00 a.m. Thursday: ORB 202
Module Content: The module will focus on a variety of contemporary creative
practices which may include poetry, fiction, drama and film. The cultural, economic and
social context in which writers and artists practice will be explored. Engagement with
literary and creative practice will be incorporated into the module content.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course students should be able to:
Demonstrate knowledge of contemporary creative practice in one or
more genres/areas
Research effectively using a variety of sources
Work as self-directed, independent learners
Select and use appropriate media to present ideas and findings
Work efficiently as part of a team
Prepare and deliver effective presentations
Assessment
This module is assessed by continuous assessment.
The total number of marks available is 200
Individual e-portfolio (4000 words) 100 marks; Group Project Written (4000-5000
words), 60 marks; Group Project (oral), 20 marks; attendance and participation, 20
marks.
Individual learning journal, 100 marks.
Group project presentation (oral and written), 80 marks
Participation 20 marks
9Creative Writing
Module Code Module Co-ordinator
EN2101 Dr Éibhear Walshe
Semester Day Time Venue
1 OR 2 Thursday 10.00 – 12 noon S1: CPB LG08
S2: CPB LG08
Seminar Content
Students will read a variety of literary works, engage in discussion of issues relating to
writers and writing, and hone their writing and editing skills. In addition to developing
their own writing, students will learn to deliver informed critical feedback on each
others’ work.
*Note: EN2101 is a pre-requisite for Creative Writing modules in Third Year (i.e. if you
wish to take a CW module in Third Year, you must take EN2101 in Second Year.)
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course students should be able to:
Construct pieces in short fiction and poetic form.
Engage in discussion of issues relating to writers and writing.
Develop critical skills in assessing literary work
Assessment
This module is assessed by continuous assessment.
The total number of marks available is 200
Portfolio of creative work: 140 marks
Contribution and participation: 60 marks
Attendance and participation are compulsory. If you do not complete this element of the
course successfully you will not be able to pass.
10MODULES AND TEXTS
EN2011 CHAUCER: THE CANTERBURY TALES AND RELATED TEXTS (KR)
5 Credits, Semester 2. (OMR)
This course introduces students to Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, a late fourteenth-
century tale collection which brings together examples of every kind of medieval writing:
comic tales, romance and fantasy, stories of human vice and fragility; in every style
imaginable – from the philosophical to the downright filthy – all narrated through
astonishing varieties of voice and perspective. We will see what makes the Tales unique and
revolutionary: nothing like it had been achieved before in English literature, and it would
remain read, admired, and imitated from its first appearance in the 1390s to the present day.
We will study some of the most important and attractive examples from the Tales, gauging
the importance of the collection’s innovative (and strikingly modern) structure, and
exploring how the collection presents new questions on authorship and the uses of literature;
on human relations (and in particular the role of women in medieval society) and how it
provocatively opens medieval society and religion open to satire and debate. We will also
consider the Tales’ relationships to other aspects of medieval culture (including art and
music), and its reception in modern film.
Required textbook:
The Riverside Chaucer. Ed. L.D. Benson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987.
EN2012 UNLOCKING THE WORDHOARD: AN INTRODUCTION TO OLD
ENGLISH (TB) 5 Credits, Semester 1. (OMR)
Course description:
Old English was the language spoken in Anglo-Saxon England from ca. 500-1100 AD and
preserved in manuscripts from ca. 800-1200 AD. This course will provide students with the
skills and linguistic competency to read and translate Old English to a high level of
proficiency over twelve weeks. This is achieved through a mix of introductory lectures and
small-group teaching with a designated Old English tutor. Our tutors will introduce students
to the basics of Old English pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary and invite them, from
the first week, to test and improve their language skills by reading and translating original
texts, from accounts of battles to obscene riddles.
This course should provide students with the skills to analyse and discuss the workings of the
language in a critical, academic manner; these skills can be applied to any language, medieval
or modern, and should enhance the student’s understanding of the construction of language
and its application in the written word. It will provide them with the critical idiom to talk
about language and the skills to read and appreciate the nuances of Old English texts and the
beauty and craft of Old English poetry in its original form.
Set Text: Access to online coursebook will be provided
11EN2023 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE (GA/CÓG)
5 Credits, Semester 1.
This module aims to develop students’ understanding of the relationship between literature
and society in the eighteenth century. The texts included will be drawn from different
periods in the eighteenth-century and from a variety of genres, which may include the novel
and poetry. Special attention is given to the rise of the novel form, to changes in poetic and
literary models, and subsequent changes in notions of literature, authorship and literary
meaning. The course may also focus on questions of class, gender, ideology and nation in
relation to literary texts.
EN2023.1
Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe, 2nd edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.,
1993.
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels. New York: W. W. Norton & CO., 2002.
EN2023.2
Selected poetry will be provided.
EN2043 ROMANCE & REALISM (MO’C-L)
5 Credits, Semester 2.
This module introduces students to the main narrative features of the novel tradition from the late
eighteenth to the early twentieth century, concentrating on the generic and formal features of the two
most dominant narrative forms of the era, romance and realism. Students are introduced to the
formal features of narrative fiction as it developed from the 1790s on, and to the changing historical
contexts in which it was produced. The texts under discussion offer examples of the wide variety of
novel forms during this period of literary history, including gothic fiction, domestic realism,
industrial fiction, and naturalism.
EN2043.1
Godwin, William. Caleb Williams, ed. Pamela Clemit. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, ed. J.P. Hunter. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995.
EN2043.2
Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone, ed. Francis O’Gorman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2019
Haggard, H. Rider. She, ed. Daniel Karlin. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008
Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Hound of the Baskervilles. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998
12EN2046 AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1900 (AG, LJ)
5 Credits, Semester 1.
The objective of this module is to introduce students to a range of nineteenth-century
American texts in various genres. This module is an introduction to the literature of the
United States from the American Renaissance of the 1850s to the end of the century.
Reading a range of texts in several genres drawn from the relevant period, students will
trace developments in American literary aesthetics and explore themes of nation building,
race and gender, slavery and the South, focusing on the role of literature in the formation of
American national identity.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. ‘Nature’ (extract) ‘The American Scholar’ *
Emily Dickinson, selected poems*
Melville, Herman, The Confidence Man. Penguin
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,
Written By Himself. Oxford World’s Classics.
Walt Whitman, poems*
Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Collins Classics
*Available on Canvas.
EN2066 DRAMA: MEDIEVAL TO RENAISSANCE (AK/ES)
5 Credits, Semester 1 (OMR)
This course introduces English drama in its physical, social, and intellectual contexts, from
some of its earliest forms in the Middle Ages to the Jacobean period. We will read some of
the extraordinary plays of the York Mystery cycle: a history of the world from creation to
Doomsday, designed for performance in a single midsummer's day on the streets of
medieval York. We then explore the theatre of the early modern period, which saw the
popularisation of bloody revenge tragedies and racy city comedies. In particular, we will
consider some of the era’s dramatic innovations in the areas of performance, audience
reception, and genre. This course will be useful for students interested in exploring not only
the cultural inheritance of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, but also the surprisingly
subversive ways in which earlier audiences could imagine history, society, and religion.
Required Texts:
York Mystery Plays, ed. Richard Beadle. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Ben Jonson. Epicoene. (New Mermaids) Ed. Roger Holdsworth. London: A&C Black,
2002.
13Kyd, Thomas. The Spanish Tragedy (Norton Critical Editions). Edited by Michael Neill.
W.W. Norton & Company, 2014.
Both The Spanish Tragedy and Epicoene are available online in The Routledge Anthology of
Renaissance Drama through the Library's Proquest E-book Central database.
EN2071 WOMEN AND LITERATURE (HL)
5 Credits, Semester 2.
This module examines literature as a gendered institution in society and discusses the
principal ways in which this gendering functions. During the course of the module, we
identify the fundamental aims of studying literature from a feminist viewpoint
outline the principal forms which feminist critique of the institutions of literature has
taken
briefly trace the development of feminist literary criticism
read three novels comparatively, as case-studies for feminist interpretation
Required Reading
For 2071.1, readings will be provided.
For 2071.2, you will need copies of two of the following:
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 1848. Oxford: Oxford World’s Classics, 2008.
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. 1966. London: Penguin, any reprinting.
Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions. 1988. Banbury, Oxfordshire: Ayebia
Clarke Publishing Ltd., 2004.
EN2073 INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE (ES)
5 Credits, Semester 1. (OMR)
This module introduces students to key concepts and approaches in the detailed textual
study of Shakespearean drama. It will involve an introduction to some of the central issues
in Shakespearean studies, an exploration of the question of genre within Shakespeare’s
drama, close study of representative examples of two or more dramatic genres, and some
consideration of the drama’s socio-historical and cultural contexts. The plays studied this
year will be: As You Like It, Richard III, Titus Andronicus and The Winter’s Tale.
Required Text: William Shakespeare, The Norton Shakespeare, ed. Stephen Greenblatt et
al. 3rd edition. New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2015.
14EN2077 MODERN DRAMA: (AE)
5 Credits, Semester 2.
This module introduces students to works which transformed drama at the end of the 19th
century and inaugurated modern theatre. We will study how plays by European playwrights
and aesthetic experiments by theatre practitioners have revitalized the stage at the turn of the
twentieth century, initiated modern theatre, and pioneered social-problem drama. Focusing
on European and/or Northern American plays written from the late nineteenth century to the
1960s, we will observe how modern drama has evolved to construct our contemporary
theatre. The module will locate selected plays in the cultural contexts of late19th-century to
mid-20th century Western societies, and explore their shared and differentiated ideological
and aesthetic purposes.
The precise focus of the module and the dramatists studied may vary from year to
year.
Case studies:
August Strindberg. Miss Julie
Henrik Ibsen. Hedda Gabler
Frank Wedekind. Spring Awakening
Arthur Miller. Death of a Salesman
Eugène Ionesco. The Bald Prima Donna
Arnold Wesker. The Kitchen
EN2078 COLONY AND NATION: IRISH LITERATURE BEFORE 1900
(CC/CÓG) 5 Credits, Semester 2.
This module enables students to explore the emergence of Irish literature in English from
the early modern period to the late nineteenth century. Focusing on key texts by major
authors in the period, we will explore how conquest and colonisation shaped a dynamic,
distinctive and versatile literature in Ireland. Through close textual readings, we will analyse
literary expressions of Anglo-Irish identity, anti-colonialism and narrative techniques that
combine Anglo-Irish and Gaelic elements in a variety of genres, including poetry,
pamphlets, short stories, novels and plays. Authors for study may include Edmund Burke,
Jonathan Swift, Sydney Owenson, Maria Edgeworth, Somerville and Ross, and George
Bernard Shaw
EN2078.1
Macklin, Charles, The True-Born Irishman (1762). Available as an e-text via
Eighteenth-Century Collections Online.
Sheridan, Elizabeth. The Triumph of Prudence over Passion (1781). Dublin: Four
Courts, 2017. Also available as an e-text via Eighteenth-Century Collections Online.
Swift, Jonathan. A Modest Proposal (1729). Available as an e-text.
15EN2078.2
Owenson, Sydney (Lady Morgan). The Wild Irish Girl (1806). Oxford: Oxford U.
P., 2008. Also available as an e-text via Literature Online.
Le Fanu, Sheridan. Uncle Silas. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2000. Penguin edition
also available as an e-text via Literature Online.
Bouciault, Dion. The Colleen Bawn (1860). Available as an e-text via Literature
Online.
Additional course material will be provided.
EN2079 ADAPTATION, LITERATURE, AND CULTURE (MC, KR, AG, MB)
5 Credits, Semester 2.
How do literary texts change over time? What features of a novel are transformed when it
makes the leap to the screen? Why are film and television adaptations of comic books
amongst the most popular forms of contemporary entertainment? Over the course of this
module, we will analyse the many ways in which literary texts are transformed by the
process of adaptation. Offering students the opportunity to examine a variety of adaptations
using key critical theories and approaches, the module explores how texts are reimagined
for new audiences, across time and place, and in a range of media. Major themes discussed
in this module include issues of authorship, collaboration, audience and reception, genre,
and the mechanics of adaptation. Students will also engage with a wide range of literary
forms, from comic books and novels to film and theatre.
Reading list
EN2079.1
Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale’, from The Canterbury Tales. Text in
either The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th. ed. vol. 1 (anthology used in first
year) OR The Riverside Chaucer, ed. L.D. Benson (Oxford: OUP, 1987).
I Racconti di Canterbury (Dir. Pier Pasolini, 1972)
William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Ware: Wordsworth Classics, 2002)
Hamlet (Dir, Franco Zeffirelli, 1990)
Hamlet (Michael Almereyda, 2000)
EN2079.2
16Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men. (New York: Knopf, 2005)
No Country for Old Men (Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen, 2007)
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Black Panther: A Nation under Our Feet (New York: Marvel Comics,
2016)
Black Panther (Dir. Ryan Coogler, 2018)
NOTE: Staff Members
GA = Professor Graham Allen
MB = Dr Michael Booth
TB = Dr Tom Birkett
CC = Professor Claire Connolly
MC = Dr Miranda Corcoran
AE = Dr Anne Etienne
AG = Dr Alan Gibbs
AH = Dr Adam Hanna
LJ = Professor Lee Jenkins
AK = Dr Andrew King
HL = Dr Heather Laird
MO’C-L = Dr Mary O’Connell-Linehan
MO’C = Dr Maureen O’Connell
CÓG = Dr Clíona Ó Gallchoir
JHR = Dr Joanna Hofer-Robinson
KR = Dr Kenneth Rooney
ES = Dr Edel Semple
17INTERDEPARTMENTAL MODULES
Students may substitute one module from Semester 1 with one module from
DH2006, DH2008, GR2019, GR2046, HS2046, or LL2003 OR students may
substitute one module from semester 2 with FX2008 (please note FX2008 is
capped and places are limited) For further information contact the module co-
ordinators. DH2006 – CK109 students ONLY
*Please note: You may only sign on for ONE Interdepartmental module.
DH2006 – is Curation and Storytelling in the Digital Age. (5 Credits in Semester 2 –
CK109 students ONLY)
Course co-ordinators: Dr James O’Sullivan (james.osullivan@ucc.ie) (Digital Humanities)
and Dr Miranda Corcoran (miranda.corcoran@ucc) (English)
This course beings with the theories and practices of curation, equipping students to
critically assess the role of digital tools in the creation, curation, and sharing of knowledge.
Having established how stories are gathered, students will then turn to how it is that stories
are told, exploring writings on the ethics, practice and history of digital dissemination
through examples of digital archives and narratives, such as YouTube/Vimeo original
documentaries, podcasts and online exhibitions of various forms. Students will learn to
critically evaluate these digital narratives and apply a host of theoretical paradigms to their
analyses of these texts. This theoretical frame will position students to produce their own
digital story in the form of an archive, podcast or documentary.
Total Marks 100: Continuous Assessment 100 marks (Critical reflection on curation and
dissemination in
the digital age (40 marks), Group project (60 marks) Equivalent to ca. 4,000 words in total.).
Mondays, 12-2 in the DH Room (FSB 4.58).
DH2008 Electronic Literature/Literary Games (5 Credits in Semester 2)
Course co-ordinator: Dr James O’Sullivan (james.osullivan@ucc.ie) (Digital Humanities)
This course introduces students to academic discussion on and creative work in new digital
forms relating to multimodal narrative. Students will survey major debates on the meaning
and value of electronic literature and literary games, and study some of the major theoretical
terms and perspectives developed to elaborate the cultural value of such works.
On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Outline the history of electronic literature
2. Consider electronic literature and literary games in historical and cultural contexts
3. Critique the ludic elements of multimodal narratives
4. Comprehend a suite of critical methods suited to electronic literature
5. Articulate the social significance of electronic literature and literary games
6. Write criticism – literary and/or ludic – of multimodal artworks
7. Participate in discussions / debates on a variety of relevant topics
18The course will take place over 12 x 2 hour seminars in Semester 2.
Total Marks 100: Continuous Assessment 100 marks (Individual portfolio of critical
writings responding to works of e-lit (40 marks), essay on a broad contextual issue around
the definition of electronic literature (30 marks), final critical analysis of a work of
electronic literature (30 marks) (4,000 words in extent).
FX2008 American Cinema and Culture 1927-1960 (5 credits in Semester 2)
Course Co-ordinator: Dr Gwenda Young (g.young@ucc.ie) (Department of Film and
Screen Media)
Semester 2 by exam (substitute a S2 module only)
This module examines Hollywood sound cinema during the studio era, identifying key
movements, genres and directors and offering analyses of a range of films. Particular
emphasis will be paid to locating the films within their Industrial and Cultural contexts.
Semester 2 by exam (substitute a S2 module only): Wednesdays 2-3 and Thursdays 10-11am
in FSM auditorium, Kane basement.
* please note this module is capped and places are limited, please email film@ucc.ie to register
for this module.
GR2019 GREEK MYTHOLOGY (5 credits in Semester 1)
Course co-ordinator: Sean Murphy (Dept. of Ancient Classics) - j.murphy@ucc.ie
The objective of this module is to introduce students to the study of Greek mythology. We
will study an overview of principal themes and concerns of Greek mythology; man’s
relationship with the gods and with other men, the great deeds of heroes, the use made of
Classical mythology in later literature and art.
Total Marks 100: Continuous Assessment 100 marks (2 x In-Class Tests, 40 marks; 1 x
2,000 word essay, 60 marks).
GR2046 A World of Wonders: Ovid's Metamorphoses (5 credits in Semester 2)
Course co-ordinator: Dr Catherine Ware (Department of Classics) catherine.ware@ucc.ie
Ovid's Metamorphoses tells the mythological history of the world from primeval chaos to
the reign of Augustus. Metamorphosis is the narrative thread: nothing remains the same as
19mankind is created from stones, nymphs become trees or flowers or birds, statues come to
life. In this class we will study the Metamorphoses in translation.
Required Text:
Ovid Metamorphoses, translated and edited by Charles Martin (Norton Critical Edition,
2010).
Total Marks 100: Formal Written Examination 50 marks; Continuous Assessment 50 marks (class
presentation (20 marks) and 1 x 2,000 word essay, (30 marks)).
Semester 2: Wednesdays 2.00 - 3.00 pm in AL G18 and Thursdays 10.00 - 11.00 am in
AL G18.
HS2046 US Latino Literatures (5 Credits in Semester 1)
Module Co-ordinator: Professor Nuala Finnegan, School of Languages, Literatures and
Cultures (Nuala.Finnegan@ucc.ie)
The module examines the roots of the Chicano (Mexican American) Civil Rights
movements in the US in the 1950s and 1960s. In class we will scrutinise how issues relating
to identity and language have been explored in cultural production (fiction, poetry, theatre,
essay writing) since that time. Module syllabus includes selected writings from Cherríe
Moraga, Gloria Anzaldúa, Javier Zamora, Tomás Rivera, Rudolfo Anaya, Rodolfo Corky
Gonzales, Helena María Viramontes, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Valeria Luiselli.
Time and Venue: Semester 1 only: Mondays, 3.00 – 5.00 p.m. – ELECT L2
LL2003: Aspects of the Classical Tradition – (5 credits in S1 & S2)
Course co-ordinator: Daragh O’Connell (Department of Italian) - Email:
daragh.oconnell@ucc.ie
The works of Homer (Iliad and Odyssey), Virgil (Aeneid) and Ovid (Metamorphoses) have
played a vital part in the shaping of Western civilisation. This course will examine the ways
different societies at different times have responded to the classical mythology of antiquity
through literature and art. The course ranges from an overview of the classical books to their
presence in medieval/ renaissance Italy, the paintings of Velásquez (17th century Spain),
Renaissance and twentieth century English writers, as well as contemporary Irish and
Caribbean writing.
Semester 1 & 2: Tuesdays at 1.00pm in ORB. 1.23
20CRITICAL SKILLS SEMINAR MODULE 2020-21
EN2006 Critical Skills Seminar 1: Semester 1 - 10 Credits taken by assessment.
EN2007 Critical Skills Seminar II: Semester 2 - 10 Credits taken by assessment.
EN2008 Critical Skills Seminar III: Semester 1 & 2 – not on offer 2020/21
EN2009 Critical Skills Seminar IV: Semesters 1 & 2 - 20 Credits taken by assessment.
(NOTE: EN2009 consists of any two seminars from those offered in EN2006 and
EN2007, and is only available to BA English and BAS (50 credits) English Students.
This module is designed to develop students’ skills in reading, writing and critical practice
through closely-directed study and constructive discussion of a range of selected texts.
Students must choose one from the wide range of topics offered by the staff of the School of
English. The range of topics will cover a variety of forms, genres and periods. Once a student
has signed on for a seminar, attendance is required.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance at seminars in 2020-21 is required, subject to HSE pandemic guidelines.
Seminars will use blended learning, combining in-person classes with online activities, via
Canvas and other virtual media, and attendance may be staggered. 15% of marks in the
seminar will be allocated on the basis of the quality of the student's overall participation.
Students cannot miss more than eight hours (one third) of seminar classes. If attendance
/engagement where possible is lower than two-thirds of seminar classes and activities,
without reasonable explanation, the seminar cannot be passed until the autumn exams. A
student who has failed a seminar due to unexplained non-attendance may continue to attend
and hand in essays but this work will be held over for the autumn exam board in August /
September. Work not submitted during the academic year will have to be submitted before a
date designated by the school office, plus an extra essay in lieu of the participation mark.
The student may then pass this module for the autumn exam board, but the result for the
module will be capped at 40%.
Where a student misses 4 hours of scheduled classes they will be emailed by the seminar co-
ordinator to remind them of the requirement for attendance and penalties (using the
student’s official UCC address).
ASSIGNMENT of MARKS in SEMINAR MODULES
1. Participation 15%
2. Oral presentation (or equivalent) 15%
3. Shorter assignment(s) 20%
4. Essay work* 50%
*not exceeding 4,000 words in total
21WRITTEN OUTLINE OF ASSESSED WORK
At the start of the Teaching Period each co-ordinator will give a written outline of the
work expected for nos. 2, 3 and 4 to students in each seminar.
ASSIGNMENT OF MARKS EXPLAINED BY CATEGORY
1. Participation: 15%
Students can gain these marks by contributing actively to each class. This means
carrying out all tasks assigned, being ready and willing to discuss the material and the
topics addressed in class, and co-operating with other class members and the co-
ordinator.
2. Oral presentation or equivalent: 15%
Marks awarded here for committed, organized and effective preparation and delivery of
set oral assignment(s), e.g. discussion of a text, author or topic, or another type of project
assigned by the co-ordinator.
3. Shorter assignment(s): 20%
These may take various forms, e.g. a quiz or exercise, short essay, or discussion of a text
or excerpts from texts.
4. Essay work, not exceeding 4,000 words in total: 50%
This may consist of one, two or more essay(s) or other assignments, of varying
lengths, e.g. a write-up of the oral presentation, or another type of project as assigned
by the co-ordinator.
CONSULTATION AND ADVICE ON TAKE-HOME WRITTEN WORK
Seminar co-ordinators will offer individual consultations to students concerning their
performance in the seminar module. Co-ordinators may
respond to students’ questions or difficulties about the material
explain marks given for assignments
give students advice about how to improve their written style
help students with essay planning.
Co-ordinators will not
Read or correct drafts of essays or other assignments or offer detailed advice about
their improvement, in advance of their being handed in for marking.
22SEMINAR REGISTRATION INFORMATION
NB* It is your responsibility to ensure that the seminar you choose does not clash with
your other modules.
Enrolment for seminar courses will take place on canvas in late September. Instructions
to students will be issued on canvas. A small number of online-only seminars reserved for
students who cannot attend on health grounds will be confirmed in September.
Students with health issues that preclude attending seminars on campus are asked to alert
the Second Year Head - Dr Tom Birkett (t.birkett@ucc.ie)
CHANGES AND LATE REGISTRATION
Students wishing to register a change of module must do so
at https://mystudentadmin.ucc.ie/ no later than two working weeks after the formal
start date of each Semester.
Semester 1 modules cannot be changed in Semester 2.
However, if you wish to withdraw from a seminar or transfer to a different seminar, you
must contact The School of English Office, email english@ucc.ie.
23SECOND ARTS ENGLISH – SEMINARS 2020-2021
Seminar Leader Teaching Module Seminar DAY & TIME VENUE
Period Code Code
Dr Michael Booth 1 EN2006 OMR 2.01 Thursday 12:00 – 2:00pm C_CONN_C
Dr Michael Booth 2 EN2007 OMR 2.02 Monday 3:00 – 5:00pm TBC
Laura Clark 2 EN2007 MOD 2.03 Wednesday 4:00 – 6:00pm TBC
Dr Miranda Corcoran 1 EN2006 MOD 2.04 Thursday 3:00 – 5:00pm WW_6
Jenni DeBie 2 EN2007 MOD 2.05 Wednesday 9:00 – 11:00am TBC
Dr Alan Gibbs 2 EN2007 MOD 2.06 Tuesday 2:00 – 4:00pm TBC
Edel Hanley 1 EN2006 MOD 2.07 Thursday 2:00 – 4:00pm Online
Dr Adam Hanna 1 EN2006 MOD 2.08 Wednesday 3:00 – 5:00pm C_CPB_LG08
Dr Andrew King 2 EN2007 OMR 2.09 Tuesday 2:00 – 4:00pm TBC
Anne Mahler 1 EN2006 MOD 2.10 Wednesday 4:00 – 6:00pm C_CONN_B
Anne Mahler 1 EN2006 MOD 2.11 Thursday 2:00 – 4:00pm BOOLE 6
Maria Manning 2 EN2007 MOD 2.12 Wednesday 4:00 – 6:00pm TBC
Dr Cliona O Gallchoir 2 EN2007 MOD 2.13 Monday 2.00 – 3.00pm Online
Thursday 10.00-11.00am
Dr Ken Rooney 2 EN2007 OMR 2.14 Thursday 3:00 – 5:00pm TBC
Flicka Small 2 EN2007 MOD 2.15 Monday 3:00 – 5:00pm TBC
Venues:
BOOLE – Boole Basement, CONN – Connolly Building, Mardyke Walk, CPB Cavanagh
Pharmacy Building, WW– West Wing, Online (Microsoft Teams Live Teaching)
24Module Code Seminar Seminar Title Seminar Leader
EN2006 Code Dirty Tricks and Dr. M. Booth
OMR2.01 Deception in
Shakespeare’s World
Teaching Period Day Time Venue
1 Thursday 12:00 – 2:00pm C_Conn_C
Seminar Content
Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies can draw tremendous emotional power and intellectual
interest from situations in which one character is deceiving another. Shakespeare was, in fact, an
artistic pioneer in using such scenarios for both humour and sustained psychological exploration.
The aim of our seminar will be twofold: to gain a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s
achievement as an individual artist, and to place it in historical context. The rapid social changes of
early modernity brought new motives, techniques and opportunities for sophisticated trickery of many
kinds, and Shakespeare, keen observer that he was, soaked these up.
Like him, we will consider: the new kinds of fraudulent schemes that were made possible by
scientific and geographic discoveries of the time; the equivocations that helped people survive in an
era of violent religious upheaval; the web of spies, plots and traps laid by agents of the Queen against
her enemies; the mass migration of mostly illiterate country folk to London, and the rise of an urban
criminal class to fleece them. Accompanying an elaborate discourse of “cozenage” or cheating in the
public sphere was a strong interest in tricks and deceptions within the most intimate of relationships:
between lovers, spouses, parents, children, siblings and friends.
We will consider how this intense concern with information and misinformation, as given voice by
Shakespeare and other writers, may have shaped the very epistemology of the modern era, and our
understanding of subjectivity or selfhood within it.
Primary texts/Required textbooks
William Shakespeare,
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
--All these plays are available in The Norton Shakespeare.
Other required reading (including primary texts by Raleigh, Bacon, Nashe and Greene) will be made
available in photocopied form and/or online.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion, students should be able to:
Critically read and analyse a selection of texts by Shakespeare and other writers of the
Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.
Relate the texts to one another, and to their wider historical and cultural contexts.
Define terms and concepts central to the seminar.
Apply these terms and contexts to the texts given.
Deliver fluent written and oral responses to the assigned readings.
Engage with secondary material pertinent to issues raised in the course.
25Module Code Seminar Seminar Title Seminar Leader
EN2007 Code Dr. M. Booth
OMR2.02 Dirty Tricks and
Deception in
Shakespeare’s World
Teaching Period Day Time Venue
2 Monday 3:00 – 5:00pm TBC
Seminar Content
Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies can draw tremendous emotional power and intellectual
interest from situations in which one character is deceiving another. Shakespeare was, in fact, an
artistic pioneer in using such scenarios for both humour and sustained psychological exploration.
The aim of our seminar will be twofold: to gain a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s
achievement as an individual artist, and to place it in historical context. The rapid social changes of
early modernity brought new motives, techniques and opportunities for sophisticated trickery of many
kinds, and Shakespeare, keen observer that he was, soaked these up.
Like him, we will consider: the new kinds of fraudulent schemes that were made possible by
scientific and geographic discoveries of the time; the equivocations that helped people survive in an era
of violent religious upheaval; the web of spies, plots and traps laid by agents of the Queen against her
enemies; the mass migration of mostly illiterate country folk to London, and the rise of an urban
criminal class to fleece them. Accompanying an elaborate discourse of “cozenage” or cheating in the
public sphere was a strong interest in tricks and deceptions within the most intimate of relationships:
between lovers, spouses, parents, children, siblings and friends.
We will consider how this intense concern with information and misinformation, as given voice by
Shakespeare and other writers, may have shaped the very epistemology of the modern era, and our
understanding of subjectivity or selfhood within it.
Primary texts/Required textbooks
William Shakespeare,
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
--All these plays are available in The Norton Shakespeare.
Other required reading (including primary texts by Raleigh, Bacon, Nashe and Greene) will be made
available in photocopied form and/or online.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion, students should be able to:
Critically read and analyse a selection of texts by Shakespeare and other writers of the
Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.
Relate the texts to one another, and to their wider historical and cultural contexts.
Define terms and concepts central to the seminar.
Apply these terms and contexts to the texts given.
Deliver fluent written and oral responses to the assigned readings.
Engage with secondary material pertinent to issues raised in the course.
26Module Code Seminar Code Seminar Title Seminar Leader
EN2007 MOD2.03 Native American Laura Marshall Clark
Literature &
Aesthetics
Teaching Day Time Venue
Period Wednesday 4:00 – 6:00pm TBC
2
Seminar Content
Native American literature emerged from ancient oral tradition and is recent in comparison to world
literate history. It is as diverse today as the more than 500 sovereign tribes it represents. This course
introduces some of the most important Native American voices in the twentieth and twenty-first
centuries. Students will explore and respond to literary genres such as poetry, novels, essays, film, or
other. Texts are prefaced with an understanding of Native American aesthetics—Native ways of
“thinking and knowing”— that shape an Indigenous lens and fashion the rich beauty and raw courage
of Native literature. Students will read and interpret texts, write critically about the works, and
include personal reflection. Participation in weekly class discussion is a vital learning component.
Topics include Indian identity, spirituality, sovereignty, time, culture, humor, mythology, the power
of place, the power of story, nature, relationship, ceremony, trauma, gender, activism, decolonizing,
and more.
Primary texts/Required textbooks
No textbooks are required for this course. All readings and assignments will be scanned and posted to
the UCC virtual learning platform.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion, students should be able to:
Explore Native American literature from a familiarity with Native aesthetics and paradigms.
Actively engage in class discussions based in Indigenous methodologies (recognizing the
importance of discourse, relationship, and personal agency balanced with respect for others).
Read texts imaginatively, with attention to language, imagery, symbolism, or other elements.
Read and write about texts critically, with an openness to interpretation.
Draw personal conclusions about texts, authors, and subject matter for class discussion and
inclusion in essays.
Make connections across readings and discussions that foster a correlative understanding of
Native American literary voices, aesthetics, histories, cultures, and contemporary issues.
Develop one’s personal “voice” during the course through written essays, participation in
class discussion, and deliverance of a compelling oral presentation to the class.
View Native American literature in the universality and distinction of world literature.
27Module Code Seminar Code Seminar Title Seminar Leader
EN2006 MOD 2.04 “All of Them Witches”: Dr Miranda Corcoran
Witchcraft in the American
Popular Imagination
Teaching Period: Day: Time: Venue:
1 Thursday 3:00 – 5:00pm WW_6
Seminar Content
From the first European attempts to settle the vast, inhospitable wilderness of the New World, the American
imagination has been haunted by the sinister figure of the witch. An embodiment of the darkness lurking at the
heart of American idealism, the witch has historically served as a symbol of the fears and anxieties that have
plagued the nation since its earliest days. For the seventeenth-century Puritan settlers, religious exiles
attempting to build God’s kingdom in the wilds of New England, witches were a ubiquitous and malignant
presence, servants of the Devil and enemies of Christianity. Yet, even as America grew into a modern,
industrial nation, taming the wilderness and dispelling the shadows of superstition, the figure of the witch
continued to cast her spell over the cultural imagination. As the centuries progressed, the American witch was
disentangled from her original connection to literal forms of demonic evil and instead came to represent other
threats to America. From racial Others to anti-communist paranoia, witches in American culture have always
served to embody the nation’s most potent fears and anxieties.
This seminar explores the evolution of the witch in American literature and culture from the Puritan New
England of the Salem witch trials to contemporary popular media. Introducing students to a wide range of
literary texts, including short stories, novels and films, the seminar will chart the development of American
representations of witchcraft, beginning with the writings of early colonial settlers and working up to modern
horror cinema. By engaging with these evolving images of witchcraft, students will learn not only about the
diverse ways in which American literary texts engaged with actual historical accusations of witchcraft, but also
how fictional witches have functioned to give shape to a host of culturally-specific horrors, from anxieties about
race and politics to fears surrounding gender and sexuality.
Primary texts
Writings and documents from the Salem witch trials.*
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The May-Pole of Merry Mount.” 1832.*
---. “Young Goodman Brown.” 1835.*
Levin, Ira. Rosemary’s Baby. 1967. Corsair, 2011.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. 1953. Penguin, 2011.
Anne Petry. Tituba of Salem Village. 1964. Open Road Media, 2015.
Bell, Book and Candle. Directed by Richard Quine. 1958.
The Witch: A New-England Folktale. Directed by Robert Eggers. 2015.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course students should be able to:
Critically read and analyse a selection of American historical, literary and cinematic texts from the
seventeenth century up to the present day.
Engage with a selection of relevant critical and secondary material in order to understand the social,
historical and political context from which these texts emerged, and identify how their depictions of
witchcraft reflect the primary cultural concerns of American society over the past four centuries.
Discuss the cultural and historical context that impacted America’s witchcraft lore and explore how
changing values and concerns influenced literary representations of witchcraft.
Explore fictional representations of witchcraft through the lens of critical theory, historicist criticism
and gender studies.
Define terms and concepts central to relevant aspects of critical theory, historicist criticism and gender
studies.
Apply these terms and concepts to the set texts.
28Module Code Seminar Code Seminar Title Seminar Leader
EN2007 MOD2.05 Plague: Society,
the Apocalypse, Jennifer deBie
and the 19th
Century.
Teaching Period Day Time Venue
2 Wednesday 9:00 – 11:00am TBC
Seminar Content
As predecessors of the late twentieth century motif of zombie fiction or post-apocalyptic dystopia, the
plague narratives of the eighteenth and nineteenth century are still relevant today. This seminar aims
to explore a selection these plague narratives in novel, poetic, and short story form and connect them
not only to modern texts, but also 20th and 21st century historical responses to epidemic and
pandemic. After a brief introduction on plague as divine wrath, both biblical and Greco-Roman, we
will trace a line of apocalyptic texts from Defoe’s 1722 Journal of A Plague Year, to Poe’s 1842
“Masque of the Red”, via selections from Thomas Malthus’ Essay on the Principle of Population,
Mary Shelley’s The Last Man and Lord Byron’s “Darkness.” All plague narratives carry with them
the implication of disease or distress in the body politic, and through these texts we will search for the
root of the disease; tracing historical records, authorial personal experiences, and intertextual
relations.
This course aims to lead students to a better understanding of the “body politic” as a wide and vital
metaphor in social and political discourse, to show the social and political implications of writing
apocalyptic literature in both England and America, and to lead them to a greater understanding of
contextual analysis and intertextuality through these texts.
Primary texts:
Daniel Defoe: Journal of a Plague Year
Thomas Malthus: Essay on the Principle of Population
George Gordon, Lord Byron: “Darkness”
Mary Shelley: The Last Man
Edgar Allen Poe: “Masque of the Red Death”
Supplementary Reading Selections from:
Ovid: Metamorphoses
Bible: Exodus
Samuel Pepys: Diary of a Plague Year
*All primary texts can be found for free online. Specific selections for secondary/supplemental
reading will be provided in class. Students should also expect modern plague “texts” (examples from
film, comic books, video games, and modern literature) to be discussed as well.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course students should be able to:
Identify and diagnose the body politic as a part of common societal discourse
Identify and comment on the intertextuality of 18th/19th century texts and connect them to
their modern counterparts.
Students will work in teams for presentation and class debate purposes, thus honing academic
cooperation and public speaking skills.
Further hone skills in academic discussion and writing
29Module Code Seminar Code Seminar Title Seminar Leader
EN2007 MOD 2.06 Jewish American Dr Alan Gibbs
Writing and Culture
Teaching Period Day Time Venue
2 Tuesday 2:00 – 4:00pm TBC
Seminar Content
This module introduces students to a rich selection of works from Jewish-American writers.
Material will cover important areas such as the age of immigration, Jewish-American representation
of the Holocaust, Jewish-American culture and Israel, and Jewish-American humour. The module
examines a number of cultural forms, including short stories, novels, poetry, drama, cinema, visual
art, music, and TV. Detailed readings of primary texts and secondary contextual material will
introduce students to some of the key shaping forces in terms of Jewish identity and culture in the
United States. Students will be encouraged to take account of the context in which the works were
produced, and to consider the ways in which the writers engage with issues such as anti-Semitism or
the tensions between maintaining Jewish traditions and adapting to new ways of life in America.
Texts are also examined through the critical perspectives of gender and class. Students will carry
out a presentation based on a portfolio that they compile on one aspect of Jewish-American life.
Primary Texts
Abraham Cahan, ‘A Ghetto Wedding’ (1898) (made available online via Canvas)
Anzia Yezierska, ‘Children of Loneliness’ (1919) (made available online via Canvas)
Art Spiegelman, The Complete Maus (Penguin, 2003)
Arthur Miller, Broken Glass (Methuen Drama, 1994)
Selection of Jewish-American poetry (made available online via Canvas)
Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (Harper, 2008)
Film: Ethan Coen (dir.), A Serious Man (2009)
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course students should be able to:
Critically read and analyse a selection of Jewish-American culture, including literature and
screen media
Relate the set texts to one another and to other American literature and culture
Discuss the cultural and historical background which frames the development of Jewish-
American culture
Define terms and concepts central to debates about Jewish-American identity and
America’s relationship with Israel
Apply these terms and concepts to the set texts
Participate in class and group discussions
Write clearly structured essays in correct Standard English that adhere to the School of
English style sheet
30Module Code Seminar Code Seminar Title Seminar Leader
EN2006 MOD2.07 What a Literary Edel Hanley
War!
Teaching Day Time Venue
Period Thursday 2:00 – 4:00pm Online
1
Seminar Content
The outbreak of the First World War would shape the life and writing of civilians to the same extent
it affected combatants writing from the trenches. Recent scholarship has identified the notable
absence of women war writers within the First World War canon, a belief formed by women’s lack of
experience of any direct combat. Through examining a range of women’s war writing, this seminar
highlights the extent to which war trauma, too, affected non-combatants both in the wartime and
postwar period. Throughout this module, students will study the poetries and life writing of those
writing from the Home and Western Fronts such as Vera Brittain, Robert Graves, Wilfred Owen, and
Jessie Pope in order to compare and contrast the ways in which men’s and women’s wartime
experiences are registered and documented.
Primary Texts
*Rupert Brooke, The Poetical Works of Rupert Brooke. Edited by Geoffrey Keynes, Faber and Faber,
1960.
*Robert Graves, Complete Poems: Robert Graves. Edited by Beryl Graves and Dunstan Ward,
Carcanat Press. 1995.
*Wilfred Owen, The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen. Edited and Notes by C. Day Lewis, 1968.
*Jessie Pope, Jessie Pope’s War Poems, HardPress, 2012.
Vera Brittain, Letters from a Lost Generation: First World War Letters of Vera Brittain and Four
Friends. Edited by Alan Bishop and Mark Bostridge, Abacus, 2001.
---Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1900-1925. Preface by Shirley
Williams, Virago Press, 1978.
*Lucy Collins, editor, Poetry by Women in Ireland: A Critical Anthology 1870-1970, Liverpool UP,
2012.
Texts marked with an asterisk will be made available online through Canvas. Secondary materials
will also be posted on Canvas to accompany each session. .
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course students should be able to:
Critically read a wide range of war poetry and life writing;
Relate the given texts to one another;
Connect the set texts to the First World War and its literary traditions;
Work and learn alongside others;
Participate in class discussion;
Strengthen oral presentation skills and deliver effective presentations;
Write well-structured essays in correct Standard English.
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