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Year 3 - 20 credit modules

The Gothic (20 credits)

This module focuses on literature in the gothic tradition from its inception through to the present day. During the module, the development of the gothic form will be traced from its origins through to recent manifestations of the genre. Gothic literature often reflects social and cultural trends as well as providing a space to manifest cultural anxieties, expressing a society’s suppressed desires and fears in an acceptable literary form. Such texts can therefore be read not only as escapist, but as serious texts which seek to express often radical, socially unacceptable or psychologically-submerged ideas. The module will enable you to identify these undercurrents as well as to explore the major themes and aesthetics of the genre. You will be encouraged to interrogate texts with an eye to these issues, including those of gender, race and class, and to contextualise the texts in order to analyse and understand the changing concept of Gothic.

Psychology in Victorian Literature (20 credits)

This module explores the relationship between literature and the development of psychological thought in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, before the advent of laboratory-based experimental work. It aims to introduce you to questions surrounding the historical emergence of psychology as a scientific discipline and to a post-Romantic conception of literature as concerned with the analysis and the portrayal of psychological peculiarity and aberration. The connections between nineteenth-century psychology and pseudo-scientific discourses such as phrenology and mesmerism, and the close relationship between psychology and Victorian medical discourse will be examined. You will learn to recognise the presence of psychological and medical discourse in nineteenth century texts, and to relate this psychological discourse to wider cultural and social issues raised by the advent of social and political modernity in the nineteenth century.

Speculative Fiction (20 credits)

What if a book was discovered that revealed an advanced alien civilisation? What if humans could merge with machines? What if the world were slowly crystallising around us? What if humanity had all but destroyed itself? The ‘what if’ in these questions signals a moment of hesitation, a gap that opens up between what is and what could be. This is speculation. Speculation is something we all engage in. It allows us to reimagine the past, recontextualise the present and consider new futures. It can be a liberating but also a destabilising activity because it asks us to question the ways in which we make sense of who we are and the world around us. In this module you will consider how speculation intersects with literature. You will be able to identify the formal literary techniques and devices used to enable speculation and then apply them to a series of texts from the late twentieth century to consider how these can help us think about new pasts, new societies, new identities and new futures.

Shakespeare Studies (20 credits)

This module will consider a range of primary and critical texts relating to Shakespeare’s canon. In general, you will consider the reasons for Shakespeare’s prominent position in the English canon and in wider popular culture and society. You will focus some attention on Shakespeare’s social context, early modern theatrical settings and conventions, and the language of Shakespeare’s works. You will also consider how Shakespeare’s works operate in performance and film. To do the above, you will examine in detail a selection of Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, histories and poems, considering textual aspects meticulously, while relating the texts to wider issues of reception and impact. Emphasis will be placed on using a range of critical interpretative methods when approaching the plays, as well as on utilising digital literacy (such as online archives) in order to develop a knowledge of key research skills required by early modern literary scholars as well as basic archival skills.

Moral Philosophy (20 credits)

Module description to be confirmed soon.

Film (20 credits)

This module allows you to apply your knowledge of existing formal, narratological and historical concepts to the medium of film, and to develop further conceptual frameworks derived from or unique to it. The module will be concerned with a number of structural and cultural features which can be seen to determine readings of film narrative. Generally, though not exclusively, the module will find its location in the area of popular film. It will take as a starting point the model derived from what David Bordwell calls ‘The Classical Hollywood Cinema’. This will enable you to begin to theorise issues such as Genre and Auteurism as well as the semiotics of film, so that the general formations can be analysed with reference to their subversion by counter-cultural formations. Particular reference will be made to three generic sets: Film Noir, 50s Melodrama and Horror. By referring to these case-studies, you will be encouraged to develop critical/theoretical analyses of films of your choice.

Milton's Epic (20 credits)

This module will provide you with the knowledge and skills to critically evaluate one of the most important works in English literature: Milton’s major epic poem, Paradise Lost. This module focuses extensively on this poem and its various contexts. You will read the entire epic thoroughly in order to enable you to analyse the themes, characters, settings and language of the work. You will develop an understanding of Milton’s political, religious and literary ambitions in relation to his key works. You will also read and discuss some of his non-epic works.

Your secondary reading will acquaint you with key critical responses to Milton’s work from the seventeenth century to the present day, on topics such as his poetic style and his key characters. Through wider reading, you will consider Milton’s place in the English literary canon, as well as the legacy that he has left. You will also consider the growing field of international reception.

World Literature (20 credits)

World Literature explores global dimensions of literature and introduces key debates in Comparative and World Literature. You will widen and deepen your knowledge and understanding of literary movements you have studied on previous modules, especially modules focusing on the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. World Literature will provide new insights into how certain literary trends in Britain were pioneered, paralleled or developed overseas whilst also offering you the opportunity to join up major lines of development in global literary history. Exploring a variety of novels from different parts of the world, the module emphasises what is distinct about literatures from specific geographical areas.

You will look at how novels considered as part of ‘World Literature’ have developed in formal terms, from nineteenth-century realism to the contemporary cosmopolitan novel. You will develop a global outlook on literature by tracing how realism as a form has been challenged by and renewed in successive ‘moments’ or ‘turns’ of literary history. You will explore the major debates and theories of World Literature through international literary history, comparative literary analysis, looking at themes, and tracing the recurrence of images and motifs.

The Uncanny (20 credits)

This module will provide you with the knowledge and skills to critically engage with the legacies of Sigmund Freud’s speculative essay ‘Das Unheimliche’/ ‘The Uncanny’ moving from literary criticism through deconstruction and introducing students to contemporary phenomenology. Phenomenology is a branch of continental philosophy dealing with experiences of the self. It will provide the necessary introduction to read recent philosophical considerations of psychoanalysis, melancholia, anxiety and unease as found, for instance, in the work of Simon Critchley and Dylan Trigg.

We will engage with Critchley’s reading of Hamlet and Samuel Beckett together with Trigg’s reading of horror literature and film. As a foundation for reading phenomenology we will read Trigg’s The Memory of Place together with short excerpts from the philosophers he comments on such as Heidegger, Levinas, Bachelard and Merleau-Ponty. You will find Critchley’s A Very Short Introduction to Continental Philosophy and then Robert Sokolowski, Introduction to Phenomenology helpful in reading Trigg. Finally we will consider the issues of otherness, difference and place negotiated in many of these philosophical readings. This module would develop theories encountered in The Gothic and complement other philosophy modules.

Language and Gender (20 credits)

This module will introduce you to the main critical debates, concepts, and research approaches in the field of language and gender. You will discuss a variety of key theoretical areas, supported by relevant scholarly research, and you will learn to critically evaluate the role that language plays in gender relations and gender stereotypes. You will carry out independent fieldwork on a topic of your own choice related to language and gender, and you will develop your skills in data collection, analysis, and evaluation. The module makes use of a variety of data sources, including electronic corpora, written, visual and spoken media, questionnaires, and you will learn to apply your knowledge of language and linguistics to investigate and analyse such data.

Over the course of the module, you will also acquire a range of skills which will support your long-term personal and professional development, including self-direction in problem solving, communication skills (written and verbal), independent critical thought, and effective time management.

Forensic Linguistics (20 credits)

This module will provide you with the knowledge and skills to critically analyse linguistic data and apply the results of the analysis to legal settings, focusing mainly on legal discourse, courtroom discourse, police interviewing, authorship analysis, and plagiarism detection. You will study a wide range of topics which will provide you with a broad understanding of different sub-disciplines of forensic linguistics and language and the law, each with its own methodological approach. You will develop skills necessary for interdisciplinary research at the intersection of linguistics, forensic sciences, legal studies and psychology. You will focus on how to ensure your data is representative, to develop robust methodological approach, and to present your results in a logical way meeting the requirements set by relevant bodies in a range of legal contexts.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (20 credits)

The module is based on experimental and experiential techniques allowing you to encounter TEFL teaching methods, as well as improve your knowledge of phonetics and phonology, grammar and vocabulary, syntax and punctuation. The module will equip you with a solid understanding of TEFL approaches alongside a practical skill set for planning lessons and courses, assessing language proficiency, facilitating the learning process, and managing classroom dynamics. The module will help you utilise skills and linguistic knowledge gained during your first two years of study in the applied settings of teaching English as a second/foreign language.

You will also draw on literature, drama and creative writing strands of the programme due to the emphasis on the inherent value of cultural and literary experiences in the foreign language acquisition process. You will focus on developing engaging teaching materials for potential learners and practise completing tasks similar to those required as part of the interview selection process for TEFL jobs. Throughout the module, special emphasis will be placed on continuous professional development as well as identifying career options in the UK and abroad. You will be provided with several voluntary opportunities, including providing language support for international students, teaching English classes for international students within the Faculty, or observing commercial classes in Birmingham (e.g. Brasshouse Language Centre).

Writing Creative Non Fiction (20 credits)

This module introduces you to writing creative nonfiction. You will investigate the nature of creative nonfiction, exploring the distinctive issues it raises for writers in recent published works and in your own, such as the ethical considerations involved in drawing from real-life subjects as source material, the nature of truth, and the interplay between ‘fact’ and ‘fiction’. You will explore forms of creative nonfiction, including memoir, travel writing, observational writing, the personal essay, the nonfiction thriller, and literary journalism. Along with your exploration of form, you will bring your writing to life by using techniques traditionally associated with fiction, creating rounded characters, compelling, well-structured stories and vivid, immediate settings. You will also consider how to craft your work and polish your individual writing style.

Nature Writing (20 credits)

This module will provide you with the knowledge and skills to create focussed observational writing based on personal interaction with the natural world. You will develop the skills to compose poetry and creative non-fiction based on your own research and observations. You will learn how to make precise scientifically-informed and researched description, creating a balance between observation and evaluation and between the presence of the author-narrator as a character in the text and the otherness of what you are describing. Finding an appropriate language for describing the non-human is often a central concern of contemporary nature writing. At the end of this module, you will be able to situate your own practice as a writer of poetry and prose within contemporary nature writing.

Writing Short Films (20 credits)

This module will enable you to build upon your current reading and writing of short films, and to develop your range, technique and sophistication as a contemporary screenwriter, applying your knowledge to the writing of short film scripts of 5-10 minutes in length. You will study Syd Field’s guide to screenwriting and build on your practical application of screenplay formatting software. You will write two short scripts of 5 minutes in length and one ‘Academy’ short of 10 minutes, given as writing exercises on which you will receive detailed feedback, enabling you to rewrite towards your assessments. You will focus on visual storytelling, layout conventions, the issue of writing to scale (budget) and will be encouraged to analyse but also critique dramatic construction in terms of character function, motivation and genre.

 Please note: Modules may take place in either semester one, or two.