Module: ENG5011-20 Reading Communities

Level: 5

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Samantha Walton

Module Tutor Contact Details: s.walton@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

In 2015, the BBC commissioned a global survey of the activities people find most restful. More than 18,000 people from 193 countries took part, and the results were clear. Reading came out as the most restful activity. The pleasure of reading is obviously important to readers themselves, but what other responses help build communities of engaged readers who can make a difference in their lives and those of others? Why do we reach for books in times of distress, and what does reading really ‘do’ – to us, to communities, and to society as a whole? 

In this module, students examine the power of reading and develop reading communities amongst their peers and external partners (for example, schools, nursing homes, and community groups). According to the Reading Agency, reading may help build empathy and improve wellbeing. In the course of the semester, students will explore how reading and literature can transform lives in a number of ways: reducing social isolation, improving educational opportunities, building political communities (for example Black Lives Matter reading groups, LGBTQI* reading groups, autism reading groups) and promoting agency and wellbeing. What does reading do to people? How does it affect the way they think, organise politically, or flourish personally? These key questions underline this module’s three thematic strands: reading and its history; reading communities; and practical reading. The module will draw on three indicative texts from key historical periods (early modern, long nineteenth century, and modern) and literary forms (prose, poetry, drama). Weekly reading from contemporary scholarship will allow us to engage with issues such as reading for conflict resolution, emancipatory reading, decolonising reading, and therapeutic reading for health and wellbeing. Students will be assessed through a combination of an essay and a portfolio that could vary from a compilation of diary entries to experimenting with different reading practices (e.g. reading aloud/silently, with content warnings, and so forth).

2.Outline syllabus

• Introduction 

• Unit 1: Reading and its history (3 weeks) 

• Unit 2: Reading Communities (3 weeks)

• Unit 3: Practical Reading (3 weeks)

• 2 weeks for feedback tutorials on summative assessment

3.Teaching and learning activities

The module will be taught through lectures, seminars, practical workshops, and tutor supervision. 

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Essay (2000 words) 

• % Weighting: 40%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Portfolio (3000 words) 

• % Weighting: 60%