Module:  ENG5117-20 The Marvellous - writing beyond realism

Level: 5

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Elizabeth Wright

Module Tutor Contact Details: e.wright@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

When writing can take you anywhere, why stop at reality? This module will examine literature fantastical, speculative, marvellous and miraculous, from a range of periods. Some of our texts may reach back into a mythical or imagined past, testing the dreams, and the nightmares, that we have inherited. Others may push forward into futures possible and impossible. Some may reclaim suppressed or neglected forms, using exuberant anti-realism to question the authority of canon and genre. Others may dive into the heart of the mainstream, in order to emerge with something unexpectedly rich and strange. Some may harness the formidable power of the imagination to comment directly on cultural and political hierarchies, and to encourage us to seek alternatives. Others may look to liberate us from all agendas, creating worlds of wild improvisation where even the basic rules of interpretation exist only to be broken. In this module you will closely analyse and work comparatively with diverse texts and traditions, working to understand, and to communicate, why 'tales of wonder' occupy such a powerful place in the modern consciousness. 

2. Outline syllabus

The syllabus will be taught through two flexible, related strands, which will allow time for the development of close analysis, comparative study and theorisation. One strand will focus on the primary texts and on critical material relating to them specifically. This will build on literary-critical and comparative skills, and will be particularly useful when performing close analysis. The second strand will address the ways in which theorists have sought to classify this tradition, which will include various spirited attempts to defend it. Depending on the texts chosen, this may include an exploration of the venues available to critics and readers operating outside the literary or academic mainstream, and a consideration of how best to use them 

3. Teaching and learning activities

• The module will be taught through lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorial supervision. 

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: Coursework

• Description: Presentation (1500 words or equivalent)  

• % Weighting: 30%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: Coursework

• Description: Portfolio Essay (3500 words). 

• % Weighting: 70%