24 NQF credits at HEQSF level 8

Convenors

Prof Sandra Young and Dr Kate Highman

Course entry requirements

Acceptance for the English honours programme.

Course outline

Reading Contemporary Theory

Reading Contemporary Theory is the Honours core course which introduces students to key topics in contemporary literary theory through the in-depth analysis of a range of essays by a selection of the most significant figures in the field. It is a team-taught seminar that concentrates on building students’ skills as close readers and critical thinkers by engaging with diverse strands of literary and cultural theory. It focuses on theorists who have developed an understanding about the potential violence of the relation between self and other, following  their incisive attention to language and positionality in the scene of address. It also explores theories of archive, history and memory, considering  how variegated these multiple ways of remembering are, and how they may impact and form and inform our own research.

Term 1: Self and Other (Prof Sandra Young)
Term 2: Theories of Archive and Memory (Dr Kate Highman)

Set works

• Extracts of relevant theoretical texts will be made available on VULA

Assessment

• TBC
• Total word count: 6000 words